Travel Disasters ??

[rlk]

Police emergency closed the highway. 8 hours to move 17 miles. Ate the cost of our hotel reservation.

That sounds awful.

 

[DISNEY1975]

We've had a few incidents that were not quite disasters.

Your poor son I hope he has had a few vacations go smoothly for him since then!

 

[KPeterso]

Was a little kid at the time... So no cell phones or means to keep in touch.

As I recall, my dad was supposed to have a conference in Anaheim and then my Mom and I were flying out to meet him and go to Disneyland. At the last minute, Dad's conference was cancelled, so they had to scramble to get him airfare. As a result, there were no seats on our direct flight, so he was going via Kansas City. We get to O'Hare that morning and got all the bags checked on our flight (since our flight was direct and we would be getting in first and could get those and the rental car) and then Mom and I put Dad on the plane to CA via Kansas City. Then she and I killed some time and probably got a bite to eat before boarding our flight.

We were over Nebraska when a man on the flight had a massive heart attack and we had to have an emergency landing (dumping fuel and diving quick for the airport). We get there and they get the person and family off the plane and off to the hospital (believe we did hear he survived). But of course, we dumped all the fuel, so they had to re-fuel the plane and re-stock the food and that all took quite a bit of time.

In the meantime, Dad arrives in Kansas City and his next plane is snowed in in Boston. So he was greatly delayed while they got a plane in (from Memphis or something), so that they could continue on the way.

So the question --- who got to CA first???? That would be my Dad. And by quite a bit. But of course, we have the bags, the rental car information, and all the important information. So my Dad sits there and wonders where on Earth we were since our flight was leaving on time, but not in CA and no one would give him any information. He says to this day that he thought we must have crashed and that he was never seeing Mom or me again. But, we did eventually make it and he was never so relieved in his life.

The rest of the vacation was much better and the rule became we all flew on the same flights moving forward!

 

[RedAngie]

On the last day of our Disney vacation, Splash Mountain shut down just when we were ready to board and remained closed the rest of the day. Our entire trip was ruined!!!! Ruined, I say!!!

 

[DISNEY1975]

Was a little kid at the time... So no cell phones or means to keep in touch.

As I recall, my dad was supposed to have a conference in Anaheim and then my Mom and I were flying out to meet him and go to Disneyland. At the last minute, Dad's conference was cancelled, so they had to scramble to get him airfare. As a result, there were no seats on our direct flight, so he was going via Kansas City. We get to O'Hare that morning and got all the bags checked on our flight (since our flight was direct and we would be getting in first and could get those and the rental car) and then Mom and I put Dad on the plane to CA via Kansas City. Then she and I killed some time and probably got a bite to eat before boarding our flight.

We were over Nebraska when a man on the flight had a massive heart attack and we had to have an emergency landing (dumping fuel and diving quick for the airport). We get there and they get the person and family off the plane and off to the hospital (believe we did hear he survived). But of course, we dumped all the fuel, so they had to re-fuel the plane and re-stock the food and that all took quite a bit of time.

In the meantime, Dad arrives in Kansas City and his next plane is snowed in in Boston. So he was greatly delayed while they got a plane in (from Memphis or something), so that they could continue on the way.

So the question --- who got to CA first???? That would be my Dad. And by quite a bit. But of course, we have the bags, the rental car information, and all the important information. So my Dad sits there and wonders where on Earth we were since our flight was leaving on time, but not in CA and no one would give him any information. He says to this day that he thought we must have crashed and that he was never seeing Mom or me again. But, we did eventually make it and he was never so relieved in his life.

The rest of the vacation was much better and the rule became we all flew on the same flights moving forward!

Great story! I love happy endings

I too have many new rules after my nightmare start of our trip. Triple check all the bags are in the car, make sure all cell phone are turned on. No runs for Dunkins....coffee can wait until we reach destination! (I dont drink coffee so I can make that rule )

 

[Darcy03231]

August 2005 - We were in the Gulf of Mexico on a cruise when Hurricane Katrina hit. We did some rockin' and rollin' that night!

