6:30am Flights BAD IDEA!

[mtmbyck]

Flew out of Pearson on Tuesday morning at 6:30am. I was told I had to be there at least 2 hours before. So I get there and noone is even working at the counters. Air Canada staff opened at around 4:45am and then we had to wait in a line for Customs to open at 5am. And that is nothing compared to how bagged I was by 1pm!! It completely wastes a day IMHO. Fly later in the morning when at all possible.

[dis_guy]

I feel your pain. We had an 0600 flight out of MCO last time. We checked out at 0230, caught ME at 0300, and flew out on schedule. Add in some delays and we weren't even human by the time we got home 12 hours later!

Never again!:rolleyes2

[CanadianImagineer]

And NEVER fly out of orlando at an ungodly hour either. We spent our last magical day getting up at 3am only to have the magical express CM's who we were assured were going to pick us+our luggage up (we were in trinidad south at CBR) never showed up. Needless to say we were sure we were gonna miss our flight. Not to mention having to stand in those MCO customs lineups was not helping the situation at all. This time we're flying out to arrive around noon and leaving in the afternoon:)

[mkmommy]

The good thing about early flights is the plane is at the gate from the night before so chances on flight delays are minimal.

I have been changed from a 6:00 AM flight to 1:30 PM for spring break, so it is great I do not have to get up so early, but if there are any kind of delays I have a greater chance of the flight getting canceled.

[tribus121]

we have done the 6:30am thing from MCO before never again this time it was 11:50am much better we where home by 10:30pm ( 6 hr drive from airport )

[mcvixen]

Now I am really grateful that we chose the 8 pm flight (and the 9 pm flight return).... we were almost going to pick the early morning departure, but DH and I are NOT morning people. There's something about the sleep you get between 4:30 am and 6:30 am that is sooooo gooood......

We're a bit worried about the late night for our DD(5), but we figure it's better if she's the only one in the family who is tired & cranky. If we had to get up at 3:30 we would ALL be tired and cranky!

[grantclaire]

The 630 AM can be a real killer! The last time for us at that time my kids were 3 and 7 they were real troopers but Mom and Dad started running out of gas later in the day! It can be OK if your room is ready ours was not. Also the car rental places seem very busy at MCO in the AM. Last year we had a 1040 AM flight which was great. Flying that flight again this March.

[tgropp]

I must be in the minority but when we go on to WDW, I always try to get a 7 A.M. flight. We will stay at the Sheraton Gateway @ Toronto or the Westin @ Detroit. We wake up 2 hours before departure and within a half an hour, we are in line. It is nice to arrive in Florida by 10 and by the time your car is rented, stop for some refreshments and get to the hotel, we are either laying by the pool or at the parks by noon. Coming home we try to get a flight no earlier than 11 AM.

[bunnyfoo]

I did the 6:30 AM flight for my most recent trip. Didn't have any problems as we knew about when things opened so we weren't rushed to get to the airport. I'd also rather be in Orlando as soon as possible... but that's just me.

[sean-1966]

We always fly out early from Buffalo. Usually 6:30 -7:30. We can usually be in the parks by noon. The way I figure it if we get tired in the late afternoon we can head back to the hotel and chill. But coming home from MCO it's always early afternoon. We tried the early evening flight home and hated it. Leaving early morning from MCO is just a bad idea...

[dsneygirl]

We always fly out early from Buffalo. Usually 6:30 -7:30. We can usually be in the parks by noon. The way I figure it if we get tired in the late afternoon we can head back to the hotel and chill. But coming home from MCO it's always early afternoon. We tried the early evening flight home and hated it. Leaving early morning from MCO is just a bad idea...

We always pick the early morning flight from Buffalo too. For a 7am flight we try to arrive about 5:30-5:45. Usually heading for ME before 10 and in our room at 11.

[Lollipop's Mom]

Be thankful you are not on the west coast....here is what we go through to go to Orlando...

3 hour drive to Seattle
Overnight in Seattle
Get up at 330 am to be at airport for 4:30am
6am flight (PST)
Switch planes somewhere (was new orleans for us)
Arrive at MCO usually around 6-7pm (EST) depending on flights
Arrive Hotel around 1.5 hrs after that...

