So here's the thing.
I write great trip reports in my head when I am at WDW.
You would be impressed.
No Really!
But I found on my last day there while being interviewed for a survey that I could barely remember which day I had been where. Now writing it down might be a good idea, but then you have to be organized and keep paper and pen handy and when you get right down to it that is way to much work on vacation. Now you may be thinking that we had way to much to drink while down there and thats why it's all a blur. You would be wrong. We're just naturally that way.......
So who are we:
This I can handle: DH 47-disney fanatic
Me 47-hey I consider myself one of Walt's kids
On our 11th (we think) trip to the world and maybe about 4 without the kiddies. (so sad, they have college and all)
What you say, it can't possibly be fun without the kiddies...
TRUST ME!!!
So this is our lazy way of doing the trip report. Okay maybe not "our" after all the hubby is at work.
Anyway:
TRANSPORTATION:
We flew NWA as we usually do direct from Detroit. (Never fly with a stop again when there is a slowdown and you might just end up on a bus all night, but that is another story) Even got to use Frequent flyer miles thanks to a helpful NWA agent that took pity on me and my slow dial up and helped get us both on the same flight. Apparently there is usually a $25 charge if they help you on the computer. Jeez....Felt pretty good about using the miles since we had spent 1 year trying and the flight was around $350. Course right before we went it dropped to like $160 the cheapest ever but, you guessed it, it would have cost $50 a piece to change from the frequent flyer miles. Sigh!!
Grandma was flying down with us to be picked up by my aunt at MCO and I had requested a wheelchair as her back has been bothering her. Well at DTW they had us go over and stand under this sign that said something like "waiting for w/c in big neon letters" Okay not big letters but Grandma was not going to stand there very long looking like in her words "an old person" (she's 86 and does not consider herself "old") So after a few minutes she decided to walk. Security was fast and efficient and thank goodness they didn't choose her to wand again. She doesn't feel she meets the criteria of looking like a terrorist and shares that opinion freely. Anyway after finding out the gate had changed and was waaay down there we found an abandoned wheelchair and we were off. After all I am a trained professional in wheel chair use. Really!
Now here is a tip for anyone traveling with an 86 year old. It does not matter how many times you tell them not to, they still may pack their medication including their pain pills in their check in bag instead of carry on. And when they discover the chocolate bars are in there too.......So frisk them before you check luggage to make sure they have what they need on the plane with them. Oh and tylenol costs about $6.00 for about 10 pills in the airport. Just an FYI.
The plane took off a half an hour late which ruined Grandma's plans of not needing pain pills until we got to Florida. Never mind that we arrived almost on time d/t a nice tail wind. Anyway it was hard for her back to sit in the seat and she of course refused to stand for a bit because people might think she was old and invalid but I did get her to tip her chair back a bit. And the flight attendant did come before we left DTW to see if we needed a w/c and Grandma wasn't sure, but I said yes. And there it was on the jetway right when we got off the plane. Grandma hopped right in and we were off.
We met my Aunt and Uncle right where they said they would be and we got the luggage and were off. Now they had bought Grandma a suitcase roughly the size of a small car and she is maybe 5' and 120lbs. DH got it off the suitcase belt thing but how they got it in the car with my Uncle's bad back, Grandma, and Auntie that doesn't lift things I don't know cause we were off to the Magic Express....I'ts free you know. Wow I miss Grandma while she's in Florida all winter and we're here in Michigan.....
MAGIC EXPRESS:
So here's the thing. If you change your AP reservation to split your stay it can cause way more problems than it should. The upshot was that we had vouchers for going down but not coming back. I called before we went and the first person couldn't help me because it was more than 48 hours until our trip. I thought the second person helped me but not really because I ended up with before vouchers and misinformation. She said when I checked in for ME that they would get me my return vouchers.
Not really it turns out. Anyway we were on baggage claim b because we had to check grandma in with the auntie and help with her luggage so we just grabbed ours, went up an elevator, across, down an elevator and way, way across (thank goodness hubby has good eyes or we might have went in another direction) stood in line for about 10 minutes, checked in, were told that we could get help with the return from the desk at the resort, but not there, went and stood in another line and was on our bus in less than 5, and away in less than 10. So glad we stopped using our camping duffle bags and have wheeled luggage or our arms would have been dragging the floor. This was around 11 at night. And our hotel was the first stop 
So magic express wasn't so bad and probably would have been better if they had handled our luggage. But we wanted it that night and not at 3am and we already had to get Grandma's so except for the fact we still had no way to get home, we're doing okay. And DME is FREE you know.
Tip #2-Don't fool yourself and schedule a late night flight thinking you're going to work all day and then fly down. Come on....I got a staffing day and DH only worked half a day....Cause you know it would take longer at the airport with grandma Anyway just take the day off and leave earlier!!
Hey that ends day one in order...We checked in at POP at midnight...How do I know that?? They were locking the food court as we arrived
I write great trip reports in my head when I am at WDW.
