Help!!! Can I possibly make an 11:40 flight home???

[vcasey]

Ahhhhh!!! I need advice. I'll be on the Magic and Delta cancelled my flight home and my only options are 11:40 am or 5:50 pm. My ex will be waiting to see his daughter. Since I'm already eating into 1/2 of his every other weekend, he won't be too thrilled with me taking the night time flight but is the 11:40 AT ALL possible???

 

[mkauffman]

Since I've never had an early flight back, I can't really answer your question, but from what I've heard others say, you may be cutting it really close.

I also have flights scheduled through Delta for our November cruise. They keep changing our flight times and I'm getting a little concerned. Our arrival time in Orlando keeps getting later and later (it's now at 11:37 a.m.). Why was your flight canceled?

Michelle

 

[DVC4US]

You will probably get lots of replies to this, but here is my 2 cents worth. I think you should be able to make the flight depending on your transportation. If you skip breakfast and are ready to leave the ship the minute they say passengers are able to disembark you should be okay. In March, we did not got to breakfast and were in the atrium waiting for the go ahead. When all was clear, we walked off, got our luggage, and we were waiting in the parking lot for our limo at 8:30. I would suggest that you let one of the porters help you with your luggage (they work for tips) because they can usually secure your luggage and get you through customs fairly quickly. This was during the time when we went to war with Iraq and security measures had been raised to orange/high. We had no trouble at all. Maybe someone who took the DCL buses could share their experience with that transportation.

 

[vcasey]

mkauffman - Delta said they are in the process of 're-working' their schedules and they can't even guarantee if I change it now will stay that time (I'm going in August). Very frustrating!

The good/bad of it is they'll willing to refund me for obvious reasons but flight cost have gone up so much because I booked so long ago.

LNaylor863- I'm definitely taking a limo, I know I couldn't make using Disneys transportion. Hmm...do I want to chance it

 

[mkauffman]

That information is a little unnerving. We purposely booked this flight because of the arrival/departure times (not to mention, like you said, the prices were much better!). If they mess with our times too much I'll tell them to fly us in the day before. Did they just tell you that your particular flight was canceled?

Michelle

 

[confal1]

I too was on a flight going home that was around 11am and was nervous. We did not use Disney transfers but used a limo service which picked us up at the port at around8:30am and got us to MCO in plenty of time. I would not worry about it. You should be able to make the flight in plenty of time. Good Luck

 

[CamColt]

We had late breakfast and took our time leaving the ship. With TTC, we were still at the airport by 10:00am. I would think if you had early breakfast, or skipped it altogether, you could easily get to the airport 2 hours prior to your flight. However you never can count on traffic, or the ship getting to port on time, but chances are you would be ok.

 

[Memaw2Wm]

Originally posted by vcasey
My ex will be waiting to see his daughter. Since I'm already eating into 1/2 of his every other weekend, he won't be too thrilled with me taking the night time flight but is the 11:40 AT ALL possible???

Could you make arrangements with your "ex" to have your daughter the following weekend to make up for missing 1/2 of "his" weekend or a weeknight visit? That way you could fly in at the later time.

Good luck!

 

[vcasey]

mkauffman - Delta really didn't say, I actually caught the issue myself because I was trying to book flights for another date. When I called them very upset, they said the change had 'just happened' and they were working on securing me an alternative flight which is why I hadn't heard from them yet. Then we together tried to find the next best flight and you've heard the rest.



Memaw2Wm- I'm sure if I have no other options, I can work something out with my 'ex', we're pretty friendly. But he and DD won't see each other for 10 days because we'll be in WDW before the cruise and that's a long time not just for dad but for DD too to not see each other. So I was trying to work it all out for everyone.

 

[nurseb]

We were scheduled for a 5:50pm return flight home after the 3/29 Western. We had late seating breakfast, went thru Shutters one last time...took our time getting off the ship. Tiffany met us at 9:00am.... Got to the Hyatt for our day room. Decided to see if there were any earlier flights. Called America West from the Hyatt. Said we could go stand-by on their 11:30am flight...long story long... all 6 of us made the 11:30am flight!
I would book the earlier flight without hesitation.

 

[Buckaroo's Dad]

Hi vcasey. Sorry to learn of this problem you're now confronting. My opinion leans toward an evening flight. The reasoning is that you are paying a lot of money for a truly Magical vacation. Why ruin a week to 10 days of family vacation by trying to - literally - run back home? One delay will result in devastating effects. How can I be so sure? As you know, I - too - am a single custodial parent and have tried that "rapid return." It doesn't work well for anyone involved. Your ex will have all day sunday to spend with his daughter - and you'll have all day sunday for laundry... lol.

 

[vcasey]

Buckaroo's Dad- Was wondering if you'd chime in, knew you could probably relate. And you're right about the rushing thing.

Anyway, was able to force the issue a bit more since the NJ/NY area has several airports. Now I've got to go all the way to LGA from NJ but I'm actually saving money on the fare (and got them to refund in cash too not just airline credit!! Woohoo) and don't go home until 2pm. The perfect compromise.

Thanks for everyone's comments!!!

 

[tezb]

Personally, I would not book a flight that early. Our last cruise was delayed in returning to Port Canaveral by a couple hrs. We did not get off the ship til close to 10am! Luckily we did not have a flight out that day! I heard the same thing happened the following cruise also...due to passenger illness in Castaway Cay. For peace of mind, I would rather be twiddling my thumbs at the airport than rushing to catch a flight. Also, when you book the Dreams Unlmtd, they specifically mention in their email NOT to book a flight before 12:30 pm....must be for a reason.

 

[plutospup]

Yes...don't hesitate to take the 1140 flight.

 

[nuthut]

Last saturday I was at the airport checking before 9:30 am after the seven day cruise. Take the 11:30 as there will not be a problem and you do not want to wait until 5:30

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

We had an 11:30AM flight, and had PLENTY of time! We got to the airport at around 9AM.

 

[Empire Day]

Oh now I'M WORRIED AGAIN!!!!!
We have a 11:40 flight, using DCL transfers, !!!!
some say nop problome others say not to do it.
Question if the ship was late or coustoms held it up or DCL bus was slow, would trip insurance cover missing your flight???

 

[rae519]

Last year our airline changed it's schedule without telling us and our return was upped to 10:50 - we had plenty of time to shop, eat and sit around at the terminal.

Rae

 

[benebire]

We had an 11:30 flight in October and made it with no problem and lots of time to spare. However, the security issue is a bit more involved now, so hopefully someone who has sailed recently can reply for you. Good luck and have a blast on yr cruise.

 

[whytcrystal]

Vcasey-
I spoke with Delta this week because our flight changed for next Feb. Their schedule changes are typically twice a year (spring and fall) but they have made some adjustments because of the war. I too have a rather early flight, 11:55am coming home. I chose that for two reasons:
there was over a 80.00 difference each, between this time and 3:55pm AND when we disembarked in Sept. we were at MCO (taking the DCL transfer) by 9:30ish and had to wait around until 3:45. When I spoke with Delta I asked about missing our flight, if we do we can pay 25.00 to fly standby for a flight the same day. If we can't get on a flight Sat. we have to pay extra for a flight Sun. It's a risk we were willing to take since there are 5 more flights leaving MCO for home that day and if we get seperated it won't be an issue since my son is older.

PS. At the present time Delta is still recommending only 1 hour for domestic flight so if you check your luggage at the curb and use the kiosk you will not have to wait in line.

Good Luck!