Waiting will give Mickey the slip

I am looking at taking my two children to Disneyland in September or October. When would be the best time to look at booking flights and accommodation? I don't want to leave it too late and be left with a lack of choice but don't want to do it too early and possibly miss out on deals which might arise.

- D. Edwards, Gosford.

Don't leave it too much longer. Airfare deals don't get better the longer you wait. Unless something happens that causes travellers to stay home, airfares generally rise the closer you are to departure day.

Airlines usually release tickets 12 months in advance and it's these low-price, early-bird seats that sell out first. As aircrafts fill, passengers are forced into ever-more expensive seats. Another factor that might contribute to higher seat prices soon is the rising price of aviation fuel. Qantas has recently jacked up the price of a seat on its North America services by $30 to cover this cost and other airlines are subject to the same pressures.

Accommodation is not so crucial. The period you mention is outside the busy summer holiday period but you should at least check out the airfare/accommodation packages that are around at the moment.

Qantas (qantas.com.au), Expedia (expedia.com.au), Flight Centre (flightcentre.com.au) and Air New Zealand (airnewzealand.com.au) all have Anaheim (Disneyland) holiday packages.