dandelion garden
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2005
- Messages
- 139
Transportation Report 1/27 2/3 POR
AIRTRAN
Let me first explain that I am the planningist planner on the planet.
I know some of you will understand even if I cant explain it succinctly, but . Once I know when, where, how, etc, its like torture for me not to book and lock into EVERYTHING.
Deciding to go with Airtran was tough for me because I had to wait so long for our dates to come up and actually book our flights. See, I had our travel dates set and our package booked by mid 2005 but the Jan 2006 flights dont post till the beginning of September.
While waiting, I signed up for their AirTran Airways A-Plus Rewards programs to earn credits and all that.
I got a little worried reading some of the reviews here on Airtran that commented on how they change their flight times often.
I would check all the travel sites daily and was tempted a few times to book a different airline just to have reassurance that we had a way to get there that was set in stone NOW. But I knew that we really wanted direct flights and I knew that I didnt want to pay anymore than I had to (Duh), and my AAA TA assured me, frequently (she must think Im the biggest flake), that Airtran is pretty consistently around $180-200 RT, give or take, and usually offers at least one and sometimes more daily direct flights from ROC to MCO every day. So I waited.
Let me tell you, I was Speedy Typist McGee when they did finally post our dates.
I booked 3 RT non-stop tix from Rochester to Orlando at $174.64 each for a total of $620.70 after all the taxes and what-not. On Fri Jan 27 at 12:33 we would leave ROC and fly direct, arriving at MCO at 3:12. We would leave on Sun Feb 5 (after visiting family on the coast) from MCO at 3:15 and arrive in ROC at 5:45.
They sent a confirmation letter immediately confirming all the dirt and including the following info:
Should our flight schedule change, we will notify you by email as early as possible.
Oh, you think you already know what happened? If I were the one reading this, I know Id scan to the bottom to find out wont happened so I wont tempt you to do that. Ill skip to the chase now and spare you the suspense .
We only got delayed by 45 minutes on the return trip.
Dont worry too much they ONLY changed the departure from 3:15 to 3:45. So that means we ONLY missed the 1st half of the Super Bowl.
You see, I had promised DS & DH that wed have plenty of time to get our baggage, drive the 20mins home, kick our shoes off and quicker than you can say, Pass the Cheetos, wed be comfortably ensconced in our recliners and cheering on the Steelers. It would be a great way to put the cherry on top of our vacation.
The plan was for my Mom to pick us up from the airport so I called her from MCO to let her know about the change. She then told me that her housekeeper (she owns a motel/cabin resort in the Finger Lakes) had hurt her hip. My Mom needed to take her to the hospital and stay with her kids. So wed need to catch a taxi.
Now, with the delay, wed touch down (touchdown, get it?) only 15mins before kick-off and would have to take a cab home. Long story short, we made it home in time to see Mick shake his 60something year old groove thing.
And in case youre curious, we werent notified as early as possible. We werent notified at all.
Im sure to the airlines and to people who travel more often, a ½ hour delay isnt that big of a deal.
And after all, it didnt really affect us adversely all that much. But to someone like me, the planningist planner on the planet, my game was thrown off. My game get it? OK, whatever.
I should also note that we used their online checkin for both ends of our flight. It was super easy to use to get our boarding passes and seat assignments.
For our flight out, we pulled up to the outside depature lane (DMIL dropped us off) and were met by a skycap with a luggage cart. We handed him our boarding passes and IDs and then followed him to the Airtran counter. He dropped our luggage off with the smiling security luggage checking people, went to the front of the line with our paperwork, and then came back 30 seconds later and said, Have a nice trip. DH tipped him and we stood there for a moment looking at him kinda dumb. We figured there must be something else to do, some other line to stand in, something to pass the now 1 hr and 45 mins wait we had before our flight left. Nope, OK, on to McDs then for breakfast.
For our flight home, it was just as smooth. We were met by a skycap in the car rental return area. We toddled along behind him to the outside checkin area. Again, paperwork, luggage, tips, and pleasantries were exchanged. And minutes later we were walking, sans baggage, into the terminal and past the LONG lines of people at the Airtran desk.
Can I say, without sounding like a jerk, that that moment felt better than when we waltzed onto Peter Pan, FastPasses in hand, past the folks in the 40 minute standby line? OK, that did sound kinda snarky but I made my point, so moving on to...
