How the Other Half Lives ~ Updated 10/22: I Forgot Something!

[lmillercrew]

Holy Crap!!! What a NIGHTMARE about your flight! So sorry to hear about Dug's nana. I know that she's in a better place, but it's still sad. It's good to hear that Delta was willing to work with you and changing all of your flights without any additional fees. It's almost unheard of now days, especially with all of the fees that airlines are hitting us with.

 

[Dugette]

I'm in!

I see you're from Rapid City--I lived there for a few years after college!

That had to be such a rough day for the two of you. So sorry you had to deal with it all. I couldn't believe the trouble with your flight! Glad you're going to get some use of that Sky Club though!

Andrew says he loves your trailer, too! He looked so confused and watched it four or five times earlier tonight and then says.. That's the girl from the Mister Potato Head pic! Wish we could've met up while you were at Disney. It's going to be interesting to see how our days compare!

Can't wait to see what happens next!! Okay, so I already know a bit.. but still. Loving the TR!!

It was such a weird travel day. And it ain't over yet!

Wow, that Mr. Potato Head picture sure made an impression on Andrew! Or maybe he just inherited your memory? I'm glad he enjoyed the trailer too!

I wish we could have met up as well. I can't believe we never saw each other! It will be fun to compare our days.

I hope you guys were able to find that spot in Epcot. If so, I think we will be treated to a picture later in the TR. I'm sure it gave the trip added significance to know that Dug's Grandmother had been there.

I am looking forward to hearing more about your experience in the sky club and the details of what happened at check-in!

You may just be right about that Epcot pic! It was a cool connection to find out that they'd been there.

We'll have some Sky Club pics for you soon!

Holy Crap!!! What a NIGHTMARE about your flight! So sorry to hear about Dug's nana. I know that she's in a better place, but it's still sad. It's good to hear that Delta was willing to work with you and changing all of your flights without any additional fees. It's almost unheard of now days, especially with all of the fees that airlines are hitting us with.

I still can't believe our flight delay. And the funny thing was that it was for mechanical reasons. Everyone thought the impending blizzard might delay flights, but it was the plane that was the problem. It is really cool that Delta worked things out for us without additional fees!

We kind-of felt that Nana was sending us some extra pixie dust during our trip!

 

[MNTwinsMom]

Joining in! DH and I were at WDW Dec 13-18 and had to change our travel plans due to the snowstorm. We were originally scheduled for Dec 12-16, but our flight out of MSP was cancelled on 12/12. We were also booked with frequent flyers, so I was afraid our options would be limited, but Delta (and Disney) were extremely accomodating due to the weather delays.

We stayed at ASMo, but spent 2 evenings at the Poly for dinner and Wishes from the Beach. I'll be anxiously awaiting your updates to see if we shared any of the same experiences.

 

[KatGarcia]

I'm in!

 

[jc040404]

Wow, that Mr. Potato Head picture sure made an impression on Andrew! Or maybe he just inherited your memory?

Oh, his memory is so much better than mine. Not exactly the best quality to have in a child sometimes. Nothing is ever forgotten.. He does love that potato head though!

 

[Dugette]

Joining in! DH and I were at WDW Dec 13-18 and had to change our travel plans due to the snowstorm. We were originally scheduled for Dec 12-16, but our flight out of MSP was cancelled on 12/12. We were also booked with frequent flyers, so I was afraid our options would be limited, but Delta (and Disney) were extremely accomodating due to the weather delays.

We stayed at ASMo, but spent 2 evenings at the Poly for dinner and Wishes from the Beach. I'll be anxiously awaiting your updates to see if we shared any of the same experiences.

How cool, another Minnesotan who was there about the same time! Plus you understand what it's like to change your flights/resorts at the last minute! Bummer that the snow cancelled your flight! I knew that some flights were cancelled, but I wasn't sure of the details. I'm glad Disney and Delta were helpful for you guys!

Glad you got over to the Poly! Love it!

