Keep our booking or change flights? (Answered! Love the DIS people!)

[bellebowandsnow]

DSis and I have booked a stay at the World this September from the 23rd to the 26th. It's short, but lets us experience MNSSHP for the first time! I just received an email from SW saying our flight home has been moved up a couple hours meaning less time in the parks on our last day. Of course I want to spend more time at the parks so I'm looking at changing to a later flight home. The trouble here is we would have to change planes at either BWI with a 45 minute layover or ATL with a 35 minute layover. Our current flight home is non-stop. We will not have any checked bags to worry about.

We've never been to either of these airports and don't fly very often so I'm nervous about how much time we would have to get off one plane and catch the other. The change at BWI lets us stay for another hour, giving us roughly 5 or 6 hours in the park, while the ATL one would give us around 7 or 8. Keeping our current flight would only let us enjoy 4 at best. Changing our dates are not an option for a few reasons I won't go into detail about. Should I take the chance and hope we can catch that flight in Atlanta, play it safer and switch in Baltimore (which seems smaller) or just keep what we have and be grateful we're even going at all?

My apologies if this is on the wrong boards as I wasn't sure where to post such a question. Thanks for any input!

 

[tony609]

I hate changing planes. It's always direct for us less hassles. But that's my view.

 

[minnierocks]

I do not know about BWI, but 35 minutes in Atlanta is not enough time. It is a huge airport and an hour is the very minimum that I would go with a flight through that airport...and that would be pushing it.

 

[SEA333]

If there are no kids involved, I would do the layover/plane switch. I can do anything without kids to worry about!!!

If there are kids on the trip, make it easier on everyone and fly direct

 

[amie416]

I do not know about BWI, but 35 minutes in Atlanta is not enough time. It is a huge airport and an hour is the very minimum that I would go with a flight through that airport...and that would be pushing it.

Exactly what minnierocks said. If you take a connecting flight, you're only adding a lot of stress and potential risk if you don't give yourself adequate time to make your next flight.

Personally, I love connecting flights when I'm not in a hurry because I don't like sitting in a cramped airplane seat for hours on end. Connecting flights give me an opportunity to walk around, grab a coffee, use a real toilet, etc before continuing on the next part of my journey. I think I'm the only one who likes them though; I'm a little weird like that.

For your reference:

Airport Minimum Connection Times

 

[bkb91]

I say if having as much time in the the parks is your priority, I say do they ATL layover. I think 35 minutes is pushing it, but I have done it before, with my connecting flight in a different terminal. If worse comes to worse, Delta will issue you a boarding ticket for the next available flight. But, Delta will do their best to make sure you get on your connector. When booking flights they are required to give at least the minimum layover time that they know people can and have made it before, so it's not entirely impossible.


Good luck and have fun!

 

[bellebowandsnow]

For your reference:

Airport Minimum Connection Times

Thank you very much for the resource link! A 55 minute minimum! You would think these websites would not give the option of a flight if it cut it too close for passengers.

And thank you everyone else who commented so quickly since I always stress out over these sort of decisions! After listening to the advice we've decided to try our luck with the connector in Baltimore. An extra hour at the parks (more like half hour and more padding in traveling back to the resort) plus there are no children or checked bags with us to worry about and we have friends nearby if we become stranded.

 

[bellebowandsnow]

I say if having as much time in the the parks is your priority, I say do they ATL layover. I think 35 minutes is pushing it, but I have done it before, with my connecting flight in a different terminal. If worse comes to worse, Delta will issue you a boarding ticket for the next available flight. But, Delta will do their best to make sure you get on your connector. When booking flights they are required to give at least the minimum layover time that they know people can and have made it before, so it's not entirely impossible.


Good luck and have fun!

I didn't see this until after my last post. The ATL layover honestly scares me but your story helps me believe we may be able to make the BWI one work. We're flying Southwest/Air Tran, not Delta. I'm not sure if that would have made a difference. Thanks anyway!

 

[dimndgal1]

BWI shouldn`t be an issue... Southwest tends to be in the same concourse there, and it`s pretty easy to navigate as it is new and open (the older concourses can be like salmon upstream!

I fly out of BWI all the time and the biggest hold up is security... I fly through ATL often and the biggest hold up there is everything. I def think you will have no issues in Bmore and can say with experience even an hour is often not enough time in Hotlanta.

 

[larryz]

ATL timing is too close for comfort, even if your flights are on time. You have chosen wisely!

For future reference, you can use this site to see which gates flights usually depart from and arrive at. Not always guaranteed, but it'll give you trends over time.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

I've moved this thread to the Transportation forum.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

As long as your first flight arrives on time, 45 minutes is more than enough time for a connection at BWI.

 

[sam_gordon]

I would also select BWI as 35 minutes is pushing the envelope at Atlanta. BUT, since SW is one concourse, it is doable. You just might not get a "prime" seat on the connecting flight.

I was able to deplane, switch concourses, and board a connecting flight in 5 minutes in Atlanta. But, I had no kids and a backpack and carryon only. It's doable, but I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[jeff968]

We avoid connectings like the plague. The biggest reason being the weather factor. You double your weather risk when you connect. Granted, you are traveling in September which should be okay but you still have to worry about your connecting location weather. I'll never forget waiting for our return trip a few years ago. We were non-stop, TPA to JFK but the couple next to us. also going to NYC, was connecting in Washington DC. Guess what, there was a storm in the DC area and their flight was cancelled. We flew right over the storm and landed in NYC without issue and on time.