August 2017 - Family cruise for 10. DH, DD #2 & her fiance, DN, DS#1 and his wife were all booked on one flight. DS #2 and I were booked on a later flight because he had to work that Friday (we always fly in the day before the cruise), DD#1 and DSIL were flying in from Nashville and Atlanta. Huge storms up and down the east coast and the flight with the 6 people on it gets canceled. The airline was able to rebook 4 of the 6 on a later flight and I rebooked DS & DDIL on another flight. The 4 get stuck in BWI. DS & DDIL's 2nd flight gets canceled and the airline rebooks them on another flight. They're on the runway and have to return to the gate, their flight was cancelled again. I was finally able to get them on my flight, which took off about 3 hours late. In the meantime the 4 in BWI finally take off and make it to Ft. Lauderdale. When we finally get to the cruise port our western Caribbean cruise turned into an eastern Caribbean cruise due to Hurricane Charley. All the months of planning out the window!

October 2017 - DH and I were doing a week in Grenada followed by a Southern Caribbean cruise out of Puerto Rico. We were taking a small plane from Grenada to San Juan to catch the cruise. Due to Hurricane Maria when the airport was reopened flights were limited and our small plane/airline wasn't allowed in yet. I called Royal Caribbean about catching the ship at the first port of call (ship left PR on Saturday at 8 pm and docked in St. Kitts on Sunday at 8 am), but was told we couldn't do that. We ended up having to fly from Grenada to JFK, spend the night, and then fly to San Juan in the morning. Cruise was great! When we got home I sent a letter to Royal Caribbean and got a phone call. The information the "customer service" representative gave us was wrong! There would have been no problem boarding the ship in St. Kitts. They have a special team to help take care of stuff like this.

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

Furloughs april 2013

Remember that guy that was snippy with the FA? Well he was close enough to us and he became snippy with the Customs agent! We were next in line for an available agent and the Customs agent says loudly enough "if you want to keep up with your attitude I can just make these people wait even longer behind you"...that sure as heck made him become quiet. So we get that same Customs agent who was quite pleasant to us.

I have never, for the life of me, understood how some people find the nerve (or stupidity) to be rude to customs agents, TSA, flight agents, etc. Do they like being handcuffed and getting cavity searches? I stood in a security line one time behind a guy that blew up at the TSA agent for touching the bag with his computer in it , something along the lines of "Don't you dare touch my computer." This was well after 9/11, computers had to come out of bags and had to for years. He was quickly led away and I have a feeling he and the TSA agents got very well acquainted.

Our worst trip was the time we decided to take youngest SIL to Prince Edward Island. She's a rabid Anne of Green Gables fan and had been begging to go to Canada for years. We took my parents with us as well. Rented an adorable little cabin on the island about 4 hours from the airport we flew into and required a ferry or a toll bridge to get there.

This was before you had to have a passport to go to Canada. We get to the airline counter with our birth certificates in hand and they wouldn't take SIL's, it didn't have a raised seal on it. It was Saturday so there was nothing we could do but call FIL and beg him to come and get her and re-book her flight for the following Monday afternoon. SIL is mildly mentally disabled and had never flown before. She was now going to have to fly and change planes in Chicago by herself. We were also going to have to spend 8 hours driving to and from the airport to pick her up.

The rest of us go on. We decide to take the ferry to the island. I start feeling queasy about halfway across. I'm prone to motion sickness so I figure it will go away once we get off the boat. Nope, pregnant with oldest DS, that was the start of non-stop 24 hr morning sickness for the next 6 months. My mother catches a nasty cold, gives it to DH, once SIL gets there she's sick also. At one point I caught my Dad watching TV with a plastic bag over the remote and a can of Lysol in his hand.

SIL is in a snotty mood the whole trip because her expectations didn't match reality, we get rear-ended in the rental vehicle, my mother took a nasty fall and got all bruised up, lots of little disasters.

 

[RUDisney]

My "disaster" started when we arrived at PHL at 6:30 a.m. for an 8:30 flight to Punta Cana. The skies were bright and clear... not a cloud in the sky. The plane was at the gate. It was the perfect day for flying.

Around 8:00, a woman sits down by us and said to her DH, "well, we're delayed." I asked her how we are delayed when it's so nice outside. There was a problem with the landing gear. OK, so we probably need that... They said they were going to fly the part in from JFK, and then they weren't going to fly it, they were going to drive it. Finally, the flight was cancelled. I got up to see if we could be placed on another flight. Sure thing! We got on a flight that was scheduled for 7:00 that night. BUT, that flight would only get us to Miami. They would put us up overnight and give us meal vouchers. They put us in business class from MIA to Punta Cana. We had nothing to do but to stay in the airport for the day. My DS wanted to know why I wasn't yelling at anyone about this. I told him that it didn't pay to be nasty to the airline workers. They tried to help us as best as they could and if I was nasty, they could make things worse.