You would be impressed.
No Really!
But I found on my last day there while being interviewed for a survey that I could barely remember which day I had been where. Now writing it down might be a good idea, but then you have to be organized and keep paper and pen handy and when you get right down to it that is way to much work on vacation. Now you may be thinking that we had way to much to drink while down there and thats why it's all a blur. You would be wrong. We're just naturally that way.......
So who are we:
This I can handle: DH 47-disney fanatic
Me 47-hey I consider myself one of Walt's kids
On our 11th (we think) trip to the world and maybe about 4 without the kiddies. (so sad, they have college and all)
What you say, it can't possibly be fun without the kiddies...
TRUST ME!!!
So this is our lazy way of doing the trip report. Okay maybe not "our" after all the hubby is at work.
Anyway:
TRANSPORTATION:
We flew NWA as we usually do direct from Detroit. (Never fly with a stop again when there is a slowdown and you might just end up on a bus all night, but that is another story) Even got to use Frequent flyer miles thanks to a helpful NWA agent that took pity on me and my slow dial up and helped get us both on the same flight. Apparently there is usually a $25 charge if they help you on the computer. Jeez....Felt pretty good about using the miles since we had spent 1 year trying and the flight was around $350. Course right before we went it dropped to like $160 the cheapest ever but, you guessed it, it would have cost $50 a piece to change from the frequent flyer miles. Sigh!!
Grandma was flying down with us to be picked up by my aunt at MCO and I had requested a wheelchair as her back has been bothering her. Well at DTW they had us go over and stand under this sign that said something like "waiting for w/c in big neon letters" Okay not big letters but Grandma was not going to stand there very long looking like in her words "an old person" (she's 86 and does not consider herself "old") So after a few minutes she decided to walk. Security was fast and efficient and thank goodness they didn't choose her to wand again. She doesn't feel she meets the criteria of looking like a terrorist and shares that opinion freely. Anyway after finding out the gate had changed and was waaay down there we found an abandoned wheelchair and we were off. After all I am a trained professional in wheel chair use. Really!
Now here is a tip for anyone traveling with an 86 year old. It does not matter how many times you tell them not to, they still may pack their medication including their pain pills in their check in bag instead of carry on. And when they discover the chocolate bars are in there too.......So frisk them before you check luggage to make sure they have what they need on the plane with them. Oh and tylenol costs about $6.00 for about 10 pills in the airport. Just an FYI.
The plane took off a half an hour late which ruined Grandma's plans of not needing pain pills until we got to Florida. Never mind that we arrived almost on time d/t a nice tail wind. Anyway it was hard for her back to sit in the seat and she of course refused to stand for a bit because people might think she was old and invalid but I did get her to tip her chair back a bit. And the flight attendant did come before we left DTW to see if we needed a w/c and Grandma wasn't sure, but I said yes. And there it was on the jetway right when we got off the plane. Grandma hopped right in and we were off.
We met my Aunt and Uncle right where they said they would be and we got the luggage and were off. Now they had bought Grandma a suitcase roughly the size of a small car and she is maybe 5' and 120lbs. DH got it off the suitcase belt thing but how they got it in the car with my Uncle's bad back, Grandma, and Auntie that doesn't lift things I don't know cause we were off to the Magic Express....I'ts free you know. Wow I miss Grandma while she's in Florida all winter and we're here in Michigan.....
MAGIC EXPRESS:
So here's the thing. If you change your AP reservation to split your stay it can cause way more problems than it should. The upshot was that we had vouchers for going down but not coming back. I called before we went and the first person couldn't help me because it was more than 48 hours until our trip. I thought the second person helped me but not really because I ended up with before vouchers and misinformation. She said when I checked in for ME that they would get me my return vouchers.
Not really it turns out. Anyway we were on baggage claim b because we had to check grandma in with the auntie and help with her luggage so we just grabbed ours, went up an elevator, across, down an elevator and way, way across (thank goodness hubby has good eyes or we might have went in another direction) stood in line for about 10 minutes, checked in, were told that we could get help with the return from the desk at the resort, but not there, went and stood in another line and was on our bus in less than 5, and away in less than 10. So glad we stopped using our camping duffle bags and have wheeled luggage or our arms would have been dragging the floor. This was around 11 at night. And our hotel was the first stop So magic express wasn't so bad and probably would have been better if they had handled our luggage. But we wanted it that night and not at 3am and we already had to get Grandma's so except for the fact we still had no way to get home, we're doing okay. And DME is FREE you know.
Tip #2-Don't fool yourself and schedule a late night flight thinking you're going to work all day and then fly down. Come on....I got a staffing day and DH only worked half a day....Cause you know it would take longer at the airport with grandma
Anyway just take the day off and leave earlier!!Hey that ends day one in order...We checked in at POP at midnight...How do I know that?? They were locking the food court as we arrived
