Nala and pride "Here we go again!" Final thoughts and COMPLETE! Updated 7/30
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Nala · 01-06-2006, 07:52 PM

So here is chapter two of the pre-trip novel! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

In between all the lodging dilemmas I faced, I also had to deal with the dilemma of flight verses drive. In the past on this board, I have not been quiet about my fear of flying. The thought of getting on a plane will send me into a physical and mental frenzy. And on both occasions before our flights for the last two trips I have dropped to my knees and thought I was going to give praise the porcelain goddess. Flying is really not on my top ten list of things to do for a good time. But, arriving at WDW in 2-½ hours as opposed to driving for 20 hours spoke volumes to me. Plus I had to consider what the drive did to Grumpy. While I don’t mind riding in a vehicle and I don’t mind driving one, I do have stipulations as to when and where I will drive. Those are, but are not limited to, driving in heavy rain, fog, sleet, freezing rain, or snow. I also hate to drive at night. And large cities (those over 100,000) are out of the question. Mountains are out too. Rock and mud slides don’t you know. And yes, driving to WDW in the past, we have seen one of these!

So with those stipulations in place that pretty much takes out much of the drive except most of IL and southern GA. Between that we have mountains, where the weather can change at the drop of a dime and several large cities like Chattanooga and Atlanta. And if we leave after work, most of IL is in the dark. That puts most of the driving responsibility on poor Grumpy. So I bit the bullet and decided to fly rather than drive this trip. The torture I knew I would put my mind through the morning of the flight would be far better than the long drive I would put Grumpy, Kiara and myself through. Plus, with the prices of gas and the fact that we drive a gas hog that gets twelve gallons to the mile, and not having to pay for hotels on the way down and back, it would be the most cost effective. And the fastest! Oh, how I am a fan of almost instant gratification. It is the only thing that keeps me from totally freaking out on the plane. I just keep telling myself “I’m almost to my happy place, I’m almost to my happy place……". And the barf bag I find myself clutching the entire trip gives me something to do with my over nervous hands.

So which airline to fly? While we had a great experience our first trip back in May with a direct flight from our home town of Peoria to Sanford on Allegiant, I was still very upset that they had changed our flight time by an entire day the next time we booked them. And because of that “time” change (what airline calls 24 hours a “TIME” change?) we were forced to look for other options. We booked a flight out of Bloomington on AirTran. That airline allowed us to arrive in WDW mid morning and leave WDW late in the afternoon and extending our stay at our happy place. But, we had to make a connecting flight in Atlanta. Something both Grumpy and I were not found of. For an extended stay with checked luggage, this was not a good option. That would also require me to deal with an additional take off and landing each way. Not good. Plus, our departure day would put us at MCO on what we thought would be a busy travel day. The appeal of a direct flight and flying in and out of a smaller airport won us over. So I crawled back to Allegiant. I booked our direct flight and crossed my fingers and toes that this airline would not let us down once again.

But I soon found out that toes and fingers crossed were not enough as. Allegiant did let us down once again. And while I understand the reason for what happened, the way it happened and the lack of notification to a customer whose money they had in the bank for several months, was nothing short of shady. About six weeks after I booked and paid for our flight, I found myself drawn to check out Allegiant’s website. I wanted to check to see if fares had dropped and was surprised to find when I typed in our dates that “no flights were available”. Hmmm, that’s odd. But perhaps it was a sign that the service was going over well and they were booked. But a nagging voice in the back of my head told me different. I sat on this discovery for several weeks. I decided to take the ostrich approach, stick my head in the sand, hope for the best and banked on being contacted by Allegiant if there was a change or problem. I assumed the head in the sand position for several more weeks.

