What was I thinking...early flight?

[Lucky St. Louis]

It sounded like a good idea at the time...I got an awesome fare ($69) on a 6 a.m. flight out of Chicago to Orlando on SW. 6 a.m.!!!! That means we'll leave for the airport at 4 a.m.! I am planning for us to roll out of bed and get right into the car. Once we get to Disney, we're either going to stay at the resort and sit poolside or go to a park right away. Either way, we're planning on going to bed early so we can get a jump on the next day. Any tips from anyone who has flown this early? Thanks!

Kate

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

I always complain about our 6:30 am flight out of Norfolk, but it's so nice to get there early and get another day out of the trip. Of course, the night before is always as it is in the commercial... "I'm too excited to sleep!" But somehow, Adrenalin I guess, we make it through that first day. I've often said, we'll take a nap when we get there if our room is ready. But we somehow always seem to wind up in the Magic Kingdom.

 

[msmayor]

We did a 6am flight out of PHL one year and it worked out great.

We did opt to stay at the airport Marriott the night before - attached to the terminal building so all we did was walk out of the elevator from our room floor and right into the terminal; meant no hassles of getting everyone up and moving out to the car, parking, transferring luggage, etc. Gave everyone the chance to get as much sleep as possible the night before.

It was awesome arriving at the resort at 10am...our room was even ready for us! We got all settled in and then just relaxed at the pool for a while.

 

[Disneymom77]

We've flown early a couple of times. I have mixed feelings about it ~ It is great getting there and having most of the day to enjoy the MAGIC But the thought of getting up in the middle of the night to go to the airport Adrenalin always gets us through the day And in the end I'm always glad we chose the early flight Have a great trip!

 

[minnie mum]

As much as its a pain to get up in the middle of the night, we always opt for the earliest morning flight, in order to maximize our time at WDW. Plus, IMHO the earlier the flight, the less likely it is to be delayed leaving (barring bad weather). At least that's my theory and I'm sticking to it!

 

[dis_guy]

Like the others, we really like the early flights out on the way to WDW. The plane's already there (usually) so no delays, though that often means deicing in the winter. We fly from western Canada so we have a long day of traveling but we can get to Orlando by 3 or 4 PM so that means a little more time enjoying WDW.

One thing I will never do again is take an early flight from Orlando. We once did a 6 AM departure (FIL booked that one) and it was brutal. We much prefer departing later, between 3 and 5 PM.

 

[Ed J]

We work the day we leave, get into a packed car, hit the AP 6ish (pm) and get to a hotel between 9 n 11. I'd much rather wake up there and have the option of sleeping in than knowing I'm not going to be able to sleep the night before because we have to get everyone up so early.

I'll never do the early flight before a vacation again if I can avoid it, I do it enough for work.

 

[prncess674]

I think it will be fine. Just have everything packed and ready. Have the clothes laid out for the morning down to undies, socks, hair bows and shoes untied ready for feet. Have toothbrushes and hairbrushes accounted for and out on the bathroom counter.

What are your breakfast plans? I would plan on breakfast sandwiches in the car. You can pre make them the night before wrap in foil and pop in the oven when you wake up. We like english muffins, with deli meats and cheese. Coffee pot is ready to go with travel mugs out on the counter ready to be filled.

Also make sure the car is gassed and backed in ready for easy loading of the suitcases.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

We often do this too. Once you are at WDW, you will be glad you did it!
As others have said, have everything set & ready to go. We have our suitcases packed & in the car. We have our clothes for the flight all set, carry on bags all set. I buy travel toothbrushes, so they are packed ahead of time. I don't want to have to remember to grab those in the morning. We usually eat at the airport, once we are at the gate.
I see that you are flying SW. If you find a flight out the night before, at a good price, you could fly out then....but you will be adding another hotel night.

 

[DeadHead]

DW & I always try for the first non-top out of PHL, usually around 7 a.m.. Two weeks ago for our trip we had to take a connecting flight and left PHL at
5:30 a.m.. Yes it is tough getting up so early but as others have said, it's so nice to get almost another whole day at WDW. IMHO well worth the effort of getting up early.