That night, of course our flight was delayed. By the time we got to the hotel it was around 12:30 a.m. There were no airport hotels, so we had to go into downtown Miami. The hotel was down the street from the Four Seasons, Intercontinental and Mandarin Oriental. I had hopes that it was going to be nice. Nope. It was awful. We didn't have our luggage because it was checked. We didn't even have hairbrushes or toothpaste. We slept in our underwear and combed our hair with our fingers. I bought gum to "brush" our teeth at the airport.

When you get to PC, they take your photo with some pretty Dominican women to sell to you on your way home. I told my DH that we were buying that photo because we looked so war torn. The photo still is on display because it comes with such an interesting back story. We lost a day on the island but we have a story to tell.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

My heart was racing reading your story! WOW!!! I cant imagine the stress!

Ugh it was so stressful. Not only thinking we could miss the flight but all the darn bumps in the way with the snippy passenger and the wood vase and the distance we had to go to the gate all the while lugging our carryons and personal item with us.

In a variety of ways it would have been less stressful to just get bumped to a flight home the next day and stay in a hotel room for the night . Def. not wanting a repeat of that event ever again that's for sure.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I have never, for the life of me, understood how some people find the nerve (or stupidity) to be rude to customs agents, TSA, flight agents, etc. Do they like being handcuffed and getting cavity searches? I stood in a security line one time behind a guy that blew up at the TSA agent for touching the bag with his computer in it , something along the lines of "Don't you dare touch my computer." This was well after 9/11, computers had to come out of bags and had to for years. He was quickly led away and I have a feeling he and the TSA agents got very well acquainted.

Our worst trip was the time we decided to take youngest SIL to Prince Edward Island. She's a rabid Anne of Green Gables fan and had been begging to go to Canada for years. We took my parents with us as well. Rented an adorable little cabin on the island about 4 hours from the airport we flew into and required a ferry or a toll bridge to get there.

This was before you had to have a passport to go to Canada. We get to the airline counter with our birth certificates in hand and they wouldn't take SIL's, it didn't have a raised seal on it. It was Saturday so there was nothing we could do but call FIL and beg him to come and get her and re-book her flight for the following Monday afternoon. SIL is mildly mentally disabled and had never flown before. She was now going to have to fly and change planes in Chicago by herself. We were also going to have to spend 8 hours driving to and from the airport to pick her up.

The rest of us go on. We decide to take the ferry to the island. I start feeling queasy about halfway across. I'm prone to motion sickness so I figure it will go away once we get off the boat. Nope, pregnant with oldest DS, that was the start of non-stop 24 hr morning sickness for the next 6 months. My mother catches a nasty cold, gives it to DH, once SIL gets there she's sick also. At one point I caught my Dad watching TV with a plastic bag over the remote and a can of Lysol in his hand.

SIL is in a snotty mood the whole trip because her expectations didn't match reality, we get rear-ended in the rental vehicle, my mother took a nasty fall and got all bruised up, lots of little disasters.

I don't know either. I mean being snippy to the FA is bad enough but lordy you do not want to be snippy towards the Customs agent. I seriously couldn't believe the passenger was doing that and it could have been at the rest of us's expense.

And on your story. Oh my goodness! Little disasters that add up real quick is never ever fun.

 

[DISNEY1975]

August 2005
August 2017

October 2017

PLease keep me posted of all your future travel dates. Ill be sure to avoid those weeks for my own vacations !!!

lots of little disasters.

They are pretty major to me. What a nightmare

That night, of course our flight was delayed. By the time we got to the hotel it was around 12:30 a.m. There were no airport hotels, so we had to go into downtown Miami. The hotel was down the street from the Four Seasons, Intercontinental and Mandarin Oriental. I had hopes that it was going to be nice. Nope. It was awful. We didn't have our luggage because it was checked. We didn't even have hairbrushes or toothpaste. We slept in our underwear and combed our hair with our fingers. I bought gum to "brush" our teeth at the airport.

When you get to PC, they take your photo with some pretty Dominican women to sell to you on your way home. I told my DH that we were buying that photo because we looked so war torn. The photo still is on display because it comes with such an interesting back story. We lost a day on the island but we have a story to tell.

Sorry for your misfortune...but....LOL !!!!!

