Is It Time Already?! OKW and POR, November 2013 - Page 7 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Our flight out of LAX was scheduled to depart at 8:45am. LAX is about 60 miles from my house. What time do you think we left our house that morning?
If you guessed 5:30am, you are correct! I actually wanted to leave by 5:15, but Sophia had other plans! It was a Tuesday morning, and commuter traffic from my neck of the woods is terrible very early in the morning. Traffic begins at 5:00am, no joke. Sure enough, by the time we got on the freeway around 5:45am (that's after taking all the surface street shortcuts I knew), it was already gridlock. I was planning on leaving the house by 5:15 and arriving at the off-site parking lot by 6:45 at the latest. We left the house at 5:30 and got to the parking place at 7:10, almost half an hour behind schedule. I was stressing a bit because one time I had an 8am flight out of LAX, arrived around 6:15 and didn't get through the baggage drop off and security lines until 7:30am. Again, no joke.
Anyhow, I parked at Wally Park (it's pricey, but the service is fairly dependable, so I'm willing to pay a bit extra for it). As always, there was a shuttle driver that followed me to my parking spot and immediately got our bags loaded onto his shuttle. I was still stressing a bit, but at this point I knew that we were only a few minutes from the terminal. I hoped that the Virgin America lines wouldn't be long since they don't have THAT many flights. Sure enough, the lines were really short. We made it through security pretty quickly as well, thank goodness! We made it to our gate around 8am. I had packed snacks in our bags in case we didn't have time to get a real breakfast (Evan had a small breakfast before we left the house, but Sophia only took a sip of her milk and then left the rest sitting on the table! Luckily, my mom stopped by to check on the house a few days later and poured out the milk "pudding" she found, lol!).
We found some seats, and then Sophia went looking for food. She decided on Starbucks and got herself some hot chocolate and a croissant for Evan. Of course, it took a while, so when she got back, there wasn't much time left for me to look for food. My main mission was to get a bottle of water or juice for the flight in case we got thirsty before drink service began. Nothing looked good, so I ended up at Starbucks as well. I got a bottle of water, a croissant, and a cinnamon twist. Good thing I got the food because when I got back to our seats, Evan had already devoured his first croissant. I knew he'd be hungry soon after we took off!
Here he is starting on his first croissant!
Getting ready to board!
It was finally time to board, and we were very excited. Our first impression? This plane is super cool! Sophia LOVED the lighting!
I really liked that the rows felt roomier than usual. I don't know if they had a few extra inches over Southwest or United, but it sure felt like it!
Looking out our window:
One of our favorite things about the plane was the fact we had video screens at our seats! I think this is the first time we've ever had video screens at our seats! Evan kept busy with the games, and Sophia loved that she could listen to music and watch tv shows! I enjoyed keeping track of our progress across the skies.
Look, we're almost there!
We landed around 5:00pm local time (felt like 2:00pm to us) and taxied for a bit.
I couldn't stop looking at the darn map on the video screen! Local temp, 75 degrees!
Next: Finally Setting Foot in Florida!
__________________
Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
Last edited by Dlandmom2; 12-03-2013 at 09:20 PM..
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Sorry you lost your first update. Can't wait for more!
My laptop and I don't get along...between the touchpad and the keyboard, I'm constantly deleting things inadvertently!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mcc0313
I think Olivia's was a great choice, I really loved my meals there and it is just so relaxing and the service was wonderful.
No matter how hard I plan ahead I never pack early and usually pack the night before I leave
Most of the packing was done two nights before. The night before we left, I had to work until 9pm, so I knew there was no way I'd get much done! As it turned out, I did the last minute packing and finally got to bed around midnight...and then promptly woke up at 4:30am!
__________________
Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
YAY! Love the update (though I'm sorry you lost your longer one - been there, done that!) and the photos!!
I love the plane and especially the video screen! We had video screens at our seats for the flight from Paris to Newark, and let me tell you, best thing ever for a kid (and an adult, lol).
YAY! Love the update (though I'm sorry you lost your longer one - been there, done that!) and the photos!!
I love the plane and especially the video screen! We had video screens at our seats for the flight from Paris to Newark, and let me tell you, best thing ever for a kid (and an adult, lol).
I have a knack for picking the flights using the oldest planes in the fleet! I was pretty sure Virgin had pretty new planes so i had hoped for the video screens. Just in case, though, I packed tablets, phones, puzzle books, snacks, you name it! I wanted to be prepared for anything! Evan did great! He never got fidgety, not once did he kick the seat in front of him. He kept busy with the video screen, games on the tablet, and games on my phone. Sophia was awesome and did a good chunk of her homework on the plane!
__________________
Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
I forgot to mention a few interesting tidbits in my last update.
