allie5
<font color=blue>WARNING! DHL men should be cautio
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2002
- Messages
- 1,572
Brief Pre-History!
This is our 7th trip to Florida, and will be the most Disney based trip yet, though we are not staying onsite. The cast of characters are, myself, Allie, 35, chief planner and Nervous Flier. DH, Neil, 30. Financier of all my vacation plans and schemes. DD, Jessamy, 3...last year was into the Princesses, but know finds the Villains more appealing. DS, Daniel-Noah, 9 months, first trip to Disney outside Mummys tummy! We also have along my mum, Sylvie for baby sitting duty!!
Day One. Thursday 19th June. Awoke to the alarm at exactly 5am....excited but nervous, DH and I get dressed before waking the little uns. DD is reluctant to wake up, although shouting "WE ARE GOING TO FLORIDA TODAY" soon does the trick. Shouting awakes DS who seems to know something is up and is in a chirpy mood for 5am. Everyone is dressed, fed and ready to go by 5.45. We all sit on the edge of our seats awaiting the taxi, booked for 6.15. Every two seconds DD asks if we are in Florida yet, and we havent left the house.....its going to be a loooonnnng day. At 6.10 the phone rings and it is the taxi driver, supposedly lost (more likely just woke up). DH answered the phone and rings off with a jolly "Ok, see you then, then, bye". Turns out, taxi man is miles away, but "Will definately be with us by 6.30". AAAAAAARRRGGHH. Cant believe DH hasnt been firmer with him and I go ballistic. If I wanted the cab at 6.30 I would have b****Y well ordered it for 6.30, I rant. I need to get to the airport early to secure a sky cot for DS. Travel City had been very evasive when I rang to check it was booked. Anyway, 15 mins of heart palpitations and sweating, taxi duly arrives at 6.25. Its a Grand Voyager thingy, so we all fit in rather comfortably and so does the luggage and stroller. As I sink back into the leather seats and as the A/C cools me down I start to relax for a millisecond, then remember I have to spend 9 hours in a metal tube 37000 feet from solid ground and go back to being sweaty and nervous.
The traffic on the M25 is utterly horrendous and we crawl to Gatwick. Trip is made worse by DH and taxi driver discussing the technical specs of the car in every dullest detail, DS crying because he is tired and DD asking if Florida was "anywhere near Lakeside as we just went past that mummy". We EVENTUALLY arrive at the airport at 8am. Need two trolleys and advance en masse to the British Airways check in desk. Wonder of wonders, no queue at the long haul desk and we go straight up to be checked in. I immediately ask if my sky cot has been reserved and she says "yes, it has".....remember those words, dear reader. Anyway, "nice" (so I thought then) British Airways lady tappity taps on her computer and tells me only one of us can have the bulkhead seat with the skycot, everyone else is in a row of 3 behind. "Fine" I say, as this is what I expected. Luggage checked in, boarding passes dished out, 5 happy bunnies make their way into the departure lounge. I slope away for 10 mins and manage to spend £75 pn perfume in the Duty Free without DH even noticing I was gone. Things seem to be looking up. We find our plane from one of the viewing areas and it has one of those unsightly BA tail designs in a lary tartan pattern!
We then go to Garfunkels for an outrageously expensive breakfast. DD announces she doesnt want anything, then manages to extract fairly large portions of sausage, bacon and mushrooms from everyone elses plates. I attempt to feed DS a jar of baby cereal, but he finds it more appealing to smear on his stroller instead. Time passes quickly and its soon time to board. We only wait for about 10 mins at the gate before being called to board.....we are one of those first on as we have the baby (who decides now is a fab time to fill his nappy to capacity). Kindly cabin crew show us to our seats....things start to get bleak.....NONE of our seats is on the bulkhead. I am wedged in a very small space with a grumpy, sweaty, smelly baby who is in full temper mode. I frantically call over senior steward (Gavin) and on the verge of tears try to explain I should have a skycot. He must be used to dealing with emotional women as he took control and flew off to try and sort out the seating. The stench from DS probably gave him an extra turn of speed. Gavin returns and it is not good news. Basically check in woman has stuffed up and all the bulkhead seats are now allocated. He tells me not to worry and he would see what he could do. Two women arrive and sit in the bulkhead seats, they are without a baby. I plot with Gavin to see if they could be moved to Club Class. Then the final bulkhead seat is taken by a man, also without a baby. He is duly pounced on by five BA cabin crew and gently persuaded to give up his seat for me. Oh joy! I thank the man profusely and move myself and DS into the bulkhead seat. Quick change in the loo and he is happy again. I heap words of kindness and gratitude onto the cabin crew telling them how DS would never sleep without the cot etc etc. Of course 30 seconds later the little monster fell asleep on my lap. With all this going on, my fear of flying had almost disappeared and we took off with barely a butterfly fluttering in my tummy!