MAGICAL EXPRESS
For those of you just skimming this (you know who you are) Ill summarize now and say, I cant say enough good things about Magical Express. It was convenient, the whole process was painless & stream-lined and I wouldnt hesitate to recommend it to anyone.
For those of you who are trip report gluttons like myself (and you know who you are) heres the rest of the minute details.
We got our happy, bright yellow tags in the mail about 10 days before our departure date. They had my name, our travel date, and our hotel noted on them. After our packing was done, DS and I had fun playing airport personnel and tagging the luggage that we planned to check.
We also put the luggage tags that we got with our package and put those on our carryons. I love those holographic tags! But be careful to put them on securely- we would later lose one going through security at MCO. Its a good thing I went into Nursing and not airport personnelling.
When we arrived at MCO, we followed the written directions that wed received with our package and proceeded to the ME desk. They took our paperwork and directed us to the smiling Mickey Handed CMs who then directed us to the correct cattle line for our resort.
The lines snaked around forever- I cant imagine waiting in a full line like that during busy season!
We hopped on a bus and waited about 5 minutes before heading out. Our bus had less than 10 families on it.
Following the advice of the good people of this board, we packed a carryon with the necessities
a change of clothes, toiletries, our swim stuff and my Pal Mickey.
DH was not happy parting with our carryons when boarding the ME bus. He asked the driver if we could hold on to them ourselves but was told no. It was hard letting them out of our sights. I mean, thats our lives in there! Camera equipment, medications, Disney Dollars.
When we got on the bus, we saw the overhead compartments over each seat (like on planes) so Im not sure why we couldnt bring our stuff on with us?
Anyhow, we were the last stop after SS & POFQ so each time we let people off, DH would stand up & watch the driver and departing passengers out the window to make sure that no one inadvertently left with our stuff.
So we arrived, all carryons accounted for, checked in & were settled in our room super-quickly. We were changing into our suits when our luggage arrived! Im pretty sure it was around 5:15, which was exactly 2 hours after our plane arrived. Cool.
We didnt use Magical Express for our trip home but I imagine the process is just as streamlined.
BELL SERVICES at POR
On our last day, we packed everything up and had it ready and waiting by the door. DS & I went for our last (SOB!
) early morning coffee/cocoa run and stopped by bell services. We informed them that we would be checking out, heading to a park and then picking up a rental. The plan was to return later for our luggage, head to POFQ for lunch and a swim and head out to visit family.
They showed up at our front door with a cart at exactly the time that wed arranged. We were given a claim ticket and told that we could visit our luggage anytime we wanted.
By this time, at the end of the trip, DH was getting better with his separation anxiety from our luggage. Im so proud of him for making such progress (Gawd, hell have a fit if he reads this).
We actually would visit our luggage much sooner than later because .
after we sent our stuff off with the bell svc CM, we went to the bus stop to head for our 10am date with the 100Acre Gang. It was just as a MK bus was pulling up that I realized that Id left all the National rental stuff in my Passporter which was in the Luggage Kennel . . thats what it reminded me of, dont ask me why, youd have to see it .
So thats how & when we felt it necessary to visit our luggage. Duh.
So, after our morning at MK and our afternoon at POFQ we pulled up to the luggage kennel, loaded up our stuff and hit the road. Easy-peasy.
National Car Rental
My DH thinks that I get a weird, sick even, pleasure from making and amending car rental reservations.
Ill own that .but just to a certain extent.
We used the Priceless Vacations code from MouseSavers and a coupon for a free weekend day from the Entertainment book. I also brought along some other coupons, just in case.
I joined The Emerald Aisle during a free enlistment promotion and ended up using that code in the end.
While planning, every so often, Id come down from the computer doing this little victory jig and DH would ask, What?
Id respond with false modesty, Oh, I just changed our rental reservation and saved $4 dollars!
Oh, hed say.
OK, he just doesnt get the rush.
What he did get, however, was a .
2006 GMC ENVOY
for 3 DAYS
for $71.14 !
So there.
More details:
We caught a Dolphin bus at the MK and arrived at the front door about a ½ hour later (after picking up & dropping off people at the Boardwalk and at the Swan, what a pain).
We were directed to the National desk and were helped by a very sweet, extremely efficient woman who made the whole process, compared to previous rental experiences, a delight.
I handed her my rental agreement, my drivers license, my Emerald Club card, and ALL my National coupons.
Then I slipped her a fin and said, Set me up with something purty.
Not really.
But I did tell her that Id promised DS he could pick out the car.
