Beach Club Babe's Gotta Getaway Part XIII

Beach Club Babe · #1 09-07-2009, 06:30 PM

Monday, August 10, 2009

Departure day

Nothing is more depressing than leaving WDW on a day you cannot go into the parks and it is your birthday! Should this occurence ever happen again, I will be adding an extra night onto our stay.

Since, we were not going to any parks today and half of our party would be on the road already, I booked an early afternoon flight. This way I wouldn't have to get up too early and it wouldn't bother me as much that we would not be visiting the parks. Our Magical Express return time was 10:45 AM for our 1:35 PM flight. I felt strongly that we had plenty of time to wake up at our leisure and grab a bite and tie up some loose ends, since we basically had no luggage to tote, just a few little carry ons. Well not quite.

Things started off just fine, we were up and dressed and Theresa and I had brought breakfast back to the room. So far so good. I then went down to the front desk for the simple task of sending Courtney's gift that I had purchased in Epcot to her. I thought it would be stupid to drag it home and then ship back to Florida. Wow. Who knew that could be so complicated and time consuming. There was virtually no wait when I got there at 9:50 AM, so I figured no problem. The CM I got was so slow it was pitiful. It took her about 15 minutes to decide on the right size box. I quickly filled out the information and then she said she needed to double check the zip code so it wouldn't be sent back to them. I assured her it was the correct one, but still. She stood there for about 5 minutes trying to ask other CM's if they knew the correct zip code for Melbourne, which they did not. I told her I had to leave, but she told me to wait just another minute while she went in the back to check. I waited, and waited, and waited and she was not coming back. It was now 10:30, everyone was still back in the room and I was a nervous wreck. I finally asked another CM to go and see what the problem was. She finally returned and told me could not verify it yet and needed more time. I told her I had to go back to the room to gather everybody and get to the bus. She told me I could but to stop back at the bus. Of course, along the way I realized I had not mailed out the pics from breakfast that Courtney wanted as well, so now it was way past crunch time. I sprinted the rest of the way to the room, shooed everyone out, and headed back down. I got everyone out to the bus loading area where there was a crowd formed. I darted back to the desk, where I could not spot her, but at the last second she reappeared and told me I was correct. Yes, thanks for that! I dashed into the store, quickly purchased a stamp for the pics, tossed them in the mailbox, and made a mad dash for the bus stop, where the bus was almost completely loaded. I beleive we were the last ones to board and then we were on our way.

We arrived at the airport in good time, only to find that our flight was delayed an hour! Just as we sat down at our gate my cellphone went off and Southwest was alerting me to the delay! Wow, thanks again! Finally, we boarded and were on our way. Thankfully, it was another smooth flight and we were back in Philadelphia at 5:00 PM. Of course, the others had been home now for about 3 hours after an uneventful drive. I called Winner Aiport Parking and they brought the car to us and we were able to leave right from the airport. Thank Goodness. The 2 hour drive went off to a good start, but about half way, Halliie got up and needed to eat, so we pulled into the rest area along the turnpike and fed her. I believe we arrived home safe and sound shortly after 8:00PM.

One more report is coming with some final thoughts, and the most shocking events of the trip.

sgdisney · #2 09-07-2009, 06:49 PM

Happy Belated Birthday! Too bad you did not get to spend it in the parks. I am sad that your reports are ending and have really enjoyed reading them. Looking forward to hearing your final thoughts.

faline · #3 09-07-2009, 07:30 PM

What a stressful end to your trip! At least it all worked out and you got home safe and sound!

stitchaholic · #4 09-07-2009, 08:41 PM

thanks for all your reports,and for leaving us on edge,lol!

SBETigg · #5 09-07-2009, 09:22 PM

Aw, leaving on your birthday! Sounds hectic. I hope you got some relaxing celebration time in.

Tigerinvestigator · #6 09-08-2009, 03:54 AM

Happy Birthday a few weeks ago! You say there are SHOCKING things about this trip? Now ya got me wondering?

vizsla · #7 09-08-2009, 04:41 AM

Thanks for the report.

DizNee143 · #8 09-08-2009, 11:30 AM

ooh man..what a last day!
glad the flight and drive back home went ok!

pdrlkr · #9 09-08-2009, 06:50 PM

Thanks for the Report!

RedSoxFan · #10 09-09-2009, 11:42 AM

Gee -- what stress to mail a package. Shouldn't have to be so difficult. Glad to hear you made it back safe.

KylesMom · #11 09-09-2009, 05:05 PM

Wow, that really stinks - happy belated birthday!

Gee, the front desk CM sounds like a few we had to deal with at WL - HELLO! Just when you think you'll have a stress-free morning, BAM!

And now you've really got ME curious too about the most shocking part of the trip . . . maybe that Courtney didn't receive her gift?

princessgirls · #12 09-10-2009, 10:52 AM

Happy Birthday Heather!!

Sorry to hear that a clueless CM kind of ruined your day!

The day going home is hard enough!

Looking forward to reading your final thoughts.
Julie