gw_lit
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2003
- Messages
- 924
Cast:
Me: many previous trips to WDW
DW: a few previous trips to WDW (our last trip was October 1, 1996 for the 25th Anniversary Pepto Castle celebration)
DS5: first trip to WDW
DS2: first trip to WDW
Dateline: May 7, 2004 (hey, I never said this was a timely trip report!)
At last, the long awaited trip to Disney World was finally here! After packing up the Urban Assault Vehicle (minivan), the family headed to the Little Rock airport. Fortunately, I had accumulated A LOT of frequent flyer miles so we were headed from Little Rock to Dallas in a regional jet, and then from Dallas to Orlando on a 757 in first class. (The horrors, the kids will never want to fly on Southwest again!)
Of course, the line of questioning from our brainiac DS5 starts
DS5: Dad I hope we get to fly on Shamu.
Me: No, DS5, were flying on American Airlines, they dont have Shamu.
DS5: Will our plane be brown or periwinkle? (Can you tell we fly Southwest a lot?)
Me: Actually this one will be white, the one we get on in Dallas will be silver.
DS5: So, we wont fly on Shamu in Dallas?
Me: Nope, silver plane red, white and blue stripes.
DS5: Okay (sigh).
Curbside check-in what a deal, just drop off the luggage and head to the gate, we had already printed off boarding passes at home. So off we go through security. No problems, nobody beeps, nobody gets that extra special body cavity search or highly personal patdown. Hey look at that, our flight is still on time. For some reason our family has this special ability to always get on flights that are delayed, cancelled, lost, or something else. So, we grab our gourmet lunch of Burger King and eat in the airport.
Soon, its time to board. On we squeeze into the little jet. DW & DS2 are in Row 2A&B, DS5 & I are across the aisle in 2C&D. So, I strap in DS2s car seat into 2A, and Mr. Grumpy Businessman (Mr. GBM for short) boards behind us and sits down in 1A. Of course, DS2s legs arent long enough to bend over the edge of the car seat and stick straight out in front with his feet almost on the seat back in front of him. Well, this will be interesting I think. Then DS5 grabs me, Dad, theres Shamu! Sure enough, Shamu was pulling in a couple gates down from us. I told you wed see Shamu! If he got this excited about the Shamu plane, I was looking forward to his reaction to see the real thing! Before we even leave the gate, DS2 starts to tap dance on the back of Mr. GBMs seat. Mr. GBM then begins our hour long game of turn around and glare at DW & DS2. The flight attendants close the door, were about ready to leave, Mr. GBM turns around and glares. DW then politely says to him, Im sorry his legs just stick out, Im trying to keep him from kicking your seat. But why dont you just move over. Mind you, Seat 1B next to him and seats 1C&D are all empty. No, this is my seat. OK suit yourself buddy. DW didnt even try to keep DS2 from kicking the seat anymore, and we got to watch Mr. GBMs head bounce around while he tried to sleep on the flight. Who ever said that regional jets dont have inflight entertainment? The flight attendant even found some American Airlines captains wings for the kids (they havent given these out in years), so that was a huge hit for the little ones. After a pretty uneventful flight, we get into Dallas early, but of course, we play the DFW wait for a gate game.
Finally our gate empties, and then off we squeeze out of the little jet, but not before Mr. GBM plays one more game of turn around and glare. Have a great day Love Ya, Mean It!
We had 2½ hours until our connecting flight, so I knew wed have enough time to get on the trAAin from Terminal B to A, while suffering the requisite number of stops and breakdowns along the way without having to worry about missing our next flight. Both DSs love trains and everything to do with trains (they get that from their Dad), so I knew wed have to ride the trAAin. (I cant wait until the new gateside transportation opens at DFW, the trAAin is just awful!)
Me: DW, can you give me the boarding passes.
DW: After rummaging through her bag, I cant find them. She was getting upset, she wanted everything to be perfect on this trip. (Hey remember its us its travel not gonna be perfect.)
Me: Thats OK, well just get new boarding passes. And then I remembered that the baggage claim tickets were stapled to the envelope the boarding passes were in.
DW: (Getting more upset.)
