Thanks to a great Ding offer we are going to Disney in May.
We usually leave out of BWI, but Philly had better fare, so my question is Can you tell me about the airport? We'll be leaving at 7 pm. I did a search and only found info on parking. What's the airport like? Is it easy to navigate? How's the security wait? Any info would be great. I have looked at their website, but I like the personal opinions of the Dis. Thanks again.
Good morning, Shannon,
I fly out of PHL almost weekly, and while its improved, this airport is the absolute worst of the East coast!
Let's start with parking... There is a link in this thread, provided by another poster, leading you to a post I made about Winner Airport Valet Parking on Essington Avenue. It's about a mile from departures. I've had my vehicle broken into twice while using economy or long-term parking. Maybe I'm a little biased (go figure) however I would not recommend using that parking, opting instead for Winner.
Curb-side baggage and check-in service depends on the airline used. USNightmair's service is sometimes okay and sometimes terrible...it largely depends on the Skycap providing the service. Other airlines have been pretty much the same. (If you are unfortunate enough to be using USNightmair, I'd use curb-side...since the lines for the electronic replacements for Ticket Agents is typcially lengthy.)
As someone else posted, the TSA line lengths depend upon the flight time. If you're flying Monday through Friday between 7am and 10am, and from 3pm to around 7pm, you will be waiting a while to get through the ratmaze. The TSA folks have improved from being completely gruff to being somewhat nice. I've found a few to possess an attitude about dealing with the public, however if you're nice to them, most will be nice in return. (Their job <fill in an appropriate word here> and I believe they deserve to be treated nicely.) Figure about 20-30 minutes for the Security Checkpoints at the worst of travel time...all other times vary, but have generally less line waits.
The terminals are pretty long, however most have shops to browse and eateries. One exception is (I think, someone correct me here, please) terminal E...once through TSA, there's nothing...no shops, no eateries, only a small shop or two which serve unedible "stuff".
Upon your return, baggage handling is terrible. On the rare occasion I've checked my bags, I've waited anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes at baggage claim. The baggage handlers at PHL are the worst. Check the boards for where you're luggage is SUPPOSE to be, and count on it being on another belt.
Lastly about PHL, I always plan on arriving at parking 2 hours before flight time. AND, if you smoke, forget about lighting-up...even in the bars. Take your last puffs outside in the designated areas, if you do smoke. (I'm glad I quit a number of years ago....)
I hope this helps....
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