Package holiday vs flight + hotel to Orlando
Enter your trip once and we'll build pre-filled searches at the main UK package companies and the DIY sites, for every airport you could fly from. Then compare the totals yourself.
Quick version
- We don't show live prices yet. The buttons open each company's own search with your details filled in.
- A package (flight + hotel from one company) comes with ATOL protection. Flights you book yourself with an airline usually don't.
- Direct flights to Orlando (MCO) leave from Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and, in summer, Edinburgh.
- In our 19 Oct 2026 snapshot, DIY was only about £100 to £250 cheaper than a Virgin package for a family of four, before checking bags and hotel fees. See the example.
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Package or DIY: what's the difference?
- Package: you book the flights and hotel together with one company, such as Virgin Atlantic Holidays, British Airways Holidays, TUI, or Expedia's or lastminute.com's flight + hotel. You pay one price.
- DIY: you book the flights (for example through Google Flights or Skyscanner, or straight with the airline) and the hotel (Booking.com, Expedia or the hotel's own site) separately.
Why a package can be cheaper
Package companies run offers you only get when you book the hotel with their flights. On 19 Oct 2026 Virgin Atlantic Holidays was showing "save up to 35% on 7 nights (plus) at selected hotels", plus up to £200 off per room and free dining at Walt Disney World hotels when booked with tickets Virgin Atlantic Holidays. You can't get those rates by booking the parts yourself.
When DIY tends to win
- An airline that the package companies don't use has a cheap fare. For example, Norse Atlantic flies non-stop Gatwick to Orlando TravelMole.
- You want a cheap motel, a villa or a hotel the package companies don't sell.
- Your dates are flexible, or you're paying for flights with points.
ATOL and who's responsible
- ATOL is financial protection when you book a package that includes a flight. If the travel company goes bust, the CAA helps you finish your trip or get home, and refunds you if you haven't travelled. It is not travel insurance CAA.
- If you buy a ticket from an airline and get a valid e-ticket, ATOL doesn't cover that flight CAA. That's the usual DIY situation.
- With a package, the company that organised it is responsible for every part of it, even the parts run by someone else, such as the hotel Package Travel Regulations 2018, reg. 15.
- Booking DIY? Paying by credit card can give you extra protection for purchases between £100 and £30,000 Consumer Credit Act, s.75.
- Whichever you choose, ask for the ATOL certificate when you pay for a package CAA, and get travel insurance as soon as you book.
Deposits and paying
- Virgin Atlantic Holidays: deposits from £175 per person, and you can pay monthly by direct debit (shown on its search pages, 19 Oct 2026) Virgin Atlantic Holidays.
- British Airways Holidays: "low deposits", with the agreed price fixed once you've booked British Airways.
- DIY: airline tickets are normally paid in full when you book. Some hotels on Booking.com need no prepayment, so you pay at the hotel (check each room's terms).
Which UK airports fly to Orlando?
| UK airport | Direct to | Airline |
|---|---|---|
| London Heathrow | Orlando (MCO) | Virgin Atlantic, daily Virgin Atlantic |
| London Gatwick | Orlando (MCO) | British Airways BA; Norse Atlantic TravelMole |
| Manchester | Orlando (MCO) | Virgin Atlantic, daily Virgin Atlantic |
| Edinburgh | Orlando (MCO) | Virgin Atlantic, summer only (restarts 31 Mar 2027) Virgin Atlantic |
| Regional airports, e.g. Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Newcastle | Melbourne (MLB), about an hour from Orlando | TUI, seasonal Riding the Magic TUI |
Everywhere else means a connecting flight, for example via Dublin, Amsterdam or another UK airport. Routes change every season. Last checked 19 Oct 2026.
A real example (19 Oct 2026)
2 adults and 2 children (aged 5 and 8), 14 nights, 10 to 24 Feb 2027, International Drive. These are prices we saw on the providers' public pages on 19 Oct 2026. They'll have changed by the time you read this.
| Option | What's included | Total for 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Virgin Atlantic Holidays package from Heathrow | Virgin direct flights + Coco Key Hotel & Water Park, room only | £3,467 Virgin |
| Same package, different hotel | Virgin direct flights + Rosen Inn at Pointe Orlando, room only | £3,615 Virgin |
| DIY: flights | Virgin Atlantic non-stop, Heathrow to MCO (Google Flights; bag fees may be extra) | £2,390 Google Flights |
| DIY: hotel | Rosen Inn Closest to Universal, 14 nights (Booking.com; Rosen Inn at Pointe wasn't available on Booking.com for these dates) | £973 Booking.com |
| DIY total | Same flights + a similar Rosen Inn on I-Drive, no ATOL | about £3,363 |
What it shows: DIY was about £100 cheaper than the cheapest package, and about £250 cheaper than the package with a similar Rosen hotel. That's before checking hold bags on the DIY fare, and taxes or resort fees at the hotel. Some package hotels also add local fees: one Virgin result (Avanti Resort) included "£218 taxes & fees payable locally" in its total Virgin. A gap that small can be worth paying for ATOL protection, one company to call if things go wrong, and a low deposit.
Cheapest flights we saw for 4 people on the same dates: Gatwick from £1,525 and Manchester from £1,814 (Google Flights, 19 Oct 2026). Those weren't all non-stop.
Skint tips
- Price the whole party. Packages often show a price per person. Compare the total for everyone.
- Check what's in the package. Every Virgin result in our snapshot was room only, with no car hire or transfers listed. Add car hire or transfers to both sides before you compare. See car hire for Brits and getting around without a car.
- Melbourne vs MCO. TUI's Florida flights land at Melbourne (MLB), "just over an hour" from Orlando by road TUI, so budget for that transfer or car hire. We found no direct UK flights to Orlando Sanford (SFB) at the moment (last checked 19 Oct 2026).
- Try the airport next door. In our example the cheapest Gatwick fare was well below Heathrow's. Run the comparison with "not fussy" ticked.
- Book tickets with the room? Some Disney offers need park tickets bought in the same package. Compare against tickets bought separately.
- Jet2holidays doesn't sell Orlando: its holidays go to Europe and nearby (checked 19 Oct 2026) Jet2holidays.
Why no live prices?
To show live package prices we'd need permission and a data feed from each company. Copying prices off their websites ("scraping") would break their terms, so we don't do it. We're applying to their partner programmes. Until then, this page builds searches on their sites, so the price you see always comes straight from the company.
Last checked: 19 Oct 2026