For those who haven't read one of my reports before, they cover both coming through to the airport the night before and the main travel day itself. They are pretty lengthy and contain a lot of photos, taken between two cameras and a phone. Some of the pics I've enhanced to bring out the details a little clearer. With all that said, here's the full report from our flight out to Orlando last June...
Night before, it's the usual drive through and check in at Holiday Inn and dump the car off at Direct Parking. Relatively hassle free journey down, no real delays, unlike last year when we passed two cars that had gone up in smoke and a shunt. I emailed the hotel in the week before to make sure one of the rooms was facing the western end to hopefully get a pic or two of planes jetting off into the sunset. Sadly, like the year before, they were using 05.
Still, at least I got the room with a view to where the action is.
After sorting that all out, was six o'clock and time for some food which came with not too long a wait at all...
...before catching the arrival of Emirates 773 A6-EQF
Back down to the bar later to make the most of my free drink and snack voucher and watch some of the womens football. There's always been something I've quite liked about the bar and restaurant here, not so much people watching as wondering. Always intrigued about where everyone else is been / heading off to, and always some folk about who look as though they are someone. On the subject of people, it's amazing how long some of the staff in the bar and restaurant have been working there for.
It's a bit sad to see this side of the airport as quiet compared to what it used to be like on an evening. I can remember many, many, years ago the movements site had a page where you could text updates and they would appear, not too much to report tonight.
Anyway, there was some activity...
Loganair G-LGNB touches down
Easyjet A319 G-EZDF taxing out
I headed out to get some closer shots of the night's movements...
About that sunset I was talking about earlier, hazy, but always good to catch it. If only I could have caught a plane taking off with that backdrop!
Passed a bit of time with a walk through the terminal and a nosey around Tesco
Back to the room and it's a late supper as of coke, iced fruit slice and a glass of wine from the free bottle - typically it got put in mother and sisters room! Lucked out with the TV viewing, 5USA showing classic original series Law&Order.
Little touches in places such as this are always good to see...
There were a couple of late night arrivals...
I'd been keeping an eye on things in Orlando, and it looks like there were going to be some delays to the eastbound flights. Sure enough, it looked like our flight was going to be an hour or so late. Still, not the end of the world.
It was a grey dawn, for this morning view of the international pier taken at 5.40. Incredible that despite it being ideal to have a decent night's sleep before travelling, especially with an earlier start than normal, it's still sleep after 1 and up at 5. Never too old to get excited for a holiday I suppose!
We had checked in online the day before, but it's fine to get shot of the cases early enough, and the sun was coming out as we headed over just before 6.25. No real queues and bags left and normal boarding passes dished out in space of six minutes, before heading back to the hotel for breakfast at 6.45. I can't remember the cost of breakfast, but it's a set price and decent value considering it's a full buffet, plenty croissants and pastries you can take for later, and not that I tried, but the make your own pancakes sounds nifty.
We had a bit of time to spare, so perfect for catching some morning departures.
Headed over to the terminal about 8 o'clock, just as the armed police get themselves geared up. Into security at 8.05 and through it ten minutes later. It certainly wasn't busy, and I can't remember, but I think my bag got stopped for the myriad of cables in it. Through the gauntlet of duty free, which was getting some extra a/c, and then a look down from the ramp and the steps up to the Lomond Lounge, or Frankie and Bennies as we remember it. Nipped into Boots to pick up some extra snacks and drinks for flight and once we landed - always like having a couple bottles of juice spare if there's a long wait at immigration, or worse, a wait on the plane to even get off because immigration is that full. Dixons is always worth a browse around, I used to love a look at the small (and usually ridiculously expensive) laptops, or UMPCs that you only ever seemed to see in an airport store.
To think when you walked up this ramp and had a choice of just three security scanners...
The new walkway to the domestic pier has decent views, if only there was a bit more to see...
We sat for a short while, and watched the always fun to see spectacle of the mass rising when a gate displays. With no free ice cream on offer this year, we opted to head along a little before the gate showed up to grab a seat and some pics when you can actually get at the windows.
Here she is, Pretty Woman (G-VROY). This would be the third time we've flown on her, second time on the outbound flight, first time we've flown on her in ten years.
Coming along early also meant a bit of time for some quick snaps of what else was about, as well as a look at the expanded gate 30 area.
Boarding started at 10am, which was ten minutes after we had originally been due to take off, which in itself isn't a disaster, but more a case of how will this fit us in at Orlando. Had we been on time, we would have had a good gap before the Manchester Virgin flight and some others started to arrive. I can't remember now if they did it by row, or as is often the case, the "on yous come" method. We had ourselves positioned near the gate anyway, and were heading on at 10.16.
Still sat in riff-raff, but knowing this may be one of our last flights on a 747, I was lucky to bag seats upstairs in 78 HJK and settled in as The Rubberband Man by The Spinners played on the PA. The overhead lockers are pretty small upstairs, but managed to fit by bag in, just. There are cabinets right along the window which are pretty deep, so the bag with all the paraphernalia for the flight went in there.
At 11.05 we were told that all 421 passengers, 4 babies, 15 crew and 2 pilots were aboard and we were about to push back, which we did a minute later. We were a bit later in pushing back than intended, unfortunately a girl didn't feel well enough to travel, and had to unload the families bags off the flight.
The Jumbo drawing a crowd of spectators...
