MKFan-PR
Certified MK Freak! Work is what I do for Vacation
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2002
- Messages
- 495
The MKFan familys Dec Trip
The cast:
MKFan-PR: Me, 35, Disney maniac since my first trip way back when I was 5. This was my 11th trip, the 7th with my DW, the 3rd with our DD. I love planning, but Im no commando. I go to WDW to relax.
DW, 39. This is her 8th trip total. We really enjoy being here. And she loves the fact that shes becoming an expert.
DD, 4. Well call her Non-Stop, since she literally was during the trip. This is actually her 3rd trip, but it will also be her most memorable, since she was 9 months and 3.5 YO on her two previous ones.
Day 9 Dec 6: The Finale Goodbye and Security WHAT?
Well. It had to end sometime. Time to go home
But first
We want to leave at about 9:30-10AM. Our flight leaves at 1:20 PM, and we want plenty of time ahead and I dont want to get charged the extra time on the car.
After wake-up and a little breakfast, I head out to check out. I prefer to check out in person. If I get Express Check-out I always check the bill first the night before. But I wanted one last stroll to the GCH, so I chose to do it in person.
Everything went downhill from there
I was informed that my CC was coming back DECLINED
Are you kidding? Its supposed to be ok! After going back and forth between the bank and some friends back home who did some following up, the screw-up was finally resolved
But its now 12 noon. This is gonna be tight. We should be checked in at the airport by 12:30 or 12:45. And I need to fill the car with gas!
We get in and give it our best but were at the American counter at 1:00. The flight is closed! What do we do now? Were informed that the next flight leaves at 6:00PM. After that its tomorrow at 8:30AM.
We briefly think about the flight tomorrow, but its already the afternoon and by the time we got back, it would be quite late. So we go with the 6:00 PM flight.
We get something to eat, then browse shops, read, keep Non-Stop entertained, do stuff while we wait.
We finally present ourselves at the gate, then, after a few tense minutes (never been a stand-by passenger before; found out its nerve-wracking ), we finally get to our boarding passes. Whew! So now to just wait for boarding. So we wait
And wait
And wait
And wait
Until a guy with a shirt that read, quite clearly, POLICE on the back comes along. Hmmm
Then the guy at the desk announces that the boarding will be delayed a little bit, due to a Security problem
Security WHAT?
In Spanish we use the same word for both Safety and Security, even though they mean completely different things. But he said quite clearly Security. Hmmm
So we wait some more
And wait
And wait
And wait
More guys with POLICE and TSA shirts come. The crew is out. I overhear them commenting something to the guys with the POLICE shirts about please be completely sure.
Is that a dog? Hey! Its a German Shepherd! And the guy with him also has a POLICE shirt! Oh, oh
Now I am thinking 4 hours ahead. With the time change and a 3-hour flight, our original arrival time was 10:00 PM. Now its pushing midnight. The friend thats going to pick us up has to get up very early in the morning. Im thinking I dont want to do this to him
But the truth is many of us are thinking more about the word Security.
So we wait some more, then see that ALL the bags are being taken out of the plane and placed on the tarmac to be sniffed by the German Shepherd.
Many are nervous, but since theyre being VERY thorough, everyone is reassured.
By now, its 8:30 PM. Boarding still hasnt started, we are very tired, and with the flight, arrival and everything we are looking at getting home at about 3:30 AM. So I decide to check if we can be moved to a later flight.
Oh, so NOW we want the 8:30 AM flight!
Since we are stand-by and already have a seat, the guy at the counter has to make some calls, but everything is completed. Right before he is ready to put us on the morning flight, one of the guys with the POLICE shirts says to the counter guy: well, the flight is yours . One of the attendants asks for like the 87th time: Are you sure? You have to be completely sure.. POLICE shirt guy says: Yes. Theres nothing.. Counter guy asks me: You sure? Last chance..
Believe me. Im sure.
So we head back into the airport. Now to find a place to sleep. The seats here dont look too inviting.
The Hyatt is full, but they give me the numbers of other hotels nearby that have a shuttle to the airport. Im getting a bit of despair, since some flights are being cancelled because of weather in NY and Washington. But on my third try I get a room on the Holiday Inn.
We get the shuttle on the a**-freezing cold and get to the hotel and the room in no time. Our bags are on their way to PR. We only have the clothes on our backs and whatever is on the carry-ons. But its enough. We get some dinner from room service (great and a lot, and not that expensive). Shuttles depart every half-our. We want to leave on the 6:30 AM shuttle. So we go to sleep.
In the morning, everything is back to normal. We wake up, get dressed, get on the shuttle, grab our boarding passes at the airport. Everything goes smoothly, and by Noon we are landing in SJU. Pick our bags from storage. Call my friend to pick us up.
Thankfully, we are home by 2:00. Bags stay in the car. We go to rest.
It was an adventure, but we made it home. Now to get the film developed, to reminisce.
And to start thinking about our next trip!
RHETORICAL QUESTIONS AND THINGS THAT I THINK I THINK:
None. Were just glad to be home. Well, actually theres one.
A Rhetorical Question is one that has no definite answer. Its intent is to make you think, and ponder the idea. Many people ask us Disney maniacs why we keep coming back, going year after year, even without kids. Why we have the DIS and Mousesavers and all those great sites in our Favorites list on our Web Browsers. Why we have fare alerts on Expedia and Orbitz and Travelocity for flights to MCO. Why we even know what is MCO!
We have no definite answer for that
Except when were there, and experience the so-called magic
Then we know
And we make a note to ourselves. As if we needed a reminder
See? Thats why I love this place so much!
