help - how do you guys cope with the 9 hour flight?

[julieannbabe]

i am hopefully going to Florida in under a months time.

I am started to get excited - it is just that 9 hour flight makes me feel like ****.
does anyone else have this same problem - where you feel really yucky and dehydrated?

xjx

 

[binkyboots]

ooh!! the flight, not actually as bad as I had feared it would be... done it twice now.

lots of water, no booze
pack a good moisturiser, lip balm, wet wipes and mini toothbrush/mouthwash
eat the meal if you can, I just take my own snacks
if you can stay away from coffee and tea do it, caffiene is bad
music passes the time
write a diary
books!
the movies are usually ok, though I find them hard to listen to with the little earphones, try taking your own earphones with you (call airline first to see if they'll fit)

hmm.. finally if you can afford it upgrade! I couldn't, the toilets were blocked for the best part of the flight and the kid behind me kept having a pillow fight with his brother which their parents seemed to find cute

just focus on getting to your holiday, read a disney guide book, plan and plot.

Do your leg excercises!!!!

 

[Deedee]

Its not too bad going because you have something wonderful to look forward to at the end of the flight. Plus you gain 5 hours. I hate coming back this really gets me feeling yuk and well depressed.

 

[mushumadness]

I am afraid of flying but make the 9hr flight ok every year, I just make sure I drink loads of water (no alcohol). move about every so often and just think i am going to DISNEY!!!

Plus I always put my clock to florida time when I board the plane it helps me with the time difference lol

 

[wilma-bride]

I don't have any fears associated with flying but I'm really not good at being in a confined space for 9 hours plus. It's funny how you could put me in front of the telly at home all day and I wouldn't feel the slightest inclination to get up but, as soon as I'm sat in that airline seat, I start getting fidgety. Like Anna, I tend to put my watch on Florida time straight away, then I make sure I get up at least once every hour and have a wander for 10 minutes. I drink plenty of water and keep putting moisturiser and lip salve on regularly. In terms of entertainment, I find it hard to concentrate on the films as I'm too excited on the way there so usually do crossword puzzles or something like that. On the way back, I tend to read as I fin it easier to drop off when I've been reading.

The flight back is worse for me as we have nothing to look forward to the other end. I also find it really hard to sleep on the plane - I just cannot sleep upright. It will seem like it's taking forever but you do get there in the end

 

[wilki32]

I am a real couch potatoe so I love to be sat there for 9 hrs with absolutely nothing to do!
DW & DD are a bit different, they take plenty of magazines/books etc.
I agree with the water, no booze, leg excersise and flight socks, I really didn't think it would make any difference but when we flew to Oz got off the plane and felt great!

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I am not the best flier either, although now Joshua is getting older I have the distraction of having to concentrate on him.

It is a long flight but the thought of a great holiday at the end of it is the insentive I need, it would never put us off going.

I just literally count the hours down and once we are 4 hours or so into the flight I start to feel better about it.

 

[bratus913]

Xanax

 

[Danauk]

When I fly long haul I make sure I have a good book to read, have my ipod ready to listen to some tunes (I love to sit and watch the little aeroplane going across the screen when I do this so I know where I am!!) and watch a couple of moves.
I too drink lots of water, use lip balm and moisturiser and get up and walk around often. I wear the flight socks too which I find help.
As the cabins are noisy I have noise reduction ear phones for my ipod which also plug into the aeroplanes system for the movies. When we returned last month I popped the headphones on to go to sleep as well as it got rid of a lot of the cabin noise. You will find that the 9 hours pass quite quickly.

 

[paulh]

going is never a problem as you are exited about the holiday.We soon learnt that the first day is all traveling and that you wont be able to do much when you land as jetlag and the time differance kicks in.We always start our holiday on day 2 up bright and early sometimes 6am.We do have things we always do the first day like pizza for tea with a 6 pack and a swim in the pool.No the realproblem is the flight back wishing tou were still there and the ralisation that you have to go back aug will be our 16th visit and we still get excited the night before like the advert
Paulh

 

[ely3857]

My biggest problem is boredom, I dont travel very well (motion sickness) so reading and watching films are out.

I have an mp3 player this time round which will help, failing that I just natter until DF starts to entertain me!

I can flick through mags but that doesnt keep me occupied for 9 hours! I also catnap alot as I am generally too excited to sleep properly the night before!

I drink water (no alcohol or fizzy pop) and eat snacks.

Above all just remember why you are putting yourself through it!



Jodie

 

[florida sun]

Pretty much the same as everyone else has said, plenty of water, and snacks. I like to read a book or watch the tv, my daughter and I also take a pack of cards and play with those.

Get up as often as you can to strech your legs.

I dont mind flying and landing, its the taking off I dont like.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

I LOVE flying!
We get on board, have a glass or two of champagne, stretch out and recline the seat and that's pretty much it for the 8 hours.
Watch some TV, have some nice meals, take a stroll up to the bar, have a drink or two there.
On the way back it flies as I am usually asleep within the hour after having my meal and a mug of cocoa. wake up an hour before landing, convert the bed back to a seat and change out of the pyjamas and have the breakfast.