...before we make the turn on to 23 and taking off at 11.22
Soon heading out to the Atlantic, Vatersay and Barra off to the right
Go on then, if you insist...
I really like Virgin's entertainment system, it's packed full with such a variety of films, tv shows, and albums. Some of the short films they've had on their in recent years have been excellent choices. If only the BBC Scotland channel started showing old Tartan Shorts episodes!
11.50 and drinks trolley makes it's first run of the flight. I do like those pretzels but they used to do Worcestershire Sauce flavoured ones, God they were good.
Following that, at noon they came round with hot towels for everyone. Three quarters of an hour later and it was lunch time. Unfortunately, the menus handed out were from the outbound flight, and I've forgotten now what the beef and veggie options were. I plumped for chicken in a mushroom sauce and it was excellent. The other choices seemed to go down just as well with the mother and sister. 1.20 they came through with a tea and coffee run.
Settled back at this point and mix of watching couple films, and having skymap on whilst listening to music. We were quite fortunate that there was no one behind us, so were able to get the seats put back. Those side panels are also pretty handy things.
Routing wise, we were fortunate to be given a 'standard' routing crossing south of Iceland and Greenland, coming in over Newfoundland and then down the east coast. We've had a couple of years with a 'boring' Atlantic crossing when there's just nothing to look at until you come in over the coast at Cape Canaveral.
Time now for a bit more old school fun, getting the Lego out! This series of mini-figures has the DuckTales characters, so well worth trying our luck!
And to keep the big keeps even happier, at 14.38 about five minutes after Dewey made an appearance, so did the crew with a juice, water and Dab run!
This is what you want to see, just coming about to cross into Canada at 3.05 with four hours left to run.
Time to tick off a few in my I-Spy Icebergs book...
...and for I-Spy Aircraft, an Alitalia A330, clocked somewhere over Maine / Massachusetts.
Portland and Boston were directly underneath / just to the left of us, so instead here is a picture of Oxford, Maine and it's speedway. I'll be honest, I'm only putting this in after the time it took to find where it was on Google Maps.
Coming down to New York now at 5.20, and a number of pictures here. First up, a couple of airports, namely Republic Airport on Long Island, which is mainly for exec aircraft and then LaGuardia. Then we have the views of New York, there's a wider view and then some close ups of Manhattan, including one pic with a JetBlue Airbus flying over the Brooklyn Bridge, and a shot of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and Govenor's Island. Lastly, there is a pic of Newark.
Just ten minutes south of New York and another spot off to the right, and AeroMexico 787 below us.
Couple ticks in I-Spy Ships...
Heading across the Chesapeake Bay now, and a rather tropical looking Tangier Island, Virginia. The airport after is Newport News / Williamsburg, and a portrait shot showing the two cities.
You can take my word this is Delta Airbus
Time for some wing out the window shots. The curve is quite pronounced on the windows on the upper deck.
Not changed the watch yet, so it's still 6.15 when afternoon tea is served. Virgin changed up their offering earlier this year from sensible finger sandwiches, millionaire shortbread, crisps and mints to a 'fancier' offering from celebrity chef Eric Lanlard. We got a "Specially branded Mile High Tea box, mozzarella with green pesto and slow roast tomato filled roll, scone, jam and cream". The roll was pretty dire in all honesty, and needlessly fancy for what it has to be. I can see what they were doing, and a point of difference, but what they had previously was a better option imo. Still, the scone was rather nice.
Getting closer now, taking a slightly different routing, coming in over North Carolina, and Seymour Johnson AFB in Goldsboro, home to F-15s of the 4th Fighter Wing and KC-135s of the 916th Air Refuelling Wing. Wider view of the base as the close ups weren't that great.
Finally starting our descent into Orlando, again coming right down the spine of Florida, before taking a left, then right turn to line up with 'hidden' 17L. When I say hidden, it seems that way from the terminal because it's beyond a perimeter road and behind a bank of trees, and for reasons I'm not even sure of, I always like landing on it from the north. First two pics show a view of the airport before we lined up.
A look to Disney in this one, Contemporary and Bay Lake Tower, Grand Floridian and Space Mountain all visible in the centre.
Coming into land at 14.27 local, 19.27 so just shy of 8 1/2 hours. On arrival there was an Emirates 777 present, along another Virgin 747 from Manchester which had landed not too long before us.
We were at the gate at 14.34 and into immigration at 14.40, not sure what to expect with that Manchester flight in front of us. Thankfully, we only met the tail end of that flight, and with plenty desks open, we were done by 3.05. Even better news was the fact that the bags were already off the belt by the time we were through! We were on the monorail at 3.15, had made the long walk to the opposite end of the terminal to the Magical Express desk ten minutes later. We didn't have too long to wait for the bus, and were reversing out and heading to the hotel, Disney's Port Orleans Riverside, at 3.45, getting there just shy of an hour later after a couple other hotel stops before us.
And after that all that, nothing for it but to sit on a rocking chair, eating an ice cream watching the world go by, horse and carriage go past and boats head off for Downtown Disney.
Once again, excellent service in both the Holiday Inn and with Virgin. That delay didn't work out too bad in the end, and the fact it was longer than anticipated worked out well for us, staggering us with a decent gap after the Manchester flight, and the bags being off by the time we were through was ideal. Admittedly, the fact we were some of the first off the plane helps in the grand scheme of things too. We were meant to be making the same trip July 3rd, but of course, that's not happening. I guess I might just read back through all this again instead!
