4 go on an adventure October 2017 - Travel Day

[Bellesdream]

Tuesday 17th October 2017

INDEX

Today is THE DAY… Proper travel day! Slight excitement around this morning! NO one slept well last night. I gave up at 5.15am and went on my phone, about 6am we had coffee then all had showers and got ourselves ready nice and leisurely. We managed to get down for breakfast by 7:10, breakfast was included with our package and it was a buffet. We had a selection of items– Croissants, muffins, coco pops, banana, bacon, sausage, egg and to drink -orange juice, tropical juice and coffee. We were back in our room by 8:05, brushed our teeth and got ourselves ready for the day. We left as quickly as possible and drove to ‘purple parking’ I had paid for hotel, parking and a return transfer for Terminal 3 (as that would be where we would be landing on the way home) I hadn’t realised that we had to leave the keys and that they would be parking the car. That did unsettle me a little but I had to forget about it as we were off on holiday (the day after we returned or the day we returned, purple parking went into administration and people had issues collecting their cars, thankfully no issues for us) When I spoke with the drivers they advised we could get on any of their mini buses to the terminals so we jumped at the chance of less messing around and got on the Terminal 5 bus. We arrived in terminal 5 and it was a little awe inspiring especially for the kids. I popped into one of the shops and bought a international plug (couldn’t find ours at home! And some padlocks for 2 of our cases) then we queued up to check in and get rid of the cases. We checked in and got given the boarding passes for both plane journeys (Heathrow to Philadelphia and Philadelphia to Orlando) The crew member confirmed that the AA flight was showing the correct details and that we were booked on to that (… yes.. he did confirm it… just wait…) Once we were relieved of our suitcases (3 x 14.7Kg and 1 x15kg) we went to the toilet and had a little walk to security. We put all of the liquids etc. into bags and got ourselves sorted. The kids were really nervous about going through security – maybe due to our last holiday (Menorca) where Molly the Dolly had to be x-rayed and then a few questions as she had a battery pack in her tummy to give kisses.. Caitlin as had her since she was 1 year old. I went through security first to show how easy and not scary it was….. I had a beep… so I had to be taken to the side, take off my shoes, hoodie and go through a scanner and pat down. Looking on the screen it was showing a square patch around my stomach but they could see there was nothing there so were happy to let me through. Stuart and the kids had no issues and no beeping! Typical! We had a quick look round a couple of the shops – we didn’t have too long to wait and we knew we wanted to grab a meal deal and relax before our flight without the need to rush! We looked in Hamleys and then looked to see what shops were there around and which way we needed to go for our gate, on the way to the transport to B gate we stopped in the Harry Potter shop – looking around, feeling very excited that we would soon be going to Universal studios and Harry Potter world!

We caught the transport to the B gate and popped in to WH Smith for a meal deal as we had forgotten to buy one from Boots in the main terminal – gutting as I had boots points saved for it! We bought 2 meal deals – Cheese and Ham sandwich, crisps and water. Breakfast sandwich, crisps and water. Then we went to the gate detailed on our boarding pass and sat down to look at our plane! The food was being loaded onto it and it was fab for the kids to actually see it and watch all the planes taking off. The Crew arrived and looked at the boarding passes… oh yes… I was selected for extra security ( I had seen my boarding pass had SSS on it, but hadn’t said anything as I didn’t want to worry Stuart and the kids) We were allowed through the other side of the desks and asked to wait. We then watched the crew members walk onto the plane Then those of us needing extra checks were called down…. I went down and had to have my hands, shoes, phone and kindle swabbed and checked for drugs. Thankfully easily passed and no problems. Once I had passed, I went back to Stuart and the kids and we were allowed on to the plane as one of the first people – first after those with special assistance. We went and found our seats as we were sat in a row of 4 in the middle, me, Caitlin, James and Stuart (seats 43 - D,E,F,G)

As we were on so early we were able to get out what we wanted from our bags and to put a film straight on whilst everyone else was loading on to the plane and sorting themselves out. We took off on time and a drink came round at 13:46, I had a Vodka and Orange Juice (well 2 orange juices as the Crew Man didn’t want to give me a double &#128521 Caitlin had a coke, James a Fruit Shoot and Stuart had a Vodka and coke.

Caitlin and I popped to the toilet – being in the row the 4 of us was perfect we could come and go as we pleased (though didn’t mess) and just felt a lot more comfortable. The kids food (I had pre ordered the meal) arrived at 2:10 they had – Tomato Pasta with broccoli, yeo valley strawberry yogurt, mild cheddar cheese, bread roll, butter, chocolate buttons, raisins, fruit salad, fruit shoot and water.

The Adult food came round at 2:45 we had a choice of either Pesto Pasta or Chicken Risotto, Stuart and I both picked the Chicken Risotto. I picked red wine to have with my lunch, Stuart was missed over for the wine and had already had to ask for his meal as he had James’ tray with him. The food we had was – Chicken in a sauce with cheesy risotto and carrots, purple coleslaw, roll and butter, chocolate mousse. Water and coffee. I really enjoyed the chicken risotto and pudding. Caitlin ate my roll and I found the coleslaw a bit tart.

