Transfers from Sanford Airport

[magicalmoments]

Hello,
We are flying into Sanford Airport Dec 19. We have always flown into MCO, but Southeast Airlines who just came into our area with a direct flight uses Sanford.

Whats the difference with the two airports? Does it take alot longer to get to the All Star resorts from Sanford? Is itsmaller?

My travel agent tells me Disney is working on a contract with Star Taxi and the deal should be cut soon, allowing for a discount for using them.

I thought Id throw this out and see what you all think. Anyone have experience flying into or out of Sanford? Like I said--this is our first time dealing with that airport, and SOutheast for that matter.

Thanks a Bunch, Stacy in PA

 

[SAKPEG99OKW]

Magical, DW and I were going to use Southeast also until we found out that they are a charter airline. From what we heard no other airlines will honor their tickets in case of emergency. Also the best price for a car service I could find was 100.00 one way. WDW is aprox. 45min to one hour from Sanford.

Good luck.


Scott, Peg and Tyler

 

[magicalmoments]

Uh Oh....I hope I didnt do a bad thing by going with Southeast???

I guess I didnt fully understand what *charter* was. So are you saying that if they went out of biz no other airline wouls honor them?

Thanks for any help you send my way. Also, are the transfers so much more that flying into MCO and paying more for air would equal out in the end?

Quess I should have posted here first and asked out this.

Thank you, Stacy in PA

 

[Mskanga]

No magical, I asked that question when I booked my airlline ticket with them back in July and the way it was explained to me was, the money is deposited into an escrow account and the airline does not get paid from that until the actual trip has taken place, if any problem arises and they go out of business , you will get your money back.
I am using them in 25 days myself, I'm flying into Sanford and I'm renting a car for $98 for four days , much better than paying for transfers. The distance is about 50 minutes drive to WDW but I have done it before and I can do it again without a problem as long as I have directions and a map just in case.
I will let you know when I get back how the flight went.

 

[magicalmoments]

Whew, I was getting worried here. Maybe I should look into renting a car, but we are going from Dec19-27th. I bet that many days would be costly since we use DISNEY transportation. I rent a scooter for my hubby who has RA, OA.

They also told be about the escrow thing, but I didnt understand it fully I guess.

Wonder why transfers are more from Sanford? It doesnt seem much farther then MCO.

Please do let me know how it went. Southeast just came into our local airport in August offering a direct flight. My travel agent tells me she books alot of them for her clients. They dont fly on Tues/Wed (I think those are the 2 days)---becuz they rent those plans out privately.

Take care, and have a great time I cant wait til I go!!!
Stacy in PA

 

[mitchinson]

I would also like to hear about your flight when you return. We're leaving in 25 days from Reading on USAir but must go thru Pittsburgh to get the best deal. Since we had never heard anything about Southeast out of Allentown we were a little hesitant to try them. But if you get good results we would be tempted to try them next time....Great rate, by the way!

 

[magicalmoments]

Reading area....your not far from me

I thought it was an awesome deal also. We usually take US Air and end up going to Pitt also. But this time...we leave ABE at 730 AM and are at Sanford by 10 AM. Cant beat that! It becomes a long day when you start out at 6 AM in ABE and end up in your room early afternoon. I wonder why Southeast dont go to MCO? I should call them and ask them.

I will let you know. I was a bit concerned about the stability of US Air recently. I have never gotten *stuck* like that, and didnt want this to be the first. We leave Dec 19 and have a 730 PM flight home on Dec 27th. Cant beat that! We have 1/2 a day on the last day. No rushing around.

Take care....I think we are almost neighbors...lol
Stacy in PA

 

[zurgswife]

We just returned from a drive down....we passed the exit to Sanford Airport....50mins sounds like a lot of time....Kanga...I'd love to know how far it actually is...It didn't seem that far from the airport exit until we got to BWV...

