TinkTatoo
Has a Tink tattoo on her shoulder
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2004
- Messages
- 2,936
17th September 2008
We had a good nights sleep although I was tossing and turning for a while in the night. We were awake at about half 6 and went down to a surprisingly good breakfast at about 7. The kids didnt see the point of hanging around at the hotel so once wed finished breakfast, we set caught the shuttle bus for the 10 minute drive to the airport.
Wed already done on-line check in so we went straight through security. We had a mooch around the shops and found this place
The prices were cheaper in Florida so we didnt buy anything. We went up to our gate where, not surprisingly, we were the first to arrive.
While we were waiting I had a text from Mazzy to say their flight was delayed by 2 hours so hopefully she wont be too late getting in. Our plane was already sitting there so I knew wed be on time
Eventually after a lot of sitting around it was time to board the flight. Niamh was first on and we were delighted to see that we had bulkhead seats and seat back TVs. Not long after us a family with a baby and a toddler got on and wanted to sit in our seats. It seems theyd had bulkhead seats booked towards the back of the plane but a last minute plane change meant that their seats were no longer bulkhead.
One of the cabin crew asked us to move to the back of the plane. I explained that because of Niamhs autism, she has a real fear of sitting towards the back of the plane. On her first memorable flight we were right at the back and that flight had severe turbulence. Ever since she has been afraid to sit there. She was already getting stressed at the though of having to move back. I said that we would be prepared to move forward (in to the premium cabin) but the cabin crew went off muttering that moving forward wasnt an option (they charge an extra 250 per seat for the premium cabin.) Now before those of you with babies and toddlers start baying for my blood, if it had come to it we would have moved so that the family could have the bulk head seats and the bassinet even though it would have meant a major upset for Niamh.
Anyway a few minutes later she was back grudgingly telling us we could move forward. The set up in the premium cabin was 3 rows of two seats and Niamh was in the first row in the middle with Aodhan and I behind her. The seats were great and could almost fully recline.
I went and moved our bags and had a quick chat to the people who were now in our old seats who fully understood our position and were happy that theyd got the bulk head seats and that wed got premium seats.
The flight was a very long 9 hours, we passed the time watching a few films, playing a few games and Aodhan seemed to spend the entire flight making his chair go up and down (even when he was watching a movie or playing a game)
I sat up next to Niamh when the food came as the smell of the food would have made Aodhan feel sick. Niamh had a childs meal that was awful, the only thing she ate was the muffin. I ordered a vegan meal and had the most lovely pasta with spinach, tomatoes and mushroom. The rest of the meal was rubbish though. I also ate the pasta bolognese from Aodhans meal, and again that was lovely but the rest of it wasnt that great. Eating those two main courses was a first for me as I normally couldnt eat anything on a flight. The only thing Aodhan ate for the entire 9 flight was an Aero bar.
We eventually came into land at MCO just before 4pm and some local storms in the area meant there was quite a bit of turbulence for the last half an hour. We were all glad to be on the ground and Niamh was even more delighted to be first off the plane. We did a brisk walk to immigration and were first to called. There seemed to be a bit of confusion over my fingerprints but the guy sorted it out and let us in to the country. Next up was customs and as wed traveled on hand luggage we went straight through. All in all, from getting off the plane to getting through customs took 10 minutes.
This was our first time landing at MCO as an international flight and I was surprised to have to go through a security point before we could get on the monorail. Once that was done we headed to the food court where Aodhan got a large bowl of pasta but Niamh and I didnt want anything.
That done we headed off to get ME and while we were waiting to board the bus we had a text from Mazzy to say theyd arrived and were just collecting their bags. Typically, whenever we arrive in Florida it rains and today was no exception. There was a major thunderstorm going on and it was chucking it down.
We boarded our ME bus which was just going to the All Stars, it dropped off at Sports first, then Music and finally Movies. When we got to Music there was no wait at check in. We got a CM from China, who I dont think had been there long. He seemed to take an age to check us in and as soon as he found out we were from Ireland he kept saying Robbie Keane every now and again
At one point he gave me the credit card charging slip to sign and then a few minutes later, realized it was the charging account of Gomez Rodriguez who was checking in next to me. Hopefully he managed to sort it our, otherwise Ill be funding Senor Rodriguez Disney trip.
We went to our room which was in Jazz 9, 3rd floor and right on the corner, closes to Calypso. There was a bit of a musty smell in the room and it was looking a bit tired so our first impressions of it werent good. Our owners locker was already in the room so I set about unpacking while the kids crashed on the beds and watched TV.
While I was unpacking I noticed a blood stain on the front of the sink unit
. I called house keeping and asked them to come up and sort it out. Once I was unpacked we went to the food court to get something to eat. We each ordered burgers and fries but to be honest, we were so tired by this stage we couldnt manage to finish them. We went back to the room and as housekeeping hadnt been yet I called again. I explained that wed been traveling all day and just wanted to go to bed so they said theyd sent someone right over. Someone came about 20 minutes later and cleaned the blood up.Once theyd left, we got into our PJs, watched some TV and it was lights out a half 8.
Tomorrow -Donalds Breakfast, AK and Florida Mall