By then, my neck was sore from having my head in the sand and I decided to ask a coworker, who had taken a flight to Vegas from Peoria on Allegiant over Thanksgiving weekend, if he saw or heard anything when at the airport about flights no longer going to Sanford . He had not seen or heard anything about Orlando flights being grounded when he was at the airport, but remembered hearing that Allegiant had grounded all flights to Orlando as of December 1st on a local radio station! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] What???? Why had I heard nothing about this from Allegiant? My flight was in January. So I did the only thing I could do. I called Grumpy and told him to call the airline.

He called me back at work and informed me that our reservations read that we were flying out of Rockford, IL. One hundred and fifty miles north! And the CSR was totally confused and had no idea that the flights out of Peoria had been grounded. She had to put Grumpy on hold and ask a manager to confirm this. Through her conversation with the higher ups, it became clear that our departure city had been changed unbeknownst to us and to this CSR. Or any other CSR’s for that matter. Seems the change in departure city was a big secret to everyone. But Allegiant was kind enough to give us the same rate we were paying out of Peoria. Like they could do anything else? Once again, I was distraught by the lack of service and the little consideration given to me as a customer by Allegiant. And I also found myself wondering just when they would have advised me of the departure city change had I not had Grumpy call and inquire. The CSR asked her manager that same questions and came back with no answer.

So we had to make a decision. Stick with Allegiant, drive one hundred and fifty miles to the airport or look for another carrier. A quick look at flights out of Midway, O’Hare and even St Louis provide us with no better options. The flights were either more money or were not direct, or both. And all flew in and out of MCO. So we decided to stick with Allegiant. And until we are on the plane, I will cross every body part possible that they do not make another city departure change or a time change.

And I must say, while 20 hours driving down the road does not sound like fun, I will give it serious consideration for our next long trip.

And this is the story behind why I refer to Allegiant as “The dreaded airline know as Allegiant”. And I will add one more thing. For anyone who books a flight with Allegiant…..Flyer beware! I can only hope they do a better job keeping up with their maintenance contracts than they do with customer service! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/jawdrop.gif[/img]

Up next, the ADR’s and the rest of the plan. Which I must say was much easier than the lodging and the flight! And no, for anyone who is wondering, we are not going to Biergarten. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img]

KandJluvdisney · 01-06-2006, 10:25 PM

that's funny!
(about biergarten) [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img]

Minnie Lor · 01-06-2006, 11:24 PM

[ QUOTE ]
that's funny!
(about biergarten) [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]
Are you sure? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img]
Thanks for the heads up about Allegiant. As I said in my PM to you, I was considering using Allegiant but I think we'll stick with good old Southwest. It's a farther distance to drive but at least we have family in KC that we can stay with. I'm soooo envious of the passporter's that have great airline connections close to home. All we have at our local airport is a puddle jumper to St. Louis.

travismom · 01-07-2006, 12:49 AM

I love [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/love.gif[/img] your trip report so far. Not being dis-respectful or laughing at your fear, but the line.."I have dropped to my knees and thought I was going to give praise to the porcelain goddess!.." had me laughing out loud. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img] That's true fear...
Can't wait to hear more...

Jillybean · 01-07-2006, 08:24 AM

Oh no! What awful customer service! I'm glad that it was a change that you can live with and here's some pixie dust for no more changes!

[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/fairy2.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/fairy2.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/fairy2.gif[/img]

Jill

Tara O'Hara · 01-07-2006, 08:36 AM

Nala, [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img] about Biergarten! Come on! Don't you want to give it just one more try?! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img]

And holy wow about Allegient! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] I didn't know an airline could just do that! I'm sorry that forced you into a corner with airline choices. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

BUT!!! You are going to WDW in just 13 days, 2 hours, 0 minutes, 41 seconds!!!

HueyDeweyandLouiesMom · 01-07-2006, 08:46 AM

What a hassle with the airline! We all know FLy i is gone now...but they cancelled flights to 4 airports and ours was one and never told us. I found out on a frequent flyer website I was monitoring Fly i with. So they can and they do make changes without letting you know.

