As an Annual Passholder and DVC owner, the only thing between me and a visit to Disney World is usually airfare. With the rising cost of fuel, cheap tickets are harder to find, but it’s not impossible! Here are some tips for finding prices that won’t break the bank on my favorite social network: Twitter.
Direct from the Airline
JetBlue is my airline of choice—they fly out of both of my local airports and usually offer pretty good standard fares to Orlando. They also happen to have the absolute best strategy for sharing deals on Twitter: JetBlue Cheeps. They have a dedicated website, but the best, quickest way to find and take advantage of their deals is by following the Cheeps Twitter feed, @JetBlueCheeps. The deals are typically posted on Tuesdays, so make sure to check in regularly because the low-cost fares go quickly!
United Airlines also offers special Twitter fares, which they call Twares, on @UnitedAirlines. These deals go even more quickly than JetBlue’s, often only lasting two to three hours before they’re sold out. While there’s no specific day of the week to watch, the fares are most often advertised between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays.
Southwest Airlines, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines also occasionally tweet out their best deals. But beware: in addition to deals, these airlines often also offer contests, brand-building questions and a heaping feed-full of direct responses to complaints, questions and compliments. That kind of thing can fill your twitter feed pretty quickly if you don’t stay on top of them.
The best part: all of the airlines I mentioned here also take part in Disney’s Resort Check-in Service. So you can fly on the cheap and enjoy convenient check-in before boarding Disney’s Magical Express, too! Double savings!!
Other Sources
FareCompare is a fabulous planning website with a truly remarkable Twitter alert program. Just go to their twitter page, enter your home airport into the box, and then click “Follow.” From that glorious moment on, your Twitter feed will be replete with updates about cheap flights taking off in your own backyard! This is great not only for Disney trips but for all of your air travel.
Other Twitter feeds reporting on travel deals include Cheapflights, Airfarewatchdog and Airline Flight Deals. Unlike FareCompare, these feeds don’t focus on a single airport or location, so the noise level is much greater. But if you spend the time and attention, you can occasionally find great deals for Orlando.
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Melissa Sue works in higher education communications in upstate New York, where she lives with her cavapoo George (as in King George). Melissa began visiting Disney World when she was six and today owns a piece of the magic at Bay Lake Tower. She blogs at Mouse on the Mind and tweets @msorrellsgalley.
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I like flying JetBlue to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, too–to the latter for cruise departures, to the former for WDW vacays. I don’t do the cheap tickets because they will not include baggage check fees and the Extra Legroom in the front of the cabin perk. Yes, I will have baggage to be checked because I don’t believe in taking up a lot of overhead storage bin space w/a heavy carryon. If you want more room for your feet, then pony up for it. I also like JetBlue for its great service both aboard the aircraft and at the gate. To paraphrase the guy who bought the Remington company, “I liked them so much, I bought the company–its stock, not the firm.” I haven’t experienced Alaska Airlines or Virgin America, so I can’t compare these carriers to JetBlue. The only time I use a legacy carrier like American is when I have to fly to MIA for cruise departures because JetBlue doesn’t fly there.