ShannonAlbert.com - June 2009

We're up early this morning getting everything packed up so we can go to the airport check-in desk. We all get our bags checked, receive our boarding passes and see that our flight had been moved to 9 minutes earlier. Not sure why they sometimes do that but oh well, it didn't really matter to us. By 8:30 or so, we were all finished with this and set to be picked up at 12:50 by the ME bus. Off to MGM we go via a Friendship boat.


On the Friendship boat

We get there slightly after opening, get our stroller and rent a locker as we had more stuff with us than normal so that we could take it on our flight. Load up the locker and we're off to the Playhouse Disney/Voyage of the Little Mermaid area while DH is off to get FPs for RnR. VoLM show is getting ready to start and they have 1 minute left to allow people in. DH makes it back just in time and we go in. When that is out, Playhouse Disney was starting within 10 or 15 minutes so we get in line for that. Get out of that and decide to start the walk down Sunset to use our FPs. FP return time was 11:15 and in order to do it with child swap and still make our boat back in time for ME bus, we'd have to be there right at 11:15. DH, me and Katrina go on while Dan waits with the 4 kids.


Dan got the kids treats while they waited

It takes us about 25 minutes to get through the ride and we decide that Dan can't miss this one so he and Katrina and Isaac go on it while DH and I take the little ones and Payton to turn in the stroller, unload our locker and proceed to the boat. Get on the boat right away and we're off toward BWV. Get a call from Dan and they are also on a boat right now and will get off at the Swan/Dolphin boat stop and walk the bridge over to save some time. We all meet on the Boardwalk as I frantically try to finish up some postcards and drop them in the mail slot. I realize the time and we're off to the ME pickup area except Payton has to use the bathroom so DH waits for her on the Boardwalk. They make it back just as our bus is pulling up and all 8 of us are off to the airport. The bus driver was very talkative during the trip and told us lots about real estate prices, showed us evidence of hurricane damage, etc. It amazed me how some bus drivers talked nonstop during our stay and others didn't speak at all.

Finally get to the airport and proceed to our gate and see that our flight has been delayed. We eat at Burger King nearby and Cinnabon for dessert and then go sit near our gate. Our layover in Chicago was only supposed to be 1/2 hour so we were pretty sure we'd miss that connection and wanted to be booked for another flight while we were in Orlando. Agent assured us we could just catch the next flight out and that there were plenty of seats available. I wasn't sure of this and asked for clarification from her again and was assured again. Finally get on flight out of Orlando and the flight takes longer than planned due to change in flight path due to weather.

We arrive in Chicago around 6 p.m. to complete mayhem as the terminal was packed full of people who had been delayed for hours due to Chicago weather. We try to get booked on another flight, we're given boarding passes and when we go to board, we are told we are on the wrong flight (even though the agent had written down this flight). We get booked on another flight and it's delayed until 11:30 p.m. We see there's an earlier flight than that so we get booked on that one - 4 sets of boarding passes since our time here. When we got the last set of passes, I asked the agent if there was anywhere for the little ones to run or climb as they were antsy. She said if we walked up a ways there was a climbing area that they could go to. It was quite a walk (15 minutes or so) but 100% worth it as it was actually a Children's museum right there and there was hardly anybody in that part of the airport and NObody was in the Children's museum play area. All 4 kids just loved this area and it helped keep tension down tremendously.

Playing in Children's museum area

After about an hour we make the walk back to our terminal and our flight is off at 10:30. Kids slept on the flight and when we land at DFW, our bags had arrived before us. DH went to get the car, we bid Family #2 farewell as they left for their house and we arrived home at 2:15 a.m.