The flight passed fairly uneventfully after this. The meal was served about one and a half hours into the flight. Fairly standard beef or chicken offerings. Drinks were free and there were a good choice of movies including Jungle Book 2 which kept DD happy. DD also got a great kids meal (which I hadnt even ordered) and a Pooh swim bag filled with little toys. Also, the Sky Cot was a nifty design...it was effectively a car seat, which was MUCH more comfortable than the usual "shoe box" I have had previously.
The two ladies next to me in the other bulkhead seats turned out to be from Orlando and Sarasota and were returning home after a vacation in London. Mysteriously, they said they hadnt requested the bulkhead seats they just asked to be seated together. They gave me tips on what stores to go to and malls to visit! It was nice to get some insider info from a native "Orlandonian"!
The only gripe I had about the flight was that after lunch, the cabin crew disappeared for 5 hours! You could go and help yourself to drinks or ask for things, but there were no meals, snacks or tea/coffee for a very long time. This made the time drag and something was needed during this time. I have a turn at being Cabin Crew and bring drinks back for everyone at regular intervals. As I get into the swing of things, I have an urge to hand out hot towels and demonstrate the life jackets....hmm, maybe a career change is in order?? Sandwiches were served about an hour before landing.
On approaching MCO, a storm was raging. The pilot had to land in zero visibility......we couldnt even see the end of the wings. Sighs of relief all round when we touched down on what seemed to be a runway! Due to lightning, the airport workers werent allowed out to guide the plane to the terminal, so we sit and look at a very rainy Florida for 15 mins. Once through the nightmare of immigration, double baggage fiasco, x-rays (I am waved through with DD...DH, DS, mum and stroller are practically strip searched and x-rayed down to shoes and stroller basket). Finally make it to car rental hall. I queue at Travel City desk to pick up villa keys and DH goes to sort out car. There are two Florida virgins in front of me who need directions, maps, more maps, phone numbers, global satellite positioning and night vision goggles before they will venture off. TC rep is relieved when she shows me our villa location and I say I know where it is. I am ushered out quickly with keys and a smile. A baggage handler has pounced on mum looking lost with the kids and I am obliged to pay him $5 to take the bags down to the Dollar car park. Mum stays in the cool with the children to wait for DH and I go off with the bags. I wait 30 mins in the humidity before they all show up. I am now grumpy.
DH is also miffed as he wasnt offered an upgrade. We wanted a mini van but they werent prepared to negotiate a deal this year. Oh well. We have a Dodge Intrepid instead. Its a bit manky, with dents and scrapes. We load up the car and get ready to drive off......then DH discovers the central locking is broken. Everything unloaded. At least Dollar upgrade us to a top of the range Intrepid this time. Its brand new with only 10 miles on the clock.
Eventually, we are on our way. We come off the I-4 to stop for some drinks and get trapped in Celebration for 10 mins unable to find the exit!! It feels a bit like being in a sci-fi movie!! We get to the villa at about 7pm local time. Our villa is on the Glenbrook estate, 1m north on US 27. Although the villa is nice, its not as good as the one last year at Highlands Reserve. Once again, though we have been upgraded to a 4 bed with jacuzzi. DD blags the front double bedroom and mum is happy to have one of the twin rooms. The master suite is nice with huge en-suite and door onto the pool area. Unfortunately there is no crib for DS so he has to sleep with DH and I on the first night. Bed is the size of a barn, so no real hardship! Once the littlies are settled, myself and DH head to the publix for essentials and supper. Spend $92 at the store and come back to eat chicken tenders, potato salad and potato chips (crisps!). On the way home, we see a MPV rolled on the US 27 /192 intersection. This is a deadly bit of road and this is not the last nasty wreck we see here. Fortunately, this time, everyone seemed to be only cut and bruised.
Back home and in bed by 10pm, drifting off to the sounds of the Weather Channel!
