Spirit, Frontier... How bad are they??

[ENJDisneyFan]

Do they not see how they're pricing out their customers?

If everything is booked, it doesn't seem as though they are pricing anyone out

 

[skittles67]

I feel so bad for you! I am so sorry you can't find anything .
I just wanted to comment that we fly Spirit and Frontier all the time. We have never had any issues with either airline. The prices are just to good to pass up on and I will never find anything cheaper, even with the cost of checking a bag added in (cheaper to check a bag than a carry on). They also allow 1 personal item for free (it has to go under the seat in front of you). My daughter has a large backpack that she carries on board with no issues and I always carry a large tote/overnight bag. I don't pre-pay for a seat and my daughter and I have not been separated, ever. The cost for the 3 of us to fly from Ohio to Florida is usually around $300-$400 total RT. In fact our next trip down in November is costing me $199.56 RT for 3 people on Spirit. We just happened to luck out on that deal! We were at the airport 3 weeks ago and when we were checking in we asked about prices in November. We knew we were going back down, I just didn't have our flights booked yet. When she told us the price we booked it on the spot!
Don't give up, keep looking!! Wishing you pixie dust!

 

[Shanti]

If everything is booked, it doesn't seem as though they are pricing anyone out

Well, they are certainly pricing many people out, but just not others. No need to be cruel, though. The OP is obviously upset.

 

[Shanti]

I'm officially out of options. Sitting at my desk with tears rolling down my cheeks. I REALLY needed this. And I just can't make it work. EVERYTHING is booked. Or the price is high. Even the Disney Springs resorts will run me over $700 for a long weekend. Tickets another $700+. Airfair $500+. I can't justify it for a weekend. I'm so sad and angry all at the same time. It shouldn't be this hard to plan a fun weekend at the place I consider "home" in my heart.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

I'm sorry you are dealing with stress trying to plan this. One thing you have mentioned more than once about seat assignment. If it is important to you to sit by the 10 year old you have to factor in seat assignment prices. The cheapest fares usually don't include seat assignment. Airlines don't have to seat you with a child. Most flights to MCO are families going to Disney. Families with kids so if you want to sit next to the child you need to factor the seat fares in. If families purchased their seats so they can sit together people likely will not move. It is also not fair to ask people who paid for seats to move.

With Basic Economy there is no seat assignment and they are usually the odd middle seats. Also watch low cost airlines that only fly certain days - if they cancel a flight you might be stuck.

Just information for you to think about.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

I feel so bad for you! I am so sorry you can't find anything .
I just wanted to comment that we fly Spirit and Frontier all the time. We have never had any issues with either airline. The prices are just to good to pass up on and I will never find anything cheaper, even with the cost of checking a bag added in (cheaper to check a bag than a carry on). They also allow 1 personal item for free (it has to go under the seat in front of you). My daughter has a large backpack that she carries on board with no issues and I always carry a large tote/overnight bag. I don't pre-pay for a seat and my daughter and I have not been separated, ever. The cost for the 3 of us to fly from Ohio to Florida is usually around $300-$400 total RT. In fact our next trip down in November is costing me $199.56 RT for 3 people on Spirit. We just happened to luck out on that deal! We were at the airport 3 weeks ago and when we were checking in we asked about prices in November. We knew we were going back down, I just didn't have our flights booked yet. When she told us the price we booked it on the spot!
Don't give up, keep looking!! Wishing you pixie dust!

You might not have been separated from your child but others have been separated from their kids. If it's important to sit together people need to pay for seats

 

[skittles67]

You might not have been separated from your child but others have been separated from their kids. If it's important to sit together people need to pay for seats

Oh I know. We've been really lucky that the 12 or so flights we've taken in the past 2-3 years we have never been separated. I would definitely recommend paying for seats if that is something that matters to you.

 

[Shanti]

Oh I know. We've been really lucky that the 12 or so flights we've taken in the past 2-3 years we have never been separated. I would definitely recommend paying for seats if that is something that matters to you.

You've always just found 2 open seats next to each other? Or have other passengers been asked to move to accommodate you? That's what the PP is getting at. If someone chooses not to pay for seating assignments, they shouldn't ask others to move to accommodate their wish to sit next to their child.

