Leave tomorrow, a quick look at our plan.

[Kourtnie]

Well, we leave tomorrow. There are eight of us so we are so excited..we are splitting the trip between Disney and Universal.

Day One..
Epcot
and the Grand Gathering Magical Fireworks Voyage This is our first time doing this adventure

Day 2
Magic Kingdom
CRT for Breakfast (another first)
Crystal Palace for Lunch

Day 3
Rainforest Cafe for breakfast
Animal Kingdom

Day 4
MGM
50s primetime for late lunch (first time)

Day 5
SeaWorld

Day 6-8
Universal and IOA
Only reservations we have here are Pastamore and The Mandara Spa for a massage and pedicure on our last day.

Im going banannas, I cant wait...staying up late tonight to check in online with Southwest.

 

[TimothyG]

Very cool plans.

 

[PolyHereWeCome]

Have a GREAT time!
By the way, the on-line checking in is super! We had a 7:15 AM flight, and because I was getting up at 4:30, DH said "No Way" was I to stay up until 12:01 and check-in. So I went to sleep at a reasonable time, but, of course, was way too excited to sleep. At 1 AM, I was buzzed, wide awake. Quietly logged in downstairs, did the check-in thing, which is so fast and easy, and went back to bed contently before 2 AM.

Boy, was DH happy (and surprised), when he saw the lines at the airport and I pulled out the "A" boarding passes. Families were being separated on this flight, so I was also saddened that this is what cattle-call boarding does.

Here's some pixie dust!

 

[iLoveEeyore2]

We are flying Southwest for the first time. How does the on-line check-in work? Do you get to pick your seats and print boarding passes? What do you do about checking your bags when you get to the airport, if you already have boarding passes? (Or do they issue a "finalized" version based on what you did on-line.)

Thanks for the info! We are leaving at 8:30 p.m., so I guess I'll just check-in during the day.

Also - do you know if they charge a fee to change a flight? We are thinking of switching to the 5:00 p.m. flight. I know we would have to pay the fare difference, but I was wondering if they have a $50 change fee like some of the other airlines.

 

[notnothin]

Day 3
Rainforest Cafe for breakfast
Animal Kingdom

Cool! I didn't know Rainforest offered breakfast. Have a safe trip!

 

[notnothin]

We are flying Southwest for the first time. How does the on-line check-in work? Do you get to pick your seats and print boarding passes? What do you do about checking your bags when you get to the airport, if you already have boarding passes? (Or do they issue a "finalized" version based on what you did on-line.)

Thanks for the info! We are leaving at 8:30 p.m., so I guess I'll just check-in during the day.

Also - do you know if they charge a fee to change a flight? We are thinking of switching to the 5:00 p.m. flight. I know we would have to pay the fare difference, but I was wondering if they have a $50 change fee like some of the other airlines.

I believe you can log in anytime after midnight on the day of your trip to print a boarding pass. Unfortunately Southwest does let you choose your seats. If you haven't flown Southwest before, they use the "cattle call" method in which they assign you to a group (A,B,C) depending on when you check in, and the groups are called in that order. The seating is "first come, first served" for each group.

As for changing flights, I have always been charged a fee other than the time I was at Oracle training and needed to change a flight because of the fact a hurricane was about to hit Orlando (last year). Good luck with that!

 

[PolyHereWeCome]

We are flying Southwest for the first time. How does the on-line check-in work? Do you get to pick your seats and print boarding passes? What do you do about checking your bags when you get to the airport, if you already have boarding passes? (Or do they issue a "finalized" version based on what you did on-line.)

Thanks for the info! We are leaving at 8:30 p.m., so I guess I'll just check-in during the day.

Also - do you know if they charge a fee to change a flight? We are thinking of switching to the 5:00 p.m. flight. I know we would have to pay the fare difference, but I was wondering if they have a $50 change fee like some of the other airlines.

You can go on-line to Southwest's website anytime (starting at 12:01 AM) the day of your flight and check-in. SW doesn't do seat assignments, not even at the gate, just assigns people to board in groups. First group to board are the "A" ticket holders, then the "B" and last the "C". Because we had "A", knew we woud be able to sit together, so we didn't even wait in line with the other A holders. Just sat comfortably in the gate area until pre-boarders got on, then the kids, DH, and I had only a moment to wait before we got on. You choose your seats oncee you are on the plane.

Sitting together may not be an issue if you are only a twosome or traveling without children. Or if your child is 4 or under, you can pre-board (so folks like us with 7 year olds really need the As or Bs to stay together).