I took a peek at your TR and it looks like we both went to EMH at MK on the same night!

I'm in!

Glad to have you here.

Oh, his memory is so much better than mine. Not exactly the best quality to have in a child sometimes. Nothing is ever forgotten.. He does love that potato head though!

Andrew is a fun kid!

 

[Dugette]

We arrived at the Delta Sky Club on the other side of the airport. Walked inside and straight to the desk to hand in our free passes. We also asked about our flight situation. The people working there were very willing to help. In fact, the woman we were working with actually had been looking for other options for passengers on our flight before we even got there. She wasn’t able to find anything, though. She did say that they would notify us if the flight got moved up. And there was a departure screen in the Sky Club too.

The Sky Club was actually fairly crowded for a lot of the time we were in there. But, when it emptied out later, we took some pictures. This was the area we spent our time in:

Here’s some of the other areas:

The Sky Club was pretty nice! Comfy chairs, free wi-fi, free snacks and drinks! Some of the things you can’t really see in the pictures (and that we didn’t use) are: a nice big fireplace, a “changing” room, and a room full of computers with internet. There were also very nice bathrooms. I’m so glad that we had those passes with us. We’d actually meant to use them on a previous trip, but had forgotten to bring the vouchers with us (and they wouldn’t let us in then). Glad it worked out this way, since we had hours to fill!

The first order of business was to get our accommodations squared away. It was clear that we would be arriving at MCO probably around 4am. Which meant that we wouldn’t be arriving at the Poly until early morning. At best, we’d be able to squeeze in a quick nap before rope drop at the Magic Kingdom. There was no way I could justify spending $246 for a couple hours of sleep.

However, I remembered something Len Testa had said on one of the WDW Today podcasts I’d listened to: he sometimes drove overnight to WDW and arrived around 4 or 5am. And, when he arrived at his resort, he checked in and found that his room was ready early for him! (even though his reservation was technically for that afternoon/evening)

It seemed we were in a similar situation, except that we actually had a reservation for the current night. So, I suggested we should cancel it. Best case scenario, we’d have the same experience as Len. Worst case scenario, we could happily nap on the comfy chairs in the Great Ceremonial House. I was okay with that.

So, with that in mind, Dug called Disney. He had to explain our situation to a few people before he ended up talking to the “big boss” at the Poly. They were extremely responsive to our predicament. They cancelled our first night with no fee. And they arranged it so that, when we arrived, a room would be ready for us! AWESOME!

Once that was taken care of, Dug used the laptop to continue with his homework. I used the iPad to write up the pre-trip report live update you may have read. We had some of the snacks: mixed nuts, snack mix, hummus and celery. Maybe more, I can’t remember. We also made use of the self-serve bar and this machine:

I had a couple of Bailey’s hot chocolates and Dug had a Bailey’s mocha, a Bailey’s hot chocolate, and a Bailey’s on the rocks:

Yes, there he is looking the part of a true Sky Club member! Oh, and he also had a glass of wine.

At some point, our flight status moved up another whole 15 minutes:

Also, at some point, I got hungry and grabbed us some cheese sticks from this fridge:

I also got thirsty for something that wasn’t hot chocolate. There was a fridge full of pop over by the bar. I got a Fresca. And grabbed a couple of Frescas and cans of orange juice to smuggle into my luggage. Dug grabbed a few too. We figured they would be good to stock up our fridge at the Poly.

As time wore on, I got more and more nervous about the weather. The snow held off for a long time, but eventually, it started falling, which you can sort-of see here:

The Sky Club was scheduled to stay open until 10pm. However, they made an announcement that they would be staying open an extra 45 minutes to accommodate the delay of our flight. Nice!

By the last few minutes, most people had cleared out. There was one other couple still there from our flight. However, they were going to Florida to sky dive! No Disney!

Finally, it was time to head back to the gate. The Sky Club was very nice (and way better than hanging out at our gate), but I can’t imagine paying $50/each for it! However, if you have a long wait and intend to take full advantage of the freebies, I can see how one might try to justify it.