Thanks for the pre trip update...I think I might have to start one...

lauren-roxy · 01-07-2006, 03:07 PM

Sounds like a real headache with the airline Nala. Are you sure you don't want to try Beirgarten just once more? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img] Can't wait to see what you have planned for your trip!!!!

ariel14 · 01-07-2006, 03:20 PM

I love your TRs!!! I cannot believe Allegiant. That takes nerve to change your departure city and NOT tell you. Good thing you checked!
More pls!

Cindy

Annabel · 01-07-2006, 09:57 PM

I can't believe Allegiant did that [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] That just stinks! Thank goodness you checked up on it. Fingers crossed and loads of [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/fairy2.gif[/img] that they don't change anything else!

Jennifer2003 · 01-07-2006, 11:04 PM

Nala, that's a nightmare!!! I wish I could turn that Allegiant plane into a Southwest one for you! I love Southwest!!!

I'm enjoying your novel, as usual...keep it comin!

Jennifer

**Colexis Mom** · 01-08-2006, 10:02 AM

What a nightmare Nala [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] Geez!

debsta922 · 01-08-2006, 01:31 PM

I can't believe airlines sometimes...hopefully everything will work out...

Nala · 01-12-2006, 02:25 AM

Chapter three of the planning.

So with all of the hard stuff out of the way, that of lodging and flight, I was able to move onto the fun stuff. That included, but was not limited to our ADR’s.

So before I can talk about eating, I have to get us to WDW. Transportation to the world was a no brainer for us. Happy Limo. We have had excellent service and received some great upgrades from them on our last two visits. And while I doubt we will ever see another upgrade as great as the stretch Hummer, I look forward to having Happy Limo take us to the AKL. I only hope that our favorite driver, Mark is still with the company.

Back when we took our second long weekend trip in September, Grumpy expressed the desire to try new and different places to eat. OK, it wasn’t quite that flowery. He flat out said he was sick of going to ‘Ohana and CP! Like the day shortly into our marriage when I discovered he hated WDW as a kid, I was shocked and wondered just who this man was I had married. I mean, how could anyone be sick of either? I considered grabbing him by the shoulders and screaming “Who are you and what did you do with my husband”. But I didn’t. It took a few moments for the shock of his statement to wear off, but I realized he might have a point. So I agreed to start trying new places. And since it was his idea, I put the burden of finding the new places on him. That way if he hated them, he had no one but himself to blame.

And while we had great success with this new format, the one that wasn’t so successful will remain as a memory of our time at WDW that will make me laugh for years to come. Anyone care to guess which one it was? But in all seriousness, we discovered new favorites that became must do’s on this trip.

One thing I did stipulate, since this trip was longer, was to go back to my old favorites. And Grumpy agreed. ‘Ohana and Boma for dinner were the only things I had in mind as a must do for me. Grumpy had added Rose and Crown as a must do for him. And that was fine by me as we had really enjoyed our meal there last trip. So with those three in mind, we started to build our list of ADR’s.

Since we had changed our reservation to doing a split stay at AKL/WL before we started making our ADR plans, the first three days were easy. Boma was a sure thing on Friday, the night we check in. We always hit Epcot as our first full park day, so Rose and Crown worked great for lunch on Saturday. That left us with an open evening to relax at AKL. And since I had upgraded us to concierge level, I didn’t have to worry about what to do for dinner. After a big lunch at R&C, I am sure the offerings in the lounge will be more than enough.

That evening I have made really big plans. I have a meet arranged with someone very famous on these boards and her traveling companion. That’s right, I am meeting Tara and Angie at Victoria Falls to buy Tara a birthday drink. I am so looking forward to this as it will be my first Passporter meet!!!! Of course I am only guessing that it is her birthday as she has never really told us when it is. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img]

I then started to work on Sunday’s plan. A day at AK was in order. And one of the places I had an interest in trying was at the AKL. I showed the menu from Jiko to Grumpy and we decided that this was a great addition to our “new places to try” list. So Sunday was easy to plan. A morning at AK, lunch at Flame Tree or Tusker House and back to the lodge to relax a bit before dinner at Jiko. This was a dining experience I was very much looking forward to!

