Toronto or Buffalo in January?

Boardwalk_bride

Married in WDW :)
Joined
May 26, 2009
Hi All,

We are planning to go to WDW in January - our first time in 5 years to celebrate our 10th anniversary (we got married in WDW in 2010) and our daughter's 3rd bday. We have never been in January. We usually fly out of Buffalo because it is so much cheaper, but I'm a bit worried about weather, especially with travelling with a toddler. Any experiences?

For reference - we are about 40 minutes from the Pearson Airport and about 1.5 hours from the Buffalo airport.

Thanks!

Karen
 
I think I would also go via Buffalo. When my kids were that small I found that the extra time it took to get through Pearson was hard. Of course you are lining up at Buffalo for security but just the smaller size made it a much quicker process.
 


you can get insanely cheap flights out of buffalo (Frontier airlines also does kids fly free), literally you can buy tix for a family of 4 for the cost of what you would pay on the taxes to fly out of pearson for 1 person.
For example im flying out of BUF on Frontier in October, it cost 250 USD total for my family of 4 to fly round trip.
 
At the end of January, my father ended up having to drive back to Toronto from Buffalo to get his flight for his cruise. He ended up missing one night at a pre-booked hotel. This was after he drove down to Buffalo a day earlier than planned in anticipation of a snowstorm which did indeed hit. It took him several hours more to get to Toronto and got there at about the latest time he could and still get his luggage checked in. Having said that, he'll probably still go to Buffalo over Toronto both for price and proximity/ease. In some cases, it's been half the price of Pearson.

I've got my fingers crossed for end of January when we're flying to MCO out of Toronto for a cruise. We're coming down the day before but I'm still a bit worried. We'll be watching the weather and making plans accordingly.
 


At the end of January, my father ended up having to drive back to Toronto from Buffalo to get his flight for his cruise. He ended up missing one night at a pre-booked hotel. This was after he drove down to Buffalo a day earlier than planned in anticipation of a snowstorm which did indeed hit. It took him several hours more to get to Toronto and got there at about the latest time he could and still get his luggage checked in. Having said that, he'll probably still go to Buffalo over Toronto both for price and proximity/ease. In some cases, it's been half the price of Pearson.

I've got my fingers crossed for end of January when we're flying to MCO out of Toronto for a cruise. We're coming down the day before but I'm still a bit worried. We'll be watching the weather and making plans accordingly.
Not sure which airline you're flying on but i know that if WestJet posts a weather warning on their website you can change your flight, free of charge to any other one you'd like. We flew to MCO mid-January 2017 and a freezing rain storm was barreling down on us, so I called and changed the flight to that day, easy-peasy! Hubby is always nervous about bad weather so we stay overnight anyway, meaning we were already packed and ready to go, just got on a plane instead of staying in the Sheraton. Only extra expense was a night in a hotel (we had paid for the Sheraton with airmiles) and I snagged a room in an allstar resort for $89.00, all-in. Just something to keep in mind so you don't need to fret about missing your cruise!!
 
you can get insanely cheap flights out of buffalo (Frontier airlines also does kids fly free), literally you can buy tix for a family of 4 for the cost of what you would pay on the taxes to fly out of pearson for 1 person.
For example im flying out of BUF on Frontier in October, it cost 250 USD total for my family of 4 to fly round trip.

I saw that, but the reviews look really sketchy! Any experience?
 
At the end of January, my father ended up having to drive back to Toronto from Buffalo to get his flight for his cruise. He ended up missing one night at a pre-booked hotel. This was after he drove down to Buffalo a day earlier than planned in anticipation of a snowstorm which did indeed hit. It took him several hours more to get to Toronto and got there at about the latest time he could and still get his luggage checked in. Having said that, he'll probably still go to Buffalo over Toronto both for price and proximity/ease. In some cases, it's been half the price of Pearson.

I've got my fingers crossed for end of January when we're flying to MCO out of Toronto for a cruise. We're coming down the day before but I'm still a bit worried. We'll be watching the weather and making plans accordingly.

I am actually leaning toward Toronto. I just don't want to risk it with a toddler.
 
This past March break, we didn’t want to risk it and flew out of YYZ instead of Buffalo. And this was in March so I can’t even imagine the wintry drive to Buffalo in January. This past winter was brutal, maybe next year will be better.
 