When we arrived back at our gate, we saw how everyone else passed the time. Sitting on airport chairs, sitting on the floor, laying on the floor, etc. People looked drained and miserable. We were actually feeling refreshed and relaxed. Yay for the Sky Club and the free Bailey’s!

Before we boarded, they announced that we should all be sure to get a voucher that they’d be handing out. They gave us each a voucher worth $50 towards future airfare or 5000 Skymiles. No expiration. Nice. (After returning, we also received letters in the mail informing us that Delta was very sorry for our delay and was giving each of us an additional 2500 Skymiles. Cool!)

I will say that, despite the delay, I’m glad that Delta got us another plane. If the one we were supposed to take had mechanical problems that were so severe that they took this long to fix, I wouldn’t have wanted to be flying on that plane.

Once aboard, the flight attendants came around offering free headphones and blankets (not normally free, by the way). We passed on the headphones, as we each had our own iPod ones, but took the blankets. We actually never used the blankets, though, as the plane was pretty warm.

Once we were all loaded up, it was time to de-ice the plane. I’ve been in a few planes while they were being de-iced before, but this seemed to take an unusually long time. Maybe because there was so much snow coming down. And, since it had been a couple of hours, there was a fair amount of snow on the ground too. Pretty freaky. I think even the frequent flyers were a little nervous about being one of the last planes to leave in a blizzard.

However, we got off the ground just fine, despite the weather. Take off was at 12:20am, so exactly 5 hours late.

Due to a cross-promotion with Google Chrome, there was free wi-fi onboard the plane. I used my iPod Touch to make a quick PTR update. Pretty nice to have internet onboard! Again, this is how the other half lives, I guess! Sky Clubs, in-flight wi-fi, airplane blankets…

Even though it was late, they still showed the scheduled movie, “Eat Pray Love.” I caught bits and pieces of it, but was focused on getting some sleep. I did manage to sleep through the majority of the flight. Dug actually did watch the movie, but said afterwards that it was not worth losing sleep for. Bummer.

I think I woke up to have some pop and peanuts. Otherwise, uneventful flight.

We arrived to a very empty MCO. Here’s the first clock we saw:

And, yes, that is a.m.!

I was just glad we made it:

Dug decided to take a picture of himself “sleepwalking”:

It seemed so weird to be walking around the empty airport. I think the people on our flight were the only people there, except for some of the employees coming into work for the day. Soon, we saw our first giant Christmas tree:

Above the escalators, there was a holiday display:

We picked up our luggage and made our way to the Magical Express area. And this is what greeted us:

That’s right, there was nobody there! We knew ME was available, as we’d asked when we called Disney earlier, to make sure we wouldn’t be stranded at MCO. We looked around and waited around, but didn’t see anyone. So, we decided it was self-serve. We’d been here enough, we knew where to go. There would probably be somebody at the other end, right? We found our lane:

Got all the way to the end and nobody was there either. So, I opened the rope barrier myself and let us through. Looking back from the door area:

Just before we got out there, I’d seen a Magical Express bus go by! We went outside and looked around, but there was nobody to be seen. So, Dug got on the phone with with the ME people:

Up next: Will we ever get to the Poly? Will we get any more sleep? Stay tuned!

 

[lmillercrew]

I've always wondered what those Sky Mile places looked like inside. It looked VERY nice. Much nicer than the boarding gate area. And I hope that you didn't have to wait too long for ME. I'm sure that you didn't get much sleep on the plane, so 4 hours of restless sleep, just isn't enough when you have places to go and characters to see!

 

[A&Bmama]

The Sky Club was pretty nice! Comfy chairs, free wi-fi, free snacks and drinks!

Looks awesome. What a way to go!

I’m so glad that we had those passes with us. We’d actually meant to use them on a previous trip, but had forgotten to bring the vouchers with us (and they wouldn’t let us in then). Glad it worked out this way, since we had hours to fill!