Later in the flight we had coffee and biscuits and the kids had juice/water. We really enjoyed the BA flight - we all watched a few films and TV shows. No worries with the food – James I don’t think loved the food but was happy. We ended up having to throw the meal deal sandwiches away and I filled out the customs form ready for the off! I also enjoyed being able to plug in my phone to charge and play my games 😊 We disembarked and went through security – usual questions – why are you here, when were you here last, what cash do you have and what food did we bring in (I declared food – snack bars, sweets etc.) The immigration officer was certainly scary though! We collected our bags – this seemed to take forever, then through customs and bag drop again for the second flight – this was the simplest of things if I’m honest – we got directed where to go and they took our bag – fantastic. Then we went through security again and that was painful, it was a long queue and we just wanted to get through and get ready for our next flight, we already had our boarding passes but if I am honest we were a little nervous… When we went through security Stuart set the alarms off this time and needed a pat down! Once we had our stuff and shoes back on we went to find our gate. Popped to the toilet (first USA ones…) and made our way to the gate, once we were there we could see there was 20 minutes before boarding began… I wasn’t going to check about our tickets as we had our boarding passes already but as there were so many issues I just had to check… GOOD job I did. –
Back Story
We received an email on 12th July to advise that our times had changed for the flights. When I had reviewed them on the BA app the flight times had changed within an hour but they were ok. I looked on the AA app and our flight from Philadelphia had changed from 18:10 to 10:30 US time – slightly concerning as we would still be flying over the Atlantic. I called BA and eventually Travel Trolley (who we had booked via) and they came back and advised that it was an error on the app and that we WERE still booked onto the 18:10 flight. It never changed on the app but after checking in in the morning and being able to print boarding passes off etc. I thought we were fine.
So there I was standing there just checking my seats and the lovely AA crew member said to me that we weren’t booked in for the flight… I started explaining the back story to her (maybe crying slightly and Caitlin also cried) it turned out that we had been booked on to the 10:30 flight earlier in the day and that BA had cancelled our booked on the 18:10 flight. The crew member was amazing as the flight was completely full, she promised we would be on the flight but that we probably wouldn’t be sat together, I said that was fine but if possible could either the kids sit together or James sit with one of us. The crew member placed an announcement asking for people to offer to swap two aisle seats for two seats sitting together. Thankfully two people offered to do this. It was an awful 40 minutes until we boarded as we were all upset and Caitlin was scared and James was being silly – how he deals with the stress, we just stood there waiting and feeling dreadful, bearing in mind it was 18:10 Philadelphia time therefore it was 23:00 UK time and we had all been awake since 5am with very little sleep. Eventually we were able to board, James had a window seat, I had a seat next to him (thank you to those amazing people who swapped, they will never realise how thankful I was of that swap which enabled us to sit together)

James and I sat together!
Caitlin and Stuart were sat on the aisles across from each other but Stuart was a bit in front of Caitlin – I was very proud of Caitlin for being ok on the plane and happy to be there, she is only 10 and really coped well with it all considering. This flight was lovely, the seats were slightly bigger and leather plus we had our own back seat TVs which we weren’t expecting. About 30 minutes into the flight we had complimentary soft drinks and mini pretzels, Caitlin and I had Coke, James had apple juice and Stuart had coffee. James fell asleep for the last 40 minutes of the flight which wasn’t surprising as it landing at 20:58 Florida time (2am UK time!). Once we landed in Orlando it was sooo easy to get through the airport, popped to the toilet and through to baggage claim. No need for customs or security as we had flown indirect – that was excellent. As we got to the baggage collection I started to panic due to the issue with our flight at Philadelphia and whether the suitcases would come through ok… The kids were sat on a bench looking shattered but excited bless them!

Thankfully the suitcases all came out quite quickly and pretty much all together. We grabbed them and made our way to the Disney Magical Express for our transfer. We had zoomed there but actually there was no need and we had to wait a while before other people were loaded onto the coach as well. But it was fab as we were there! The drive was difficult as we were all so tired we just wanted to sleep – James fell asleep and Caitlin kept dropping off. I was watching out the window and trying to stay awake, excited but shattered at the same time!

We got to All Star Music resort – just for the night. The Cast member who checked us in was good and said that we had been given a room upgrade to a family suite – exciting. We were really close to check in, the pool and the food hall, so we were able to walk straight there – we walked in and it smelt really damp ☹ The camp beds for the children weren’t made up and so we had to set those up. We knew it was a value resort and it didn’t matter for one night but it did make me glad that we hadn’t booked there for the whole stay as I would have felt gutted. It may just have been that room but we were quite unhappy with the condition of the room. We had thought about popping out for some food but we were all so tired we went to sleep.

[Jaspercat10]

Great day looking forward to reading more 😁

[Jessika]

Good travel day, looking forward to reading more, thank you for sharing.

[Palm trees]

Glad it all turned out well with your flight, I'd have been really stressed with the mix up at Philadelphia. Looking forwards to reading more

[Jockey]

Looking forward to more

[Bellesdream]

Great day looking forward to reading more 😁

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It was a fun and long day! always interesting! :-)

Good travel day, looking forward to reading more, thank you for sharing.

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Thank you for reading, it was a good day. just got to get them all written up now!

Glad it all turned out well with your flight, I'd have been really stressed with the mix up at Philadelphia. Looking forwards to reading more

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We were so lucky with our flight, I will be forever thankful to the AA staff and those who swapped seats for James and I to sit together. I was so stressed and upset but thankfully it worked out ok. More worryingly AA weren't surprised it had happened and it seemed to be a regular occurrence :-(

Looking forward to more

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just added another couple of days ;-) and added a index to help hopefully :-)

[Excitedx4]

Great travel day, shame about the room at all stars I hope you complained the next day. Value or not you paid good money for a clean room and made up to standard, Disney rooms aren't cheap after all.

[mouselover22]

Long travel day but thankfully you made the connecting flight.

Bet you didn't expect to make the beds up on arrival, just what you needed

[collybird]

The plane food looks okay, especially the kids’ meal.

I’d have definitely completely panicked over the flight fiasco, especially at 11pm UK time, Caitlin was very brave.

What a shame about the room, we have stayed in values before and they’ve been faultless, glad you only had to put up with it for one night.

[kansaskitty]

Shame about the resort we had no problems at Pop but that was in 2008!