Driving ahead and having child fly in later? (LONG)

[KarlaG4Kids]

We drove (23 hours) to Orlando and left DD's with grandparents. Grandparents took them to the airport and we met them in Orlando. When it was time to leave we took DD's to the airport and headed home driving. Grandparents picked them up at home at the airport. DD's were thrilled because they hate the drive. We were thrilled because we didn't have to listen to them whine. They were 15 & 16 at the time. The one thing I have to offer is when flight gets into MCO INSIST that the airport personnel allow you to go to the termanal they have landed at to meet them. They wouldn't let me at first and DD's couldn't figure out how to get on the tram and get to the main part of the airport. They waited about 1/2 hour. FINALLY the airport personnel let me go through and pick them up. Just tell them that your child is ALONE on the flight and you need to meet him. INSIST! Otherwise the experience was great. It sounds like with all you have been through you NEED this vacation for the whole family. School is important, but family time is sometimes more important. IMO! If you don't have the family bonds when they are young there are more problems as they get older.

 

[justhat]

We were there May 19-24 in 1999 and May 19-25 this year and it's one of my favorite times to go. Wait times aren't bad for the majority of rides (the water ones like Kali and Splash had big waits, but mostly cause it was hot) and the weather is pretty good. It's hot, but nothing like it is in June, and so much less humid. The parks are open fairly late at night too which is nice. This May was perfect, no humidity, didn't rain once during the trip, and temps were in the mid 80s during the day and mid 70s at night. We were with extended family/friends and split up a lot, but always met back on time since wait times were generally short. The only bad waits are the ones that are bad year round (TT, Space, BTMRR, ToT, RnRC), but when I say bad, we waited 25 minutes for RnRC in the middle of the day on a Saturday. So as you can see, really not bad, just bad compared to the 5 minutes for Pirates. I would definitely go back that time of year again. This year we'll be there the end of April (only time my husband has off) and I'm hoping it will be the same way.

 

[Aryn]

I have a story regarding getting gate passes.

My sister who is 19 years old BTW, was flying home alone after thanksgiving with our grandma who lives in Minesota. My grandma, who is about 4 feet tall, demanded (and got) a gate pass to walk my 19 year old sister to her gate.

My sister was very embarassed, but my grandma was walking her to the gate, and made sure she got on the plane!
So the moral of this story is you should at least try to get a gate pass to walk a 12 year old to the plane. Little old grandma's probably have good luck at getting one!


Aryn