Somefunmum
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2004
- Messages
- 111
The players:
Me: somefunmum, 37, finally living my dream
DH: Gator king, 43, loves gators, Disney, the ocean and all things Florida, the perfect companion (weve been married for 16 years)
DD#1: Julia the birthday girl, will turn 10 on this trip, loves horses
DD#2: Sarah (aka Scarah) isnt too sure about Disney, is terrified of Chuck E Cheese.
The way there:
4:45...We woke up before the alarm which was set for 5 am. The Airporter van was scheduled to pick us up at 6:15 for our 9:05 departure from Toronto. It had warmed up considerably overnight and there was no chance of snow. Perfect! we thought, and we showered and packed away our few last-minute items.
6:15. no van. Gator king phones the Airporter people who calmly explain that the van will be here at 6:15.
6:15:45...the van arrives and were off. I am so excited that I am not sure that I can sit still for the 45 minute drive to the airport. I alternate between thinking that I have to go pee and that I have to throw up. Neither actually happens.
6:45. the fog is so thick that I have no idea where we are. I know the drive to Toronto like the back of my hand but I dont see any familiar landmarks. I cant see anything at all. I start to worry that the driver is going to kill us all. How can he possibly see anything if I cant? Ok, I am in the back of the van without a view of anything that the headlights might be illuminating, but still
7:30. finally at the right terminal. I check the departure board and we are delayed, due to the fog, for 50 minutes. This is not England and we dont usually have fog delays in Toronto but I can live with 50 minutes. It will give us some time to grab breakfast. We go through U.S. customs for the first time since 9-11 and boy have things changed. Im reassured about the whole upgraded security thing but really, were just a Canadian family trying to get to Disney World. How much more normal could we be? The customs officer studies our documents for so long that Sarah starts crying, loudly. Shes tired and excited and shes been through umpteen line ups already. The nice customs lady finally stamps our boarding passes and we head through the maze of X-ray machines and security checks that follow and finally find our boarding gate.
8:45. the lady at the Westjet desk picks up her microphone and announces that the crew for our plane is delayed from Ottawa and that our departure will have to wait until 11:05. A 2 hour delay. Gator king and I look at each other and try to devise a plan to keep these VERY excited little girls occupied. We get some breakfast at one of the restaurants and then take turns walking around with Sarah and pointing out various airplanes to her through the windows. This works quite nicely.
10:45...another Westjet person announces that the plane that is to be staffed by the still-delayed crew is also delayed. We will be departing for Orlando at 12:05. A 3 hour delay. Now we pull out all the stops. I produce my carefully packed airplane boredom emergency gift bags for the girls. Crayons, stickers and paper for Sarah, glitter pens and a diary for Julia. This occupies them for about 20 minutes. Gator king then makes a trip to the gift shop for $15 worth of back up supplies; Disney colouring books and chocolate milk. $15 doesnt go far at the airport. I dont know how the people with babies are maintaining their sanity.
11:30. the crew has arrived but our plane has not. The ever helpful Westjet staff advise us that lunch will be available for purchase on the plane but that the quantity is limited. We buy $25 worth of hot dogs and drinks from the snack bar. And we wait. The people flying AirCanada left hours ago. I will never book a flight with this airline again. No matter how much cheaper it is. I will always go with the airline with the biggest fleet in the future. I would swear to this on a bible in exchange for getting out of here sometime TODAY.
12:30...Westjet announces pre-boarding for those with children under the age of 12. Now this is new, Ive never heard of an early boarding for this age group but we are so relieved to be moving that we happily head down the tunnel. And we wait. And wait. And wait. And wait in this tiny hallway with all of the exhausted families with children all waiting to go to Disney World. I officially hate Westjet.
1:05...we finally taxi toward the runway. The captain tells us that it is sunny and 70 degrees in Orlando. Something is finally going our way.
3:30...Orlando at last. We practically run off of the plane and jump on the shuttle to MCO. We have a big surprise planned. Because of the delay, we have called this poor man approximately 7 times to reschedule, but there he is, holding up the card with our last name on it. Our limo driver. Gator king discretely greets him and he leads us to the place where our baggage will arrive and hails a porter along the way. During our planning phase, we realized that the price for a Town Car is the same as the price of a shuttle for a family of four. A limo ride doesnt really appeal to Gator king and I but it really appeals to the birthday girl. A limo was about $20 more. We searched the DIS Boards for a reliable service and booked with Golden Limo. Thank you DIS! We walk out of MCO into the sunshine and palm trees, directing the girls to the closest bus. The birthday girl points to a stretch limo and says in her perfect tween way Oooooooh, a Limo!. This is our finest moment, gator king points out that our luggage is being loaded into the trunk of that limo and that this will be our transport to the vacation of our dreams. The girls go wild. We pop in the CD we burned for the occasion and we head to the happiest place on earth. It was a perfect trip.