She said to me, You know all the details right? Fill up before you return, insurance, extra driver, yada yada all that right?
Yep.
Then she looked at the coupons, and handed them back to me saying, Were not the Car Care Center, you can keep these and pass them on or use them again.
And then she told me where to sign.
All in all it took less than 5 minutes, which in car rental time, is about a nanosecond.
Then she walked over to DS with a box of keys and asked, What kind of car would you like?
He tentatively responded, A Pathfinder?
Wow, hes been thinking about this. How does he know a Pathfinder from anything? Must be a friends parent has one. Awwww, my baby has been planning. What a proud moment.
So she says, An Envoy is sort of like a Pathfinder. Would that be OK?
DS looks to DH for confirmation who nods. So she hands DS the keys and says he should take them to a valet out front who will get his car for him.
Now, Ive had some rental experiences where I came out mentally and physically exhausted. After declining insurance, arguing over the validity of codes & coupons and trying to get the class of car that I reserved, Ive previously felt bullied & patronized enough to walk out feeling like a 8 year old.
But this time, my 8 year old came out looking proud and responsible, as he handed the keys to the valet and waited for his car. Nice!
Returning the car was fairly painless too. We filled up the tank at a station off the last exit just before the airport. Once on the airport grounds, we followed the signs that pointed to National/Alamo rental return. We pulled up where directed by the attendants. We signed the paperwork, handed over the keys and were met by a skycap who unloaded and reloaded & led the parade.
Disney Buses & Boats
We used Disney transportation almost exclusively to get from parks to resorts & vice versa.
The only exceptions were when we tool a taxi to FW for the HDDR ($6 something + tip) because we were running late and the time we took a taxi home from DTD to POR ( $6 something + tip), cuz it was our first night, DS didnt feel well, and we were just too tuckered out to walk back to the boat dock or the bus stop
We rarely had to wait more than 10mins for a bus or boat. Both stopped at POFQ on the way to or from a park or from DTD. The few times we waited longer where when an ECV was loading or unloading.
Most rides to & from the parks lasted 12-15 mins. The boat ride between POR & DTD took about 20mins.
We found the buses to be clean and comfortable.
Taxi Home from ROC
Nobody wants to hear about this, do they? Well, IM me if you do.
AIRTRAN
Let me first explain that I am the planningist planner on the planet.
I know some of you will understand even if I cant explain it succinctly, but . Once I know when, where, how, etc, its like torture for me not to book and lock into EVERYTHING.
Deciding to go with Airtran was tough for me because I had to wait so long for our dates to come up and actually book our flights. See, I had our travel dates set and our package booked by mid 2005 but the Jan 2006 flights dont post till the beginning of September.
While waiting, I signed up for their AirTran Airways A-Plus Rewards programs to earn credits and all that.
I got a little worried reading some of the reviews here on Airtran that commented on how they change their flight times often.
I would check all the travel sites daily and was tempted a few times to book a different airline just to have reassurance that we had a way to get there that was set in stone NOW. But I knew that we really wanted direct flights and I knew that I didnt want to pay anymore than I had to (Duh), and my AAA TA assured me, frequently (she must think Im the biggest flake), that Airtran is pretty consistently around $180-200 RT, give or take, and usually offers at least one and sometimes more daily direct flights from ROC to MCO every day. So I waited.
Let me tell you, I was Speedy Typist McGee when they did finally post our dates.
I booked 3 RT non-stop tix from Rochester to Orlando at $174.64 each for a total of $620.70 after all the taxes and what-not. On Fri Jan 27 at 12:33 we would leave ROC and fly direct, arriving at MCO at 3:12. We would leave on Sun Feb 5 (after visiting family on the coast) from MCO at 3:15 and arrive in ROC at 5:45.
They sent a confirmation letter immediately confirming all the dirt and including the following info:
Should our flight schedule change, we will notify you by email as early as possible.
Oh, you think you already know what happened? If I were the one reading this, I know Id scan to the bottom to find out wont happened so I wont tempt you to do that. Ill skip to the chase now and spare you the suspense .
We only got delayed by 45 minutes on the return trip.
Dont worry too much they ONLY changed the departure from 3:15 to 3:45. So that means we ONLY missed the 1st half of the Super Bowl.
You see, I had promised DS & DH that wed have plenty of time to get our baggage, drive the 20mins home, kick our shoes off and quicker than you can say, Pass the Cheetos, wed be comfortably ensconced in our recliners and cheering on the Steelers. It would be a great way to put the cherry on top of our vacation.
