A little sad...airline related

[coinkc]

We have to travel to Chicago on Thanksgiving Day for a dance competition the next day. I booked a flight that left at 3:30 so that we could still have an early meal with our family before heading to the airport around 2:00.

Today I got an email that they had changed our flight to 1:00 which means leaving for the airport at 11:30 instead of 2:00. So no Thanksgiving dinner

I'm a little bummed tonight...but don't want to say anything to my daughter because she has worked so hard for the competition and I don't want her to feel bad.

 

[Bren's Mom]

Have you checked that airline's schedule to see if there might be a later flight you can take? If you purchased that particular flight due to price, but there was one, say, at 5pm that was more expensive, now that THEY have changed the schedule you can call and ask them to put you on the 5pm (at no charge). Worth a look anyway!

 

[minniecarousel]

Sounds like you'll need to have a Thanksgiving Brunch. I'm sure you'll have fun in Chicago.

 

[jdisnut]

Have you checked that airline's schedule to see if there might be a later flight you can take? If you purchased that particular flight due to price, but there was one, say, at 5pm that was more expensive, now that THEY have changed the schedule you can call and ask them to put you on the 5pm (at no charge). Worth a look anyway!

My thoughts exactly. The airline will waive the fee to make any changes to your reservations now that your itinerary changed. I recommend searching for another flight that fits your schedule! I bet your airlines offers a later flight to such a major destination like Chicago!

 

[minkydog]

Sounds like you'll need to have a Thanksgiving Brunch. I'm sure you'll have fun in Chicago.

I think this is a great idea! Another thought is, perhaps, consider having Thanksgiving a day early. Your turkey won't care! I'm a nurse for 34 years and I've missed more holidays than almost anyone I know(except other nurses.) My mom is a nurse too and we have had alternate holiday meals just about 40 ways to Sunday. Maybe you can ask? All they can say is no. In that case, hike yourselves over there and have a fabulous breakfast together.

 

[coinkc]

I did check the airline schedule. It looks like they have cancelled all the afternoon/evening flights.

A Thanksgiving brunch is a great idea...I think I'll suggest that and see what the family says. We usually watch the parade and eat cinammon rolls...maybe we can just add to that.

Have you checked that airline's schedule to see if there might be a later flight you can take? If you purchased that particular flight due to price, but there was one, say, at 5pm that was more expensive, now that THEY have changed the schedule you can call and ask them to put you on the 5pm (at no charge). Worth a look anyway!

 

[Aimros]

Why not do a morning brunch with your family, and then find a nice place to eat once you get to Chicago? Now that you're leaving earlier, would you have time for dinner once you got there? I think if you made some plans for when you get there, you might look forward to it rather then be bummed. Good luck and I'm sure you will have a great day!

 

[golfgal]

How about having a big meal when you get back? If that isn't an option, I would schedule a dinner somewhere in Chicago for that evening.

 

[clh2]

What about having your Thanksgiving celebration on the Sunday before Thanksgiving?

That way, you'll have time to enjoy the day with your family without feeling stressed or rushed?

 

[tvguy]

What about having your Thanksgiving celebration on the Sunday before Thanksgiving?

That way, you'll have time to enjoy the day with your family without feeling stressed or rushed?

Or the Saturday after.

DW and I have worked EVERY thanksgiving for the past 32 years. After we got married and had kids we just shifted Thanksgiving to the Saturday after.
We've done that for about 23 years now. It also allows us to invite close friends to dinner, friends who have Thanksgiving off, they have their family dinner on Thanksgiving, and then join us for ours 2 days later.
My DD did had an issue with her first grade teacher over that. Teacher insisted everyone has their Thanksgiving ON Thanksgiving. She just had no concept that a lot people do work on Thanksgiving.

 

[SandrA9810]

There's very few people that I knew of at Disney that ever had thanksgiving on thursday. Don't feel like the odd ball out holding it on another day. All it's about is day a together with family. So be it if it's sunday or thursday or tuesday, as long as you're together.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

Try calling the airlines anyways. I had a 6pm flight out of Orlando on Frontier airlines a couple of years ago when Frontier cancel all but their 6am flight and switched us to that.