I arranged for DME about two weeks before the trip. Laurie, being the DVC owner for our OKW stay, had arranged for DME for me, but I never got the yellow tags, so I had to give them a call again. They sent me 3 yellow bands, one for each of us. I was able to pack almost all our stuff into a medium suitcase, and then put that into a larger suitcase, so I had only one bag to check. Sophia fit most of her stuff in her carry-on (the red carry-on in the picture of her waiting to board).
Second interesting tidbit...I had put a yellow band on the suitcase we were checking. When we got to the counter to check in our bag (I had already paid for it online), the agent took the suitcase and immediately ripped off the yellow DME tag! He did it so quickly I didn't even have a chance to say anything! I told him we needed that tag to stay on our suitcase because Disney is handling our bag for us, and he just looked at me and said it had to come off because the code would interfere with their baggage scanning system. I told him it shouldn't be an issue because Disney does this with thousands of passengers every day, and it's never been a problem. He had a really puzzled look on his face, and then the agent next to him said something to him and he said he would reapply it on the handle on the side of the luggage. Well I didn't want him to try to reattach it after he had already ripped it apart, so luckily I had with me the two other yellow tags we hadn't used, so I just pulled out a new one and watched him attach it properly (after I stopped him from trying to peel off the entire backing because the instructions clearly say to only peel off the two ends and stick them together. After I watched our bag go down the conveyor belt, I really wondered if I would be seeing it again in Orlando!
Ok, next update will be here shortly!
__________________
Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
Second interesting tidbit...I had put a yellow band on the suitcase we were checking. When we got to the counter to check in our bag (I had already paid for it online), the agent took the suitcase and immediately ripped off the yellow DME tag! He did it so quickly I didn't even have a chance to say anything! I told him we needed that tag to stay on our suitcase because Disney is handling our bag for us, and he just looked at me and said it had to come off because the code would interfere with their baggage scanning system. I told him it shouldn't be an issue because Disney does this with thousands of passengers every day, and it's never been a problem. He had a really puzzled look on his face, and then the agent next to him said something to him and he said he would reapply it on the handle on the side of the luggage. Well I didn't want him to try to reattach it after he had already ripped it apart, so luckily I had with me the two other yellow tags we hadn't used, so I just pulled out a new one and watched him attach it properly (after I stopped him from trying to peel off the entire backing because the instructions clearly say to only peel off the two ends and stick them together. After I watched our bag go down the conveyor belt, I really wondered if I would be seeing it again in Orlando!
Ok, next update will be here shortly!
That's crazy! Why he rip it off without at least checking with you first?!
Yay! Updates with photos! Very odd that you got the MagicBands for PO before the ones for OKW. Must be that DVC is a bit behind. The small laptop I travel with does the same deleting thing. It also has a cursor with a mind of its own and drives me crazy! I guess what they say about LA area traffic is true-- what a stress-maker! That's just a crazy thing with the agent ripping off your DME tag! I can't believe he'd never seen one before. I'd never have brought the extra ones with me--good for you! I'd be nervous, too, about whether the bag would arrive at OKW! The plane looks great. I think the seats on VA are roomier, and the video screens are so helpful for passing the time. I absolutely love the selfie of the three of you on the plane-- looks like three kids! Good for Sophia getting her homework done on the plane. Both kids have gotten a lot taller since I saw them!
We patiently waited to deplane, and then we were on our way! Sorry this picture is blurry, but I had to whip out my phone and take a quick pic of the kiddos walking ahead of me. Evan really wanted to pull along the carry-on!
As we walked toward DME...
...I quickly reached into my bag to grab our Magic Bands. I also had my DME paperwork handy just in case. The Magic Bands worked like a charm. We pretty much walked right through and were the first ones in line for the next bus to OKW!
Before I forget, the main portion of the TR will have pictures taken with my phone. I know it will be a while before I get all my other pics uploaded, and if I wait to do that, I'll never get this TR done. So, as I've done with my other TRs, I'm going to use my phone pics now, and at the end I'll do a pictorial summary using my other photos!
The first stop was going to be Saratoga Springs, and I was looking forward to seeing what they looked like. Our bus driver, Alice, was great. She was informative and funny. She told us she had been the first female fire fighter for the Reedy Creek Fire Department (I think that's what she said). The only thing she told us that was wrong (at least that I know of) was as we drove by Downtown Disney. She talked about the boat transportation at Downtown Disney and at Saratoga, OKW, and POR. She said the boat transportation could get us to all the parks except for AKL. Well, yeah, but NOT the boats at DTD, SS, OKW, or POR! I wanted to say something so no one else on the bus would have wrong info, but I wasn't feeling too brave at the moment, lol!
After a brief stop at SS, we headed to OKW. Yay! We walked into Hospitality House and checked in, getting a lovely Welcome Home from the CMs there. I had tried to add birthday celebrations to OKW and POR, but OKW wouldn't let me since I couldn't make any changes to the OKW ressie unless I was the member. I told Laurie later that I should've lied and said I was Laurie, but who would've thought I'd have to lie just have them add that Evan and Sophia would be celebrating birthdays during our trip? Anyhow, Laurie kindly had it added to our ressie, and Megan had already added it to our POR ressie.