 

[Darcy03231]

Still brings me to around $2000. ugh. Even Downtown Disney resorts are around $700 total. But then there's Mears (i'd rather not drive). I am so frustrated. Do they not see how they're pricing out their customers? Especially long time repeat customers? I don't want to give this up, but I think I have to.

I don't know how many times I've priced out a long weekend and then decided against it. WDW makes it hard for people to do just a few days. I think the only economical way to do it is if you do multiple trips a year and get an annual pass. While the upfront cost is high, if you do three or more trips a year it can save you some money. With our children grown and gone now I don't go as often as I used to so we either suck it up and pay for the few days we want to go, or plan a longer trip.

 

[skittles67]

You've always just found 2 open seats next to each other? Or have other passengers been asked to move to accommodate you? That's what the PP is getting at. If you choose not to pay for seating assignments, please don't ask others to move to accommodate your wish to sit next to your child.

I don't know how it's always happened. When I check us in 24 hours before our flight for our boarding pass, our seats are always together. If I didn't pay for a seat, I would never ask someone else to move. That would be my fault for not paying the extra.

 

[Shanti]

I don't know how many times I've priced out a long weekend and then decided against it. WDW makes it hard for people to do just a few days. I think the only economical way to do it is if you do multiple trips a year and get an annual pass. While the upfront cost is high, if you do three or more trips a year it can save you some money. With our children grown and gone now I don't go as often as I used to so we either suck it up and pay for the few days we want to go, or plan a longer trip.

Our short trips are pricey, too. Disney isn't cheap...The consolation prize for the OP is that she won't have to deal with the crazy fall crowds.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Well, they are certainly pricing many people out, but just not others. No need to be cruel, though. The OP is obviously upset.

Wasn’t being cruel. Simply making an observation.

 

[laughinplace199]

OP, have you considered going down the morning of the 3rd instead of the evening of the 2nd? Looks like you could get 2 RT tix nonstop from Green for a little over $400. Not sure about off-site hotels as far as which ones are closest and have shuttles, but there are definitely off site hotels available.

 

[_19disnA]

Flown Frontier several times and never had issues. Won't fly on Spirit as they are always in the local news about flight delays/cancellations....etc. and lots of angry passengers with no way to get home. Their problem is partly being a small airline, if a plane has a maintenance issue, there is no other spare plane. Check the schedule where they fly and if they only fly 1 flight a few times a week, you could get stranded if they have any issues.

Airlines now have various ways they assign seats, so be sure to understand how the particular airline you are traveling does this. Southwest, Frontier or Delta all have different seat assignment methods.

Airlines where the employes are always disorganized and scurrying around during boarding process are ones to avoid. Well organized airlines have good boarding processes and if you don't start boarding 30-45 minutes before scheduled flight time you will likely NOT take off on-time.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Still brings me to around $2000. ugh. Even Downtown Disney resorts are around $700 total. But then there's Mears (i'd rather not drive). I am so frustrated. Do they not see how they're pricing out their customers? Especially long time repeat customers? I don't want to give this up, but I think I have to.

What is your budget? $2k for RT airfare, 4 nights hotel, 3-4 park days, transportation to-from airport and parks sounds about right. My kids also have Election day off, and we're flying down Friday 11/2 returning Wednesday 11/7, and all-in, it will be about $3k for the three of us once I factor in food, airport parking back at LGA, etc., and that's with buying our flights months ago, using points for some of the hotel nights, and buying tickets through a travel agency exclusive deal.

Disney isn't really a quick budget trip for many people. The people who affordably pop in for a few days here and there usually have APs, and live a drivable distance or luck into a great airfare.

I know you're looking at it as a quick weekend away, but unfortunately, you've picked a very busy time. It's the food and wine half marathon weekend. It's the start of Jersey Week, too. If you use the search feature for "Jersey Week Flights," you'll see that even back in April and May people were having a hard time booking good rates on airfare for this week, myself included.