Makes for a full 14-16 hour day plus the 3 hours the day before....
I would love to fly from Toronto!

[dancin Disney style]

I'm glad to be reading this thread. I've been debating about what flight I want to book return from LA (if I go....another story). I wanted the 9am but the 6:25 will save me a ton of money. I'm so not a morning person but I thought that if I took that flight we would sleep. Now, after reading this it sounds like a really, really bad idea.

In general I disagree with the 'take the early AM flight and gain a day' theory.

[mtmbyck]

agreed. You gain a day of looking and feeling like crap........

Now I will mention that I am flying home from Orlando tonight on the 8pm direct to Toronto. It wasn't a bad day......checked out of hotel, left luggage with concierge, went to EPCOT, had lunch at EPCOT, back to hotel at 4pm, got luggage and changed into warm clothes, off to airport, no lines at checkin or security, now sitting at the gate playing on my computer (free wifi at this airport - WHO KNEW!!

Rumour has it the Toronto flight coming in was delayed half an hour so we will see if we are on time but I DID GAIN A DAY....feel great, will be home by 11:30pm.

[seashoreCM]

And NEVER fly out of orlando at an ungodly hour either. We spent our last magical day getting up at 3am only to have the magical express CM's who we were assured were going to pick us+our luggage up (we were in trinidad south at CBR) never showed up. )
Did the DME buses ever pick up at the satellite stops at Caribbean Beach any time during the day? I thought DME only dropped off and picked up att one place near the resort main lobby.

One thing you can do is book a hotel near the airport for the last night, and check out of the Disney resort and take DME that previous day.

[Debbs]

I must be minority too because i'd rather be on an early flight to Orlando and a lunchtime flight coming home. If anyone gets tired in the afternoon we just take a break. Last time we flew down from Ottawa to Orlando we were on the 1st flight and in the hotel by 11 am. We had lunch at the resort, had a swim and relaxed a bit then headed over to DTD for dinner and the evening.

[jakoky]

Hi there, we are going on our fourth trip in 4 1/2 years and we ALWAYS choose the early flight...our trip to WDW we left on a friday for seattle and were up at 4 am that day and then up at 2:30 am the next day for the flight to orlando...my kids were troopers and never complained...thankfully the florida time change worked in our favour :cool1:

As for DL, both flights have been very early...our last trip, yep, we were up 2:30 am and enjoying the warm california sun at our motel by 11 am....:thumbsup2

We are all way too excited to get where we are going, so a little less sleep is ok, we just catch up our first night there :cheer2:
sharon

[dis_guy]

Having said how much of an ordeal our 0600 flight from MCO was, I think next time we'll try an early departure from home and an afternoon departure from MCO. At least it maxes the time spent there a bit. :)

[Greenfield1984]

I've recently moved from montreal to ottawa and my dad was warning me not to bother showing up the usual 2-3 hours before the 6 am flight. Thats because in montreal they don't open that early! However we called to find out if thats the case and in ottawa they are open.

Personally I love the early morning flight. I end up sleeping little (if at all) the night before. This doesn't bother me because the excitement apparently gives me the adrenaline i need to be awake and happy during the day. I am also the type of person who does not like to just relax in the hotel room the first day. I need to dayt the parks. Not even to do the rides just to witness the atmosphere. I actually honeymooned in disney and due to the stress of the wedding (i hate being the center of attention) i didn't sleep the night before the wedding, slept very little the wedding night, and then skpped another night of sleep the next night because i was going to disney! Oh how its nice to be young :).

[mtmbyck]

LOL-I have to update you on my experience flying home at 8:00pm.......NOT GREAT! The flight from Toronto to MCO was delayed an hour so they arrived an hour late so we actuallydid not leave until almost 9:30 whcih put us home at midnight. I WAS TIRED - thank goodness I didn't hve to drive!

The arents with children had a real tough time. Kids were all crashed and they had to manage carrying them and the carry-on luggage off the plane and then to the luggage area. They were struggling.

So in hindsight....here's my thought on the ideak times to fly 10:00am depart Toronto and 6pm depart Orlando. Good luck finding that schedule.

