What do you do to Not miss the plane?

[Piglet4Ever]

For me it's easy I usually can't fall alseep the night before we leave.

 

[Dremwvr]

All the advice you have received is great! Of course you probably wont sleep the night before...Have you ever seen the Disney commercial where everyone is in bed and the one kid asks "are you asleep?" and the other kid responds "I can't sleep, I'm too excited!!"


Make sure you are at the gate of your flight with plenty of time. If you are flying out of a large airport be AT the airport about 2 hours before. If it is smaller, then I would justify 60-90 minutes prior.

Beyond that make sure you know what you are doing in the security line. Be prepared!!! (I work for TSA) and people get through a lot smoother if you have each person holding their own boarding pass and ID's. Have all your liquids in the quart bag easy to get to to take out. If you travel with a laptop have an easy to access pocket to put it in. If you have kids send your liquids through first, there are tests that need to be run on the liquids and that takes time. If possible avoid traveling with strollers. (they have to be screened too and if they are not easy to collapse, or don't fit in the machine, there's time wasted waiting for someone to come and help you.

Have fun!

 

[bitohoney]

Alarm clock and cell phone alarm. Don't worry...I'm sure you won't miss your flight!

 

[bob6sims]

We usually plan to arrive at the airport a minimum of 2.5hours before our flight is due to depart. It takes so long to check-in, go through security, get to your departure gate. We also then have plenty of time to have something to eat, buy some last minute bits + bobs and do some people watching.

We make sure we have plenty of alarms set to get us up(assuming we have managed to get to sleep !!!). Passport, tickets and spending money is checked and rechecked, cases locked then we are ready to go.

Enjoy your holiday

 

[Kathymcbain]

So this is my familys first trip on a plane.I was talking to my wife last night about what if we miss our plane and she said no we wont she already thought about that she has are cell phone timers on,are tv timer on,The alarm clock on ,Her sister is going to call as well to make sure we get up and shes leaving the computer on with the volume all the way up so here friends can AIM her that morning.I was just wondering what you guys do?

You aren't going to miss your flight...just relax. You've got 100 back-ups!! I used to have to catch 5:00 am flights nearly every week for work, never missed a one of them! You'll hear your alarm.

And if you do miss it, which you won't, the airline will rebook you on another flight.

 

[Kathymcbain]

You can miss the plane even if you make it to the gate with plenty of time...or at least DH and I can! Once we were flying from Chicago to Miami for a cruise. It was a very early morning flight, and we had set an alarm and backup alarm and got to Ohare in plenty of time. We sat at the gate, staring at what we thought was our plane. Turns out we were looking at the wrong one, which was actually at the adjoining gate. We sat there like idiots while they paged us (don't know why we didn't hear them...half asleep I guess) and finally left without us. Finally we questioned why it was so late and boarding hadn't even started, despite the plane being there...surprise surprise! We just about flipped out, since we had a ship to catch. I have to say American was awesome about getting us on the next flight and we did end up making it in time. I don't think I've ever been that embarrassed.

LOL, that's pretty funny. My brother missed a flight when he was at the airport because he'd stopped off to have a drink...I guess it turned into two. And he's a well-respected corporate attorney that people trust with their most pressing legal issues...scary!

 

[TLinden16]

I'm going to move this over to our transporation board. I'm sure the folks over there will have more tips for you.

 

[Shagley]

Set two alarms and drink a huge glass of water right before you go to bed. If you happen to sleep through your alarms, your full bladder will wake you up

 

[DVC-Don]

We missed a flight years ago (not to WDW). Now I use the alarm clock on my cell along with my regualr alarm to get up early.

 

[DVCBELLE]

I have missed two flights in my life...

Once I was actually at the airport pre 9/11 over an hour ahead of time and couldn't make it through security in time. They had no sympathy for me which really hacked me off and I had to cash in miles to fly.

Another time the highway was shut down at 6 in the morning and there was no way around it. I ran to the gate and saw my plane pull away. So many people missed their flights they had nothing for me. For some odd reason - I had a flight booked for a couple hours later that I had chosen not to take and had not cancelled it yet so I was able to just hop on that flight and the other airline happily refunded my entire airfare b/c they were happy to not have to figure out how to get me on another flight.

Now - if our flight is really early in the morning - we stay at the airport the night before - no traffic concerns and the hotel has a park and fly so we don't have to pay parking during our trip so there is no difference in cost to us staying the night before. Then we set the alarm on both phones, the alarm clock and get a wake up call!

 

[Andrew Bichard]

My wife & I always check into the hotel at the airport the night before we fly.

This means that the time we leave home is not critical and it doesn't matter too much if we get stuck in traffic or any other disasters befall us on the way.

We have a nice dinner at the hotel the night before we fly - it's almost like an extra day on our vacation.

The following morning it's just a short walk across the terminal to check in, then through passport control & security to the departure lounge for a relaxed breakfast.

Nine hours later we are in Orlando.

Andrew

 

[goofy4tink]

Well, it looks like everyone is familier with 'airplane sleep' the night before an early flight!!!

 

[DisneyNewbiie]

I had a quick question this being our first time flying forecast shows rain will our plane be delayed?Or does it have to be really bad for them to delay it?

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

One more option is to have an airport shuttle service pick you up at home to take you to the airport that morning...it's not cheap, but factor in the cost of gas, tolls, and airport parking..not to mention peace of mind, and it might be worth it..

 

[frannn]

We usually take the earliest flight out, and are up finishing last minute packing the night before (cameras just finished charging, toiletries, etc) until the wee hours of the morning. This year, we are surprising DD6 by flying out for dinner the day before. This will save us from some of the inevitable "travel day drowsies"....but it will kill me to not be there in time for a park to be open. I actually did miss a flight once, much to my horror. I was flying alone for work, and DH drove me to the airport. He dillie-dallied so much, plus once we got there, we were parked VERY far from the terminal I had to go to. The airline got me on the next flight (about an hour later). I spent that hour playing my DS, so it wasn't bad at all.

 

[Vivianne]

We get to the airport 3 hrs before our flight. Check bags, get past the checkpoint, scout out the gate, look at the screen for delays and then...chill. Get a bite to eat, find a spot far enough from the gate and wait, read, eat, browse at the shops.. go to the bathroom a few times. Overkill? Maybe. But, we missed our flight once and it cost us. Never again.

 

[prncess674]

So this is my familys first trip on a plane.I was talking to my wife last night about what if we miss our plane and she said no we wont she already thought about that she has are cell phone timers on,are tv timer on,The alarm clock on ,Her sister is going to call as well to make sure we get up and shes leaving the computer on with the volume all the way up so here friends can AIM her that morning.I was just wondering what you guys do?

I wouldn't leave the computer running all night just to hear an AIM ding, too many other people could ding you during the night and disturb your sleep.

I only seem to oversleep when I don't have everything packed and ready. Have everything ready and packed other than throwing in a toothbrush and a hairbrush.

Have each person's outfit out, ironed with all accessories in one place (hairbows, socks, shoes, undies, etc.) so each person can quickly get dressed.

Know what you are going to have for breakfast before leaving the house. For example, if you are going to have cereal with bananas and coffee, then set the table with napkins, spoon, knife, bowl, bananas and box of cereal. Coffee pot is full of water and grounds are in the funnel. Coffee cups are out with sugar bowl on the counter next to it. Milk is front and center in the fridge.