Last family off

[Impromark]

I'm currently researching my impending trip to Shanghai / SDL and I was flummoxing enough at their TSA-equivalents, but this is just off the deep end..!

The way this is described I'm now more solidly on the side of shuttling back on the Disney bus or one of the other bus services (which is its own topic at this point). The TSA seems just too unpredictable to bet that we can have a smooth ride. Based on the responses here, I'd much rather take my time getting off Fantasy after a late (?) breakfast, head straight to MCO, then do some last-minute retail therapy at the shops before braving the TSA safari and subsequent flights home.

My last time through MCO was for my honeymoon, and we took the Magic Express to WDW after exactly one stop at the NASA store. We left through Miami, and this was in 2009, so I'm guessing it's a slightly different environment now. Luckily I'm a big planespotter these days, so while my family will be bored, a couple hours sitting around departure lounges at the airport isn't the same punishment for me.

Mark

 

[dobball23]

You can shoot hoops. I always do that on the final morning b/4 we disembark.

I am a morning person and was up early - even for me - and went and shot around in the morning prior to getting off the ship. It was a good time to do it...no one else was around for once and it wasn't very windy.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I subscribe to several travel blogs and they're all reporting that this is a new and random thing at many airports across the U.S. Everyone has been caught off guard. I usually put all our snacks in gallon size ziploc baggies which should make the screening process easier if and when we have to pull them out.

This was on Yahoo news: https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/94117cad-c109-35f4-b2fd-664eebaff79e/ss_tsa-scanners-can-confuse.html

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

This was on Yahoo news: https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/94117cad-c109-35f4-b2fd-664eebaff79e/ss_tsa-scanners-can-confuse.html

I find this article VERY helpful. It explains that the new policy is not (currently) a requirement, but that it can be implemented by screeners if they wish.

It also explains that this is done to cut down on false positives (organic compounds in the foods, looking like explosive compounds to the machines). Thus they are actually trying to speed up the lines by lowering the number of hand searches triggered by positive findings by the scanning instruments.

I would much rather separate out my food if asked rather than have to get pulled aside afterwards for a manual check.

I think when we understand WHY a new rule is being implemented it makes it a lot easier to accept.

 

[annacali]

I find this article VERY helpful. It explains that the new policy is not (currently) a requirement, but that it can be implemented by screeners if they wish.

It also explains that this is done to cut down on false positives (organic compounds in the foods, looking like explosive compounds to the machines). Thus they are actually trying to speed up the lines by lowering the number of hand searches triggered by positive findings by the scanning instruments.

I would much rather separate out my food if asked rather than have to get pulled aside afterwards for a manual check.

I think when we understand WHY a new rule is being implemented it makes it a lot easier to accept.

I can understand as well---but waiting until people are at the scanners to make it known is not the way to speed things up!

 

[DMMarla07860]

We got off the Wonder on 3/15. Adding to massive anxiety at MCO was a seemingly random requirement to remove ALL food from carryons and place in bins (even prepackaged snacks). No one was prepared including me (who had them of course stashed at the bottom of my backpack for my kids as well as some in their backpacks). We did not have to do this in Kansas City on our way to the cruise. Anyone else met with this at MCO? There were no signs for advance warning. My parents with precheck did not have to do this.

My dad and I actually had to do this after a cruise in October and we got off the Wonder 3/15 as well after Back-2-back though we knew this time not to pack candy in carry on's

 

[JW9DVC]

It really depends on when you are disembarking the ship. In San Diego it takes longer I know. We go to late breakfast and take our time. If they have a line to get out the doors. We don’t wait in that line. We sit and just hang out until the line is barely a line. I’m not cattle.

 

[tvguy]

You certainly could keep going to the end of the line to be the last family off the ship, but eventually even the end of the line will end up at the front of the line.
I do have to admit I have several dreams where I found a place to hide at the end of the cruise and stowed away for the next cruise. Sleep on the deck at night, eat at the buffets without being detected. Then I wake up and realize they would know I hadn't gotten off the ship since my KTTW card hadn't been scanned......then I start thing about how to hack into the system so it looks like I got off the ship!

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Yes, it will be open with a continental breakfast. I would speak with concierge about your needs for disembarkation day. They will help you with whatever you need.

I agree with the PP's who say MCO is a hot mess. We just flew out of MCO on March 24 after sailing on the Fantasy. Thank goodness we had pre-check because, when we arrived around 8:15 am (yes we got there that early by using express walk-off and a private car!), the security line was down the corridor through the MCO shops. I've never seen it that long and we go to Orlando at least 3 times a year. Even with pre-check, it was pretty disorganized.

Wow! I've never seen it go past the fountain. That is CRAZY!!!

 

[taaren]

We are always out of our stateroom before 2nd seating for breakfast, though we have often been one of the last 10 families out of the dining room since we have very large parties and often end up chatting with our servers who seem to like to linger with us. You can hang out in the lobby until the end, we do because the line for customs is shorter and its easier to find the bags in port when there are fewer of them. As long as you are in the lobby with all your carry-ons the cast doesn't mind you being one of the last ones off the ship in our experience, its nice to take a few last pictures of the kids on the staircase before leaving. Cried at the end of the first cruise, but ever since I've been okay and usually on the flight home DS starts asking about when we'll be sailing again and we start formulating plans for the placeholders. Think the only cruise we got off early and zipped away was when we did a BLT-cruise-BWV trip and we were more excited to get to our new resort ... find that we like parks pre-cruise more than post-cruise these days.

 

[TrishaK]

Because this thread has "evolved" into an MCO/TSA complaining subject.... When we cruised in June, we had quite a bit of time to kill before our flight home. We had our passports with us.... So we hopped on over to the on-site TSA PreCheck office where my husband and I both signed up. It was quick and easy! Worth every penny!

 

[professorandmom]

To address "last person off" topic, we were on a December 2016 Fantasy that had a medical emergency on CC and so we arrived to PC late on the last morning (very challenging for many passengers). As a result, the announcements encouraged those with later flights to "hang out" in the common areas...the atrium was CHAOS...so my daughter and I were able to sit in the deck loungers by the adult pool until perhaps 11:30 or so...quiet, peaceful - but just for those of us who weren't missing flights...

 

[kiford]

Unless you have Pre-Check (and even that is not super fast at MCO)

Or just not open for some reason. I have Nexus and never assume that: (a) it will be open; or (b) it will move at any reasonable speed. I've been through security at MCO in 10 minutes and in 1 hour 15 minutes. That 1 hour and 15 minutes was at a time when they didn't open the pre-check line. I've been through regular line sometimes in 30 or less minutes. I've also been through the pre-check line in 20+ minutes. We never take chances at MCO. We've always decided to see what it looks like when we arrive. If we arrived really early and the lines looked good, we'd eat at a restaurant before security; if it looked like it might take a while, we'd go through even though the food choices are much more limited after security. DH finally got priority pass for the lounges so we now go through as soon as we can and go to the one of the lounges. The food there isn't always the greatest but at least it's free and we know we won't have to race to the gate.

 

[remlap]

PreCheck is worth every penny. Las Vegas, NV sounds similar to what you all are saying about MCO. It can take hours to get thru security w/o it.