[Sheribo]

I've recently moved from montreal to ottawa and my dad was warning me not to bother showing up the usual 2-3 hours before the 6 am flight. Thats because in montreal they don't open that early! However we called to find out if thats the case and in ottawa they are open.

We are flying Ottawa-Montreal-Orlando in November. Our flight leaves at *gulp* 5:50am!! I HATE mornings but we had enough points to book business class so hopefully I'll sleep on the way.

[chimo2u]

We are flying from Alberta, and this trip I chose to fly all the way through with AC instead of a United affiliate... We are leaving Alberta at 1:05 am and arriving Toronto at 6:55 am for a connection from TO to Orlando at 10:00 am. we will get into Orlando shorly after 12:30 noon. I hope we aren't too tired :) This day will just be used to relax and get settled into our resort, perhaps a swim and supper. The next day we'll start the touring!
On the way home, our flight leaves Orlando at 1:30 PM and we will be back in Alberta around 8:00pm.....much better than the 12:30 am arrival time of our last trip! We will see how the red eye route goes to see if we ever chose to do it again in the future!:goodvibes
Marie

[dis_guy]

Red-eyes can be OK and I've done a bunch of them from YEG to YYZ. Oddly, my most vivid memory of those flights was how gray and dirty Toronto looks at 4 or 5 AM as we came in to land. Made me feel grubby, too. :rotfl2:

If you can sleep on a plane, the red-eyes can be great.:)

[mcvixen]

That's funny, we're scheduled for a return flight of 8:45 pm (or 9:10 pm? can't remember), and we have our 5 year old to worry about.

The funny thing is that our TA actually recommended that it was better to fly out late with a child, rather than really early. I think her quote was "if your child is passed out and sleeping on the plane, believe me, the other guests will thank you!"

[Disneyof3]

I'm not a expert at flying early or late, but last year we had a flight booked for 5:45am and was suppose to arrive in MCO at around 11:30am. Flight was cancelled due to the weather and we ended up flying out of Rochester later on in the day. If we had a later flight we wouldn't of made the Rochester drive and flight, in return we would of missed a whole day and a 1/2 in WDW. This March we are trying again to fly out of Buffalo at 5:45 am again and hopefully this time the flight isn't cancelled due to weather. When we fly back though I try and get a later flight to spend as much time at WDW as possible. So far the latest flights are 6pm.

[Charleyann]

we have done the 6:30am thing from MCO before never again this time it was 11:50am much better we where home by 10:30pm ( 6 hr drive from airport )

I would never again fly home early morning. I was wiped out by the time we got back to Fredericton. Our flight was 6:30 and we were up at 3 am. Couldn't get to sleep until midnight, so was going on 3 hrs of sleep.

This time. Taking the afternoon, direct flight from MCO and staying in Portland with the Reverse park and fly program!!!!

I can relax and drive home leisurely.....

Charleyann

[laura001]

DH and I always fly the early flight out of Buffalo. We always spend our first day at the water park, so we fly, arrive at our resort and hit the water park by noonish! We can have a little snooze after a nice swim and frozen drinks. After that we always go for a nice dinner and fireworks (usually Epcot).

The night before we leave, I usually have a couple of glasses of wine just after dinner and hit the pillow by about 9:00, that way if I am getting up around 3:30 I have had 6 1/2 hours of sleep already!

[Goofy's apprentice]

We always take the 7 am flight out of Buffalo. Nothing beats being at the pool by 11 am. After years of driving to Orlando, this still feels like a treat. If we are tired we just take a nap in the afternoon. Most of the time we are so excited to be on vacation, tired doesn't enter into it.

On the way home, we take one of the later flights. I can't imagine getting up early to go home. Sometimes we take the mid afternoon flight but lately it has been the flight that gets us to Buffalo after 10. We only have a 45 minute or so drive home from there so it works quite well.

Our early flight out got cancelled last year as well. We benefited from the fact that we were the first plane cancelled and could rebook. The whole day eventually go cancelled and many had to wait a few days for rescheduling, we just headed home again after rescheduling and came back the next morning. Lost a day of vacation but that happens with winter travel.

