8 hour flight to Orlando!!?

[disneyfan123]

Hello everyone i hope that you are all well.....

Anyway i only have 17 days to go till i am in the heart of Disney. i cannot wait... the only thing that i am worried about is the flight!

For all of you who fly to Orlando either from within the US or from the UK: what kind of things do you do to make the flight time pass quickly. I have an 8 hour flight to look forward to and on previous trips the time has just passed so slowly.

Has anyone got any ideas or tips on how to pass the time and stop me going mad with Disney fever????

I look forward to any replies and for those of you visiting Disney during the next couple of weeks have a fantastic time.

*only 17 days to go*
(so close and yet so far..i just need to get through my A Level exams and then the magic can begin......)
:sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy:

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

I try gripping the arm rests tightly and staying in my seat unless my bladder is going to explode, I also stare out of the window to ensure the plot is keeping a sensible distance from the ground.
Keep hoping that one day some one will mistake me for BA from the A Team and just knock me out and when i wake ill be there.
1 thing are you sure youre flights 8 hours its normaly 9 - 10 at best going and 7 to 8 coming back.
Either way its a means to an end.

 

[WigglyWiggins]

The flight time can vary, if youve got the wind behind you (!) it can take as little as 6 and a half to seven hours. Against the wind amd weve benn on a flight that lasted ten and a hlaf hours so.....? Going generally takes longer than going back....dont no why :hammer:

WE Love Virgin....they have always treated us really well. Once when our flight got delayed 40 hours they not only put us up in the rather luxurious Orlando Airport Hotel (they have a piano that plays itself!!!!!!....enough said!!) but they also paid for
1) One day park admission to wherever we wanted
2)Hire car for the day
3) All food expenses
4) A cinema ticket (which turned out to be HILARIOUS cos the cinema was FULL of english folk.....oh how we laughed....)

Also because of the delay i was going to spend my birthday in the air and not at home so they arranged a birthday cake to be given to me on the plane (tannoy annoucement and everything) and the whole plane sang happy birthday!!! it was so funny when they got to the name bit and everyone said "Happy birthday to mmnagjirpeipbfi...Happy Birthday to you!!"

now that is what i call service....plus they were so nice about it..we would have been fine with just a hotel....and the cinema was amzing....they really didnt need to do that espeically with being allowed a theme park ticket......

Anywho we really enjoyed ourselves and didnt mind the delay at all...so we now always fly with virgin....we have no complaints!!!

Anyother stories about plane journeys????

 

[djmatthews]

Living in the UK, I have that wonderful 8 hour flight too. As most flights leave the UK in the morining or mid-afternoon, I always find it really hard to sleep. Last year I flew with ATA (American Trans Air) if you want some advice, DONT FLY WITH THEM. I'm sorry, but they are an awful airline with awful equipment - the L1011, there was no little screen or anything that you find with BA, Virgin and on Airtours A330. I know it may sound a little picky but its worth trying to book yourself on decent flight "just for the extras". The cost between a Airtours holiday and Thomson (who use Britannia is very little - I have been pricing up my next possiblw trip).

Anyway, to pass time we discuss our "plan of action" when in Orlando. We send of for various brochurs and decide where we want to go other then WDW, SW, IOA, US etc. More things like where we would like to eat, Mini Golf etc.

Meal time is a good way to pass the time, again BA and Virgin have fantastic food.

I take magazines and books too. A portable computer of some type - Game Boy or Laptop will pass the time. If you dont have anything like that, it may be worth investing a couple of pound on some travel games from Woolworths or W.H.Smith.

Having an interest in flying I like to visit the flight deck, although I'm not sure if you still do that after Sept 11th??? I love speaking to the Cabin Crew too, they usually have some interesting stories to tell.

 

[mej]

We have that great flight to look forward to in less than 2 weeks! But we have a 2 hour drive to Dublin, a 1 and 1/2 hour flight to Gatwick and a 3 hour wait to endure before we even get on to the Virgin plane!!! Daft, isn't it - we start of by travelling in the opposite direction from where we want to go!! We love Virgin - they are great - especially with the kids! ( We have a 7 year old and 4 year old) My coping strategy is to break the flight into 15minute blocks and mentally tick them off! I hate the flight and 15 minutes is an achievable goal for me to endure - 9 hours is not!!!

