January 2009. . . Calling all Snowbirds ~ Part V

[MAGGIED]

Our flight is at 4 PM tomorrow so we will leave around 1:45... the airport is about 20 minutes from here.....then we have to park the car and drag all the stuff..... 4 suitcases, 2 sets of golf clubs,3 carry ons.... yikes....

 

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! I'm leaving in four hours!!!!!! I'm so excited and stressed. Hubby printed out tshirts last night...backwards...he forgot to reverse the image. So he needs to get on it and fix them! Kids are at school, we're pretty much packed, just gotta go get mani/pedi and we're off!!!

 

[jenjolt]

To all of you leaving soon...go and have a great trip!! I'll be excited to hear about it when you get back!!!

 

[MAGGIED]

Jen you have inspired me... I might just write a trip report!!!!

 

[swald91]

I haven't posted too much here..but we will be leaving in 2 days! Have a safe trip all-enjoy & it looks like the weather will be getting better for those of us going next week!!!!!

 

[snykymom]

That is the best advice I give anyone going...relax when you are there and take everything in especially when things don't go exactly as "planned". Because if you think about it there is always more special moments then not-so special ones. You don't want to look back on your vacations and the first memory of it is the "things that didn't go as planned." If that makes sense lol....sorry been up since 5 am getting kids off to school.

I have to agree with this one - it happened to us on our trip! I had everything planned out for parades & fireworks. D loves Spectromagic, so I made sure that we could see it, and then figured we'd hang around for Wishes. We watched Spectro and headed over to use our fast passes on BTMRR. I thought we had enough time. We were about 3/4 way throught the queue and we heard the "Wishes in 5 minutes" announcement! Wishes was an hour earlier than I had remembered! I was so bummed out about not seeing them from Main Street - D was great about it, though, "We saw them last night from Contemporary, Mom; it's OK." Anyway, we finally get on the ride, and as we're going through the first opening to the outside, what do we see? Fireworks! It was so cool whipping around the mountain with the "sneak peaks" at the fireworks! And it made the ride more interesting since we were looking up instead of forward, so the turns & dips came as more of a surprise! Then when we got out and started walking around, we watched the rest of the fireworks!

It was a magical moment that we would have missed if everything had gone as planned! (Or if I had held onto my "I worked so hard and still screwed it up" funk.)

Wishing and unanticipated pleasures for you all!

 

[crzyred]

Thanks Ladies!! I knew I could count on you!!! It was way way more gross (odor wise) last night. Hopefully that's the end of it!!! I hope!!!!! She's been sipping Sprite just a tad---I have Jello, so that's all she's gettin for a while.

How long do you generally arrive at the airport before your flights? We are a little over an hour and a half from Houston-so that's 2 hours right there( we go through a drive thru for breakfast)---then they always tell me when we book, to be there 2 hours early. Is that what ya'll do? We always leave 4 hours before the flight (ours is 10:30 ish, so we will be gone by 6:30), but we always sit in the airport for at least 45 minutes!!!!! Just wondering if 2 hours before is rule of thumb, or if y'all cut it closer.

First, I hope she feels better in no time!

Secondly, we are always at the airport at least 2 hours ahead of time. Well I shouldn't say always. I have a paranoid father that doesn't handle things out of his control well, so if we have a flight at 10 he'll be up at 6am ready to go . It also depends on what airport we are flying out of. If it's our local airport, that only has 7 gates in it, usually an hour is fine. However the bigger ones we get there earlier. It's not a big deal for us, we all have stuff to do in our carry-ons anyway.

Thirdly - HAVE A GREAT TRIP!!!!!!!!!!
*That goes for everyone leaving within the next few days!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

We generally abide by the two hour guideline, but this time we are not checking luggage, so we're going more with an hour and a half. just got back from nails getting done - don't want to type much - I know I'll mess them up before I leave anyway!
Oh well!

 

[star2500]

I'm debating that myself. We are about 45 minutes from Philly airport...probably a little less. That's if there is no traffic. Our flight is 6:30 pm Mon. night....so technically should be there by 4:30. So should leave at 3:45. The only thing is that if we leave at 3:45....we hit rush hour traffic right out of the city. Then I never flew out at the end of a business day....thinking airport will be crowded that time with business travelers. So debating on giving myself an extra hour? 2:30....gosh that will be 4 hours before lol. But like someone else said....I rather be sitting there relaxed reading a book...then stressing and rushing trying to get through philly security (awful...Newark is so much better) with 3 kids, husband, stroller, everyone's carry ons....portable dvd player lol...

I think 2:30 it is.

 

[BrerRabbit_fan]

Thanks for the weather report. One of our gang is sick as well. Sigh. Oh well, you can only plan so much. See you all at the parks. I'll be the commando running around. Every time, I tell myself that this time I'll slow down to "smell the roses". Hasn't happened yet, I hate to miss one minute.

 

[BrerRabbit_fan]

I have to agree with this one - it happened to us on our trip! I had everything planned out for parades & fireworks. D loves Spectromagic, so I made sure that we could see it, and then figured we'd hang around for Wishes. We watched Spectro and headed over to use our fast passes on BTMRR. I thought we had enough time. We were about 3/4 way throught the queue and we heard the "Wishes in 5 minutes" announcement! Wishes was an hour earlier than I had remembered! I was so bummed out about not seeing them from Main Street - D was great about it, though, "We saw them last night from Contemporary, Mom; it's OK." Anyway, we finally get on the ride, and as we're going through the first opening to the outside, what do we see? Fireworks! It was so cool whipping around the mountain with the "sneak peaks" at the fireworks! And it made the ride more interesting since we were looking up instead of forward, so the turns & dips came as more of a surprise! Then when we got out and started walking around, we watched the rest of the fireworks!