Things happen for a reason. If you had remembered to bring it on that previous trip you would have kicking yourself for not saving them.

He had to explain our situation to a few people before he ended up talking to the “big boss” at the Poly. They were extremely responsive to our predicament. They cancelled our first night with no fee. And they arranged it so that, when we arrived, a room would be ready for us! AWESOME!

You know I love this!!! Now that's what I call customer service. Wow. I'm not overly surprise that they didn't charge you for that night but I'm blown away that they gave you your room upon arrival. Looking forward to hearing what exactly happened during that check-in...

I also got thirsty for something that wasn’t hot chocolate. There was a fridge full of pop over by the bar. I got a Fresca. And grabbed a couple of Frescas and cans of orange juice to smuggle into my luggage. Dug grabbed a few too. We figured they would be good to stock up our fridge at the Poly.

Good thinking, but with club level that probably ended up as an over abundance of beverages.

As time wore on, I got more and more nervous about the weather. The snow held off for a long time, but eventually, it started falling, which you can sort-of see here:

I would have been nervous too! I would have been fretting that if the flight got delayed further and the snow got heavier that they would cancel it all together.

Finally, it was time to head back to the gate. The Sky Club was very nice (and way better than hanging out at our gate), but I can’t imagine paying $50/each for it! However, if you have a long wait and intend to take full advantage of the freebies, I can see how one might try to justify it.

Frankly, for a wait as long as yours, $50.00 a head would have OK price in my books.

However, we got off the ground just fine, despite the weather. Take off was at 12:20am, so exactly 5 hours late.

For getting the heck out of Dodge.

For 5 hours late.

Just before we got out there, I’d seen a Magical Express bus go by! We went outside and looked around, but there was nobody to be seen. So, Dug got on the phone with with the ME people:

Not the sight you want to see after the long day and night you guys had.

Will we ever get to the Poly? Will we get any more sleep? Stay tuned!

Looking forward to this.

 

[TheDreamsComeTrue]

Oh, I'm in too!
Those empty airport pictures are very creepy!

 

[TheThomsLuvDisney]

Great update. I was reading your PTR that night and sharing with my husband your night, it was sooo sad.

Nice Sky Club, I never even knew that place existed, wow, I want passes!!

Look forward to your next update.

 

[Dugette]

I've always wondered what those Sky Mile places looked like inside. It looked VERY nice. Much nicer than the boarding gate area. And I hope that you didn't have to wait too long for ME. I'm sure that you didn't get much sleep on the plane, so 4 hours of restless sleep, just isn't enough when you have places to go and characters to see!

The Sky Club was nice! Very posh! I forgot to mention before that they even had outlets in all of the end tables, so we could plug in our electronics to the tables! Pretty swanky!

Things happen for a reason. If you had remembered to bring it on that previous trip you would have kicking yourself for not saving them.

Totally agree! I think we would have been pretty miserable if we'd passed the time at the gate. This was a special treat!

You know I love this!!! Now that's what I call customer service. Wow. I'm not overly surprise that they didn't charge you for that night but I'm blown away that they gave you your room upon arrival. Looking forward to hearing what exactly happened during that check-in...

Amazing customer service! In general, I would say that about the Poly. I was super-surprised that they told us in advance that we'd have a room. I figured it would be more of a "we'll see when you get here" kinda thing. It was so nice to know that we had beds waiting for us at the end of this long journey!

Good thinking, but with club level that probably ended up as an over abundance of beverages.

True, but with what we knew at the time, it seemed like a genius idea! We'd have a fridge at both the Poly and CSR and everyone knows you have to pay for all of your drinks in Disney, right?

I would have been nervous too! I would have been fretting that if the flight got delayed further and the snow got heavier that they would cancel it all together.

I was very concerned that they'd cancel it. And that we'd be stuck for another couple days. From what I understand, I think the airport closed down on Saturday and part of Sunday, so we just got out in time.