Me: Hey, its not a big deal as long as they dont lose our luggage. (Should I have seen this coming, or what? Remember the name of this thread!)
After killing some time in the terminal (and on the trAAin), it was time to board our flight to Orlando. Yes, kids we get on first were in first class! I could have said, blah, blah, blah, blah.
DS5: Whats first class?
Me: We get to sit in front, have bigger seats, and we even get food, not just a bag of peanuts!
DW: And free drinks! (I think Mr. GBM got to her.)
DS5: Can I have chicken nuggets?
Me: No, youll probably get to pick from two things.
DS5: Corn dogs?
Me: No, probably chicken or steak, or maybe a salad.
DS5: Oh (not impressed)
Me: But youll get dessert!
DS5: Oh! (impressed)
DS2 proceeded to fall asleep before we even took off. DW got her Amaretto and OJ take that Mr. GBM! And I had a beer. Lunch was a chef salad with grilled chicken strips, or something else that I dont remember. DS5 was in a zone, he had his tray of food, had the earphones on listening to music, and was lovin life! The kid put away some food, and of course, ate everyones Milano cookies.
Please stow your tray tables, and return your seats to the upright and locked position for our descent into Orlando. WOO HOO! Were almost there! By the way, I never have found those locks for the seats, we landed OK anyway. We were right on time, things were looking good (remember the title of this thread?) OK, guys, we need to take the train over to get our bags. Another train? Yippee! Just wait kids, you aint seen nothin yet!
DS5: How come our airport doesnt have a train?
DW: Uh we have 12 gates, Dallas and Orlando both have lots more.
DS5: We need a train. (The kids right there should be trains everywhere.)
When we checked our bags in Little Rock, the skycap put on the Priority tags since we were flying first class, and Im a Platinum FF on American. Supposedly our bags would be among the first off the plane. Of course, they didnt specify in which city.
Once we arrived in Orlando we would drive over to Melbourne to stay with my brother and family for a couple of days before heading back to Orlando for SeaWorld and WDW. The kids were both on pins and needles, they couldnt wait to see their cousin. We really dont see each other often, so they were understandably excited. As we stood at the baggage carousel watching the bags go round and round, the boys started fidgeting more and more. OK no bags, over to the American baggage office. Fortunately, it was no problem getting the claim numbers for our bags. Getting our bags was the problem. They had no idea where they were, so they suggested that we wait for the next flight from Dallas, which would be in in about 30 minutes. After killing 30 minutes with potty breaks, diaper changes, and more general fidgeting, we watch the carousel go around and around and around. Still no bags.
Back to the American baggage office still had no idea where our bags where. Theres another flight coming in in about an hour, theyre surely on that one. OK, it was 6:00 p.m. (over an hour since we arrived), my kids were getting hungry, and wanted to see their cousin, Im tired of playing the wait for luggage game, we had enough of games with turn around and glare earlier. The other customer in the baggage office was berating the agent because he couldnt believe how incompetent and irresponsible they were for losing his ONE bag. Uh, dude Im missing three and Im not going to be an a$$ about it. I just dont understand people. (Hey, do you know Mr. GBM? just a thought.) After giving all the information about my luggage, its blue, its luggage, and American Airlines but a priority tag and the claim tag on the handle of all three bags. They promised theyd call once they found it and have it delivered to my brothers house. Fortunately, weve traveled enough and have experienced other lost luggage episodes that we always take one change of clothes and all necessities in a carry-on, so it wasnt too much of a worry.
Over to the Emerald Aisle to get our rental Urban Assault Vehicle (minivan). (I'm now calling it our UAVMV... but maybe it would just be easier to type "minivan".) Picked one we liked, loaded it up (it wasnt too full since we were missing three bags thank you American Airlines Love Ya, Mean It!), and hit the road to Melbourne.
After a stop on I-95 at Cracker Barrel for dinner, we soon made it to my brothers house. And the cousins were reunited! Happiness all-around! Of course, my sister-in-law (Anal Retentive Control Freak ARCF) was there too not so much happiness. I love my brother to death, but I (and DW) just really dont get along with SIL. To each, his own, I guess.
But, hey, we made it to Florida, and only lost three bags things were looking up!