You CAN still do Disney on a budget, but you will have to compromise somewhere. It might mean going at an inconvenient time (but lower cost because everyone else isn't trying to go). It might mean driving. It might mean sitting apart from the rest of your party on the plane (my sons are 8 and 10, and either would be fine on his own for a 2-3 hour flight as long as he had a tablet to entertain him). It might mean an offsite hotel. It might mean using Uber/Lyft rather than airport shuttles (Mears offsite or DME on site).

Unfortunately Disney, airlines, and hotels don't really care WHO their customers are. Long-time repeat customers are fine, but so are newbies going on their once-in-a-lifetime trip where they're willing to splurge on extras. Companies are going to keep charging what people are willing to pay. There's currently an active a thread under the Disney Resorts tab called "Compromising or just priced out," where you'll find many people are feeling the sting of higher prices. You're definitely not alone.

 

[Darcy03231]

OP, if you're still reading, All Star Sports has a room from 11/3-11/6 with a 3 day base ticket, which would bring you in at $1040. You could get a cheap airport hotel with a shuttle for the night of 11/2.

 

[AndreaDM]

You've always just found 2 open seats next to each other? Or have other passengers been asked to move to accommodate you? That's what the PP is getting at. If someone chooses not to pay for seating assignments, they shouldn't ask others to move to accommodate their wish to sit next to their child.

Bolding mine

You didn't ask me this, but I fly with my DD all the time and never pay for seat selection. It would not be a big deal if we weren't together, she is 15 and has flown alone, but we always have been. There are no seats to "find", if you don't prepay for seat assignments, they are assigned at check-in which we always do online at the 24 hour mark. Our seats are then assigned and so far, have been together. I also wouldn't ask anyone to move for me.

 

[Dis703]

Frontier is our preferred airline. We started flying them 4 years ago and have only had had great experiences. We get such incredible rates we are able to fly several times a year. This year I’ve flown with them 3 times to Orlando and 2 times to Myrtle Beach with only minor delays. Customer service has been excellent and their emergency cancellation policy is awesome. Used it once and it was so easy.

I don’t pay for seats anymore and so far all 2-5 of us have been seated together. I’ve become an expert packer to eliminate or reduce the baggage fees so we fly from $50 to $100 Round Trip depending on the time of year. You just can’t beat that price around here.

 

[keishashadow]

I'd like to leave Friday night but I can't leave work earlier than 5 so we'd be looking at a 7:30pm-ish flight or if we found something better early Saturday morning and flew out of Providence I know of a Park & Fly hotel. Coming home I'd like to be home early-ish in the day on Tuesday since we both would have school/work on Wednesday morning. I might be able to get rides so I can fly out of/into 2 different airports. But the prices are like $250 each way! It's crazy!

I'll go back and look at Southwest again. Thanks Darcy03231!

New question: I'm flying with a child. Would I not be able to get seats together on Spirit or Frontier?

Should be at whatever airport 2 hours prior, that’s 5:30 pm for 7:30 pm flight. Is leaving your work, including friday traffic to airport going to give you enough time?

I’ve been able to snag $24 flights from PIT to MCO several times for last minute trips. Usually in the area of two months out or less. Keep an eye on it.

40# weight limit for checked bags which are cheaper that carryons

Not my fav airport, mostly because only one flight a day which makes me nervous with weather issues.

I'm officially out of options. Sitting at my desk with tears rolling down my cheeks. I REALLY needed this. And I just can't make it work. EVERYTHING is booked. Or the price is high. Even the Disney Springs resorts will run me over $700 for a long weekend. Tickets another $700+. Airfair $500+. I can't justify it for a weekend. I'm so sad and angry all at the same time. It shouldn't be this hard to plan a fun weekend at the place I consider "home" in my heart.

Price out hotwire, better bidding website can help identify hotels in Bonnet creek area & disney springs.

Disney springs hotel has a webpage where the hotels list various specials

 

[tnolan]

And just to put in my contribution about Spirit, last year we were half hour from checking out and waiting for ME to the airport when Spirit sent my friend a text saying her flight home was cancelled. No words of help such as alternate flights, just that one line. She was in tears while I managed to get her a flight home on Delta. If at all possible, *do not* use Spirit.