NYC to Orlando in late March-early April 2010

Heading to Disney World with the family next winter for my niece's 5th birthday.  Not sure if this is appropriate to post this here as i'm not really needing food recommendations as we've got that covered already, but I do want this post to get seen and not lost as many Off-Topic posts seem to fade quickly. 
 
I WAS very excited for the trip until the travel agent called and said the rates she found for NYC (JFK) to Orlando were $800 per person, round trip with Jet Blue and $899 per person, round trip with Delta!  I know it's spring break week, but those prices are ridiculous!  My sister and her family were able to get 400 per person, round trip from Syracuse.  I know many Roadfooders utilize Priceline and other discount sites for good deals on flights.  Can anyone point me in the right direction to where I might find a round trip flight for $400 or less? 
 
Mods:  if you feel this should be moved to Off-Topic, please do so. 
 
Thanks so much!
-billyboy

What are the dates?

What is on your "covered" list of eateries? 

Did you try nearby airports like Newark and White Plains ???

Leaving NYC Saturday March 27th and returning on Saturday April 3rd.  I asked the travel agent to look at JFK, Laguardia and Newark.  We don't have a car, so getting to White Plains could be tricky.  By covered, I mean that we have a meal plan as we are staying at the Port Orleans hotel on the Disney grounds.  Not sure if I'll be able to work in any Roadfooding as 1.) we won't have a car for going off the beaten path and 2.) I'll probably have most if not all meals with them and they're not really into the Roadfood thing so I don't want to do it when they are around.

Hope that this helps  you.

http://travel.travelocity.com/flights/AirSearch.do?SEQ=12532174892518172009

billyboy
 
By covered, I mean that we have a meal plan as we are staying at the Port Orleans hotel on the Disney grounds. 

If you haven't already been there, I suggest you try the http://allearsnet.com/reviewpost/ website for reviews/menus of the Disney restaurants. If possible, try to avoid eating in the Magic Kingdom.

billy, it's really that you're looking this far in advance--those are probably just the max retail prices for the flights you're looking at.  In particular Orlando flights tend to go on sale, but the Priceline/Orbitz type sites won't really kick in a deal unless you're booking a hotel and/or a car with the flight.  I would go to kayak.com, set a weekly search for those dates and include as many airports as make sense--you could probably get a shuttle to White Plains for not very much.  You can get a Columbia-to-Charlotte shuttle for $75 and that's 90 miles.  And be prepared to not book until three weeks or so before the dates you're looking at. 

billyboy, I would wait until two weeks prior.  Heck, it can't get any worse.  I would predict direct flights to be under $200.00 RT.
 
 

rent a car & leave the land of the mouse for a day.
drive away from Orlando, Kissimee, & St. Cloud tourist areas.
you don't want to send the whole week there, trapped like rats or mice. even though you can to see everything.
to each his own...enjoy!

April 2010 tickets won't go on sale until Dec if the airlines need cash and more likely the 1st week on Jan. Plan B could be drive to Philly and fly Air Trans. They are normally $160 r/t any day of the week.

You have a lousy travel agent.  A VERY quick search turned up tickets for $325 on AirTran out of LGA on the dates you mentioned.  Heck, I'd book you for $899/pp and have a limo waiting to pick you up and take you to Disney.

The normal advice to wait it out and fares will get lower is not very good.  It is a very busy time in central Florida, and you will not likely find <$200 fares for the dates you want.  You may find mid-week fares for that money - or fares outside of spring break season, but $325 is about right for that time of year.

Also, keep in mind that every airline has cut service to leisure markets in response to the recession.  Orlando is one of those markets that has been hit with major flight cutbacks.  With the reduction in capacity, those $er200 flights are becoming tougher and tougher to find at peak times.

I'd say ditch the agent and go online ... you'll be flying for around $300, not $800 !!!

Hey everybody, thanks so much for all of the great feedback!  Very kindly appreciated!  I finally spoke to the agent after playing phone tag for a while.  In have to echo TTM's comment and say she's not a very good travel agent at all.  Do they work on commission?  She wasn't pro-active at all in offering ANYTHING else cheaper! 
 
The spring break week we are going is a locked in date for us, so I knew we would have to suck up a bump in prices, but not $800!  Luckily, the company I work for has an in-house travel agency and they found a flight for $420, but still a bit pricey, so we did some sleuthing online and found one for $368 ($388 total with travel insurance) on Delta through Expedia.com.  It connects through Atlanta, but I can live with that and the price.
 
Cavandre, thanks for the link as i would like to get out of there for a day and visit some relatives down there and hit 1 or 2 Roadfood places.
 
TTM, I thought about Air Tran and I did see the much cheaper rates, but I mentioned that to a few of my friends and two of them said they had bad experiences with Air Tran and would never fly with them again.  I figured I wouldn't find $200 fares at that time of year, but under $400 I can live with.  Looking on a few sites, if we had booked one week before or one week after our dates, the rates were significantly lower.  Hey, when I get down there and see the look on my 5 year old niece's face when we go to Magic Kingdom. It'll make it worth it for me. 

billyboy

In have to echo TTM's comment and say she's not a very good travel agent at all.  Do they work on commission?  She wasn't pro-active at all in offering ANYTHING else cheaper! 

In (some) defense of the travel agent, many of the NON-STOP flights that I saw were outrageously high.  It is possible that s/he only searched non-stop flights - which, as you mentioned was not pro-active in offering you anything cheaper, for sure.
 

billyboy
 
TTM, I thought about Air Tran and I did see the much cheaper rates, but I mentioned that to a few of my friends and two of them said they had bad experiences with Air Tran and would never fly with them again. 

If you talk to enough people, eventually someone will tell you a horror story for every airline.  I, personally, hate flying Delta - and do whatever I can to avoid doing so.  Many of my friends think I am insane, as Delta treats them very well.  AirTran usually competes solely on initial price and then nickel-and-dimes people to death - Want a confirmed seat prior to check-in?  Pay a fee.  Want to check a bag?  Pay a fee.  Want to sit with your traveling companion (remember, no assigned seats prior to check-in)?  Pay a fee.

The only other alternative that might have worked for you would have been to wait until Southwest released their spring schedule.  None of their flights are over $299 each way - and even at peak times, they will sell SOME seats discounted when the flights are first announced.  Unfortunately, if you want to book now, then Southwest is not an option.

I am sure that you will have a great trip.