Worst Birthday Ever!

Tuesday, December 1, 2015


I will preface this entry by saying that if you just read this blog, it looks like we've stayed home forever! That's because we had a great big 6-month trip around the world planned for this year but it was canceled due to a cruise ship engine room fire. But, since I had already started that special blog, we continued using it for all the trips that made up a replacement for that travel. See it HERE.

So, now I am finally back at this small trips blog and it is a bad start. We had planned my 57th birthday trip to Orlando's Universal theme park for months. We didn't add Delta flights until the last few months ago when we realized we could take a pair of direct, nonstop flights with miles. So, for about $11 or $12 per person we could fly instead of driving. It seemed like a no-brainer. It wasn't. I hate flying anyway and would always prefer to drive. I guess that is the silver lining in this tale of woe. We drove! That is the good news. We chose a free flight that if Delta failed us, our trip wouldn't be completely ruined because we could drive. Since it was only a 3 night trip, we drove to the airport and parked in a remote lot for $6 a day. Another good decision on our part since we had to drive to and from Orlando in the end!

As Clay was sitting at the back door glowering as he waited for me to get ready to leave, the phone rang. It was Delta notifying us that instead of 12:20pm, our flight would be delayed and not depart until 1:20pm. (It would not.) Clay backed off a bit on his glowering frown as he squatted by the back door, but only for about 10 minutes not for the full hour. So, we were inside security at RDU by 11am. We went directly to Bruegger's/A&W and he had a chili dog and I got a whole wheat bagel with strawberry cream cheese for the plane. We took our waters and ourselves with our one rolling carryon to gate C9 (I think that is right but it might have been C6.). We were early so we got two seats right beside the gate desk/counter. We kept them all day! The plane that we needed to arrive before we could board and fly never arrived. The first excuse we heard for the delay was probably true and it was the only time we heard it. Since we were there so early, we were some of only maybe a dozen people to actually hear it though. The excuse was that the actual carrier, GoJet, had a computer problem and could not upload or download a passenger manifest. Without a passenger manifest they could not load or fly their planes. The flight we were waiting for to arrive so we could use the plane had not loaded or taken off. At various times throughout the rest of the day, we got different stories about that plane, that it was loaded and awaiting takeoff, that it was in the air, that it was delayed, that it was whereabouts unknown, that it had arrived unloaded, reloaded and was awaiting takeoff and that we had missed it. Go figure. )As we sat and waited and after our flight should have been in the air we received email notifying us that our return flight had been canceled. By the time we got the gate attendant to confirm this and book us on a flight 3 hours earlier, Delta sent another email that we had been moved to that flight. We were assigned seats 3 rows apart! We got seats together in the back of the plane instead of 8A & B.) The direct Orlando flight later in the day was canceled but ours never got canceled. The 2 flights to Orlando on Wednesday were also canceled. Finally between 3:30pm and 4pm the poor woman manning the gate counter started allowing people to cancel their seats on this flight with a refund and was sending for people's checked bags to be recovered and returned. Some were booking a later connecting flight through Atlanta and some were booking the next direct flight on Weds. morning. Some were making their own arrangements to book themselves on JetBlue or SouthWest's flights to Orlando later in the evening. I wasn't willing to pay and fly nor was I willing to give Delta another chance. Our arrangements were prepaid for the next 3 days and we needed to have already been on our way! The gate attendant had handed out red cards to call an 800 number for help so rather than get in her line I called. Eventually the woman who answered agreed that we could cancel both outgoing and return flights and get our miles returned to our accounts and our ticketing fees refunded. That done, we left the gate area and returned to the car and started driving. I called SuperShuttle and canceled our airport transfers both ways and they refunded us our prepaid fares. I called Holiday Inn in Orlando and let them know we would not be arriving until between 2 and 3am tonight. They said OK. That room was also prepaid. So far so good. It just would have been nice to have started driving hours earlier!

We were in heavy rush hour traffic now until we got to I-95. Thanks Delta! The good news is that the rest of the trip we had no traffic! The bad news is that we were in the dark, some rain and a lot of fog. We stopped for dinner at Bojangles. Happy birthday to me!

Holiday Inn living room

We got to Holiday Inn at Universal around 2:30am and their computer was changing days and we had to wait at least 10 minutes for it to finish before we could check in. Then she told me that we had reserved a king bed/nonsmoking room, but the only king bed she had available was on the 4th floor and it was a smoking floor. We would have to live with it and she assured me that I wouldn't smell cigarettes. (Our confirmation email actually says we booked 2 double beds/nonsmoking...) I pitched a little hissy fit, I am sad to say but I finally lost it. She was a bit surprised but shut me right down and moved us instead to a suite on the 9th floor. After she asked if that was alright, and I agreed she asked why we were delayed and I shared our sad tale of my 57th birthday. I think we both felt better about my fit and her complimentary room upgrade for our stay. By the time Clay returned from free parking the car, we had our keys and were on our way to bed.

Holiday Inn kitchenette

Holiday Inn bedroom

We got room 935. We had a view of Universal and Hogwarts in the distance. We were catty-corner across the Kirkman Road from Portofino Bay Hotel (an on-site Universal Resort property). We were looking directly at the parking lot for Universal park. So, we only had about an extra 2 to 3 block walk over people driving or staying onsite. The closest onsite hotel would have been Hard Rock Hotel for future reference.

Holiday Inn bedroom

Holiday Inn sink/vanity - shower over tub & toilet beside this

View of Universal's parking deck

We had paid $88.65 for tonight, $84.77 for Wednesday night and $96.43 for Thursday night. I don't know what they would have charged if we had actually booked the suite, but we were pleased and satisfied. We walked back and forth everyday. The hotel did provide a shuttle that you had to reserved space on their schedule but HI was the first pickup in the morning and after it stopped at another 4 or so hotels, it would take 20 to 30 minutes to get to the park and it was only a 10 -15 minute walk. So we walked. It was fine. We ate all our meals either in the parks or CityWalk so we didn't use the car again until we left on Friday. Free parking at the hotel was a big bonus. Most Holiday Inns we've stayed at provide a complimentary breakfast buffet but not here. Again it was fine and the free parking/Internet were worth more to us anyway.

View of Hogwarts in the distance!

We went straight to sleep and we each enjoyed our own double bed with 2 soft and 2 firm pillows. It was a short night's sleep but a good one. The good news is that all the time we wasted at the airport yesterday ended up being just lost sleep and not park time! Birthday take 2 in the morning.


Note that this is the Holiday Inn across from Universal Orlando at 5905 South Kirkman Road. (There is a nearby Holiday Inn Express but it is several blocks further away!).

Our walk to Universal Park

Our walk to Universal Park

Hooray!

We've arrived!