Worried about flying through Atlanta on Wednesday

[BCVNovember]

We are flying Delta this Wednesday morning and our connection is Atlanta - we're supposed to get in around 9am and take off for Orlando at 11AM. The weather is not looking good that day - prediction of ice there. We have an ADR for Via Napoli that night and I think I'd have to cancel today in order to avoid the cancellation fee. This is making me very nervous...

 

[richmo]

Wow, I'd be very concerned too. And I'd be worried about a lot more than Via Napoli.

Specific to the ADR, I'd call Disney dining and ask them how strict they are about enforcing the cancellation policy. Maybe they can put a note on your reservation to waive the penalty if you explain the situation to them. If they're not going to be flexible, my advice would be to cancel near the 24 hour mark once you get a better feel for the timing of the storm.

I'd be a lot more concerned about getting there at all. The ice storm in Atlanta last week or so totally crippled the city. Atlanta just doesn't handle storms well; of course, ice isn't easy for anyone. I would be inclined to call Delta and see if there are any other routing options they could change you to, or maybe get you down there earlier. (If you can go a night earlier, you can likely get a last minute hotel cheap on Priceline near MCO for one night). Sometimes airlines are willing to work with people ahead of time, because its such a mess after the fact.

 

[LadyBeBop]

IIRC, I don't think she needs to cancel until 11:59 of the night before.

OP, is there any possible way, you can change it so you transfer out of LaGuardia? Or maybe Cincinnati? Although those hubs aren't nearly as big as Atlanta, they are still small hubs.

 

[OKW Lover]

As somebody that wound up spending the night in the ATL airport just a couple of weeks ago, I'd suggest that at the least you cancel your Via Napoli reservations.

I'd also suggest you contact Delta and see what options you have for changing your flights. Delta has posted a "Winter Weather" waiver for travel on February 11-13 through:

• Asheville, NC (AVL)
• Atlanta, GA (ATL)
• Charlotte, NC (CLT)
• Greensboro, NC (GSO)
• Greenville, SC (GSP)
• Huntsville, AL (HSV)
• Norfolk, VA (ORF)
• Raleigh, NC (RDU)

so they will change flights for you without any penalty/cost. You may want to go onto the Delta website and check out what other routings are even possible for you before you call. If you see something that would work best for you ask about that when you are on the phone.

 

[LadyBeBop]

Good advice. Also, look for non-stop flights anywhere east of the Mississippi that flies into Orlando. It doesn't necessarily have to be a Delta hub. You might be able to fly into the non-hub city, then fly into Orlando. If you have a passport, you're not even limited to flights in and out of the US. You might luck into a transfer in Toronto or Nassau. Anything can happen.

Once, I was flying out of Los Angeles as a non-rev (free airfare; my daughter used to work for Delta). At the last minute, the flight I wante to take filled up with paying customers, and I had to wait until the next flight in 12 hours. However, if I had my passport with me, I could have flown from Los Angeles into Guadalajara, Mexico and transfered planes there. Unfortunately, no passport, so I didn't get home until mid-day the next day.

Good luck. Hope you make WDW with little or no delay.

 

[BCVNovember]

Got my flight changed to go through Detroit. We'll get there later in the day but it won't be a total loss.

Thanks!

 

[richmo]

Got my flight changed to go through Detroit. We'll get there later in the day but it won't be a total loss.

Thanks!

That's great! Have fun!

 

[BCVNovember]

Well, we didn't make it. According to Delta there was an icy fog in Buffalo this morning which caused the plane that was coming to get us to turn around and head back to Buffalo which made it impossible to get the Detroit connection. After 2 hours on the phone with Delta and another hour with Disney we are now flying down Saturday morning. If this falls through I'm giving up.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Hope you are not flying from a New England state. I see this weekend starting on Friday they are getting hammered with snow fall.

 

[LaurenT]

Hope you are not flying from a New England state. I see this weekend starting on Friday they are getting hammered with snow fall.

Not starting on Friday. Starting now and ending tomorrow morning. Anyone with flights on Saturday will probably be ok

 

[BCVNovember]

Hope you are not flying from a New England state. I see this weekend starting on Friday they are getting hammered with snow fall.

We're in SW Ohio so it appears we should be ok. (Finding some wood to knock on).

 

[LadyBeBop]

We're in SW Ohio so it appears we should be ok. (Finding some wood to knock on).

Couldn't you get a direct flight out of CVG? (Cincinnati?)

 

[BCVNovember]

Couldn't you get a direct flight out of CVG? (Cincinnati?)

Yes, that is actually what we're doing. First flight of the day (7:15AM).

 

[LadyBeBop]

Yes, that is actually what we're doing. First flight of the day (7:15AM).

You'll be fine...we've been sweating February 15, 2014 for over a year now...my daughter is having her wedding ceremony that day. The one nice day around a bunch of iffy days. That said, couldn't you get a flight out of CVG for today or tomorrow?

 

[BCVNovember]

You'll be fine...we've been sweating February 15, 2014 for over a year now...my daughter is having her wedding ceremony that day. The one nice day around a bunch of iffy days. That said, couldn't you get a flight out of CVG for today or tomorrow?

Unfortunately no, there are 5 of us and the first flight we could all get on together is the one we're taking on Saturday.

 

[BCVNovember]

Lady Bebop - I hope your daughter's wedding is trouble free. Have a great time!