Me: somefunmum, 37, finally living my dream
DH: Gator king, 43, loves gators, Disney, the ocean and all things Florida, the perfect companion (weve been married for 16 years)
DD#1: Julia the birthday girl, will turn 10 on this trip, loves horses
DD#2: Sarah (aka Scarah) isnt too sure about Disney, is terrified of Chuck E Cheese.
The way there:
4:45...We woke up before the alarm which was set for 5 am. The Airporter van was scheduled to pick us up at 6:15 for our 9:05 departure from Toronto. It had warmed up considerably overnight and there was no chance of snow. Perfect! we thought, and we showered and packed away our few last-minute items.
6:15. no van. Gator king phones the Airporter people who calmly explain that the van will be here at 6:15.
6:15:45...the van arrives and were off. I am so excited that I am not sure that I can sit still for the 45 minute drive to the airport. I alternate between thinking that I have to go pee and that I have to throw up. Neither actually happens.
6:45. the fog is so thick that I have no idea where we are. I know the drive to Toronto like the back of my hand but I dont see any familiar landmarks. I cant see anything at all. I start to worry that the driver is going to kill us all. How can he possibly see anything if I cant? Ok, I am in the back of the van without a view of anything that the headlights might be illuminating, but still
7:30. finally at the right terminal. I check the departure board and we are delayed, due to the fog, for 50 minutes. This is not England and we dont usually have fog delays in Toronto but I can live with 50 minutes. It will give us some time to grab breakfast. We go through U.S. customs for the first time since 9-11 and boy have things changed. Im reassured about the whole upgraded security thing but really, were just a Canadian family trying to get to Disney World. How much more normal could we be? The customs officer studies our documents for so long that Sarah starts crying, loudly. Shes tired and excited and shes been through umpteen line ups already. The nice customs lady finally stamps our boarding passes and we head through the maze of X-ray machines and security checks that follow and finally find our boarding gate.
8:45. the lady at the Westjet desk picks up her microphone and announces that the crew for our plane is delayed from Ottawa and that our departure will have to wait until 11:05. A 2 hour delay. Gator king and I look at each other and try to devise a plan to keep these VERY excited little girls occupied. We get some breakfast at one of the restaurants and then take turns walking around with Sarah and pointing out various airplanes to her through the windows. This works quite nicely.
10:45...another Westjet person announces that the plane that is to be staffed by the still-delayed crew is also delayed. We will be departing for Orlando at 12:05. A 3 hour delay. Now we pull out all the stops. I produce my carefully packed airplane boredom emergency gift bags for the girls. Crayons, stickers and paper for Sarah, glitter pens and a diary for Julia. This occupies them for about 20 minutes. Gator king then makes a trip to the gift shop for $15 worth of back up supplies; Disney colouring books and chocolate milk. $15 doesnt go far at the airport. I dont know how the people with babies are maintaining their sanity.
11:30. the crew has arrived but our plane has not. The ever helpful Westjet staff advise us that lunch will be available for purchase on the plane but that the quantity is limited. We buy $25 worth of hot dogs and drinks from the snack bar. And we wait. The people flying AirCanada left hours ago. I will never book a flight with this airline again. No matter how much cheaper it is. I will always go with the airline with the biggest fleet in the future. I would swear to this on a bible in exchange for getting out of here sometime TODAY.
12:30...Westjet announces pre-boarding for those with children under the age of 12. Now this is new, Ive never heard of an early boarding for this age group but we are so relieved to be moving that we happily head down the tunnel. And we wait. And wait. And wait. And wait in this tiny hallway with all of the exhausted families with children all waiting to go to Disney World. I officially hate Westjet.
1:05...we finally taxi toward the runway. The captain tells us that it is sunny and 70 degrees in Orlando. Something is finally going our way.
3:30...Orlando at last. We practically run off of the plane and jump on the shuttle to MCO. We have a big surprise planned. Because of the delay, we have called this poor man approximately 7 times to reschedule, but there he is, holding up the card with our last name on it. Our limo driver. Gator king discretely greets him and he leads us to the place where our baggage will arrive and hails a porter along the way. During our planning phase, we realized that the price for a Town Car is the same as the price of a shuttle for a family of four. A limo ride doesnt really appeal to Gator king and I but it really appeals to the birthday girl. A limo was about $20 more. We searched the DIS Boards for a reliable service and booked with Golden Limo. Thank you DIS! We walk out of MCO into the sunshine and palm trees, directing the girls to the closest bus. The birthday girl points to a stretch limo and says in her perfect tween way Oooooooh, a Limo!. This is our finest moment, gator king points out that our luggage is being loaded into the trunk of that limo and that this will be our transport to the vacation of our dreams. The girls go wild. We pop in the CD we burned for the occasion and we head to the happiest place on earth. It was a perfect trip.
The LIMO!! How cool is that for the birthday girl.