 

[MarknSue]

Mark's first ever flight was when we were going to WDW to get married, he had already decided he was afraid of flying before he did it. I made him a scrapbook of our years together (as we had a box full of keepsakes) and a tape of songs that were "special" to co-incide with the pages in the scrapbook, I did this without him knowing and handed it to him just before take off (just as the blood drained out of his face-poor thing!), he was delighted with it and it kept him entertained for hours. Maybe you could drop a hint to someone??

I don't know if you are afraid of flying or whether it's a boredom thing, but we use Bachs Resue Remedy which is a herbal remedy that you put on your tongue which is supposed to prepare you for flying or anything a bit scary. It seems to work, but I sometimes wonder whether it is mind over matter.

That aside, eat, drink and watch a couple of films and you're there :king:

 

[Cheryl]

Everyone has some great ideas...I just wanted to throw my two cents in....

How about getting a DisneyWorld book, like Barnum, and reading it cover to cover so you can plan out your days. Maybe you'll find some interesting things about a resort or something that you'll want to check out?

Listen to music or watch a movie. Most planes have one or the other if not both. We usually fly ATA from Chicago to Orlando non-stop and it's only a little over 2 hours. We usually get my son to take a nap and then we just sit back and veg while he sleeps. Not that it's all that quiet b/c everyone's chatting about what they're going to see and do in Disney.

Sleep, if you can....you'll be doing quite a bit of walking at Disney and you could use the time to relax!

Start Christmas presents! LOL Yeah, I know...lame! If you knit or do stamping, you can make your own Christmas cards....hey, you wanted some ideas! LOL :lol:

Hey, wouldn't it be funny before you board the airplane with small children if the airline check-in person says that she's sorry that they won't be doing any early boarding for families with small children b/c they were booked with all families with small children? LOL

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :wave:

Have a great trip!

Cheryl

 

[Cheryl]

Mark's first ever flight was when we were going to WDW to get married

That is so cool! I want to renew our wedding vows down at the Wedding Chapel. Did you get married at the Wedding Chapel or somewhere else? I'd love to hear how it went and if it was at WDW, how you were treated etc. How far ahead did you start planning out, etc.? If you want you can just send me an email or if you want to share with everyone, that's ok too!

***********************
When you wish upon a star!
My dreams came true...married to a wonderful husband, great kid and my 2nd baby, Goldie (golden retriever).

Cheryl
RSkalski@aol.com

 

[tybroid59]

DJMATTHEWS
can you still take laptops ?

not that i want to ofcourse

 

[hadleybarth]

Here are some ideas for the one year old (and her older brother will probably come up with good uses for some of them too).

1. Crayola Model Magic--similar to playdough but it doesn't crumble and make a big mess--will dry out after about 24 hours so bring an extra pkg for the trip home.

2. Scotch tape. Toddlers love the oppurtunity to pull out as much sticky stuff as they want. This usually bought us a good 15 or 20 minute disrtraction at a high fuss time (like when you can see/smell the food carts but they won't be to your aisle for a while).

3. Masking tape (best if you can find it in pretty colors). Bring along some small cars or dolls/animals and use the tape to make "roads" or "houses" etc on your tray tables. Or, make shapes and let her tell you what they are etc. The novelty of using tape instead of a pen and paper always kept my kid's attention on flights.

4. Pipe cleaners (if you can still take these) in assorted colors. Supervise this closesly so no little eyes get poked out.

5. Post-it Notes. Let her scribble on each one and then stick them to seat backs, windows, you etc.

6. Lots and lots of interesting snacks and drinks.

7. A couple of new books and a couple of old favorites.

8. Pajamas if you hope to get her to sleep. Somehow, changing into PJs made my kids much more willing to go to sleep.

A hole punch (with a holder to catch the dots--you don't want to try to pick up millions of tiny circles) and paper.



For the six year old: print out paper crafts and coloring pages from the Disney website. Get Mickey Mouse fruit snacks if you have them in the UK and any ohter Disney themed little trinkets and snacks you can find. Don't let him see any of it until he is on the plane, and even then put things into small paper bags and let him open a new one each hour.

These are what have worked for our kids. Good luck to you.

 

[bvolguards]

stay up real late the night before and sleep the whole time