Side note to the already well thought out plans:

So now, nine days before the trip, I am starting to wonder about the Sunrise Safari. It would fit perfectly into our plans for our last day at AKL. But would it be available this late in the game? Tonight I decided it would be worth the money and I made the call to see if it was available. But I had to be sneaky. Wouldn’t want Grumpy to hear me on the phone talking to anyone from WDW. That would surely raise his curiosity. Our lodging was done via email with our TA. I had made our ADR’s almost three months ago. What possible reason would I have to be on the phone to WDW if I wasn’t up to something. And when I’m up to no good, I am not good at thinking fast on my feet or putting up a believable front when busted.

It was bath time for Kiara, so I seized the moment to put her in the tub and call WDW while I hid in our bedroom. While I thought she would have been entertained by her bath , as she is any other night, I was met with a verbal exchange that was causing too much attention. Her screams of “Hey Mom, what are you doing? Mom! Hey Mom! Hey, what are you doing?” was causing too much attention and I realized I had to tell her what I was doing and try to get her to quiet down. So I opened the door of our bedroom to make the short trip to the bathroom when I came face to face with Grumpy. There I was, dumbfounded and at a loss for words, and feeling far more guilty than I hoped I looked. I was also holding the phone in one hand, (very odd for me as I hate to talk on the phone) and the AKL phone number scratched on a piece of paper in the other. Grumpy decided to bring Kiara’s Spiderman up to her room, as she can’t sleep without him, and I tried to act like everything was normal. I put the phone and the phone number down on the dresser, turned on the TV and flopped on our bed and tried to pretend I was just hanging out waiting for Kiara to get out of her bath. Grumpy soon went back down the stairs and I heard him muttering something that sounded like “ I think your Mom is working on the packing again”.

Whew. So perhaps my cover had not been blown. I waited until I was sure Grumpy was back in the basement and dialed the number to the AKL. I reached the front desk, explained what I wanted and was told I would be connected to Itinerary Planning. I was greeted almost immediately with a recording and was informed that their hours were from 8AM-8PM EST and I was calling at 7:46 CST! But I could leave a message and they would get back to me. Well, that wouldn’t work. I didn’t want to risk Grumpy getting the call, so I just hung up. I was disappointed, and I guess I will just have to try again tomorrow on my lunch hour as I won’t be home before they close tomorrow night.

So I will leave my quest for the Sunrise Safari open until further notice. Or until I have the chance to sneak off with the phone again before 7PM.

Back to the ADR’s and the rest of our plans. We will be checking out of the AKL on Monday morning, which is Grumpy’s birthday. And while I am sure I will be sad to leave the comforts of the AKL, it won’t break my heart to head to the WL to check in. Upon check in at the WL, I will inquire about being the flag family for a day. I asked a question about this and the response from my fellow Passporters confirmed that this is something that would be a truly magical experience. I only hope they have an opening during our stay. After check in, we will be MK bound. It will be time to fill Kiara up with all the magic she loves. Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel, The Mad Tea Party, Dumbo , Goofy’s Barnstormer and the Magic Carpets of Aladdin I’m sure will be on the list of must do’s. If both time and Kiara allow it, we may even sneak in a few rides like the Jungle Cruise & Big Thunder Mountain and maybe get to take in a few attractions like The Enchanted Tiki Room or even Mickey‘s Philharmagic. I’m not holding out any hopes for Pirates or the Haunted Mansion however. And Splash Mountain and Buzz will be down for rehab so that is two we can cross off our list. After an almost full day at MK, it will be time for Grumpy’s birthday dinner at the Concourse Steakhouse. This is another new one for us, and one Grumpy hand picked.