Tomorrow: Settling in, shopping, Animal Kingdom Lodge and Boma
This is our 7th trip to Florida, and will be the most Disney based trip yet, though we are not staying onsite. The cast of characters are, myself, Allie, 35, chief planner and Nervous Flier. DH, Neil, 30. Financier of all my vacation plans and schemes. DD, Jessamy, 3...last year was into the Princesses, but know finds the Villains more appealing. DS, Daniel-Noah, 9 months, first trip to Disney outside Mummys tummy! We also have along my mum, Sylvie for baby sitting duty!!
Day One. Thursday 19th June. Awoke to the alarm at exactly 5am....excited but nervous, DH and I get dressed before waking the little uns. DD is reluctant to wake up, although shouting "WE ARE GOING TO FLORIDA TODAY" soon does the trick. Shouting awakes DS who seems to know something is up and is in a chirpy mood for 5am. Everyone is dressed, fed and ready to go by 5.45. We all sit on the edge of our seats awaiting the taxi, booked for 6.15. Every two seconds DD asks if we are in Florida yet, and we havent left the house.....its going to be a loooonnnng day. At 6.10 the phone rings and it is the taxi driver, supposedly lost (more likely just woke up). DH answered the phone and rings off with a jolly "Ok, see you then, then, bye". Turns out, taxi man is miles away, but "Will definately be with us by 6.30". AAAAAAARRRGGHH. Cant believe DH hasnt been firmer with him and I go ballistic. If I wanted the cab at 6.30 I would have b****Y well ordered it for 6.30, I rant. I need to get to the airport early to secure a sky cot for DS. Travel City had been very evasive when I rang to check it was booked. Anyway, 15 mins of heart palpitations and sweating, taxi duly arrives at 6.25. Its a Grand Voyager thingy, so we all fit in rather comfortably and so does the luggage and stroller. As I sink back into the leather seats and as the A/C cools me down I start to relax for a millisecond, then remember I have to spend 9 hours in a metal tube 37000 feet from solid ground and go back to being sweaty and nervous.
The traffic on the M25 is utterly horrendous and we crawl to Gatwick. Trip is made worse by DH and taxi driver discussing the technical specs of the car in every dullest detail, DS crying because he is tired and DD asking if Florida was "anywhere near Lakeside as we just went past that mummy". We EVENTUALLY arrive at the airport at 8am. Need two trolleys and advance en masse to the British Airways check in desk. Wonder of wonders, no queue at the long haul desk and we go straight up to be checked in. I immediately ask if my sky cot has been reserved and she says "yes, it has".....remember those words, dear reader. Anyway, "nice" (so I thought then) British Airways lady tappity taps on her computer and tells me only one of us can have the bulkhead seat with the skycot, everyone else is in a row of 3 behind. "Fine" I say, as this is what I expected. Luggage checked in, boarding passes dished out, 5 happy bunnies make their way into the departure lounge. I slope away for 10 mins and manage to spend £75 pn perfume in the Duty Free without DH even noticing I was gone. Things seem to be looking up. We find our plane from one of the viewing areas and it has one of those unsightly BA tail designs in a lary tartan pattern!
We then go to Garfunkels for an outrageously expensive breakfast. DD announces she doesnt want anything, then manages to extract fairly large portions of sausage, bacon and mushrooms from everyone elses plates. I attempt to feed DS a jar of baby cereal, but he finds it more appealing to smear on his stroller instead. Time passes quickly and its soon time to board. We only wait for about 10 mins at the gate before being called to board.....we are one of those first on as we have the baby (who decides now is a fab time to fill his nappy to capacity). Kindly cabin crew show us to our seats....things start to get bleak.....NONE of our seats is on the bulkhead. I am wedged in a very small space with a grumpy, sweaty, smelly baby who is in full temper mode. I frantically call over senior steward (Gavin) and on the verge of tears try to explain I should have a skycot. He must be used to dealing with emotional women as he took control and flew off to try and sort out the seating. The stench from DS probably gave him an extra turn of speed. Gavin returns and it is not good news. Basically check in woman has stuffed up and all the bulkhead seats are now allocated. He tells me not to worry and he would see what he could do. Two women arrive and sit in the bulkhead seats, they are without a baby. I plot with Gavin to see if they could be moved to Club Class. Then the final bulkhead seat is taken by a man, also without a baby. He is duly pounced on by five BA cabin crew and gently persuaded to give up his seat for me. Oh joy! I thank the man profusely and move myself and DS into the bulkhead seat. Quick change in the loo and he is happy again. I heap words of kindness and gratitude onto the cabin crew telling them how DS would never sleep without the cot etc etc. Of course 30 seconds later the little monster fell asleep on my lap. With all this going on, my fear of flying had almost disappeared and we took off with barely a butterfly fluttering in my tummy!
