Timing for WDW and Fiji

[zanzibar138]

Hi all, we have a super exciting trip on the horizon - going to WDW to get married

For someone who's not a great flyer, the prospect of actually hauling our butts from west coast Australia to east coast US is pretty daunting. I've been trying desperately to avoid the long haul flight across the Pacific in economy if at all possible, and I think I've come up with a solution - Perth to Sydney/Brisbane to Fiji to LA to Orlando It's a lot of flights (although it was going to be a minimum of 3 anyway), but they all come in at under 6 hours (most closer to 4), and for the overnight 10-11 hour flight between Fiji and LA, business class is a real possibility. This is currently a pretty well priced option too (assuming we can get the business class flights on points). And of course, going via Fiji on a trip for our wedding, it only makes sense that we include a stopover in Fiji on the way home for our honeymoon

For the wedding, based on likely weather and crowds at WDW, we had narrowed it down to early Nov 2024 or early Feb 2025, probably leaning towards Feb for the cooler weather and less chance of rain. However, I have recently discovered that Feb is the absolute worst time to go to Fiji weather-wise. It seems Nov isn't a great option either, but probably the better option of the 2. My concerns are not only about our honeymoon getting completely rained out, but also the potential for bad weather to wreak havoc on our travel schedule!

So my very long winded question is... has anyone been to Fiji in either November or February? How was it? Given that WDW is of course our priority, would November or February be better, or would you reconsider the timing/travel route altogether?

 

[masterpabu]

Congrats to you!! Hope you'll have the best time ever!

Last time we flew via Fiji (just from Syd), I can only imagine how long it's going to feel from Perth so godspeed! Business seats will definitely help, though would there be any possibility/chance of trying to nab seats with Qantas? at least for the outbound flights, I personally think it might be worth a try since you're planning far ahead (+ Fiji was nice for the lay flat but that was really the only benefit for us, if that doesn't sound too privileged!)

I can't contribute to what it's like in Fiji Nov/Feb so hopefully others can provide better feedback, I've only been there once in March and it rained for 2 days straight but the rest of the week was lovely!

 

[zanzibar138]

Haha no, doesn't sound too privileged... you're not the first person to be disappointed with Fiji's business class For me, it is ALL about the lay flat bed, just so I can get comfortable enough that sleep might actually be possible! I've flown Fiji Airways business class before and, while you are absolutely correct that is certainly not the most luxurious option, it meets my requirements.

Having said that, it's absolutely worth trying for Qantas flights if we can manage to save enough Qantas points. We're currently just shy of enough points for 3 business class flights between Fiji and LAX and will be relying on credit card bonus points offers to get us over the line for the final one. That's another reason why Feb is an appealing option... gives us more time to save points!

 

[Chol]

Not sure about Fiji but have you looked into Hawaii options? Its a nice halfway point to LA. Cough.. Aulani hint hint... Not sure of weather though, but Aulani is beautiful if you can manage it and further weather research checks out.

 

[zanzibar138]

Hawaii was actually what I looked at first, but for some reason I was set on going via Auckland When I discovered that it was an overnight flight from Auckland to Honolulu, which we would have to do in economy, I started looking at options through OneWorld partners. Didn't think of getting to Honolulu via Sydney though After more research it looks like it could definitely work! Since it's northern hemisphere, I'm going to assume it'll be a better option weather wise... and we can visit Aulani

 

[Chol]

Hawaii was actually what I looked at first, but for some reason I was set on going via Auckland When I discovered that it was an overnight flight from Auckland to Honolulu, which we would have to do in economy, I started looking at options through OneWorld partners. Didn't think of getting to Honolulu via Sydney though After more research it looks like it could definitely work! Since it's northern hemisphere, I'm going to assume it'll be a better option weather wise... and we can visit Aulani

Sounds great! I actually did SYD-HNL just recently and found it fine. Was an overnight flight, on Qantas at least, so if u can get some sleep you arrive in the morning in Honolulu and won't be too tired. I didn't sleep and was tired the first day, but stayed up all day and then the next day was totally fine.

 

[zanzibar138]

I think if I can't get business class with Qantas I'd rather go Air New Zealand through Auckland and try out their Skycouch or I've even seen rumours about an upcoming economy sleeper option!

 

[masterpabu]

I'd probably lean more towards Skycouch over their economy bunkbeds, if the photos are anything to go by I personally can't imagine being able sleep that close to other strangers for $100 an hour

 

[zanzibar138]

Yes, I was thinking that too. I'd be happy just to have the opportunity to stretch out though if Skycouch wasn't available. It's not like you're any further away from strangers in a normal seat

 

[maryr1oz]

Sounds like a good reason for a trip We did the Qantas - Honolulu last year in economy, though we did have bulk head seats so that made the trip a bit better. The time difference to Hawaii and Australian East Coast is really not too bad, so we never had any jetlag to deal with fortunately.

On the other hand, we are heading to WDW in September and are flying Business Class with Fiji Airways to LAX - keen to know whether your experience with them was recent? Was it on one of their A350s?

