Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Disney’s Very Merriest After Hours, the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays, and more — there are SO many exciting things to check out in Disney World during December.

There are also a lot of things to set up for your trip including Park Passes, hotel reservations, ticket purchases, and flights to Disney World (if you’ll be flying there). How much does it cost to fly to Disney World in December? We’re taking a look right here.

Our Method

Just like what we’ve done for previous months, we used a specific method for this post. First, we looked at select, bigger airports around the United States and what it would cost to fly from those airports into Orlando International Airport on various airlines in December.

In terms of the dates, the price of your trip can vary greatly depending on when you choose to visit Disney World in December. For purposes of this post, we looked at what flights would cost for a trip where our family would depart on December 16th (Thursday) and return on December 20th (Monday).

This particular set of days contained some slightly less expensive days but also some more expensive days based on Google Flights information for a trip from New York to Disney World. The dates are close to Christmas, but not directly on that holiday. Overall, there were quite a few days the week before that were actually cheaper. And (as expected) days later in the month — into Christmas and New Year’s Eve — were much MORE expensive. Just keep in mind that the dates of a trip can greatly affect travel prices.

Note that we used Google Flights information for this entire post. Prices for these flights can vary over time, so this post is just based on the information we saw at the time we searched.

Also, keep in mind that while we’re looking at a pure price comparison between the airlines, each airline (and each ticket within each airline) comes with its own benefits and potential drawbacks. For example, some airlines or tickets will be more expensive, but they will come with more perks, like the ability to pick your seat or bring a carry-on bag. Others might be cheaper but offer much less in terms of benefits. The best ticket and airline for your travel will entirely depend on your needs and wants.

Also, note that the prices we’re sharing are mainly base ticket prices. When you actually go to purchase your ticket, it might be more expensive due to additional taxes or fees that may be required.

What we did to calculate these prices is we looked for the least expensive combination of flights from a particular airport on an airline to Orlando — meaning the least expensive departing and returning flights. We then also looked at the most expensive combination of flights.

These flights might not work for you, so that’s something to keep in mind. They might not be direct, might be at inconvenient times, etc. These are simply averages and estimates based on the flights we saw, but your actual costs may vary depending on what flights you pick.

For flights on Southwest Airlines, we limited our picks to the “Wanna Get Away” tickets. For all other airlines, we used Google Flight information. As we’ve noted in previous versions of this post, your flight could be more or less expensive if you go to book it on the actual airline’s website or use other travel tools.

Finally, when it comes to the flights we picked to create these averages, we tried to limit our picks to ones that arrived on the same day of their departure. Note that all of these ticket prices are just for 1 person.

Alright, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s look at the average cost to fly to Orlando in December.

New York (JFK or LaGuardia)

Southwest:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $243.96 from La Guardia to Orlando and back
• Most expensive combination of flights: $731.76 round trip

Delta:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $127 round trip from JFK and back
• Most expensive combination of flights: $1,135 round trip from JFK and back (There were some more expensive flights to and from Newark Liberty International Airport)

United: 

• Cheapest combination of flights: $346 round trip from JFK and back (There were several cheaper flights to and from Newark Liberty International Airport as well)
• Most expensive combination of flights: $779 round trip from La Guardia and back

American Airlines:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $186 round trip from La Guardia and back
• Most expensive combination of flights: $648 round trip from JFK and back

Spirit:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $177 round trip from La Guardia and back (there were much cheaper flights from Newark Liberty International Airport as well)
• Most expensive combination of flights: $317 round trip from La Guardia and back

Los Angeles (LAX)

Southwest: 

• Cheapest combination of flights: $525.97 round trip
• Most expensive combination of flights: $816.96 round trip

Delta:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $407 round trip
• Most expensive combination of flights: $1,415 round trip

United:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $327 round trip
• Most expensive combination of flights: $1,283 round trip

American Airlines: 

• Cheapest combination of flights: $383 round trip
• Most expensive combination of flights: $1,392 round trip

Spirit:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $180 round trip
• Most expensive combination of flights: $548 round trip

Chicago O’Hare (ORD)

Southwest:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $248.96 round trip
• Most expensive combination of flights: $695.96 round trip

Delta:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $206 round trip
• Most expensive combination of flights: $917 round trip

United:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $277 round trip
• Most expensive combination of flights: $729 round trip

American Airlines:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $233 round trip
• Most expensive combination of flights: $1,073 round trip

Spirit: 

• Cheapest combination of flights: $124 round trip
• Most expensive combination of flights: $227 round trip

Dallas (Love Field or Fort Worth)

Southwest:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $319.96 round trip from Love Field
• Most expensive combination of flights: $863.96 round trip from Love Field

Delta:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $355 round trip from Dallas Fort Worth and back
• Most expensive combination of flights: $746 round trip from Dallas Fort Worth and back

United: 

• Cheapest combination of flights: $394 round trip from Dallas Fort Worth and back
• Most expensive combination of flights: $1,097 round trip from Dallas Fort Worth and back

American Airlines:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $228 round trip from Dallas Fort Worth and back
• Most expensive combination of flights: $921 round trip from Dallas Fort Worth and back

Spirit:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $181 round trip from Dallas Fort Worth and back
• Most expensive combination of flights: $499 round trip from Dallas Fort Worth and back

Atlanta (ATL)

Southwest: 

• Cheapest combination of flights: $181.96 round trip
• Most expensive combination of flights: $534.96 round trip

Delta: 

• Cheapest combination of flights: $227 round trip
• Most expensive combination of flights: $427 round trip

United:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $542 round trip
• Most expensive combination of flights: $884 round trip

American Airlines:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $193 round trip
• Most expensive combination of flights: $969 round trip

Spirit:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $124 round trip
• Most expensive combination of flights: $384 round trip

Denver (DEN)

Southwest:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $342.96 round trip
• Most expensive combination of flights: $816.96 round trip

Delta:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $415 round trip
• Most expensive combination of flights: $1,016 round trip

United: 

• Cheapest combination of flights: $341 round trip
• Most expensive combination of flights: $716 round trip

American Airlines:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $348 round trip
• Most expensive combination of flights: $1,010 round trip

Spirit:

• Cheapest combination of flights: $226 round trip
• Most expensive combination of flights: $452 round trip

Alright, now it’s time to average these prices together. Overall, the average price to fly to Disney World in December (using the parameters and websites we used) ranged from about $280.36 on the cheaper side, up to about $801.49 in terms of the more expensive options.

This is more expensive than the flights we had looked at for our proposed travel dates in November (which ranged in terms of averages from $205.19 to $668.88).

Keep in mind, these are only averages and estimates. The actual cost of your flight to Orlando in December can vary greatly, especially if you’re looking to fly closer to the peak holiday period around Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Your costs will also vary depending on what time of the day you choose to fly, where you’ll be flying from, and more.

Don’t want to have to sit on your computer watching those flight costs and figuring out how to book your trip? Want to take some of the stress out of your vacation planning? Then you might want to reach out to our friends at Small World Vacations! The team at Small World Vacations has tons of experience planning trips to Disney World. They can answer your questions and help you plan the vacation of your dreams. Plus, all of their services are totally FREE!

Hopefully, this post gave you a general idea of what flight costs look like in December if that’s when you’re planning to visit. We’ll be sure to keep an eye out for more travel information and news, so we can help you plan your next trip. Stay tuned for all the latest updates!

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Are you planning to visit Disney World in December? Tell us in the comments!

The post The Average Cost to Fly to Disney World in December first appeared on the disney food blog.