The girls were leaving in two days to perform at Disneyland with Taralee and Maximum Dance; Rob was mid-sabbatical during the transition from Moss to his new business, Aspire; and I had a crazy thought. Rob’s sister worked at the airlines and could get buddy passes, Rob could stay home with 5-month-old Elle and 2-year-old Cam, I could pump, and I just might be able to take Getty and Cy to Disneyland for the first time in their lives! I’d recently come to the conclusion (based on years of experience) that Rob is “anti-vacation,” so I knew he’d be excited for the kids to have the opportunity to go to Disneyland and just as excited that he didn’t have to be the one to take them. He was. So, I announced the new plan . . . and got mixed reviews. The boys were cautiously optimistic (remember the last time I announced the Disney trip? “Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean you boys, just the girls with their dance group. . . .”), and the girls were downright pouty. We were unwittingly horning in on their get-away with their girlfriends. OK. I respect that, “We’ll happily give you your space. We’ll just do our own thing, and if we run into you, you can decide if you want to hang out with us for awhile or not. Either way works.” So, a couple of days later, the boys and I headed for the airport with Ann and Ashley and five Skywest buddy (stand-by) passes. Meanwhile, American Airlines had grounded ALL of their planes because of a failed inspection issue, so you can imagine how that impacted the other airlines. Ann and Ashley had priority passes and were able to get on the first flight, but Getty, Cy, and I had to wait for the next flight, 2 hours away. Getty had a brief but sincere meltdown, “I can’t believe we have to wait TWO WHOLE HOURS!” But, we got settled in (in the airport bathroom while I pumped) and soon enough it was time for the next flight. Overbooked by one. Missed the flight. Waiting for the next one. Full. Waiting for the next flight. Full. The last flight of the night was overbooked by one, and we were listed numbers 4, 5, and 6 on the stand-by list. Not good. If we didn’t get on this flight, we’d likely have to cancel the vacation. Getty suggested we say a prayer, which we did. I went up to the counter to see if anyone had cancelled. The attendant said, “No one has cancelled, and it’s not likely you’ll get on this flight. . . . Wait a minute, on this Delta flight over here, we have more than 20 seats available. You’ll be able to get on for sure.” Now, Ann has worked for the airlines for over a year, and she had said several times, “I wish you could get on a Delta flight, because a few of them aren’t booked solid, but it’s against policy if you have Skywest buddy passes.” But, I was willing to play along with this attendant as she asked me to get on a “Delta phone” and make the necessary arrangements. No luck. Just as I had suspected. I went back to the attendant and told her they couldn’t help me. She said, “Well, I’m just going to put you on this flight. Let me check with my manager.” Again, I let it play out. She showed the manager the buddy passes, and to my surprise, the manager checked off on it and booked us on the last flight out! This time Getty said, “Only two more hours til our flight! YAY!” When we finally arrived at the Los Angeles airport, Ann said again, “I can’t believe they let you fly a Delta flight. They can’t do that!” Our Disney vacation survived on a wing and a prayer.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Belated Disney Details
The girls were leaving in two days to perform at Disneyland with Taralee and Maximum Dance; Rob was mid-sabbatical during the transition from Moss to his new business, Aspire; and I had a crazy thought. Rob’s sister worked at the airlines and could get buddy passes, Rob could stay home with 5-month-old Elle and 2-year-old Cam, I could pump, and I just might be able to take Getty and Cy to Disneyland for the first time in their lives! I’d recently come to the conclusion (based on years of experience) that Rob is “anti-vacation,” so I knew he’d be excited for the kids to have the opportunity to go to Disneyland and just as excited that he didn’t have to be the one to take them. He was. So, I announced the new plan . . . and got mixed reviews. The boys were cautiously optimistic (remember the last time I announced the Disney trip? “Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean you boys, just the girls with their dance group. . . .”), and the girls were downright pouty. We were unwittingly horning in on their get-away with their girlfriends. OK. I respect that, “We’ll happily give you your space. We’ll just do our own thing, and if we run into you, you can decide if you want to hang out with us for awhile or not. Either way works.” So, a couple of days later, the boys and I headed for the airport with Ann and Ashley and five Skywest buddy (stand-by) passes. Meanwhile, American Airlines had grounded ALL of their planes because of a failed inspection issue, so you can imagine how that impacted the other airlines. Ann and Ashley had priority passes and were able to get on the first flight, but Getty, Cy, and I had to wait for the next flight, 2 hours away. Getty had a brief but sincere meltdown, “I can’t believe we have to wait TWO WHOLE HOURS!” But, we got settled in (in the airport bathroom while I pumped) and soon enough it was time for the next flight. Overbooked by one. Missed the flight. Waiting for the next one. Full. Waiting for the next flight. Full. The last flight of the night was overbooked by one, and we were listed numbers 4, 5, and 6 on the stand-by list. Not good. If we didn’t get on this flight, we’d likely have to cancel the vacation. Getty suggested we say a prayer, which we did. I went up to the counter to see if anyone had cancelled. The attendant said, “No one has cancelled, and it’s not likely you’ll get on this flight. . . . Wait a minute, on this Delta flight over here, we have more than 20 seats available. You’ll be able to get on for sure.” Now, Ann has worked for the airlines for over a year, and she had said several times, “I wish you could get on a Delta flight, because a few of them aren’t booked solid, but it’s against policy if you have Skywest buddy passes.” But, I was willing to play along with this attendant as she asked me to get on a “Delta phone” and make the necessary arrangements. No luck. Just as I had suspected. I went back to the attendant and told her they couldn’t help me. She said, “Well, I’m just going to put you on this flight. Let me check with my manager.” Again, I let it play out. She showed the manager the buddy passes, and to my surprise, the manager checked off on it and booked us on the last flight out! This time Getty said, “Only two more hours til our flight! YAY!” When we finally arrived at the Los Angeles airport, Ann said again, “I can’t believe they let you fly a Delta flight. They can’t do that!” Our Disney vacation survived on a wing and a prayer.
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