 

[Gary M]

I have a travel disaster that I will never forget. It was Oct., 2006. I was a professional boxing judge and was assigned to officiate a world title bout in Tokyo, Japan. I flew on Northwest Airlines from Indianapolis to Detroit and then on to Tokyo. If I remember correctly the non-stop flight was 13 1/2 hours. When we got near Tokyo the plane circled the airport for some time and we were told that we couldn't land because of weather and had to go to another airport. After landing at that airport we were stuck on the tarmac for 6 hours. We were then told we had to spend the night in the terminal. We were given a blanket and small pillow. We had to sleep anyplace we could find. I tried to sleep on the floor, with little luck. We were given a food voucher which was good for some rice and small piece of salmon. We thought we would leave for Tokyo the next morning, but were delayed over and over. We couldn't leave the terminal because of customs and our luggage was still on the plane. After 16 hours we finally left for Tokyo.

I found out the long delay was because the crew couldn't fly until they got their rest and another crew wasn't available. Needless to say, I wasn't in good shape to judge a boxing match but I was lucky because the bout was easy to officiate. As you can imagine we passengers were extremely upset and it was getting ugly. This really tested my sanity.

 

[DISNEY1975]

I have a travel disaster that I will never forget. It was Oct., 2006. I was a professional boxing judge and was assigned to officiate a world title bout in Tokyo, Japan. I flew on Northwest Airlines from Indianapolis to Detroit and then on to Tokyo. If I remember correctly the non-stop flight was 13 1/2 hours. When we got near Tokyo the plane circled the airport for some time and we were told that we couldn't land because of weather and had to go to another airport. After landing at that airport we were stuck on the tarmac for 6 hours. We were then told we had to spend the night in the terminal. We were given a blanket and small pillow. We had to sleep anyplace we could find. I tried to sleep on the floor, with little luck. We were given a food voucher which was good for some rice and small piece of salmon. We thought we would leave for Tokyo the next morning, but were delayed over and over. We couldn't leave the terminal because of customs and our luggage was still on the plane. After 16 hours we finally left for Tokyo.

I found out the long delay was because the crew couldn't fly until they got their rest and another crew wasn't available. Needless to say, I wasn't in good shape to judge a boxing match but I was lucky because the bout was easy to officiate. As you can imagine we passengers were extremely upset and it was getting ugly. This really tested my sanity.

I would have started my own boxing match with the airline employees. No way I would have the patience for that. Me + tired + cranky = DISASTER! Glad you survived with your sanity intact!

 

[RUDisney]

Here's a funny story about a friend's disaster trip. We adopted our kids from Russia in October 2001. Our friends adopted theirs in late November, early December 2001. We had a VERY mild winter here that year and even in October, Russia was COLD. Marge was in such a tizzy about making sure she had everything for the trip that she forgot to take a winter coat (it was warm here, remember?) She got to Russia and it was freezing. The first thing they had to do with the translator was go to a department store to buy her a winter coat, a hat and gloves.

The things we all laugh about now that were very stressful at the time.

 

[mrodgers]

My only disaster was 2 hours into our 19 hour drive to our first family vacation which happened to be Disneyworld. Had a car on I79 near Morgantown WV riding on my back bumper (imagine that, an entire lane to the left he could have gone around me but chose to drive 3 feet from the back of my car.) Anyways, I see a deer jump over the jersey barrier into the left lane of no traffic and start crossing in front of me. I couldn't slam the brakes on or the car behind would run right through me. I eased on the brakes looking back and forth to the deer coming up and the car behind me. When I saw the car move left I went full brake and at the moment the car stopped, I met the deer and bumped it.

Luckily I assessed the damage and it wasn't much, damage wise. Monetarily was different to the tune of barely any damaging costing $3800. We were able to continue on, but I wouldn't have been too happy if we would have needed towed home and canceled our first family vacation.

 

[DISNEY1975]

My only disaster was 2 hours into our 19 hour drive to our first family vacation which happened to be Disneyworld. Had a car on I79 near Morgantown WV riding on my back bumper (imagine that, an entire lane to the left he could have gone around me but chose to drive 3 feet from the back of my car.) Anyways, I see a deer jump over the jersey barrier into the left lane of no traffic and start crossing in front of me. I couldn't slam the brakes on or the car behind would run right through me. I eased on the brakes looking back and forth to the deer coming up and the car behind me. When I saw the car move left I went full brake and at the moment the car stopped, I met the deer and bumped it.

