Travel Day Home- Bye bye Disney!!

ToffPrincess

Mouseketeer
Joined
Sep 10, 2017
TRAVEL DAY HOME
ORLANDO TO LONDON

We woke up nice and early to throw the last few bits and bobs (and pyjamas) into the suitcases and then we called the bellboys. They came for the luggage and gave us a ticket for it so by 9am we are all good to leave the rooms and enjoy breakfast without rushing to do any packing or suitcase dragging.

We went to 1900PF for breakfast (last minute booking found at 7.30am on the app when DS did the whole cute 'but please mummy can we see characters' thing on me. DS had an extra long hug with each character to say goodbye. A few (Alice & Mad Hatter) recognised him from the last few days so he felt super special saying goodbye to his friends. We decided to eat light as there is nothing worse than having a full heavy tummy on a plane. Food was great as always.

If you have a card on file, check-out is automatic so you don’t even need to pass by reception which is great. We went to the lobby and got settled on a comfy sofa. DS watched Cinderella on his ipad and I read a magazine. My uncle was talking meditation and calm things to DH, who if you remember from my first travel post, is a terrible flyer. It was like a Buddhist therapy session but DH did look calmer after 2 hours of non stop mantras.

We all took it in turns to do a last minute walk around the hotel and shops. I got a Pandora charm (Mrs Pots) for my Disney Pandora bracelet. I also picked up some magazines for the plane and some snacks and then we went to Grand Foridian Café for salads. The service is not slow but the time the food takes is so long it was a great way to kill the last few hours.

Our suggested time to go to the airport for our flight was 3pm. Rather early on in planning our trip we decided (when choosing how many days park tickets we would buy) we would NOT go to the parks on the day of travel but stay and chill in the hotel lobby. We assumed it would be easier that way.
Now having done the whole check-out process I can say we made a mistake. It would have been a much better way to spend the day having fun than sitting in the lobby waiting endlessly. Once you get used to Disney it is very easy to calculate timing back to the hotel for airport transfers.. it was a needless worry. Our biggest mistake is we arranged that we had to drop off the rented stroller at reception by 12pm. Next time I will ask for a later return time for the stroller and do Magic Kingdom even if I have to pay one more full day for it. The only thing I can see going wrong with the plan is that small kids may get over tired and then grumpy not being able to lay down for a nap!

We went to the airport and there wasn’t much traffic. 40 minutes drive total and a super easy check in. DS and I were in business (DH and I agreed a sleeping child is priceless) and the other two were in premium economy. We all got use of the lounge yet we found that Orlando airport is so bright and happy that we preferred to sit in the normal areas. Our group is pretty happy. DS loves school and his teacher so the idea of going back to normal life doesn’t phase him.

We go to the gate to board the plane and everyone around us is sooo miserable. It must be that ‘goodbye Disney’ feeling. There are some pretty aggressively rude people trying to pick fights with each other. One man in particular was yelling at everyone around him for everything. Free entertainment.

We board and pretty soon after take-off DS is fast asleep wrapped up like a burrito. The woman next to me has 3 kids one of whom is climbing all over the place and screaming. She keeps climbing between the seat separation screen from her seat to her mother’s seat and then practically on her mother’s head. This same child screams and cries most of the flight but mercifully DS doesn’t wake up. Everyone around me is sighing and tutting but I couldn't care less as long as DS isn't disturbed. Anyway I wanted to watch the new Pirates film and I have 5 new ear piercings to my collection so lying down is not exactly comfortable if I don’t have 100 pillows to make myself comfy. (Life crisis issues) The earphones hurt like hell!
My recent flights with BA haven’t been great to be honest. This flight really confirms that they are having problems. I don’t know if the staff are so rude because they are trying to make a point they are unhappy but I don’t think paying customers should suffer for it. I am ignored all flight. I ask for a drink and it never comes. I ask for an extra blanket for DS and the hostess rolls her eyes and says ‘we don’t do that’ so I cover him with mine. I don’t eat on planes so I don’t interact with them again but I see several people in my cabin get up and confront them by the bathrooms for rudeness/bad service.

BA is terrible for the money you pay and as a Central Londoner the Gatwick take-off and landing is useless for me as then I need to arrange transport. We had too many suitcases to manage for Gatwick express and the airport transfer cost us a LOT when you add up both ways. I do really need to sit down and read through these forums and investigate other options. After our already booked Easter trip maybe an alternative for us is to do London to New York with Virgin. Visit family for a few days there before flying domestic to Orlando. I’ll figure it out.

We booked this trip last minute so we payed too much for our tickets. I had a problem getting us out on the same dates and in the end our party did travel 4 days apart. For the same price we payed for premium economy this time we are going business next time. I strongly recommend booking 6 months+ in advance if you can. I know it’s hard to do but it makes the world of difference with pricing and choices.

The flight goes by quickly and before you know it we are in London. We reunite outside the aircraft and go to passport control. No queues and no wait for luggage. DH fills me in that he didn’t panic like he did on the way out and even managed to sleep. Very jealous my uncle got the good side of travelling DH and I had the drama on the way out. Our pre-ordered taxi is waiting and as we get in DS turns and says ‘bye bye airplane’ and I feel that closes this trip perfectly.

Bye bye Disney we will see you soon!
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