 

[zanzibar138]

Sorry, I think it was 2014 when I flew Fiji Airways, so a lot has probably changed since then! At the time that I flew, the business class seats weren't in 'pods' like other airlines. They did recline all the way into a flat bed, but it wasn't completely horizontal - was at a tiny angle. It didn't bother me, but some people really seemed to have a problem with it. The lounge in Fiji was also far below other lounges that I've experienced, although after experiencing Fiji airport with no lounge access on the way back, I'd been pretty thankful that I had it on the way there!

 

[masterpabu]

Sounds like a good reason for a trip We did the Qantas - Honolulu last year in economy, though we did have bulk head seats so that made the trip a bit better. The time difference to Hawaii and Australian East Coast is really not too bad, so we never had any jetlag to deal with fortunately.

On the other hand, we are heading to WDW in September and are flying Business Class with Fiji Airways to LAX - keen to know whether your experience with them was recent? Was it on one of their A350s?

we flew their business in 2022 with the new seats which was very nice aesthetically and function wise, aside from small storage areas and the fixed head cushion can be a tiny bit annoying for some people. The service though was a bit of a mixed bag and ran on Fiji time but of course we were happy enough to get a decent sleep so it served its purpose, just don't expect it to be on the calibre of Middle Eastern airlines/Singapore. The lounge at Fiji is nice too!

 

[maryr1oz]

Sorry, I think it was 2014 when I flew Fiji Airways, so a lot has probably changed since then! At the time that I flew, the business class seats weren't in 'pods' like other airlines. They did recline all the way into a flat bed, but it wasn't completely horizontal - was at a tiny angle. It didn't bother me, but some people really seemed to have a problem with it. The lounge in Fiji was also far below other lounges that I've experienced, although after experiencing Fiji airport with no lounge access on the way back, I'd been pretty thankful that I had it on the way there!

Ok, thanks good to know - we have chosen them over Qantas for something different this trip

we flew their business in 2022 with the new seats which was very nice aesthetically and function wise, aside from small storage areas and the fixed head cushion can be a tiny bit annoying for some people. The service though was a bit of a mixed bag and ran on Fiji time but of course we were happy enough to get a decent sleep so it served its purpose, just don't expect it to be on the calibre of Middle Eastern airlines/Singapore. The lounge at Fiji is nice too!

Thanks! This is good to know

 

[sjmac42]

Well congrats on your wedding. Not sure anyone answered your weather question so apologies if this is going over old ground.
Fiji is in the southern hemisphere tropics, so November to April is the wet season same as Northern Australia.

November would be my choice. It’s really just the build up to the wet season, February is smack bang in the middle of it. It’s also the holiday season at WDW which is just awesome.

if you’re going to be there for a while, remember you have access to the UK based 14 day tickets for WDW and Universal, much better value than the US based tickets.

 

[zanzibar138]

Actually no one had specifically answered my question yet, so that's great insight thank you! We're pretty set on the February timing now for various reasons, and are rethinking our route to maybe come back through Asia instead.

Thanks for the reminder about the 14 day UK tickets too. Not sure where the break-even point is... we'll be planning to be in Orlando for 2 weeks, but will probably only have 7 or 8 Disney park days. Although there are probably some days where there's scope to just go in for a few hours if it was a minimal extra cost. I've done this before at other Disney parks when it worked out better value to just get an AP!

 

[sjmac42]

The break even is probably 7-8 days depending whether you’re looking at Parkhopper and the plus option with sports/waterparks. They also include Memory Maker as well which is a nice addition, about an extra US$150 on a US ticket so that makes the break even less days.
if it were me, I’d just fly from Sydney to LAX and have a layover there for a couple of nights before continuing to MCO.

 

[zanzibar138]

Yes we'll probably look at doing more direct flights on the way across if we can get them - either through LAX or DFW. Will keep the Fiji option as a back up though in case we don't have any luck with availability.

We're pretty keen to include a little honeymoon on the way back, just a few days to ourselves somewhere tropical and relaxing. We were leaning towards the South Pacific as neither of us have been before, but Asia is probably going to be the more suitable option this time around. From Perth, it makes just as much sense to fly through south east Asia as east coast Australia, and I've got enough Velocity points to cover business class flights with Singapore Airlines (again, assuming availability isn't going to be a deal-breaker).

We probably would be looking at 7-8 days at Disney parks, but I wasn't planning to do park hopper or any extras. Logistics at WDW scares me! With most of our budget going towards the ridiculously priced wedding, we definitely won't be able to afford to stay at any of the deluxe resorts on the monorail or within walking distance to any parks, and will probably consider staying offsite rather than going value.

 

[sjmac42]

Also look at the Swan/Dolphin and the Disney Springs Hotels. Much better value with some onsite Disney benefits and they are the equivalent of the moderate or deluxe resorts without as much theming.

 

[zanzibar138]

Yes, definitely plan to check them out. Given the occasion, we will be happy to prioritise 'nice' over themed, and definitely not just going as cheap as we can get!

 

[maryr1oz]

If you're planning this far out, you could also look at renting DVC points - makes staying in a deluxe much more affordable - especially when you then have free transport, car parking, laundry, early entry etc...