Frankly, for a wait as long as yours, $50.00 a head would have OK price in my books.

Wow, when A&Bmama approves of spending $$$, it must be worth it! I do think we had the ideal situation for using Sky Club...a long wait, we hadn't really had dinner, and we'd had a rough day that could be soothed by free drinks.

Looking forward to this.

It might not be as exciting as you think! Update coming up!

Oh, I'm in too!
Those empty airport pictures are very creepy!

Yeah, the pics do look pretty creepy. I didn't notice at the time, since we were practically sleepwalking, but it looks quite dark and abandoned at MCO!

Great update. I was reading your PTR that night and sharing with my husband your night, it was sooo sad.

Nice Sky Club, I never even knew that place existed, wow, I want passes!!

Look forward to your next update.

Such a crazy night! I just had to write about it while in the Sky Club! And, yes, if you ever come across passes, take them!

 

[Dugette]

We left off with Dug calling the Magical Express people because that whole area of the airport was deserted. We were standing by the doors to where you go out to the buses. While Dug was on the phone, I was wandering around and spotted some other travelers. I asked them if anyone was at the ME desk now and they said someone had just come over there. I got Dug’s attention, he hung up with the ME person on the phone, and we went back over to the desk.

Sure enough, there was one person there now. A grumpy Mears woman. Seriously, not magical! But, hey, at this time of the morning, it’s hard to be magical. She took our info and told us to go sit in the waiting area near the doors until our bus arrived. Since MCO has free wi-fi, I took the opportunity to add another brief update to the PTR. After a bit, a ME bus showed up and the driver came in calling out a couple of resorts…but not the Poly. The other family I’d talked to got on that bus. We asked the driver and he said another bus would be coming for us. Okay, more waiting…it was past 5am by this point.

After a short time, our bus arrived. And the only “traditional” travel day thing happened here: we got the front seat! As we have on several other ME rides. There were not many people on our bus (not surprising at this time of day). Due to the weird hour, I guess, they did not show the video. We just slept.

I awoke from my bus nap to find us at Port Orleans French Quarter. We dropped off the other passengers there. Here’s all we managed to get for a picture of their decorations:

Now we were finally on our way to the Poly! Soon, we arrived in paradise:

We made our way inside the Great Ceremonial House and took in the beauty that is the Poly. Extra beautiful due to the holiday décor. Ahhhhhhhhh………..

Surprisingly, there was a line (just a few people long) at the front desk. We got in line, not thinking much of it. Until the woman in front of us asked someone if she had to stand in line to check out. Once she realized she didn’t, she left. Which was when I realized that these people were checking OUT, not IN like us! After all, it was around 6 in the morning.

Soon enough, we were checking in and getting our leis. We told the CM about our special arrangements and that there was supposed to be a room ready for us. He went into the back and came out with our room assignment. It didn’t meet any of our room requests, but we didn’t care at that point. If it had beds, we wanted it! So, we got a first floor room in Tokelau. We’d actually stayed in Tokelau the one night we spent at the Poly in January. We’d had a first floor room then also and really liked our location. This would be okay!

Before heading to bed, we got a picture with the tree:

We had a nice walk to our room in the quiet, eerie beauty of the early morning:

When we arrived, we found that our room was on the quiet pool side of Tokelau. It was next to a room that was nicely shaded by trees. But our room was wide open to the pool. Okay, could be better, but who cares…we’re at the Poly!

We headed in and checked out our room:

Very nice! Love it! We quickly got ready for bed and hit the hay. We still wanted to get to the Magic Kingdom that morning, but we decided to be flexible on when we’d go, depending on how we were feeling and if a nap refreshed us sufficiently.

Up next: What is up with that door at the end of the trailer?!? (see below)

If you have not checked out the PTR yet, this is the video I posted there (a different trailer than the one on the intro post of this TR):

 

[A&Bmama]

Wow, when A&Bmama approves of spending $$$, it must be worth it! I do think we had the ideal situation for using Sky Club...a long wait, we hadn't really had dinner, and we'd had a rough day that could be soothed by free drinks.