Tuesday we will head to MGM. We have an ADR at Mama Melrose for lunch and this is another new one for us. MGM is usually not more than a half day park for us as there is little to entertain Kiara. A few things I hope we work in are the Great Movie Ride, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, TOT and of course RNR. Maybe I will get lucky and get to have two rides on this one. Kiara will also want to blow off some steam in HISTK movie set and I only hope Grumpy will go in with us. I just don’t think I want to go through almost loosing her in there again. Another new thing for us to try is the Lights, Motor, Action stunt show. I hope we will be able to get a Fast Pass for the first show. We will finish out the day back at the WL and grab dinner at WCC or maybe walk that lovely path to FW for dinner at Trails End. I just don’t think I can make a trip to WDW without a visit, even if it is short, to the resort that started the love of WDW for all three of us.

Wednesday is an open day. We have an ADR for breakfast at ‘Ohana. While this is not new to us and not one we had put on our must do list, the addition of Lilo and Stitch made it a must do. Kiara loves L&S and so do I. They hold a special place in my heart as Lilo and Stitch was the first movie we took Kiara to. After that, the day is open. We may head to DTD or to the MK. But in the late afternoon, I hope we can make it to the AK as it has EMH that night. I really have to make a point to take advantage of this as the AK takes on an entirely different perspective as darkness falls around it. For anyone who hasn’t seen the AK at night, put it on your must do list if EMH is available. The park is truly stunning after sundown.

Thursday we will head back to Epcot. Our ADR for that day is lunch at San Angel Inn. This is new for Grumpy, but Kiara and I have been there once back in 03. This was also one that Grumpy picked. I am not sure if he will like it and I am not sure if I liked it the one time I ate there. I guess that I am so accustomed to Americanized Mexican or TexMex, that this one threw me off a bit. I am sure we will enjoy the atmosphere and we will all be looking to spot the hidden Mickey that supposedly is formed in the volcano smoke.

Friday we will be heading to the AK again. Our plans for dinner that evening are at ‘Ohana. And I can’t wait to go back. My only disappointment is that they have swapped the rice for potatoes. Kiara and I are huge rice fans, but Grumpy won’t touch it with a ten foot pole. So I am certain that this change will be good for him. If we take our time at this meal, we should be able to catch Wishes. Due to Kiara’s sensory issues to loud noises, this is the perfect place for her to be able to view the fireworks.

And if anyone in my pride is not ready to head to bed after dinner, I hope to drag them to Epcot for EMH. Not only is Epcot open late, but there is a Passporter meet going on that I would love to make. The only problem with that is that Kiara just does not do well with fireworks up close and personal. And the meet would be during Illuminations. I will keep my fingers crossed that we can make the meet.

Saturday is our final full day in WDW. (Oh, it is almost painful to type those words) This day will be spent at MK. It will be Kiara’s day. The day when we indulge her in all the magic of Disney. We have ADR’s for lunch at CRT. And she will don the Belle dress she got for Christmas. (unless she changes her mind and wants to take her Cindy dress from last year). After lunching with the princesses we will spend the afternoon taking in all of her favorites. I hope we will be able to take a short break at the WL before finishing out our last evening at WDW.

Our last meal at WDW was a choice I left up to Grumpy. The only one we hadn’t done was Tony’s. I offered that option to Grumpy but he decided we should go back to CP. That was not a problem for me. I love CP and it will give Kiara one last meal to be greeted by characters. While I am looking forward to our meal there, I know it will be bittersweet. I will be enjoying the food, but I will also be thinking about the fact that our time at my happy place will be coming to a close.

So that is it. Our plans. And they are subject to change without notice! You just never know when you are going to have to resort to plan B. Or even plan C. I learned that the hard way at Biergarten. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img]

Thanks to all who are taking the time to read the third installment of my novel!

Annabel · 01-12-2006, 04:23 AM

Brilliant update Nala, your plans sound wonderful! I hope you don't have another Biergarten experience, sending a few [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/fairy2.gif[/img] for that [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] I've really enjoyed reading your novel, thanks for sharing it [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]