 

[sharadoc]

Do the online check-in and you'll hopefully have a much better chance of having your room be ready for you when you get there, too.

 

[bear_mom]

We like the early am flight out, although getting up at 4 is less than ideal. We arrive at our hotel, check in, drop off our bags (twice our room has been ready) and then head off to a park. We do make sure we head back to the room after dinner to unpack and head to bed early so we don't start off too exhausted.

Emily

 

[pezheadmeg]

Whenever I can I take the earliest flight out as possible. Everything but my make-up and my toothbrush are packed the night before. After I get ready, they simply pop into my carry-on bag. You can always doze on the plane.

I love actually being able to start my vacation on my travel day. The trick is just to make your 1st night an early night. Last year it was a few hours at AK, then back to the Poly for dinner and Wishes on the Beach. The next morning I was up and ready for rope drop.

 

[WendyDarling]

We always take that early flight. I pack cereal bars in my bag and if we have time we eat McD's at the airport. We had swimsuits in our carryons and swam while we waited for our room to get ready this time - usually we just go straight to the MK. The one thing we're always sure to do is not go to a night show on arrival day. That's just too much! We get to bed early and we're refreshed and ready to go the next morning!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

We like the early am flight out, although getting up at 4 is less than ideal.

A 6:00 a.m. flight means getting to the airport at 4:00 a.m., not just getting up at 4:00 a.m.

Depending on the where someone lives in relation to the airport, it could mean getting up at 2:00 a.m. or 3:00 a.m.

Early flights are one of those things that seem like a good idea until you do the math.

My advice to anyone with an early flight and staying at a WDW resort is to use Disney's Magical Express, especially the luggage transfers. The room might not be ready until 4:00 p.m. It's great not having to deal with bags after checking in at one's home airport (or being expected to tip again and again in the process).

 

[OThopeful35]

Our flight leaves at 6am I am going to have to drag myself out of bed with little sleep. I can never sleep the night before going on vacation. But this was the only way to arrive at MCO at 4:30pm.

 

[Jazzerfan]

Always take a 7am out of PHL and land in about two hours. It makes the most of your day and certainly a great jump start to the next. Take a little mid afternoon nap and you'll be set for later on in the evening.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[dudspizza]

We always try to fly out by 8am at the latest on our way to WDW. We have no problem getting up early and love having part of the day to get settled in or explore. We end up in bed a decent time so we are refreshed and ready for the first full day in Florida.

My biggest recommendation is to NOT do a park when you arrive. You are already tired from a day of travel. At most, go to DTD or take a monorail ride to get a taste of the magic. Have something to eat or shop a little, but get a good nights rest before hitting it hard the next day.

We also try to get flights home leaving between noon and 3pm. That way, we are home at a decent hour as well.

Duds

 

[Lucky St. Louis]

Thanks for your responses...I'm feeling much better about our early departure. To the poster who said that we'll need to leave at 2:00 a.m. to be at the airport by 4:00...that is not the case for us. It will only take us 20-30 minutes to get to the airport at that time of morning so it is fine for us to leave at 4:00. We're flying out of a smaller airport which is much easier to navigate than the big international airport which requires extra time.

The night before a trip the family cannot sleep anyway and one of my daughters is so excited that she gets up often to use the bathroom. I like the travel toothbrush idea so that everything can be packed and ready to go in the car. We'll get breakfast at the airport too (McD's sausage biscuits...yum). I am totally looking forward to having the entire day (we arrive in Orlando at 9:30) to relax before going rope-drop commando the next day! While we usually fly the afternoon/night before, it is not possible this time around as my kids have a school function that we don't want to miss and we didn't want to fly in too late. We'll see how this works out!

Thanks again for comments and tips!

 

[OhioMom2Four]

I like early morning flights on the way to Orlando.... it gives you the whole day.

The one thing I will never do again is LEAVE Orlando with a super early morning flight. There is nothing worse than dreading leaving your vacation except leaving on a 6 am flight!