I called them up and explained that I had plans for that day that I had already paid for and that I really didn't want to be getting up at 3am anyways. They couldn't switch me to another flight on their airline but they did switch me to a 5pm flight on United and didn't charge me anything.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

We usually used Thanksgiving as a travel day. The flights are so much cheaper. Just celebrate it a day early.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I think the family brunch idea is lovely. I hope your family goes for it. Maybe you can make a reservation for a nice dinner for just your own family in Chicago that night as well.

 

[mjkacmom]

I feel your pain. Dd9 competes the Friday after Thanksgiving at 8 am in Philadelphia every year, so my family has an early Thanksgiving dinner. I'd rather have it another day, to be able to enjoy it, instead of eat and run.

 

[taximomfor4]

OP, I feel your pain. DD is young, so we don't have to get to the "O" till Friday for practice, competing Sat and Sun. I say, if brunch doesn't work out, just change the day of your Thanksgiving dinner!

And good luck to your dancer!

 

[mickeywho?]

Growing up, we always did the weekend before so that we could all enjoy it without the mad rush or bad feelings because we couldn't be there. There were 3 of us in my family that danced, so a lot to get organized and multiple day competitions for all of us.
Good luck to your dancers!! Enjoy the O!!

 

[coinkc]

OP, I feel your pain. DD is young, so we don't have to get to the "O" till Friday for practice, competing Sat and Sun. I say, if brunch doesn't work out, just change the day of your Thanksgiving dinner!

And good luck to your dancer!

Thanks. This is the first year she will dance on Friday. She has always been on Sunday before so we had Thanksgiving at home then flew up on Friday morning.

I guess I was just trying to keep some sort of holiday tradition for one more year. Some of my family members are not very supportive of her dancing and think it's horrible that we are even thinking of giving up a holiday for it.

Oh well...guess it's time to start some new holiday traditions!

 

[mjkacmom]

Thanks. This is the first year she will dance on Friday. She has always been on Sunday before so we had Thanksgiving at home then flew up on Friday morning.

I guess I was just trying to keep some sort of holiday tradition for one more year. Some of my family members are not very supportive of her dancing and think it's horrible that we are even thinking of giving up a holiday for it.

Oh well...guess it's time to start some new holiday traditions!

I feel your pain - I get grief every Thanksgiving! Next year she'll be U10, and we won't have to get there on Thursday night. The worst part is not only is she dancing Friday morning, but she and dd7 are in a 8 hand on Sunday, so the earliest we can leave is Sunday night.

 

[scrapquitler]

Thanks. This is the first year she will dance on Friday. She has always been on Sunday before so we had Thanksgiving at home then flew up on Friday morning.

I guess I was just trying to keep some sort of holiday tradition for one more year. Some of my family members are not very supportive of her dancing and think it's horrible that we are even thinking of giving up a holiday for it.

Oh well...guess it's time to start some new holiday traditions!

They will adapt and get over it.

On my parents side of the family, we have not had Thanksgiving Dinner on Thanksgiving in years and years... When my younger brother was in high school, he played football, and the big game was on Thanksgiving Morning. My Mom of course wanted to go to the game, which made cooking the big meal difficult. At that point, I was a newlywed, and my inlaws were inflexible about Thanksgiving dinner (it MUST be at 1PM, no matter what!). So we started going to the game, then to my inlaws for 1PM. My Mom, the smart woman she is said, hey, lets do Thanksgiving on Saturday! So we did, and have done that ever since. Now my nephew plays in the football game, my brother goes with his fiancees family on Thanksgiving afternoon, we go to my in-laws, etc. And we do Thanksgiving with my Mom on a different day.

There was one year that we traveled to WDW on Thanksgiving Day. The in-laws didn't like that very much, we were being 'selfish'

Then last year, my Dad died. I decided that I wanted to spend Thanksgiving day (which would have been 2 days after my Dad's birthday, too) with my Mom and my brothers. My brothers had the same idea...we didn't want my MOm alone on the first holiday without Dad. My MIL flipped out that *I* was being selfish for not being at her house for dinner at 1pm. She cried, she whined, she got mad at us and didn't speak to us for a couple of weeks. We stood our ground. She claimed that 'we might as well not even celebrate Thanksgiving if we don't do it at the right time'. Eventually my fIL talked some sense into her and we did it on Saturday.

I know this got long and off track, but the bottom line is that the holiday is about being together as a family, not about making sure you eat the Turkey on Thursday. Have dinner with your family the weekend before, brunch that morning, and let your DD enjoy her competition.