It was a magical moment that we would have missed if everything had gone as planned! (Or if I had held onto my "I worked so hard and still screwed it up" funk.)

Wishing and unanticipated pleasures for you all!

I always get so upset when I mess up. It's true though, unplanned magical moments are the best.

 

[sarbah77]

How long do you generally arrive at the airport before your flights? We are a little over an hour and a half from Houston-so that's 2 hours right there( we go through a drive thru for breakfast)---then they always tell me when we book, to be there 2 hours early. Is that what ya'll do? We always leave 4 hours before the flight (ours is 10:30 ish, so we will be gone by 6:30), but we always sit in the airport for at least 45 minutes!!!!! Just wondering if 2 hours before is rule of thumb, or if y'all cut it closer.

I almost always do two, but it depends, as always. If I'm checking luggage, two no doubt about it. If I'm not checking luggage, what day of the week is it? Thursday nights and Saturday mornings are always way busier at my airport than a Sunday morning or a Monday nights. Fridays can be hit or miss, though we usually find them pretty busy (our trip two weeks ago was really an exception!).

If you do decide to cut it closer, it's worth considering the skycaps for your luggage. Sure, you have to tip them in addition to any baggage fees, but the lines can be MUCH shorter there!

 

[MAGGIED]

I have made some progress... DS is 95% packed... just his toiletries... I am about 75% packed.... DH 0%... hasn't done a thing yet ....

Made the list for the neighbor watching our kitties...
held the mail....
made my list of what to do tomorrow.....
paid all the bills due on the 1st...
made shopping list for tomorrow.... swim trucks, socks for methumbsup2 )


tonight DS has a basketball game and then we go to DS friends house to get all his stuff... he is just going to spend the night here... his family is going out of town to a wrestling match at 7am.... didn't want them dropping him off that early... this way I can let the boys sleep in..... not that I will be able to because I will be to excited!!!

 

[PEANUT1]

wendy...Have a wonderful time. Please report back.

I already had my trip but am just checking in with all you lucky dogs that are going soon.

Fun news though, we are planning our trip for next year...probably end of January at the treehouses. So I am really interested how the crowds and weather are for the guys travelling into next week.

Have a magical time!

 

[jenjolt]

Jen you have inspired me... I might just write a trip report!!!!

YAY!!! I would love a Wendy trip report!!! That is so fantastic!!!!! I'm so excited now...that and I just found out I could have been listening to DIS Radio at work this whole time...lunchtime will never be the same now LOL

 

[MAGGIED]

wendy...Have a wonderful time. Please report back.

I already had my trip but am just checking in with all you lucky dogs that are going soon.

Fun news though, we are planning our trip for next year...probably end of January at the treehouses. So I am really interested how the crowds and weather are for the guys travelling into next week.

Have a magical time!

love the PIXIE DUSTING..... they look so cute!!!

 

[PEANUT1]

it was fun...everyone in the park was teasing my hubby (in a good way).

 

[Dancegrl624]

Well, I'm now about 90% packed (I think!). I was a crazy packing lady this morning. I had 3 suitcases on my bed and clothes strewn about everywhere. DH packed last night, except toiletries of course. He only took up 1/2 of our largest suitcase. So as to not go over the 50 lb. limit, I packed DD's stuff with his. Then, I got a whole suitcase to myself! Let's just say that I'm way overpacked. Once DD goes to bed tonight, I will relook at my clothing choices. I don't really want to take stuff out, but I will if I have to. I roll everything when we have to pack a lot of stuff. You can fit a whole lot more! I have a post-it note on my mirror reminding me of stuff that has to get packed in the morning. 24 hours from now, we'll have landed at MCO!!! Oh my goodness! It just doesn't seem real!

 

[crzyred]

Well, I'm now about 90% packed (I think!). I was a crazy packing lady this morning. I had 3 suitcases on my bed and clothes strewn about everywhere. DH packed last night, except toiletries of course. He only took up 1/2 of our largest suitcase. So as to not go over the 50 lb. limit, I packed DD's stuff with his. Then, I got a whole suitcase to myself! Let's just say that I'm way overpacked. Once DD goes to bed tonight, I will relook at my clothing choices. I don't really want to take stuff out, but I will if I have to. I roll everything when we have to pack a lot of stuff. You can fit a whole lot more! I have a post-it note on my mirror reminding me of stuff that has to get packed in the morning. 24 hours from now, we'll have landed at MCO!!! Oh my goodness! It just doesn't seem real!

That's the way I pack too! Everything gets rolled. Socks get shoved in the extra tennis shoes on the bottom of the bag...anything to save room! I also over pack. I like having options! We had a washer/dryer in our room, so I didn't pack a lot of extra for socks/undies but t-shirts...I had at least one for every day.

 

[Dancegrl624]

That's the way I pack too! Everything gets rolled. Socks get shoved in the extra tennis shoes on the bottom of the bag...anything to save room! I also over pack. I like having options! We had a washer/dryer in our room, so I didn't pack a lot of extra for socks/undies but t-shirts...I had at least one for every day.

We will have a washer and dryer as well, but I like options. Besides, you need a different shirt for each day. Who wants to be wearing the same thing at both MK and then AK? I'm thinking about pictures and my DH totally wasn't last night. He said he didn't care, but I totally do. I'm over it though and it's not going to bother me. For all you Snowbirds heading down this weekend, my DH will be wearing Buffalo t-shirts pretty much all week. That's what he wanted to pack I guess. Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres t-shirts. We'll be showing our Buffalo pride!! Anyways....I think I packed enough shirts for 2 weeks. Ooops! Like I said, options.