 

[disneyholic family]

I LOVE flying!
We get on board, have a glass or two of champagne, stretch out and recline the seat and that's pretty much it for the 8 hours.
Watch some TV, have some nice meals, take a stroll up to the bar, have a drink or two there.
On the way back it flies as I am usually asleep within the hour after having my meal and a mug of cocoa. wake up an hour before landing, convert the bed back to a seat and change out of the pyjamas and have the breakfast.

hey, but Obi, you're flying business class....try to do that in an economy seat...
we also fly business, and i doubt i'd be able to manage in a regular seat anymore.....not for our 12 hour flight to JFK (followed by the flight down to orlando)...

as for me (but this is in business so take it with a grain of salt), i take the late night flight....the moment the plane takes off, i recline my seat all the way, put ear plugs in my ears, put the eyemask on my eyes, cover myself with the blanket and go to sleep....(in other words, i pass up on the dinner serverd just after take off)....whenever i wake up, hopefully in a long while, if i can't go back to sleep, then i watch a movie or two or three...and usually continue to dose.....the flight attendants bring water around the moment they see anyone moving, so i drink whenever they bring water by (or juice or whatever)....
right before they serve breakfast (about 2 hours before arrival) i get up and walk around a little bit...
then i eat breakfast (always fantastic on our flight), fill out the customs declaration form, and then it's time to land....

12 hours is a very long time....very very.....some years i have to do it about 8 times or so...
i have a friend who flies that back and forth every week!!!!!!!.....that's right...12 hours there and 12 hours back every week!!!!!...
actually he flies to the states....works there for 4 days....and then flies back home.....then 5 days later he does it all again....talk about frequent flyer mileage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!....
he spends over 80 days a year flying to the states and back....eighty 12 hours flights a year....all i can say is psycho looney toons....

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Disneyholic,
the question was how do you do the 9 hours.
Not all of us as you have shown, want the cheapest lowest class of transportation/hotel rooms/car hire, if you go economy you get exactly that.
If you want more leg room, to be able to sleep to have decent food, then like everything else in this world you pay for it.
I have no idea how you would cope with 9 hours or more in economy as I would rather go to Spain than travel that length of time in "Cattle class" as one well known entrepenure once called it, and that Jeremy Clarkson once proved, that cattle actually have more room than economy pax!

Sure, I am well aware that economy and the cheapest possible version is the only way some people can get to Florida, and only then after many years of scrimping and saving, but the choice is theirs, 8 hours in economy with all the pitfalls, or a couple of hours to say, Port Ventura in Spain, or Disneyland Paris.
I have had to in the past, scrimp and save, but have gone into Europe, into France, Spain and Portugal, with short flights in economy or even driving for a couple of days.
I also have to say that many of them, it does not matter where the resort is as they do not even get to see the rest of Kissimmee/Orlando as they live on site and eat on site and stay for two weeks on site, rather like a big Butlins or Centre Parcs.

All I did was to answer the question as to how I whiled the 9 hours away.

 

[Hilary]

rather like a big Butlins or Centre Parcs.

Yes, shocking though it may sound, some of us even enjoy that, too!

Along with most people here, we find the flight can be a drag, but we must think it's worth it or we wouldn't happily do it again ... and again ... and again!

 

[UKDEB]

As the cabins are noisy I have noise reduction ear phones for my ipod which also plug into the aeroplanes system for the movies. When we returned last month I popped the headphones on to go to sleep as well as it got rid of a lot of the cabin noise

Bought some of these in the Sony Store at Mall at Millenia a few days ago and used them on the home-bound flight. They make a huge difference - I always struggle with the in-flight movies and have to have the volume turned up to maximum. The noise reduction headphones cut out the engine drone and allow you to listen clearly at a much reduced volume.

As many posters have already said, you just really have to endure the flight and comfort yourself with the thought of what's to come. If you want to avoid feeling dreadful, the 'no alcohol, loads of water' advice can not be over-emphasised.

 

[disneyholic family]

by the way, almost everyone i know who commutes to the US (back and forth to the US every week) takes a sleeping pill just after take off.....they wake up just before landing...they say that's the perfect way to cope with long flights and to hit the ground running when they arrive, ready for their business meetings...

i'm too afraid to do that....i've never taken a sleeping pill and i'm not about to take one on an airplane...

i once asked one of the guys who take sleeping pills, 'what happens if you have to be awake for some emergency?"..
his answer? "if there's something i have to be awake for, i don't want to be awake for it"......good answer...

 

[Laurafoster]

I have the same problem, (although after several awful flights to belfast in the last week or so - i may change my opinion!)

I always stay in a hotel where possible the night before and do the twilight check in. Then i make sure i get a really good night sleep so i feel good in the morning (im not good at early starts so that makes me feel rubbish before i get on the plane), then a good breakfast and coffee to wake me up.

When im actually on the plane i drink lots of water and juice (go up as many times as you want to as drinks are included) i always try and break the flight up by watching the first film, then having something to eat etc Also getting up and going for a walk helps!

I always take a good moistuiser with me and a lipbalm so that i feel better through out the flight!

 

[LJP]

DH and i find the flight out ok, but usually feel yuk when we land home. Most of the time we have a shuttle flight to London, so either head down the night before - but are then so terrified of missing the flight i never sleep - so it's better heading off at the crack of dawn!! We have a couple of glasses of wine, eat, watch a couple of movies and doze. We're usually fine when we land. Coming back is a different story - tired, grumpy, uncomfy and wishing we were still on holiday!!