 

[dansyr]

I am also from your area and was thinking about southeast. When are you going? We are going in march. If you use southeast, let me know how it goes. We haven't booked our flight yet. We may fly US air out of Phila but air tran back. I think it is around 200 roundtrip.

 

[magicalmoments]

We are going to be spending our 3rd Christmas in the company of DISNEY. In 2000 we stayed in WDW, 2001 we did the DISNEY cruise, and now 2002 we are going back. We stay in the All Star resorts cuz we arent in the room much anyway. We plan at least a year in advance. We have an awesome travel agent who watches out for us. This time we got a Disney club discount and a winter promo. We are going Dec 19-27th. Eight nites and almost a full day on departure. My total cost was 2500 + $530 for air. Cant beat that for Christmas week! Its prime time down there.

We love it tho. We pay on it like a layaway. We throw my dh vacation club and christmas club on the trip. If you plan for it...it works out. We also dont spend a fortune on food. Using the tips learned here...you really can save a bundle.

I look at it this way--my kids are 8 (soon 9) and 13 and dont need toys that get lost, broke or stuck on the shelf. They have what they need. You can drop an easy $1000 on 2 kids. The trip is our family present. I do manage to have about 3 items under the tree when we return home. Small things, but its there.

I look at it as lifes to short...there is nothing better then the memories we have from there. I will let ya know how Southeast is when we return. My TA has had quite a few go down on them already and no complaints. You dont get a meal tho, but flying on US Air the last 2 times we didnt with them either so no biggie. We have snacks in our carry on if we need it. BUt this time we are going direct and will be there in no time. We cant wait!!

Take care, Stacy

 

[goofy4tink]

Last Nov we flew into Sanford from Worcester, Ma. We used Tiffany Towncar to get to WDW. It was about $180 r/t. It took about 50 minutes to get to WDW from the airport. It is quite a ways out of Orlando proper. It is norteast of Orlando. Quite a trek. But our driver rented 'Shrek' to entertain our two girls on the way back. (sshhh...don't tell Disney!) Sanford is a very nice little regional airport. I have heard it was an Air Force station at one point. Would use it again, but, alas, no more flights out of Worcester going to Sanford or MCO!!

 

[msdis]

All I can say is don't use VIP. We had e-mail confirmation and they stood us up. Found out later they did the same thing to someone else.

 

[Mskanga]

Kim , if Sanford is not 50 minutes away I will be happy but even if it is , it's not a biggie for me, I have driven through there before and I know I will be ok.
I'm flying down on December 5th and returning the 8th, so for those of you interested, on the morning of the 9th you will have a report as to how the flight situation went. Actually Barb is also flying into Sanford a few days before me and she will have her laptop so maybe she can fill us in when she gets there.
I'm renting a car and keeping it for the 4 days for $98 all taxes included, it's a geo metro but I'm going alone so space is not a problem.

 

[Mskanga]

Kim , if Sanford is not 50 minutes away I will be happy but even if it is , it's not a biggie for me, I have driven through there before and I know I will be ok.
I'm flying down on December 5th and returning the 8th, so for those of you interested, on the morning of the 9th you will have a report as to how the flight situation went. Actually Barb is also flying into Sanford a few days before me and she will have her laptop so maybe she can fill us in when she gets there.
I'm renting a car and keeping it for the 4 days for $98 all taxes included, it's a geo metro but I'm going alone so space is not a problem.

 

[disneyyes]

Those going from Allentown to Sanford - If you're going Southeast, try to book your flight as soon as you can - they have a few seats each flight for $133. It seems every 10 seats, the price increases . . . to $153, then 173, then 213, and so on. I learned this when booking a large group of us for March. I checked it out on the website first (www.flyseal.com) to figure which flights were still emptier and thus most affordable, and then I called to book over the phone. Seemed very easy, hope all goes well! (My most recent MCO flight via USAir, from which I just got back, was very long and tedious, with numerous delays, so I'm hoping Allentown/Sanford will KEEP this non-stop choice!)