Chapter 15: The End
We had to leave for the airport at 8:00 a.m. The girls were flying out at 11:00 with a connection in Dallas and we were flying out at 3:30. I wanted to leave a big gap just in case there were any problems. Good thing I did that.
As we were leaving the Dolphin, we noticed the crowds of Men in Black were gone. They had, however, been replaced with thousands of teenagers on a group church conference. Thousands. Really. I was kind of glad we were not going to be here for that because they were direct competition for everything we like to use—the buses, the boats, the pools, and Picabu’s. Caitlin took one look around and said, “Yuck. Too many teenagers.”
Our town car showed up right on time and we headed off to MCO. I was so sad not just to be leaving WDW but also to be leaving my baby.
We got the girls checked in and their luggage checked. After buying some snacks for them to take on the plane and a lot of hugs and kisses, they headed off through the Security line. Now it was way too early for Alex and I to check our luggage so we found a nice sitting area and dumped our luggage there. I went to get us something to eat and we had a little picnic while I watched a million people streaming out the gates on their way to WDW. A million. I would have been jealous if there weren’t so darn many of them. I don’t think you could pay me to be there the week of Easter. Well, maybe if they PAID me but aside from that, no way!
I had one last hope for MickeysMommy's frosty Mickey mug. I went to both Disney stores in the airport to look for one. Not a one to be found. I was feeling really sad that I hadn't been able to find one when I remembered something. She had changed her mind but she had originally requested a Mickey travel mug and THOSE were there in abundance. I picked one that had a picture of Mickey on it and the CM who rang it up told me that was the best one because it had a rubber thing on the bottom so it wouldn't slide. And I promise I'm going to mail it out this weekend, pal!
We were reading and people watching when my phone rang at about 10:00. It was Caitlin in a panic. I was about to join her. Their flight was delayed—by at least an hour and possibly two. Which meant they would miss their connection in Dallas. I told her to go to the counter and talk to the person there. She waited in line for about 15 minutes then called me back and said the lady had told her they would just have to fly standby out of Dallas. Excuse me? Two 16 year olds by themselves? Especially when I’d overheard conversations as we were checking them in that there were a lot of people flying standby out of Dallas due to tornados and thunderstorms the day before. Yikes. I went into panic mode and told her to let me talk to the gate agent. Who charmingly replied, “I am NOT talking to your mother.” Whoa. Let the hissy fit commence.
I told Caitlin to sit tight and I left Alex with the luggage while I headed off to the front gate. I knew that in a pinch, we could call Caitlin’s stepmother’s dad (complicated enough for you?) He lives about 3 hours from Dallas which is one reason we had her fly through there.
I got to the counter and explained the situation. The agent did some clickity clacking on the keyboard and asked me, “Well, how about having them fly out tomorrow?” I replied that that would not really work because I was supposed to leave at 3:30, it was the weekend before Easter, and we had no hotel reservations for the night.
Bless her heart, she told me, “Well, we can’t have two 16 year olds flying stand by out of Dallas. I totally agree with you there. Let me see what I can do.”
I was a nervous wreck the whole time she was gone in the back room and it took her about a half hour. She told me she’d tried bumping people, she’d tried alternate flights, and she could not find anything to work. BUT she had found an alternative for me. The airline would refund our tickets and she’d found a flight through Nashville on Southwest and it would cost me about $50 more per ticket than our original tickets. Fine, fine, let’s just get them on their way! I made sure to tell her how very much I appreciated all her help—particularly in comparison with the gate agent.
I called the girls and had them meet me at the Southwest counter and we got them all taken care of. This flight was, of course, in a different concourse but they’d have had to go through security again anyway for their new boarding passes. I got them all squared away and we notified Cait’s dad about the new time. I’m sure he was thrilled—they were getting in 6 hours later than had been originally planned.
By that time, I was running on pure adrenalin. Our flight was totally uneventful and left on time but I was a nervous wreck about the girls the entire trip.
When we landed in Detroit, I called Cait and she told me, “Did you know we were going to St. Louis?” Umm…no. I had another panic attack thinking they’d gotten on the wrong plane but it turned out that the flight just landed in St. Louis on the way to Albuquerque.
We all made it home safely but it was one of the longest days in recorded history. Our dog, Sunny, had had a blast with her dog sitter and his mom told me later that he was a little hurt about how excited she was to see me when I got home.
It was a great trip but I can’t wait to go back again! I’m off to visit Caitlin next weekend in New Mexico and then in July we’ll be in England for two weeks. I’m happy about these trips but no where near the excitement a WDW trip generates for me.
As promised, here are our photo pass pictures. We didn’t have as many taken as usual—I think because the crowds were so big that we felt like we needed to rush around a lot.
Do you like our scared picture for the Tower of Terror? I love Alex in this one.
And now I’d like to thank each and every one of you who relived our adventures with me. Thank you for all the kind comments. I’ve been able to hold out with my old pals and make new friends over here on the TR board and I’ve really enjoyed myself!
Chester and Hester and Amy and Alex and Caitlin and Jen all say "See y'all real soon!"
Are those Mickeys on that bag Cait is carrying in the AK pics??
I know I'll have fun on the other trips--well, not so much to New Mexico--that's just a weekend and I'll spend two days out of four travelling. But it will be nice to see Cait and I plan on eating my weight in green chile. 
My husband laughs at the fact that I can get sad over someone else's vacation ending. 
)
Thank you so much for sharing your trip!
I've been to London a couple of times and just love it. 
I'm so glad you've enjoyed it and I've loved meeting you, as well.
I've always wanted to use that smiley and now I have a reason!