The flight passed fairly uneventfully after this. The meal was served about one and a half hours into the flight. Fairly standard beef or chicken offerings. Drinks were free and there were a good choice of movies including Jungle Book 2 which kept DD happy. DD also got a great kids meal (which I hadnt even ordered) and a Pooh swim bag filled with little toys. Also, the Sky Cot was a nifty design...it was effectively a car seat, which was MUCH more comfortable than the usual "shoe box" I have had previously.
The two ladies next to me in the other bulkhead seats turned out to be from Orlando and Sarasota and were returning home after a vacation in London. Mysteriously, they said they hadnt requested the bulkhead seats they just asked to be seated together. They gave me tips on what stores to go to and malls to visit! It was nice to get some insider info from a native "Orlandonian"!
The only gripe I had about the flight was that after lunch, the cabin crew disappeared for 5 hours! You could go and help yourself to drinks or ask for things, but there were no meals, snacks or tea/coffee for a very long time. This made the time drag and something was needed during this time. I have a turn at being Cabin Crew and bring drinks back for everyone at regular intervals. As I get into the swing of things, I have an urge to hand out hot towels and demonstrate the life jackets....hmm, maybe a career change is in order?? Sandwiches were served about an hour before landing.
On approaching MCO, a storm was raging. The pilot had to land in zero visibility......we couldnt even see the end of the wings. Sighs of relief all round when we touched down on what seemed to be a runway! Due to lightning, the airport workers werent allowed out to guide the plane to the terminal, so we sit and look at a very rainy Florida for 15 mins. Once through the nightmare of immigration, double baggage fiasco, x-rays (I am waved through with DD...DH, DS, mum and stroller are practically strip searched and x-rayed down to shoes and stroller basket). Finally make it to car rental hall. I queue at Travel City desk to pick up villa keys and DH goes to sort out car. There are two Florida virgins in front of me who need directions, maps, more maps, phone numbers, global satellite positioning and night vision goggles before they will venture off. TC rep is relieved when she shows me our villa location and I say I know where it is. I am ushered out quickly with keys and a smile. A baggage handler has pounced on mum looking lost with the kids and I am obliged to pay him $5 to take the bags down to the Dollar car park. Mum stays in the cool with the children to wait for DH and I go off with the bags. I wait 30 mins in the humidity before they all show up. I am now grumpy.
DH is also miffed as he wasnt offered an upgrade. We wanted a mini van but they werent prepared to negotiate a deal this year. Oh well. We have a Dodge Intrepid instead. Its a bit manky, with dents and scrapes. We load up the car and get ready to drive off......then DH discovers the central locking is broken. Everything unloaded. At least Dollar upgrade us to a top of the range Intrepid this time. Its brand new with only 10 miles on the clock.
Eventually, we are on our way. We come off the I-4 to stop for some drinks and get trapped in Celebration for 10 mins unable to find the exit!! It feels a bit like being in a sci-fi movie!! We get to the villa at about 7pm local time. Our villa is on the Glenbrook estate, 1m north on US 27. Although the villa is nice, its not as good as the one last year at Highlands Reserve. Once again, though we have been upgraded to a 4 bed with jacuzzi. DD blags the front double bedroom and mum is happy to have one of the twin rooms. The master suite is nice with huge en-suite and door onto the pool area. Unfortunately there is no crib for DS so he has to sleep with DH and I on the first night. Bed is the size of a barn, so no real hardship! Once the littlies are settled, myself and DH head to the publix for essentials and supper. Spend $92 at the store and come back to eat chicken tenders, potato salad and potato chips (crisps!). On the way home, we see a MPV rolled on the US 27 /192 intersection. This is a deadly bit of road and this is not the last nasty wreck we see here. Fortunately, this time, everyone seemed to be only cut and bruised.
Back home and in bed by 10pm, drifting off to the sounds of the Weather Channel!
Tomorrow: Settling in, shopping, Animal Kingdom Lodge and Boma
Looking forward to the next 
I felt for you reading that, particularly when you discovered there was no bulkhead seat for you after all!
Great report, thanks Allie. What a shame your seat was all messed up - it's so frustrating, stressful and downright unnecessary. Don't these people all use the same computers??