Thanks for reading!
The cast:
MKFan-PR: Me, 35, Disney maniac since my first trip way back when I was 5. This was my 11th trip, the 7th with my DW, the 3rd with our DD. I love planning, but Im no commando. I go to WDW to relax.
DW, 39. This is her 8th trip total. We really enjoy being here. And she loves the fact that shes becoming an expert.
DD, 4. Well call her Non-Stop, since she literally was during the trip. This is actually her 3rd trip, but it will also be her most memorable, since she was 9 months and 3.5 YO on her two previous ones.
Day 9 Dec 6: The Finale Goodbye and Security WHAT?
Well. It had to end sometime. Time to go home
But first
We want to leave at about 9:30-10AM. Our flight leaves at 1:20 PM, and we want plenty of time ahead and I dont want to get charged the extra time on the car.
After wake-up and a little breakfast, I head out to check out. I prefer to check out in person. If I get Express Check-out I always check the bill first the night before. But I wanted one last stroll to the GCH, so I chose to do it in person.
Everything went downhill from there
I was informed that my CC was coming back DECLINED
Are you kidding? Its supposed to be ok! After going back and forth between the bank and some friends back home who did some following up, the screw-up was finally resolved
But its now 12 noon. This is gonna be tight. We should be checked in at the airport by 12:30 or 12:45. And I need to fill the car with gas!
We get in and give it our best but were at the American counter at 1:00. The flight is closed! What do we do now? Were informed that the next flight leaves at 6:00PM. After that its tomorrow at 8:30AM.
We briefly think about the flight tomorrow, but its already the afternoon and by the time we got back, it would be quite late. So we go with the 6:00 PM flight.
We get something to eat, then browse shops, read, keep Non-Stop entertained, do stuff while we wait.
We finally present ourselves at the gate, then, after a few tense minutes (never been a stand-by passenger before; found out its nerve-wracking
), we finally get to our boarding passes. Whew! So now to just wait for boarding. So we wait
And wait
And wait
And wait
Until a guy with a shirt that read, quite clearly, POLICE on the back comes along. Hmmm
Then the guy at the desk announces that the boarding will be delayed a little bit, due to a Security problem
Security WHAT?
In Spanish we use the same word for both Safety and Security, even though they mean completely different things. But he said quite clearly Security. Hmmm
So we wait some more
And wait
And wait
And wait
More guys with POLICE and TSA shirts come. The crew is out. I overhear them commenting something to the guys with the POLICE shirts about please be completely sure.
Is that a dog? Hey! Its a German Shepherd! And the guy with him also has a POLICE shirt! Oh, oh
Now I am thinking 4 hours ahead. With the time change and a 3-hour flight, our original arrival time was 10:00 PM. Now its pushing midnight. The friend thats going to pick us up has to get up very early in the morning. Im thinking I dont want to do this to him
But the truth is many of us are thinking more about the word Security.
So we wait some more, then see that ALL the bags are being taken out of the plane and placed on the tarmac to be sniffed by the German Shepherd.
Many are nervous, but since theyre being VERY thorough, everyone is reassured.
By now, its 8:30 PM. Boarding still hasnt started, we are very tired, and with the flight, arrival and everything we are looking at getting home at about 3:30 AM. So I decide to check if we can be moved to a later flight.
Oh, so NOW we want the 8:30 AM flight!
Since we are stand-by and already have a seat, the guy at the counter has to make some calls, but everything is completed. Right before he is ready to put us on the morning flight, one of the guys with the POLICE shirts says to the counter guy: well, the flight is yours . One of the attendants asks for like the 87th time: Are you sure? You have to be completely sure.. POLICE shirt guy says: Yes. Theres nothing.. Counter guy asks me: You sure? Last chance..
Believe me. Im sure.
So we head back into the airport. Now to find a place to sleep. The seats here dont look too inviting.
The Hyatt is full, but they give me the numbers of other hotels nearby that have a shuttle to the airport. Im getting a bit of despair, since some flights are being cancelled because of weather in NY and Washington. But on my third try I get a room on the Holiday Inn.
We get the shuttle on the a**-freezing cold and get to the hotel and the room in no time. Our bags are on their way to PR. We only have the clothes on our backs and whatever is on the carry-ons. But its enough. We get some dinner from room service (great and a lot, and not that expensive). Shuttles depart every half-our. We want to leave on the 6:30 AM shuttle. So we go to sleep.
In the morning, everything is back to normal. We wake up, get dressed, get on the shuttle, grab our boarding passes at the airport. Everything goes smoothly, and by Noon we are landing in SJU. Pick our bags from storage. Call my friend to pick us up.
Thankfully, we are home by 2:00. Bags stay in the car. We go to rest.
It was an adventure, but we made it home. Now to get the film developed, to reminisce.
And to start thinking about our next trip!
RHETORICAL QUESTIONS AND THINGS THAT I THINK I THINK:
None. Were just glad to be home. Well, actually theres one.
A Rhetorical Question is one that has no definite answer. Its intent is to make you think, and ponder the idea. Many people ask us Disney maniacs why we keep coming back, going year after year, even without kids. Why we have the DIS and Mousesavers and all those great sites in our Favorites list on our Web Browsers. Why we have fare alerts on Expedia and Orbitz and Travelocity for flights to MCO. Why we even know what is MCO!
We have no definite answer for that
Except when were there, and experience the so-called magic
Then we know
And we make a note to ourselves. As if we needed a reminder
See? Thats why I love this place so much!
Thanks for reading!
