Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[topfiverecords]

Well if it’s the same plane Vancouver - Prince George; Prince George - Kelowna; Kelowna - Calgary then that’s likely why it’s the same flight number.

You have passengers going Vancouver to Calgary, Vancouver to Kelowna, Vancouver to Prince George, Prince George to Calgary, Prince George to Kelowna, and Kelowna to Calgary.

[Wormius]

They managed to fix it at the airport. Anxiety averted.

Which is the second time a problem that couldn’t be solved over the phone was solved in minutes at the actual airport.

[MillerTime GFG]

I guess this might be as good a spot as any...?

We're looking to book a Disney World vacation for my family of 6 in January most likely. Anyone know if there are still discounts for Canadians? I've heard there are, but all the links I found on Google no longer work. We'd likely do the Park Hopper pass, FWIW.

Let me know if anyone has any travel tips or "must do's". Kids aged 7-16

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by MillerTime GFG

I guess this might be as good a spot as any...?

We're looking to book a Disney World vacation for my family of 6 in January most likely. Anyone know if there are still discounts for Canadians? I've heard there are, but all the links I found on Google no longer work. We'd likely do the Park Hopper pass, FWIW.

Let me know if anyone has any travel tips or "must do's". Kids aged 7-16

Taking a look back through the archives, I believe the last time Disney had the 'Canadian discount' promo was February 2020. Something must have happened right around then, because there wasn't a similar promo for 2021.

The Disney World offer was 'Save 20% on a 4 day or longer ticket'.

This offer was somewhat common in the years before the pandemic, so it probably wouldn't be too surprising to see it again, to lure Canadians back. Although who knows, maybe there will be enough demand without it.

I do know that when this promo is available, it's considered to be the best deal out there for Disney tickets.

The one website that gets mentioned the most whenever anyone in Canada asks about Disney discounts is Undercover Tourist. https://www.undercovertourist.com/

They apparently can have legitimate discounts at times, but be aware that prices are in $USD. Overall, I don't think Mickey needs to offer too many amazing discounts, he has a pretty good thing going, and people are willing to pay full price.

The other one that gets mentioned quite often is Mouse Savers.

[MillerTime GFG]

Appreciate the response. Kind of what I figured.

In your opinion, is there any advantage to using a Travel Agent for a Disney World trip, or is that something you'd do more-so for an all inclusive tropical vacation?

[jar_e]

Originally Posted by MillerTime GFG

I guess this might be as good a spot as any...?

We're looking to book a Disney World vacation for my family of 6 in January most likely. Anyone know if there are still discounts for Canadians? I've heard there are, but all the links I found on Google no longer work. We'd likely do the Park Hopper pass, FWIW.

Let me know if anyone has any travel tips or "must do's". Kids aged 7-16

Depending on length of stay, etc. Consider one of the group getting an annual pass. There are built in discounts (parking, food, merchandise, etc.) that may work in your favour.

[Johnny199r]

I feel like the world is heading in a "Covid vaccination passport" situation in order to travel internationally. How will that apply to people with young kids who aren't eligible for a vaccination?

[MoneyGuy]

The children will likely be exempt, I’d imagine.

[RichieRich]

been seeing some terrific looking vacation deals here:
https://www.exoticca.com/ca
Just wondering if anyone has done any trips and has feedback?

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by MillerTime GFG

Appreciate the response. Kind of what I figured.

In your opinion, is there any advantage to using a Travel Agent for a Disney World trip, or is that something you'd do more-so for an all inclusive tropical vacation?

We used Canadian-based Clickthemouse for our trip, and they got us a decent discount on hotel + park passes.

https://www.clickthemouse.ca/about.html

One tip I’d offer is to stay at one of the Friends of Disney hotels near Disney Springs. You get about 70 per cent of the benefits of staying at a Disney resort (proximity, free shuttles, early fast-pass reservations) without the eye-watering prices of staying in the park.

Finally, I found the Touring Plans site and tools invaluable in planning our trip. It uses data to help you avoid the busiest times at the park and use your fast-passes to minimize the amount of time you spend standing in line.

https://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Johnny199r

I feel like the world is heading in a "Covid vaccination passport" situation in order to travel internationally. How will that apply to people with young kids who aren't eligible for a vaccination?

