The ONLY real, consistent, problem I have is about tickets. I've had to buy certain folders that I can put things in (itinerary, flight info, hotel info, etc etc, all in order in their own sections) and put in my bag to make SURE I have all the info. For the flight I make sure 200 times that my wallet, etc etc etc, are all in their right places, and I ALWAYS ask DH on our trips, and even while he's getting ready for work trips, if he has everything (I then list of "everything" over the next hour or so).
With tickets and FPs and giftcards that I use I put them in my lanyard pouch, and I'm constantly touching the pouch to make sure it's there and the right width/depth/weight. I *should* just get a wristlet thing for the parks (if only I liked vera bradley) b/c then it would always be literally at hand.
Everything else i can talk myself through.
Even though I wear Keens and they are strapped on securely, I always fear I will lose my shoes on Soarin!!!
The good thing about Soarin' is that your shoes will be right there on the ground when you are done.
Right now I have an all new fear. Did anyone see the piece on the news where they decided to pat down a 3yr old at airport security. I have 2 special needs kids. I am so afraid that we are going to get to the airport and they are going to pat one of them down and we will end up with a meltdown of disasterous perportions and won't be able to get on the plane.
Do NOT be afraid of this, please!
Plan plan plan and prepare prepare prepare!
First, dress them in cotton. Make SURE they know that they will be taking off their shoes. If they like clean socks, give them a pair of socks to put on over their "real" socks.
Second, get there EARLY. That way you don't have to rush-rush, and you can take your time and not worry.
Third, if you're going slowly while putting things on the conveyor belt, just let others go in front. While I'm putting our stuff on the belt, I'm making eye contact with those behind me saying "if we are going too slowly, please go in front, please!" because I'd rather have them be grateful for that instead of glaring at me.
Fourth, make sure they are in cotton, NO belts NO buckles, NO barrettes (one time I went through a metal detector at LAX where they must have recently recalibrated it, because it went off because of the zipper in my husband's shorts, and then over my 1.5 inch wide Goody barrette...the likelihood of this happening to you is almost zero, but just in case, NO barrettes). Make sure they know to not bump the sides of the detector, because that will set it off.
Fifth, try to make sure you have an adult going before them and then after them. If you can't do that, make sure they go through first and make sure they STAY PUT.
Sixth, make sure YOU have no metal on! Don't worry about underwire anymore...that doesn't set things off any longer (the day of the barrette, once I took that out of my hair I wasn't beeping anymore...even while wearing an underwire bra). Have socks on, make sure you're in slip on/off shoes (kids too), just make sure you will not set it off.
And then, if for some reason it goes off and doesn't resolve itself, and someone has to be patted down, TALK to them. Know the procedure. There's also video of a 6 year old being patted down, and although the parents are having hissy fits about it, the TSA agent is AWESOME, and it's an excellent way to see what the patdown procedure is like. Listen to how the agent talks to the girl if you look up that video. Just in case the agent you get (should you get one) is bad at explaining things, listen to that video of the 6 year old so that YOU can explain it! Do NOT get panicky! They are just doing their jobs, and they have their reasons for checking people.
Whenever I fly with DS his carseat gets swabbed for explosives and what have you...I don't get insulted, I fully realize that somewhere out there there's a sicko who has expoosives in their home and this might be how it gets found out, because their kid's carseat has residue on it.
Going back in time...if you know the backstory of the 3 year old, she was already upset, tired, and cranky. Who knows why but try to make sure that YOUR kids are well rested, well fed, properly fed, and have correct expectations for what they are going to encounter (the shoes-off thing was HUGE with my son when he was 4, he really disliked it!).
Whatever you do, don't *worry* about it, just prepare yourself and your kids! Best of luck to you!!!
I have an irrational fear of falling from high places....that is why I stay away from ToT
. As for the big drop on Splash or riding with my hands up on Space, I have no problems with that....I just hate the feel of free falling.
TOT isn't a free fall! Isn't that cool? You're not falling with a need for brakes to go on. Instead, it's a *pull*. You're actively being pulled down. Should the motor stop, the thing that stops working isn't the brakes...it's the pull! Hopefully that knowledge will help you as much as it helps me.
I'd love to be a JC Skipper, but the water terrifies me... I can't swim and hate water so that might be the trigger. That, and the need to get a tetanus shot after falling in from all the bacteria!!!
Learn to swim!
And know that tetanus doesn't live in water like that, and it would only mess you up (if it were in the water) if it got into a new, open cut, that didn't bleed for some reason. Tetanus is anaerobic, meaning it dies in the presence of oxygen, and if you get the organism in a cut and that cut bleeds, the blood has oxygen and it being that open brings in oxygen, and the tetanus won't survive. How cool is that? So unless you get a puncture that *does not bleed*, don't worry about tetanus.
I know it's crazy, but I can't help it...