I don't mind spending money if I have it. I just have this continuous cost benefit analysis going on in my head that makes me really think whether those goods and services that I am about to purchase are worth the money to me.

A four or five hours spent in peace and quiet with free drinks and snacks while waiting...that my friend is worth it in my books! If I only had an hour or two to wait...not so much.

It might not be as exciting as you think! Update coming up!

You're right, I was expecting this to all take place at check-in. Scratching my head now...

It is almost 11 am here and I am still in my PJs and DH is waiting for me to get ready so we can do some errands. I'll be back later to comment on the update itself.

 

[TheThomsLuvDisney]

Another great update!

I loved the picture of the poly outside in the early morning hours with the pink sky.

 

[Nermel9]

I'm in, just got caught up! Ugh, I can't believe what a nightmare you had with your flight! Although, I'd much rather wait for a safe plane than one with some kind of problem! Flying freaks me out as it is!

The Sky Club looks really nice! At least you had somewhere comfortable to be while you were waiting!

Wow can't believe how empty MCO was when you arrived!

The Poly is SO beautiful! I really have to stay there someday, and I don't mean for 2 or 3 days, I mean on like, a 10 day trip, if I"m staying in the Poly, I want to enjoy it!

 

[TheDreamsComeTrue]

Great Update! The Polynesian looks so pretty with all the decorations up!
(I'll be staying there next year for Christmas!)
& The picture of you two by the tree is adorable!

 

[MiaBella05]

Even thought the BC is my all time favorite hotel, the poly is a dream resort of mine, can't wait to read/see more of it!!

 

[jc040404]

Mmmmm.. Bailey's.. The Sky Club looks neat. I'm so glad you were able to relax in there during all of this waiting. What a crazy experience. I love that you grabbed some drinks for the fridge later, too.

Yay for getting to the Poly..finally! Your room looks wonderful. Can't wait to hear about that door though...

 

[A&Bmama]

Sure enough, there was one person there now. A grumpy Mears woman. Seriously, not magical! But, hey, at this time of the morning, it’s hard to be magical.

There's what you need after a long stressful day/night, a grumpy employee.

the driver came in calling out a couple of resorts…but not the Poly.

Okay, more waiting…it was past 5am by this point.

Might as well wait some more. You should be really good at it now with all the practice you got today.

I awoke from my bus nap to find us at Port Orleans French Quarter.

I see pictures like this and I start to second guess my choice of POR over POFQ. I thought we would have more quiet and solitude in AB, that is, if we get assigned to AB. Keep you fingers crossed for me.

Now we were finally on our way to the Poly! Soon, we arrived in paradise:

You must have wanted to lay down and kiss the ground by that point.

We made our way inside the Great Ceremonial House and took in the beauty that is the Poly. Extra beautiful due to the holiday décor. Ahhhhhhhhh………..

Yes indeed. It looks like an awesome resort.

After all, it was around 6 in the morning.

Lord love a duck. At this pace it is a wonder you ever got a room.

Soon enough, we were checking in and getting our leis. We told the CM about our special arrangements and that there was supposed to be a room ready for us. He went into the back and came out with our room assignment. It didn’t meet any of our room requests, but we didn’t care at that point. If it had beds, we wanted it!

That the way to keep all us troublesome Dis'ers from protesting our room assignments. Give all the bad ones out in the middle of the night. Or more correctly, morning in your case.

We still wanted to get to the Magic Kingdom that morning, but we decided to be flexible on when we’d go, depending on how we were feeling and if a nap refreshed us sufficiently.

Seriously? You're a better woman than me. I would have never attempted that. But then again, it is WDW, so maybe I would have given it my best shot at least

Up next: What is up with that door at the end of the trailer?!?

Maybe this is how club level comes into play??????