We got checked in, and the CM noticed we were having a celebration, so she went and found birthday buttons for the kids and wrote their names on them. Usually, I see the CMs add little balloons or stars to the buttons, but this CM just wrote their names...plain, but still nice. I think Sophia was thinking what I was thinking, because after she thanked the CM for her button, she gave me a kind of "that's it?" look, lol! Sad that Disney really raises the expectation level for everyone!
Then the CM said there was a package for us, so she went off to another room and then came back with a lovely gift from Laurie! What a sweetheart, she gave us a lovely Mickey bag filled with snacks and Disney picture frame. On the card, she welcomed us to her "home" and wished us a great vacation! Thanks SO much, Laurie!
Anyhooooo, we were assigned to room 5620, down at the END of Peninsular Road. Well, it doesn't look like we'll be walking to Hospitality House much. Actually, it doesn't look like we'll be taking a bus to HH much, because even that would've taken a little while! We were near the South Point bus stop. Our room was right next to the quiet pool and kids' play area. Still, we were happy to be there, and we were instructed to go out to the Bell Desk and ask for someone to take us to our room since we were just arriving. The CM whispered to us that we should just nicely ask the Bell Services CM if he would wait just a minute to let us drop our stuff off in our room and then ask if he'd drive us back to HH so we could catch a boat to DTD which is where we were headed later tonight. I thought about it and then decided that we'd want to chill for a few minutes in our room before heading out again.
We waited a few minutes for a Bell Services CM to come back to HH, and then he drove us to our room. It was a "stretch" golf cart, with 3 or 4 rows. Let me tell you, the engine on that thing was LOUD. I was sitting in the 3rd row, and I could barely hear what the guy was saying as he drove!
He took us to our room, and the moment he left Sophia and I plopped down our stuff and started taking pictures of everything. Did I teach her well or what?!
And here's Laurie's fabulous gift!
I'm pretty sure I have more pics of the room, but they were probably taken with my camera...so you'll have to wait for the pictorial later!
Next: Let's EAT!
__________________
Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
Yay! Updates with photos! Very odd that you got the MagicBands for PO before the ones for OKW. Must be that DVC is a bit behind. The small laptop I travel with does the same deleting thing. It also has a cursor with a mind of its own and drives me crazy! I guess what they say about LA area traffic is true-- what a stress-maker! That's just a crazy thing with the agent ripping off your DME tag! I can't believe he'd never seen one before. I'd never have brought the extra ones with me--good for you! I'd be nervous, too, about whether the bag would arrive at OKW! The plane looks great. I think the seats on VA are roomier, and the video screens are so helpful for passing the time. I absolutely love the selfie of the three of you on the plane-- looks like three kids! Good for Sophia getting her homework done on the plane. Both kids have gotten a lot taller since I saw them!
I'm always paranoid about everything, so it's not surprising that I had the extra yellow tags with me. I also brought the entire PhotoPass+ package with me instead of just the voucher!
There will be a moment later in the day when I really wondered if our luggage had been lost...! Stay tuned!
__________________
Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
WOW, give you a night off from work and we get MULTIPLE updates! I'm still so disappointed that your room location wasn't better. There were none of the "premium location" rooms available at the time I booked, but I was hoping for something not quite so far from everything. You are very welcome for the gift! I'm glad to hear that the MagicBands worked so nicely for DME. Can't wait to try mine!
WOW, give you a night off from work and we get MULTIPLE updates! I'm still so disappointed that your room location wasn't better. There were none of the "premium location" rooms available at the time I booked, but I was hoping for something not quite so far from everything. You are very welcome for the gift! I'm glad to hear that the MagicBands worked so nicely for DME. Can't wait to try mine!
I was going to try to punch out another update tonight, but I'm beat! I'll try to do more tomorrow.
Room location is always such a crapshoot. I wasn't expecting a super location since I couldn't decide on the dates of the trip until just a few months out. The room location wasn't "bad" but it just made it more difficult to get up to Hospitality House. The good thing, though, was that it was the second bus stop. That meant it didn't take too long to get dropped off at night, and in the morning we always got a seat on the bus!
__________________
Huge Disney Fan...Always Have Been...Always Will Be!
Disneyland 60th Anniversary Celebration TR here!
2013 WDW trip here!
2011 trip to Hawaii here!
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I guess what they say about LA area traffic is true-- what a stress-maker! That's just a crazy thing with the agent ripping off your DME tag! I can't believe he'd never seen one before. I'd never have brought the extra ones with me--good for you! I'd be nervous, too, about whether the bag would arrive at OKW! The plane looks great. I think the seats on VA are roomier, and the video screens are so helpful for passing the time. I absolutely love the selfie of the three of you on the plane-- looks like three kids! Good for Sophia getting her homework done on the plane. Both kids have gotten a lot taller since I saw them!
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