Luckily I assessed the damage and it wasn't much, damage wise. Monetarily was different to the tune of barely any damaging costing $3800. We were able to continue on, but I wouldn't have been too happy if we would have needed towed home and canceled our first family vacation.

Yikes! Not good! I would have been stressed about the big bill waiting for me when I got home.

Your story reminded me a tiny bit of when I was at DHS once, a quick trip just me and my 2 boys. We were driving into the parking lot with a Rolls Royce in front of me. I was joking with my boys, about 10 & 7 at the time, that it was probably a movie star! For a minute or so they were guessing who it could be! I told them someone very famous because the car cost about a million dollars!

So we get to where the parking spots were and sure enough, the attendant with the flag, flagged me to park next to this guy. I told the kids that it was our chance to see who it was. The guy got out his car and my 7 yo son opened the back door to get out and accidentally tapped the guys car with the door. There was a tinsy tiny little tiny tiny chip of paint scratched from his car. The guy went crazy. Yelling and screaming at my son. I jumped out of the car, my son was crying, and I was apologizing to no end and telling him I had insurance and would give him all my info etc.. He calmed down enough to take my paperwork and write everything down,but he was still huffy and puffy. I was a wreck because I was in a rental and not sure exactly what the insurance covered, but I wasnt going to let it ruin my vacation with my boys.

The guys wife appeared out of nowhere, she must have been sitting in the car the whole time, and the 2 of them went into the park. I calmed my son down and told him everything was fine, he was not in trouble and that we were going to have the best day ever. We proceeded into DHS and immediately went to a post to grab a map of the park. I turn around and I am standing face to face with the guys wife. She was standing there will all my info, handing it out to me. She apologized for her husband behavior and told my son he did nothing wrong that her husband was a little sensitive because he had just had the car repainted. She said she wanted us to have a great day and to not have to think about the incident. She gave all my info back to me. So sweet ( The guy was nowhere in sight!! ). The nice gesture really saved the trip because I would have been thinking about it for days, until I got home or somewhere where I could actually talk to an insurance agent.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Really minor, just brought to meet nd via this thread: five years old, spending the week with my Grandma. First day, we went to the beach. It was all rocky. I cried. Second day, we went to the beach. It was all seaweed. I cried. I sent home that night.

Minor: flying between storms (on the nice day), airline moved several of us to a different, later flight because our first flight wasn't getting there until after the connecting flight left. They swore our luggage was pulled from the bags waiting for the original flight. I got to Las Vegas a few hours later than expected, my suitcase got to New York.

Not minor: at Disney for a(n AOL) meet, so a long time ago, ended up in Celebration HealWe for a week with pneumonia. Positive: the only room available was the Presidential Suite. Less positive: had to get for something to read.

Worst: at Logan, where they have little lights embedded in the road. Pulled my suitcase from the trunk while twisting, my foot stayed where it was, and I ended up on the ground. Hurt too much to move, couldn't stand up even with help. Still insisted I was going. on. my. trip! Nope. The Statie insisted the only place I was going was to the hospital. Mass General, so okay. I'd broken my leg. Again.

Gotta say, both of those trips the airlines, hotels, and Alamo were great.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Really minor, just brought to meet nd via this thread: five years old, spending the week with my Grandma. First day, we went to the beach. It was all rocky. I cried. Second day, we went to the beach. It was all seaweed. I cried. I sent home that night.

Minor: flying between storms (on the nice day), airline moved several of us to a different, later flight because our first flight wasn't getting there until after the connecting flight left. They swore our luggage was pulled from the bags waiting for the original flight. I got to Las Vegas a few hours later than expected, my suitcase got to New York.

Not minor: at Disney for a(n AOL) meet, so a long time ago, ended up in Celebration HealWe for a week with pneumonia. Positive: the only room available was the Presidential Suite. Less positive: had to get for something to read.

Worst: at Logan, where they have little lights embedded in the road. Pulled my suitcase from the trunk while twisting, my foot stayed where it was, and I ended up on the ground. Hurt too much to move, couldn't stand up even with help. Still insisted I was going. on. my. trip! Nope. The Statie insisted the only place I was going was to the hospital. Mass General, so okay. I'd broken my leg. Again.

Gotta say, both of those trips the airlines, hotels, and Alamo were great.

I was reading your minor and thinking thats not so minor until I got to the end...then yes, it seemed minor! Ughhh....sorry about your leg, but if youre going to break it, Boston is the place to do it! Best hospitals evah !!