If you have bags to check, you do have to wait in line for that, but your letter assignment is already set. In our case, we don't have a printer at home. During the baggage check-in, the SW person printed out our boarding passes (still got to keep the "A" assignment).

We changed our reservation and did not incur any fee. Am pretty sure that unlike other airlines, they don't charge fees (other than the flight fare change, if there's any). Good luck.

 

[Metro West]

Well, we leave tomorrow. There are eight of us so we are so excited..we are splitting the trip between Disney and Universal.

Day One..
Epcot
and the Grand Gathering Magical Fireworks Voyage This is our first time doing this adventure

Day 2
Magic Kingdom
CRT for Breakfast (another first)
Crystal Palace for Lunch

Day 3
Rainforest Cafe for breakfast
Animal Kingdom

Day 4
MGM
50s primetime for late lunch (first time)

Day 5
SeaWorld

Day 6-8
Universal and IOA
Only reservations we have here are Pastamore and The Mandara Spa for a massage and pedicure on our last day.

Im going banannas, I cant wait...staying up late tonight to check in online with Southwest.

Sounds like a great plan to me! Have a great trip!

 

[minnieears]

You can go on-line to Southwest's website anytime (starting at 12:01 AM) the day of your flight and check-in. SW doesn't do seat assignments, not even at the gate, just assigns people to board in groups. First group to board are the "A" ticket holders, then the "B" and last the "C". Because we had "A", knew we woud be able to sit together, so we didn't even wait in line with the other A holders. Just sat comfortably in the gate area until pre-boarders got on, then the kids, DH, and I had only a moment to wait before we got on. You choose your seats oncee you are on the plane.

Sitting together may not be an issue if you are only a twosome or traveling without children. Or if your child is 4 or under, you can pre-board (so folks like us with 7 year olds really need the As or Bs to stay together).

If you have bags to check, you do have to wait in line for that, but your letter assignment is already set. In our case, we don't have a printer at home. During the baggage check-in, the SW person printed out our boarding passes (still got to keep the "A" assignment).

We changed our reservation and did not incur any fee. Am pretty sure that unlike other airlines, they don't charge fees (other than the flight fare change, if there's any). Good luck.

I'm glad to hear that you can checkin on-line to get the group assignment. Our youngest just turned 6 (yesterday!) and we can no longer do pre-boarding, so it would be important for us to try to get the "A" assignment to get to sit together.

SWA does not charge a fee for changing your flights. I change my flights all the time. I love traveling on SWA, even though it is like being in a cattle-call.

We're leaving next Wed (4/20) for WDW and I'm soooo excited.

 

[Kourtnie]

Cool! I didn't know Rainforest offered breakfast. Have a safe trip!

I didn't know about Rainforest Cafe having breakfast until this year...but Im excited to Try it....they have Tonga Toast that everyone talks about..this is the menu from the one in Vegas, its probably similar


Tonga Toast Baked cinnamon French toast with warm maple syrup, surrounded by fresh strawberries and bananas and topped with walnuts.

Benedict Bamba Traditional Eggs Benedict: English muffin, poached eggs and ham, topped with Hollandaise sauce. Accompanied by seasoned grilled potatoes and fresh fruit.

Pie of the Viper Fresh-baked Mexican-style breakfast pizza topped with scrambled eggs, Roma tomatoes, cilantro, red, green & Poblano peppers, jack & cheddar cheeses.

Jungle Wrap A fresh, warm tortilla "wrapped" around scrambled eggs sauteed with peppers, Andouille sausage and Creole sauce, served with fresh fruit and a lemon poppyseed mini-muffin.

Mazatlan Mix Eggs, red, green & Poblano peppers, jack & cheddar cheeses, and seasoning, cooked to perfection and served in a crispy flour tortilla cup, ccompanied by sour cream, guacamole, salsa and a lemon poppyseed mini-muffin.

 

[iLoveEeyore2]

Thanks for all the Southwest info. I guess I'll stay up the night before in order to get an "A" boarding pass. The cattle-call method does not sound too appealing (especially if we get in C group!) DH and I have both flown solo, and would be okay, but DD would be very unhappy! I don't blame her though. If something (God forbid) were to happen, I would want to make sure I was there w/ her. No charge for changes is a good thing, also! (I love to watch that show Airline. If you've never seen it, it shows SW and some of the problems that passengers/staff encounter. Wouldn't want to be in some of their shoes!)