Not sure which airline you're flying on but i know that if WestJet posts a weather warning on their website you can change your flight, free of charge to any other one you'd like. We flew to MCO mid-January 2017 and a freezing rain storm was barreling down on us, so I called and changed the flight to that day, easy-peasy! Hubby is always nervous about bad weather so we stay overnight anyway, meaning we were already packed and ready to go, just got on a plane instead of staying in the Sheraton. Only extra expense was a night in a hotel (we had paid for the Sheraton with airmiles) and I snagged a room in an allstar resort for $89.00, all-in. Just something to keep in mind so you don't need to fret about missing your cruise!!

We're flying AC on points so I'm not sure if they offer the same kind of deal but I'll keep it in mind and see if they post anything. I certainly intend to monitor the weather and Plan B is to fly down a day or two earlier if we have to even if we have to pay for the flight; maybe even head to hotels at the airport strip so as to ensure we actually get there for our flight (we're about 90 minutes outside of Toronto). Depending on which direction any storm is heading, even going to Buffalo isn't out of the question.

We're staying at the MCO Hyatt so if we have to go down a day or two earlier we might head out to WDW if there's availability and just go back to MCO for the night prior to the cruise. We have APs so I won't mind a few extra days there. We have trip insurance in the absolute worst case, but I'd rather cruise than get money back!
 
We're flying AC on points so I'm not sure if they offer the same kind of deal but I'll keep it in mind and see if they post anything. I certainly intend to monitor the weather and Plan B is to fly down a day or two earlier if we have to even if we have to pay for the flight; maybe even head to hotels at the airport strip so as to ensure we actually get there for our flight (we're about 90 minutes outside of Toronto). Depending on which direction any storm is heading, even going to Buffalo isn't out of the question.

We're staying at the MCO Hyatt so if we have to go down a day or two earlier we might head out to WDW if there's availability and just go back to MCO for the night prior to the cruise. We have APs so I won't mind a few extra days there. We have trip insurance in the absolute worst case, but I'd rather cruise than get money back!
I don't think it matters how you got the flights, ours were booked thru Expedia and they didn't care. Once I booked with Airmiles on WestJet and a similar weather issue cropped up, changed no problem. I would imagine AC is similar. A little searching turned up this pretty funky way they handle it, a website you can use to change your flight yourself just using your booking number! You can check this out by opening up the section called Anticipated flight delays and cancellations HERE
 
Hi All,

We are planning to go to WDW in January - our first time in 5 years to celebrate our 10th anniversary (we got married in WDW in 2010) and our daughter's 3rd bday. We have never been in January. We usually fly out of Buffalo because it is so much cheaper, but I'm a bit worried about weather, especially with travelling with a toddler. Any experiences?

For reference - we are about 40 minutes from the Pearson Airport and about 1.5 hours from the Buffalo airport.

Thanks!

Karen
We try to avoid Pearson at all cost. Last year we tried Porter direct from Billy Bishop (downtown Toronto) if you book ahead you might get a flight for aprox $400CAD return or $200 one way to Melbourne and rented a car to drive to WDW. Melbourne (aprox 1 hour drive to WDW) is a great little aiport without the hustle and bustle .
 
We fly out of BUF several times a year and have been for at least the last 14 years. I also live about 30 min from YYZ and 1.5hr from BUF. They handle snow a lot better then YYZ. If it is a concern then book a morning flight so that you can go the night before if you need to.

To the PP that mentioned Frontier...friends of mine who are kind of picky have travelled with them 6 times in the last year and have ZERO complaints. I personally prefer Southwest but I have also used JetBlue. If the price and flight times are right I will try Frontier. You just have to be aware that Frontier charges for everything so you must factor that into the cost.
 
I simply prefer to deal with customs prior to the airport and would rather drive a cross to fly any day. Makes a much more relaxed experience .
And agree buffalo seems to handle snow much more efficiently . We drove through the worst snowstorm ever to get to buffalo and when we hit our hotel ordered pizza and was still delivered In 20 mins lol so impressive
 
We try to avoid Pearson at all cost. Last year we tried Porter direct from Billy Bishop (downtown Toronto) if you book ahead you might get a flight for aprox $400CAD return or $200 one way to Melbourne and rented a car to drive to WDW. Melbourne (aprox 1 hour drive to WDW) is a great little aiport without the hustle and bustle .

WOW-that is a great price from Billy Bishop! This is one airport I have never considered because I am north west of the city but it is great to know that you can fly from there fro about the same price as Pearson!
 

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