The plan was for my Mom to pick us up from the airport so I called her from MCO to let her know about the change. She then told me that her housekeeper (she owns a motel/cabin resort in the Finger Lakes) had hurt her hip. My Mom needed to take her to the hospital and stay with her kids. So wed need to catch a taxi.
Now, with the delay, wed touch down (touchdown, get it?) only 15mins before kick-off and would have to take a cab home. Long story short, we made it home in time to see Mick shake his 60something year old groove thing.
And in case youre curious, we werent notified as early as possible. We werent notified at all.
Im sure to the airlines and to people who travel more often, a ½ hour delay isnt that big of a deal.
And after all, it didnt really affect us adversely all that much. But to someone like me, the planningist planner on the planet, my game was thrown off. My game get it? OK, whatever.
I should also note that we used their online checkin for both ends of our flight. It was super easy to use to get our boarding passes and seat assignments.
For our flight out, we pulled up to the outside depature lane (DMIL dropped us off) and were met by a skycap with a luggage cart. We handed him our boarding passes and IDs and then followed him to the Airtran counter. He dropped our luggage off with the smiling security luggage checking people, went to the front of the line with our paperwork, and then came back 30 seconds later and said, Have a nice trip. DH tipped him and we stood there for a moment looking at him kinda dumb. We figured there must be something else to do, some other line to stand in, something to pass the now 1 hr and 45 mins wait we had before our flight left. Nope, OK, on to McDs then for breakfast.
For our flight home, it was just as smooth. We were met by a skycap in the car rental return area. We toddled along behind him to the outside checkin area. Again, paperwork, luggage, tips, and pleasantries were exchanged. And minutes later we were walking, sans baggage, into the terminal and past the LONG lines of people at the Airtran desk.
Can I say, without sounding like a jerk, that that moment felt better than when we waltzed onto Peter Pan, FastPasses in hand, past the folks in the 40 minute standby line? OK, that did sound kinda snarky but I made my point, so moving on to...
MAGICAL EXPRESS
For those of you just skimming this (you know who you are) Ill summarize now and say, I cant say enough good things about Magical Express. It was convenient, the whole process was painless & stream-lined and I wouldnt hesitate to recommend it to anyone.
For those of you who are trip report gluttons like myself (and you know who you are) heres the rest of the minute details.
We got our happy, bright yellow tags in the mail about 10 days before our departure date. They had my name, our travel date, and our hotel noted on them. After our packing was done, DS and I had fun playing airport personnel and tagging the luggage that we planned to check.
We also put the luggage tags that we got with our package and put those on our carryons. I love those holographic tags! But be careful to put them on securely- we would later lose one going through security at MCO. Its a good thing I went into Nursing and not airport personnelling.
When we arrived at MCO, we followed the written directions that wed received with our package and proceeded to the ME desk. They took our paperwork and directed us to the smiling Mickey Handed CMs who then directed us to the correct cattle line for our resort.
The lines snaked around forever- I cant imagine waiting in a full line like that during busy season!
We hopped on a bus and waited about 5 minutes before heading out. Our bus had less than 10 families on it.
Following the advice of the good people of this board, we packed a carryon with the necessities
a change of clothes, toiletries, our swim stuff and my Pal Mickey.
DH was not happy parting with our carryons when boarding the ME bus. He asked the driver if we could hold on to them ourselves but was told no. It was hard letting them out of our sights. I mean, thats our lives in there! Camera equipment, medications, Disney Dollars.
When we got on the bus, we saw the overhead compartments over each seat (like on planes) so Im not sure why we couldnt bring our stuff on with us?
Anyhow, we were the last stop after SS & POFQ so each time we let people off, DH would stand up & watch the driver and departing passengers out the window to make sure that no one inadvertently left with our stuff.
So we arrived, all carryons accounted for, checked in & were settled in our room super-quickly. We were changing into our suits when our luggage arrived! Im pretty sure it was around 5:15, which was exactly 2 hours after our plane arrived. Cool.
We didnt use Magical Express for our trip home but I imagine the process is just as streamlined.
BELL SERVICES at POR
On our last day, we packed everything up and had it ready and waiting by the door. DS & I went for our last (SOB!
