Government shutdown - flights?

[hardcorestitch]

We are scheduled to fly out early Sunday morning from our small, local airport. We have a layover at a big midwest airport that is on the 40 airports list, and then we arrive at MCO at 1pm. Our small, local airport sometimes cancels flights even when the weather is great and there is no shutdown. As of right now, our flights are all list as "on time".

Our flight to WDW is a one way, so we have another one way flight home on 11/16. So, in theory, we could cancel our flight down, rent a car and drive the 19 hours to Orlando, have a magical week at Disney, and then fly home (assuming those flights don't get delayed/cancelled). Or, we can sweat it out and hope our flights are not delayed/cancelled on Sunday. If they are, I'm not sure what our next steps would be, but we'd probably not arrive on Sunday to check in and we might miss the Boardwalk part of our trip all together. We are supposed to check in to Boardwalk from 11/9-11/11 and then transfer to GF for the remainders of our trip. We have Boardwalk booked on cash, and our GF portion was booked on DVC points.

If we drive, we would need to leave early Saturday morning, so we can arrive at Boardwalk on Sunday for check in. What would you all do? We need to make a call today and I am a nervous wreck. I have no idea if I'm packing for a road trip or a carry on only flight; I'm an uber planner, so the agony of the unknown is killing me.

Disfriends, what would you do if you were in this scenario?

Just drive down. You may miss Disney’s BoardWalk in that case, but at least you’re not cancelling Disney completely. If you really wanted to dine at a BoardWalk restaurant, you can always return on a day when you’re not in the parks.

 

[sam_gordon]

We are scheduled to fly out early Sunday morning from our small, local airport. We have a layover at a big midwest airport that is on the 40 airports list, and then we arrive at MCO at 1pm. Our small, local airport sometimes cancels flights even when the weather is great and there is no shutdown. As of right now, our flights are all list as "on time".

Our flight to WDW is a one way, so we have another one way flight home on 11/16. So, in theory, we could cancel our flight down, rent a car and drive the 19 hours to Orlando, have a magical week at Disney, and then fly home (assuming those flights don't get delayed/cancelled). Or, we can sweat it out and hope our flights are not delayed/cancelled on Sunday. If they are, I'm not sure what our next steps would be, but we'd probably not arrive on Sunday to check in and we might miss the Boardwalk part of our trip all together. We are supposed to check in to Boardwalk from 11/9-11/11 and then transfer to GF for the remainders of our trip. We have Boardwalk booked on cash, and our GF portion was booked on DVC points.

If we drive, we would need to leave early Saturday morning, so we can arrive at Boardwalk on Sunday for check in. What would you all do? We need to make a call today and I am a nervous wreck. I have no idea if I'm packing for a road trip or a carry on only flight; I'm an uber planner, so the agony of the unknown is killing me.

Disfriends, what would you do if you were in this scenario?

I'm an optimist (for the most part). There are currently ~1100 flight cancellations for today. https://www.flightaware.com/live/cancelled/today. ~500 listed for tomorrow.

Are any of the flights your on on Sunday cancelled for today or tomorrow? If not, I would still hope for the best.

 

[DCLMP]

Hopefully in the clear...from United.
View attachment 1022579

There are still going to be a lot of delays just like there's been the last few weeks. I would mentally prepare for that.

 

[RedHead0186]

There are still going to be a lot of delays just like there's been the last few weeks. I would mentally prepare for that.

Excellent point. Just because someone's flight isn't cancelled as a result of the FAA 10% cuts doesn't mean that it won't be delayed (or cancelled for a different reason).

 

[gottalovepluto]

We are scheduled to fly out early Sunday morning from our small, local airport. We have a layover at a big midwest airport that is on the 40 airports list, and then we arrive at MCO at 1pm. Our small, local airport sometimes cancels flights even when the weather is great and there is no shutdown. As of right now, our flights are all list as "on time".

Our flight to WDW is a one way, so we have another one way flight home on 11/16. So, in theory, we could cancel our flight down, rent a car and drive the 19 hours to Orlando, have a magical week at Disney, and then fly home (assuming those flights don't get delayed/cancelled). Or, we can sweat it out and hope our flights are not delayed/cancelled on Sunday. If they are, I'm not sure what our next steps would be, but we'd probably not arrive on Sunday to check in and we might miss the Boardwalk part of our trip all together. We are supposed to check in to Boardwalk from 11/9-11/11 and then transfer to GF for the remainders of our trip. We have Boardwalk booked on cash, and our GF portion was booked on DVC points.

If we drive, we would need to leave early Saturday morning, so we can arrive at Boardwalk on Sunday for check in. What would you all do? We need to make a call today and I am a nervous wreck. I have no idea if I'm packing for a road trip or a carry on only flight; I'm an uber planner, so the agony of the unknown is killing me.

Disfriends, what would you do if you were in this scenario?

Regionals are getting hit harder than mainlines so that’s not in your favor BUT you should know tomorrow if not already. DL has completed cancellations for Friday & Sat but UA has made it through Sunday. Check with your airline and you might see if they’ve made an announcement on how far along they are.

 

[gottalovepluto]

There are still going to be a lot of delays just like there's been the last few weeks. I would mentally prepare for that.

Exactly. I’m not about to cancel my flights (west coast to WDW) but I’ve told everyone bring extra snacks, extra entertainment and board with your own water bottle in case of extensive sitting at gate.

The system is still operating, it’s just slower.

 

[japanese maple]

Woohoo! We landed! 20 minutes early!

 

[Little E]

@gottalovepluto @sam_gordon @hardcorestitch @Keladry84 Thanks, all, for your input. We are flying Delta, and so far our flights are listed as on time. But I know a lot can change between now and early Sunday morning. DH and I have decided we'll make a call of drive or fly by 11 am this morning. At this point, the only thing I know for sure is if we choose to drive, then our flights will go off without a hitch, and if we choose to fly, then our flights will be totally screwed up.

 

[RedHead0186]

@gottalovepluto @sam_gordon @hardcorestitch @Keladry84 Thanks, all, for your input. We are flying Delta, and so far our flights are listed as on time. But I know a lot can change between now and early Sunday morning. DH and I have decided we'll make a call of drive or fly by 11 am this morning. At this point, the only thing I know for sure is if we choose to drive, then our flights will go off without a hitch, and if we choose to fly, then our flights will be totally screwed up.

Murphy's Law at it's finest!

 

[Keladry84]

DH and I have decided we'll make a call of drive or fly by 11 am this morning. At this point, the only thing I know for sure is if we choose to drive, then our flights will go off without a hitch, and if we choose to fly, then our flights will be totally screwed up.

Yep, I think you nailed it!
Good luck with the decision, and no matter what, safe travels!