CHRIS FRANKLIN
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2004
- Messages
- 16
BOXING DAY 26TH DECEMBER 2003
The alarm goes off at 5.45am; I have no trouble getting up, as it is WDW day! I awake with a headache from a few too many beers the night before but who cares it is Christmas. I make a coffee and quickly shower, as I have to get down to reception to query the hotel bill that arrived under the door, £49 surcharge added with no explanation.
I am not the best in the morning so at 6.20am Boxing Day morning and with a headache to boot I am trying to get sense out of the guy at reception, in the end the manager appears and with a swift clatter of the computer keyboard cancels the charge, apparently it was the saving on booking with ABC rather than the hotel direct and not for our account.
So, running late now I am surprised to find everybody up dressed and ready to go when I return to the room. After a quick trip to the car to drop the overnight bag off we wrestle with the luggage trolley and head for the shuttle queue. It arrives 10 minutes later and we are off to the North Terminal. Only takes 15 minutes or so and to our surprise there is a very small queue at Delta check in. But the luck is not going to last, a tap on the shoulder and we have won first prize i.e. security have selected us for the bag search. This does not take too long and we get to check in at the business class counter, get the seats we want and then the magic words from Delta I have on booked you for the Atlanta to Orlando segment but you will never make it as the flight out of here is delayed two hours, smashing great, thank-you, you are so kind.
Now armed with this information we saunter through security in no rush, find a seat and sit there for three hours, we take it in turns to shop get coffees etc. Eventually the go to the gate sign on the board appears, another 30 minute wait when we get there and then we eventually board, the later Delta flight has already left [this was the flight we were originally booked on before I changed it!]. The flight was uneventful, the cabin crew were brilliant, and nothing was a problem to them. I slept for some of the flight, read and listened to my cd player, the only worry was listening to people sat around us it appeared at least 70 people were on the orlando flight [so Delta had to find all these extra places on other flights, I started to think overnight in Atlanta].
We landed at 3.10; the flight to Orlando was 4.05 so I thought little chance of catching it. We sprint walked to immigration, changed queue several times, it was a real zoo, no amount of pleading swayed the immigration staff in allowing us to go through the empty US channel. We eventually get through; push the slow coaches out of our way at security [why are people so slow when you are in a rush lol]. We get our cases and then throw them on the Delta transfer belt, maybe this is the last time we will see them? We get the monorail to the furthest terminal, it is now 4.15, we check the board and our flight is saying delayed, but as we start to run to the gate [you guess right, it could not be any further away] some people walking back tell us that the flight is closed, but we still run, we arrive with another family we decide to look at the Delta staff with begging eyes and it works let them on, but no more it was so rushed although we gave in our passports they were given straight back to us just get on and sit in the first available seats. The doors were shut a couple of minutes after we got on, even before I got the hand luggage in the bins we were off. We took off 10 minutes later, I have never been so relieved we going to land at MCO only 30 minutes late and on the booked flight, I must admit it was tempting to ring the Delta check in Mrs Miserable lady at Gatwick and say you were saying lol
After arriving at MCO we walked straight through no double bag handling, no security straight to the baggage belt, just love it one advantage of an in direct flight.
At this point I did say to Val not to expect our luggage to be on the flight as from dropping it off in Atlanta to getting on the plane was only 20 minutes, I decide to have a cigarette but you could not smoke on that level, would you believe it by the time I have left my family all of 5 minutes to returning they had all of the bags ours came along on their own first, even before first class! Ok Delta makes me look stupid in front of my family!!
We collected the hire car from Avis without any problem, although we had trouble getting the bags in and this was before Val shopped lol.
Driving to the All Stars was easy as per normal, as soon as we drove under that WDW sign all the aggravation of the day disappeared, we are home!
After checking in, we were given the room 963 next door to the room I had requested by fax with the room controller 5 days ago, overlooking the Toy story courtyard and Disney were apologising to me that I could not have 964 next door, dont you realise we are British and not used to service like this?
We gave the boys $20 each told them to get a refillable mug and just hang around, find the room etc, go to the arcade while we un loaded. Val walked to the room while I drove, had the cases in the room in record breaking time, then met the boys in the food court. I had a few beers and the biggest pizza I have ever seen [all to myself], and then Val and I sat by the pool while the boys went [actually have no idea where]. Then we unpacked and chilled out, got to bed by 11.30pm for our WDW adventure to start.