) early morning coffee/cocoa run and stopped by bell services. We informed them that we would be checking out, heading to a park and then picking up a rental. The plan was to return later for our luggage, head to POFQ for lunch and a swim and head out to visit family. They showed up at our front door with a cart at exactly the time that wed arranged. We were given a claim ticket and told that we could visit our luggage anytime we wanted.
By this time, at the end of the trip, DH was getting better with his separation anxiety from our luggage. Im so proud of him for making such progress (Gawd, hell have a fit if he reads this).
We actually would visit our luggage much sooner than later because .
after we sent our stuff off with the bell svc CM, we went to the bus stop to head for our 10am date with the 100Acre Gang. It was just as a MK bus was pulling up that I realized that Id left all the National rental stuff in my Passporter which was in the Luggage Kennel . . thats what it reminded me of, dont ask me why, youd have to see it .
So thats how & when we felt it necessary to visit our luggage. Duh.
So, after our morning at MK and our afternoon at POFQ we pulled up to the luggage kennel, loaded up our stuff and hit the road. Easy-peasy.
National Car Rental
My DH thinks that I get a weird, sick even, pleasure from making and amending car rental reservations.
Ill own that .but just to a certain extent.
We used the Priceless Vacations code from MouseSavers and a coupon for a free weekend day from the Entertainment book. I also brought along some other coupons, just in case.
I joined The Emerald Aisle during a free enlistment promotion and ended up using that code in the end.
While planning, every so often, Id come down from the computer doing this little victory jig and DH would ask, What?
Id respond with false modesty, Oh, I just changed our rental reservation and saved $4 dollars!
Oh, hed say.
OK, he just doesnt get the rush.
What he did get, however, was a .
2006 GMC ENVOY
for 3 DAYS
for $71.14 !
So there.
More details:
We caught a Dolphin bus at the MK and arrived at the front door about a ½ hour later (after picking up & dropping off people at the Boardwalk and at the Swan, what a pain).
We were directed to the National desk and were helped by a very sweet, extremely efficient woman who made the whole process, compared to previous rental experiences, a delight.
I handed her my rental agreement, my drivers license, my Emerald Club card, and ALL my National coupons.
Then I slipped her a fin and said, Set me up with something purty.
Not really.
But I did tell her that Id promised DS he could pick out the car.
She said to me, You know all the details right? Fill up before you return, insurance, extra driver, yada yada all that right?
Yep.
Then she looked at the coupons, and handed them back to me saying, Were not the Car Care Center, you can keep these and pass them on or use them again.
And then she told me where to sign.
All in all it took less than 5 minutes, which in car rental time, is about a nanosecond.
Then she walked over to DS with a box of keys and asked, What kind of car would you like?
He tentatively responded, A Pathfinder?
Wow, hes been thinking about this. How does he know a Pathfinder from anything? Must be a friends parent has one. Awwww, my baby has been planning. What a proud moment.
So she says, An Envoy is sort of like a Pathfinder. Would that be OK?
DS looks to DH for confirmation who nods. So she hands DS the keys and says he should take them to a valet out front who will get his car for him.
Now, Ive had some rental experiences where I came out mentally and physically exhausted. After declining insurance, arguing over the validity of codes & coupons and trying to get the class of car that I reserved, Ive previously felt bullied & patronized enough to walk out feeling like a 8 year old.
But this time, my 8 year old came out looking proud and responsible, as he handed the keys to the valet and waited for his car. Nice!
Returning the car was fairly painless too. We filled up the tank at a station off the last exit just before the airport. Once on the airport grounds, we followed the signs that pointed to National/Alamo rental return. We pulled up where directed by the attendants. We signed the paperwork, handed over the keys and were met by a skycap who unloaded and reloaded & led the parade.
Disney Buses & Boats
We used Disney transportation almost exclusively to get from parks to resorts & vice versa.
The only exceptions were when we tool a taxi to FW for the HDDR ($6 something + tip) because we were running late and the time we took a taxi home from DTD to POR ( $6 something + tip), cuz it was our first night, DS didnt feel well, and we were just too tuckered out to walk back to the boat dock or the bus stop
We rarely had to wait more than 10mins for a bus or boat. Both stopped at POFQ on the way to or from a park or from DTD. The few times we waited longer where when an ECV was loading or unloading.
Most rides to & from the parks lasted 12-15 mins. The boat ride between POR & DTD took about 20mins.
We found the buses to be clean and comfortable.
Taxi Home from ROC
Nobody wants to hear about this, do they? Well, IM me if you do.