[MECH8T7]

When we book the flights, we always talk ourselves into booking an early, early flight at the start of the vacation. But when travel day arrives, we routinely complain to ourselves about having to wake up so early and vow that will book a later flight next trip but we never do.

On balance, getting on the first flight of the day has worked really well for us as we always enjoy having at least the full afternoon and evening of our first day of vacation to enjoy at WDW.

However, on one trip, the early departure was a life saver. It was March break and we were booked on a 7-day DCL cruise. We were flying down to Orlando early to spend a fews days at WDW beforehand and were booked on a 6:30 am AC flight from Pearson. The night before I had photocopied the picture pages of everyone's passport (in case somebody lost their passport on the trip) and forgot to retrieve my youngest daughter's passport from the photocopier glass after copying.

We arrived at the airport just over 90 minutes before the flight and I only realized at the AC check-in counter that I did not have my daughter's passport, though I did have all the photocopies. Rebooking our family of 5 on a later flight that day was basically a non-starter because the AC flights to MCO were booked solid that day and for the next couple of days; they couldn't even assure us of getting two seats for later that day. Even if we were able to get through U.S. customs at Pearson on the basis of the photocopied passport page, I was concerned that DCL would deny my daughter boarding on the cruise without the passport. I was basically panicking like crazy inside at this point, as was now less than 75 minutes until the flight departure.

I decided to check-in us all in for the flight and send my wife and 3 kids to the U.S. customs line to try to get through with the photocopied passport and catch the flight. Meanwhile, I would try to race home to get the passport and, if I didn't make it back in time, I would go on standby for the next available seat...but who knows when. I raced down to the taxi cab / limo stand at the arrivals level but, of course, there was nobody there since no flights arrived that early. I then ran to the long-term parking lot at Terminal I (thank god we parked there) grabbed our van and drove myself home, usually a 20 minute drive each way when traffic is light. I would be embarassed to say how fast I was driving and, as there were tracts of snow on the 401, the driving conditions were not the best. When I got home, my daughter's passport was exactly where I thought (or hoped) it would be and, miraculously, I made it back to the airport, parked the van and returned to the AC check-in counter with about 15 minutes to spare. The AC agent called ahead to the gate to advise that I had arrived and, as there were no line-ups at U.S. customs yet, I was able to quickly clear customs, sprint down to the gate and get on the plane just as they were getting ready to shut the door. Needless to say, I was only able to get home and back and through the airport in time because of how early the flight was.

I have no idea what we would have done if I did not make it back to the airport on time, as my wife and I hadn't the presence of mind to work out any of the logistics with that scenario.

[karters*mom]

Flew out of Pearson on Tuesday morning at 6:30am. I was told I had to be there at least 2 hours before. So I get there and noone is even working at the counters. Air Canada staff opened at around 4:45am and then we had to wait in a line for Customs to open at 5am. And that is nothing compared to how bagged I was by 1pm!! It completely wastes a day IMHO. Fly later in the morning when at all possible.

I love flying at that time...what else are ya gonna do at 6am??? WE got to orlando shopped and then had a nap for an hour and were ready to go!

[R&J]

The night before I had photocopied the picture pages of everyone's passport (in case somebody lost their passport on the trip) and forgot to retrieve my youngest daughter's passport from the photocopier glass after copying.



Off topic, but I feel so much better now because I did the EXACT SAME THING with my son's passport. Except we were travelling to Paris from Toronto, and it was rush hour, and there was no way we could get back home in time to pick up the passport & make the original flight. My brother ended up driving to our house, retrieving the passport from the photocopier, and driving the passport out to the airport for us. We booked a new flight - different time, airline & terminal - and managed to arrive in Paris only a few hours later than originally planned.

Sorry, OT like I said, but I do feel better :)

[skiloff]

Having said how much of an ordeal our 0600 flight from MCO was, I think next time we'll try an early departure from home and an afternoon departure from MCO. At least it maxes the time spent there a bit. :)

That's what we did, and I wouldn't do it any other way. Like one of the others said, we catch up our sleep the first night there, but we still get some time in the parks or pool.