Coming soon: Day #2 Our luggage is where?
Me: many previous trips to WDW
DW: a few previous trips to WDW (our last trip was October 1, 1996 for the 25th Anniversary Pepto Castle celebration)
DS5: first trip to WDW
DS2: first trip to WDW
Dateline: May 7, 2004 (hey, I never said this was a timely trip report!)
At last, the long awaited trip to Disney World was finally here! After packing up the Urban Assault Vehicle (minivan), the family headed to the Little Rock airport. Fortunately, I had accumulated A LOT of frequent flyer miles so we were headed from Little Rock to Dallas in a regional jet, and then from Dallas to Orlando on a 757 in first class. (The horrors, the kids will never want to fly on Southwest again!)
Of course, the line of questioning from our brainiac DS5 starts
DS5: Dad I hope we get to fly on Shamu.
Me: No, DS5, were flying on American Airlines, they dont have Shamu.
DS5: Will our plane be brown or periwinkle? (Can you tell we fly Southwest a lot?)
Me: Actually this one will be white, the one we get on in Dallas will be silver.
DS5: So, we wont fly on Shamu in Dallas?
Me: Nope, silver plane red, white and blue stripes.
DS5: Okay (sigh).
Curbside check-in what a deal, just drop off the luggage and head to the gate, we had already printed off boarding passes at home. So off we go through security. No problems, nobody beeps, nobody gets that extra special body cavity search or highly personal patdown. Hey look at that, our flight is still on time. For some reason our family has this special ability to always get on flights that are delayed, cancelled, lost, or something else. So, we grab our gourmet lunch of Burger King and eat in the airport.
Soon, its time to board. On we squeeze into the little jet. DW & DS2 are in Row 2A&B, DS5 & I are across the aisle in 2C&D. So, I strap in DS2s car seat into 2A, and Mr. Grumpy Businessman (Mr. GBM for short) boards behind us and sits down in 1A. Of course, DS2s legs arent long enough to bend over the edge of the car seat and stick straight out in front with his feet almost on the seat back in front of him. Well, this will be interesting I think. Then DS5 grabs me, Dad, theres Shamu! Sure enough, Shamu was pulling in a couple gates down from us. I told you wed see Shamu! If he got this excited about the Shamu plane, I was looking forward to his reaction to see the real thing! Before we even leave the gate, DS2 starts to tap dance on the back of Mr. GBMs seat. Mr. GBM then begins our hour long game of turn around and glare at DW & DS2. The flight attendants close the door, were about ready to leave, Mr. GBM turns around and glares. DW then politely says to him, Im sorry his legs just stick out, Im trying to keep him from kicking your seat. But why dont you just move over. Mind you, Seat 1B next to him and seats 1C&D are all empty. No, this is my seat. OK suit yourself buddy. DW didnt even try to keep DS2 from kicking the seat anymore, and we got to watch Mr. GBMs head bounce around while he tried to sleep on the flight. Who ever said that regional jets dont have inflight entertainment? The flight attendant even found some American Airlines captains wings for the kids (they havent given these out in years), so that was a huge hit for the little ones. After a pretty uneventful flight, we get into Dallas early, but of course, we play the DFW wait for a gate game.
Finally our gate empties, and then off we squeeze out of the little jet, but not before Mr. GBM plays one more game of turn around and glare. Have a great day Love Ya, Mean It!
We had 2½ hours until our connecting flight, so I knew wed have enough time to get on the trAAin from Terminal B to A, while suffering the requisite number of stops and breakdowns along the way without having to worry about missing our next flight. Both DSs love trains and everything to do with trains (they get that from their Dad), so I knew wed have to ride the trAAin. (I cant wait until the new gateside transportation opens at DFW, the trAAin is just awful!)
Me: DW, can you give me the boarding passes.
DW: After rummaging through her bag, I cant find them. She was getting upset, she wanted everything to be perfect on this trip. (Hey remember its us its travel not gonna be perfect.)
Me: Thats OK, well just get new boarding passes. And then I remembered that the baggage claim tickets were stapled to the envelope the boarding passes were in.
DW: (Getting more upset.)
Me: Hey, its not a big deal as long as they dont lose our luggage. (Should I have seen this coming, or what? Remember the name of this thread!)
