It was all going really swell. Phil and I woke up at 3 a.m. Saturday morning. Nory woke up at 3:30 - happy as ever and ready to go see Mickey. She snuggled into me the whole cab ride to the airport (which is SUPER UNUSUAL) and even fell asleep in my arms before we arrived (GASP!!!). The airport was empty. We checked in and were through customs in less than 15 minutes. Bassinet seats for both legs of the journey were secured. We got to the gate. Met one of the friendliest Kuwaiti men ever. Boarded the shuttle bus for our plane and enjoyed some Eid Mubarak sweets as we did so! Nory continued to smile and wave and say hello to everyone - winning over passengers left, right and center. I'm pretty sure there were butterflies and rainbows and Disney-shaped clouds around us too. HA!
Then. Then. THEN, the shuttle bus pulled up to our plane, did an immediate u-turn and dropped us back off at the gate.
Here are some of the COLD, HARD FACTS that existed throughout the next 8 hours - YES, EIGHT:
1) A crew member accidentally opened one of the emergency exits on board which is the reason for our delay. Apparently this is no easy fix, but we were assured we'd be airborne in one hour and make our connecting flight anyhow (due to a "cushy" three hour layover).
2) A man came to collect our passports about two hours later (ah-hem, NO we didn't board the plane in that one hour ETA) and then finally returned to tell us that we had been re-routed and were one of the "lucky ones" that would take a different airline to Paris. We were told to "just wait 5 minutes" and he would return to give us more information.
3) Five minutes became another hour and a half. Some important-looking man came in and wondered why we are all still sitting at the gate. Apparently the entire flight had been cancelled and not a single person was made aware of it. We weren't too bothered by this until they told us to go to the transfer desk and book ANOTHER flight to Paris. Ummmm......didn't you say you did that for us already?!
4) Imagine an entire plane of passengers body-checking their way to the SOLE transfer desk in the entire airport. Lines? Ya right. I went to cry in a corner (with visions of the BEST VACATION EVER.....shattered).
5) After waiting amongst chaos, we were redirected to yet ANOTHER gate to book a ticket. More fake lines. More yelling. Lots of cigarette smoke. Not a single happy person in sight (with the exception of Nory - or Miss Cinderella - who was happily polishing the floor in her Mickey Mouse pajamas, tummy-style). We were EVENTUALLY booked on an inferior airline , with much worse seats. Thank you to the person-who-decided-to-open-the-emergency-exit on our initial aircraft :)
6) After waiting some more for the next flight, and finally making our way ALMOST onto the plane, I was pulled out of line to re-submit pregnancy paperwork that wasn't transferred from the previous airline. Ay, ay, ay! Let's get in the air already!
Once we were flying, the flight was fine. Except for that Nory decided to sleep on schedule (while we were at the airport) rather than on board as originally planned. So up and down the aisles we went - making friends and collecting treats of all sorts. She was snatched by a Sri Lankan family, a Kuwaiti family, an Indian family, and an Egyptian family. Of course, she snuggled up to these people, played with their iPhones, got in their family photos, and ate some of the snacks they brought on board. We arrived in Paris several hours after we anticipated, but had booked a hotel at the airport and were able to crash as soon as we checked in.
Speaking of crashes. We didn't have a cot for Nory and guess who woke up at 4:30 in the morning only to face dive off the king size bed onto the floor. You guessed it! NOT Phil or I! Tears, blood, bruises. Gah. A "stress-free" holiday.....our last one as a family of three.....just didn't seem in the cards for us.
And we remained right for a bit longer. Turns out our trusty green stroller didn't survive the flight as well as we did. And the family I sat beside on the train ride to Disney decided to beat their child before me. And it was pouring rain. And when we finally arrived at Disney - exhausted and defeated - the nice gentlemen at the counter told us that "today's weather will be the best weather all week long!" And Nory decided to jump face first into the cot in our room - cutting her lip and adding to the "fight club" look she already had on her wee little face.....
Sounds like a great time, doesn't it?! The funny thing is that it TRULY has been. (Circa AFTER EVERYTHING MENTIONED IN THIS POST). Times are looking up and I've got some pictures to prove it!
Three cheers for family travel! Haha. (And all those nasty little stories that will become funny eventually). You're lucky to be where you are, Goose! This ride would have been so much wilder if there were four of us!
Then. Then. THEN, the shuttle bus pulled up to our plane, did an immediate u-turn and dropped us back off at the gate.
Here are some of the COLD, HARD FACTS that existed throughout the next 8 hours - YES, EIGHT:
1) A crew member accidentally opened one of the emergency exits on board which is the reason for our delay. Apparently this is no easy fix, but we were assured we'd be airborne in one hour and make our connecting flight anyhow (due to a "cushy" three hour layover).
2) A man came to collect our passports about two hours later (ah-hem, NO we didn't board the plane in that one hour ETA) and then finally returned to tell us that we had been re-routed and were one of the "lucky ones" that would take a different airline to Paris. We were told to "just wait 5 minutes" and he would return to give us more information.
3) Five minutes became another hour and a half. Some important-looking man came in and wondered why we are all still sitting at the gate. Apparently the entire flight had been cancelled and not a single person was made aware of it. We weren't too bothered by this until they told us to go to the transfer desk and book ANOTHER flight to Paris. Ummmm......didn't you say you did that for us already?!
4) Imagine an entire plane of passengers body-checking their way to the SOLE transfer desk in the entire airport. Lines? Ya right. I went to cry in a corner (with visions of the BEST VACATION EVER.....shattered).
5) After waiting amongst chaos, we were redirected to yet ANOTHER gate to book a ticket. More fake lines. More yelling. Lots of cigarette smoke. Not a single happy person in sight (with the exception of Nory - or Miss Cinderella - who was happily polishing the floor in her Mickey Mouse pajamas, tummy-style). We were EVENTUALLY booked on an inferior airline , with much worse seats. Thank you to the person-who-decided-to-open-the-emergency-exit on our initial aircraft :)
6) After waiting some more for the next flight, and finally making our way ALMOST onto the plane, I was pulled out of line to re-submit pregnancy paperwork that wasn't transferred from the previous airline. Ay, ay, ay! Let's get in the air already!
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| "Wait a minute. You want me to sit IN ONE PLACE for HOW LONG?!!!!" The MINUTE the seat belt sign came off, Girlie was on the go (and we were too!). |
Speaking of crashes. We didn't have a cot for Nory and guess who woke up at 4:30 in the morning only to face dive off the king size bed onto the floor. You guessed it! NOT Phil or I! Tears, blood, bruises. Gah. A "stress-free" holiday.....our last one as a family of three.....just didn't seem in the cards for us.
And we remained right for a bit longer. Turns out our trusty green stroller didn't survive the flight as well as we did. And the family I sat beside on the train ride to Disney decided to beat their child before me. And it was pouring rain. And when we finally arrived at Disney - exhausted and defeated - the nice gentlemen at the counter told us that "today's weather will be the best weather all week long!" And Nory decided to jump face first into the cot in our room - cutting her lip and adding to the "fight club" look she already had on her wee little face.....
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| Not even a SMIDGEN of SUNSHINE? REALLY? Refresh, refresh, refresh..... |
Three cheers for family travel! Haha. (And all those nasty little stories that will become funny eventually). You're lucky to be where you are, Goose! This ride would have been so much wilder if there were four of us!
No seriously. Is this part of an upcoming movie script? xo
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