There's already nearly 30 countries that have implemented a 2 track system (one set of rules for the vaccinated, one set for the unvaccinated).

The majority of them are going with the same rules for unvaccinated children as they are for unvaccinated adults.

Which is to say, with most countries, this usually means an unvaccinated child still requires a recent negative test result for entry.

But every country sets their own rules for entry, and some are making exceptions. For entry into Greece for example, children under 5 are exempt from needing to have a negative test result.

In Croatia, children under 7 are exempt from needing to have a negative test result.

In Iceland, children born 2005 and later are exempt from presenting a negative PCR-test upon arrival. All children need to undergo one screening test at the border.

So you really just need to check the entry requirements for the country you plan to visit, and see if they make exceptions for children.

And we're all waiting to see the full details of what Canada is going to do, when we implement our 2 track system by early July. Details have been fairly sparse, and there hasn't been any specific mention of exceptions for children yet.

When countries convert to 2 track systems, it doesn't mean a person (adult or child) *must* be vaccinated in order to travel. Whether they are fully vaccinated or not just determines what restrictions they are allowed to bypass for entry into a country. For most countries, proof of being fully vaccinated just means being able to bypass needing to have a negative test result for entry.

For some countries, it means being able to bypass the test result + home/hotel quarantine time.

And for Canada, well, starting in July it's going to mean being able to bypass a hotel quarantine, and getting out of home quarantine early. (Test results still required).

[spetch]

Originally Posted by MillerTime GFG

Appreciate the response. Kind of what I figured.

In your opinion, is there any advantage to using a Travel Agent for a Disney World trip, or is that something you'd do more-so for an all inclusive tropical vacation?

Another option if you want to stay on property is renting DVC points on your stay. Can get deep discounts vs direct and there are some great options for rooms. Can stay at some Disney deluxe resorts for fraction of the cost, plus lots of the rooms have full kitchens if you were so inclined to cook

[cmyden]

Sunwing has finally announced that they will be issuing refunds for hotels, flights and vacation packages for scheduled travel from February 1, 2020 onwards.

Eligible customers and travel agents must submit a request through the online COVID-19 refund request form by August 27, 2021.

link: https://www.sunwing.ca/en/request-a-refund

(detailed FAQ at the bottom about refunds)

[king_amonte]

What is the best site to find cheap flights? Need a flight to Seattle or Portland from Sept 1-6 and can’t find anything affordable at all and wonder if I’m looking in the wrong place.

[Nyah]

I always start with Google Flights. They list all available flights with your criteria and sort them by price. You click on the one that works for you and it takes you to the link to book (usually directly with the airline).

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by king_amonte

What is the best site to find cheap flights? Need a flight to Seattle or Portland from Sept 1-6 and can’t find anything affordable at all and wonder if I’m looking in the wrong place.

Looks like $700+ return. Neither Alaska nor Delta have restarted YYC-SEA, which used to hold down prices.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by king_amonte

What is the best site to find cheap flights? Need a flight to Seattle or Portland from Sept 1-6 and can’t find anything affordable at all and wonder if I’m looking in the wrong place.

Assuming you use any half decent search engine (Google Flights, Kayak, Skyscanner), with the way airfare prices are distributed, everywhere you look is going to have pretty similar prices.

The flight being just a few weeks away is one reason it isn't cheap (airfares usually have their worst pricing with less than 1-2 weeks to go before departure) . Coming back on Labour Day Monday also doesn't help. These are demand forces that usually can't be overcome, and unfortunately no search engine or website will make much difference.

Looking at September 15-20 for example, a Wednesday to Monday flight a few weeks later from YYC-SEA, it's about a third of the price roundtrip.

[bizaro86]

Westjet announced non-stop service to Orange County from Calgary. They're calling it "Orange County-Anaheim" which hopefully improves uptake. That airport is so much better for a trip to Disneyland compared to LAX.

[king_amonte]

I’m getting better prices through jetcost.ca and click2book. Does anyone have any experience buying off of these sites?

[MoneyGuy]

Is B.C. going to require vax passports to fly in or ban out-of-province travel? We’re considering flying to Victoria and are both double vaxed.