After killing some time in the terminal (and on the trAAin), it was time to board our flight to Orlando. Yes, kids we get on first were in first class! I could have said, blah, blah, blah, blah.
DS5: Whats first class?
Me: We get to sit in front, have bigger seats, and we even get food, not just a bag of peanuts!
DW: And free drinks! (I think Mr. GBM got to her.)
DS5: Can I have chicken nuggets?
Me: No, youll probably get to pick from two things.
DS5: Corn dogs?
Me: No, probably chicken or steak, or maybe a salad.
DS5: Oh (not impressed)
Me: But youll get dessert!
DS5: Oh! (impressed)
DS2 proceeded to fall asleep before we even took off. DW got her Amaretto and OJ take that Mr. GBM! And I had a beer. Lunch was a chef salad with grilled chicken strips, or something else that I dont remember. DS5 was in a zone, he had his tray of food, had the earphones on listening to music, and was lovin life! The kid put away some food, and of course, ate everyones Milano cookies.
Please stow your tray tables, and return your seats to the upright and locked position for our descent into Orlando. WOO HOO! Were almost there! By the way, I never have found those locks for the seats, we landed OK anyway. We were right on time, things were looking good (remember the title of this thread?) OK, guys, we need to take the train over to get our bags. Another train? Yippee! Just wait kids, you aint seen nothin yet!
DS5: How come our airport doesnt have a train?
DW: Uh we have 12 gates, Dallas and Orlando both have lots more.
DS5: We need a train. (The kids right there should be trains everywhere.)
When we checked our bags in Little Rock, the skycap put on the Priority tags since we were flying first class, and Im a Platinum FF on American. Supposedly our bags would be among the first off the plane. Of course, they didnt specify in which city.
Once we arrived in Orlando we would drive over to Melbourne to stay with my brother and family for a couple of days before heading back to Orlando for SeaWorld and WDW. The kids were both on pins and needles, they couldnt wait to see their cousin. We really dont see each other often, so they were understandably excited. As we stood at the baggage carousel watching the bags go round and round, the boys started fidgeting more and more. OK no bags, over to the American baggage office. Fortunately, it was no problem getting the claim numbers for our bags. Getting our bags was the problem. They had no idea where they were, so they suggested that we wait for the next flight from Dallas, which would be in in about 30 minutes. After killing 30 minutes with potty breaks, diaper changes, and more general fidgeting, we watch the carousel go around and around and around. Still no bags.
Back to the American baggage office still had no idea where our bags where. Theres another flight coming in in about an hour, theyre surely on that one. OK, it was 6:00 p.m. (over an hour since we arrived), my kids were getting hungry, and wanted to see their cousin, Im tired of playing the wait for luggage game, we had enough of games with turn around and glare earlier. The other customer in the baggage office was berating the agent because he couldnt believe how incompetent and irresponsible they were for losing his ONE bag. Uh, dude Im missing three and Im not going to be an a$$ about it. I just dont understand people. (Hey, do you know Mr. GBM? just a thought.) After giving all the information about my luggage, its blue, its luggage, and American Airlines but a priority tag and the claim tag on the handle of all three bags. They promised theyd call once they found it and have it delivered to my brothers house. Fortunately, weve traveled enough and have experienced other lost luggage episodes that we always take one change of clothes and all necessities in a carry-on, so it wasnt too much of a worry.
Over to the Emerald Aisle to get our rental Urban Assault Vehicle (minivan). (I'm now calling it our UAVMV... but maybe it would just be easier to type "minivan".) Picked one we liked, loaded it up (it wasnt too full since we were missing three bags thank you American Airlines Love Ya, Mean It!), and hit the road to Melbourne.
After a stop on I-95 at Cracker Barrel for dinner, we soon made it to my brothers house. And the cousins were reunited! Happiness all-around! Of course, my sister-in-law (Anal Retentive Control Freak ARCF) was there too not so much happiness. I love my brother to death, but I (and DW) just really dont get along with SIL. To each, his own, I guess.
But, hey, we made it to Florida, and only lost three bags things were looking up!
Coming soon: Day #2 Our luggage is where?