Next
MGM, crowds more crowds and some more crowds
The alarm goes off at 5.45am; I have no trouble getting up, as it is WDW day! I awake with a headache from a few too many beers the night before but who cares it is Christmas. I make a coffee and quickly shower, as I have to get down to reception to query the hotel bill that arrived under the door, £49 surcharge added with no explanation.
I am not the best in the morning so at 6.20am Boxing Day morning and with a headache to boot I am trying to get sense out of the guy at reception, in the end the manager appears and with a swift clatter of the computer keyboard cancels the charge, apparently it was the saving on booking with ABC rather than the hotel direct and not for our account.
So, running late now I am surprised to find everybody up dressed and ready to go when I return to the room. After a quick trip to the car to drop the overnight bag off we wrestle with the luggage trolley and head for the shuttle queue. It arrives 10 minutes later and we are off to the North Terminal. Only takes 15 minutes or so and to our surprise there is a very small queue at Delta check in. But the luck is not going to last, a tap on the shoulder and we have won first prize i.e. security have selected us for the bag search. This does not take too long and we get to check in at the business class counter, get the seats we want and then the magic words from Delta I have on booked you for the Atlanta to Orlando segment but you will never make it as the flight out of here is delayed two hours, smashing great, thank-you, you are so kind.
Now armed with this information we saunter through security in no rush, find a seat and sit there for three hours, we take it in turns to shop get coffees etc. Eventually the go to the gate sign on the board appears, another 30 minute wait when we get there and then we eventually board, the later Delta flight has already left [this was the flight we were originally booked on before I changed it!]. The flight was uneventful, the cabin crew were brilliant, and nothing was a problem to them. I slept for some of the flight, read and listened to my cd player, the only worry was listening to people sat around us it appeared at least 70 people were on the orlando flight [so Delta had to find all these extra places on other flights, I started to think overnight in Atlanta].
We landed at 3.10; the flight to Orlando was 4.05 so I thought little chance of catching it. We sprint walked to immigration, changed queue several times, it was a real zoo, no amount of pleading swayed the immigration staff in allowing us to go through the empty US channel. We eventually get through; push the slow coaches out of our way at security [why are people so slow when you are in a rush lol]. We get our cases and then throw them on the Delta transfer belt, maybe this is the last time we will see them? We get the monorail to the furthest terminal, it is now 4.15, we check the board and our flight is saying delayed, but as we start to run to the gate [you guess right, it could not be any further away] some people walking back tell us that the flight is closed, but we still run, we arrive with another family we decide to look at the Delta staff with begging eyes and it works let them on, but no more it was so rushed although we gave in our passports they were given straight back to us just get on and sit in the first available seats. The doors were shut a couple of minutes after we got on, even before I got the hand luggage in the bins we were off. We took off 10 minutes later, I have never been so relieved we going to land at MCO only 30 minutes late and on the booked flight, I must admit it was tempting to ring the Delta check in Mrs Miserable lady at Gatwick and say you were saying lol
After arriving at MCO we walked straight through no double bag handling, no security straight to the baggage belt, just love it one advantage of an in direct flight.
At this point I did say to Val not to expect our luggage to be on the flight as from dropping it off in Atlanta to getting on the plane was only 20 minutes, I decide to have a cigarette but you could not smoke on that level, would you believe it by the time I have left my family all of 5 minutes to returning they had all of the bags ours came along on their own first, even before first class! Ok Delta makes me look stupid in front of my family!!
We collected the hire car from Avis without any problem, although we had trouble getting the bags in and this was before Val shopped lol.
Driving to the All Stars was easy as per normal, as soon as we drove under that WDW sign all the aggravation of the day disappeared, we are home!
After checking in, we were given the room 963 next door to the room I had requested by fax with the room controller 5 days ago, overlooking the Toy story courtyard and Disney were apologising to me that I could not have 964 next door, dont you realise we are British and not used to service like this?
We gave the boys $20 each told them to get a refillable mug and just hang around, find the room etc, go to the arcade while we un loaded. Val walked to the room while I drove, had the cases in the room in record breaking time, then met the boys in the food court. I had a few beers and the biggest pizza I have ever seen [all to myself], and then Val and I sat by the pool while the boys went [actually have no idea where]. Then we unpacked and chilled out, got to bed by 11.30pm for our WDW adventure to start.
Next
MGM, crowds more crowds and some more crowds