 

[NHdisneylover]

The good thing about travel issues is that they make for interesting stories!


We've had a number of weather related or closed airport delays, etc. Probably the two most interesting/unusual and stressful for me were in 2001.


That February I flew from Detroit to Puerto Vallarta with my just turned 2 and just turned 4 year olds to visit my parents. It was a direct flight in a charter (I think it was mlt vacations). It was just me and the kids.

Flight took off on time. Front door had not sealed properly and the cabin couldn't properly pressurize, so we turned around and landed again. Those of us sitting near the front with ears in a lot of pain.
Sat over an hour for repairs. We're then told to deplane but leave ALL carry ons in place as they only needed 20 minutes to use a sealant and we'd reboard.
Two hours later they let us get our bags (remember I was alone with a toddler and preschooler and the diaper bag was onboard).
At that point it's announced that a new aircraft, and crew, is being flown in. No idea when they will arrive. That we are not to leave this gate area .
We finally left a bit more than six hours past our initially scheduled departure.
Two hours into the flight, we started descending, which I knew was too soon, so that felt odd. Finally we get told to prepare for landing. We're stopping at DFW because an engine has gone out!

At that point it was about midnight. They unloaded us into an otherwise closed section of the airport with most lights off, etc. Flight crew dumped a pile of pillows and blankets on the ground, told us a new crew and plane would come eventually so stay there and left.

About seven the next morning the new plane arrived and got us to Puerto Vallarta with no further incident. Thankfully . I was on DSs last diaper and had long since run out of snacks.

October of the same year, about 4 weeks after the terrorist attacks: our family of four was flying from LAX back home to Detroit. Just as preboarding began, our two year old sat down at the gate and leaned back into the backrest in what turned out to be a broken chair . Chair back broke out from behind him, he fell back and banged his head on the metal support rod underneath.

They kept telling us not to walk out with him past security .Our blood covered shirts might set off an incident . It took 45 minutes for an ambulance to clear security to come get us. 5 staples at ER, and we were cleared to fly, though I was told to wake DS every hour.
The airline had gotten us onto a later, overbooked, flight . Our luggage had gone without us, our shirts were bloody, and the seats were in four different parts of the plane . One couple agreed to switch with me and DS so the two year old with a head injury did not have to sit alone. His four year old big sister, who'd had a rough night too, did end up seated away from us . That kid was a trooper.

 

[DISNEY1975]

The good thing about travel issues is that they make for interesting stories!


We've had a number of weather related or closed airport delays, etc. Probably the two most interesting/unusual and stressful for me were in 2001.


That February I flew from Detroit to Puerto Vallarta with my just turned 2 and just turned 4 year olds to visit my parents. It was a direct flight in a charter (I think it was mlt vacations). It was just me and the kids.

Flight took off on time. Front door had not sealed properly and the cabin couldn't properly pressurize, so we turned around and landed again. Those of us sitting near the front with ears in a lot of pain.
Sat over an hour for repairs. We're then told to deplane but leave ALL carry ons in place as they only needed 20 minutes to use a sealant and we'd reboard.
Two hours later they let us get our bags (remember I was alone with a toddler and preschooler and the diaper bag was onboard).
At that point it's announced that a new aircraft, and crew, is being flown in. No idea when they will arrive. That we are not to leave this gate area .
We finally left a bit more than six hours past our initially scheduled departure.
Two hours into the flight, we started descending, which I knew was too soon, so that felt odd. Finally we get told to prepare for landing. We're stopping at DFW because an engine has gone out!

At that point it was about midnight. They unloaded us into an otherwise closed section of the airport with most lights off, etc. Flight crew dumped a pile of pillows and blankets on the ground, told us a new crew and plane would come eventually so stay there and left.

About seven the next morning the new plane arrived and got us to Puerto Vallarta with no further incident. Thankfully . I was on DSs last diaper and had long since run out of snacks.

October of the same year, about 4 weeks after the terrorist attacks: our family of four was flying from LAX back home to Detroit. Just as preboarding began, our two year old sat down at the gate and leaned back into the backrest in what turned out to be a broken chair . Chair back broke out from behind him, he fell back and banged his head on the metal support rod underneath.

They kept telling us not to walk out with him past security .Our blood covered shirts might set off an incident . It took 45 minutes for an ambulance to clear security to come get us. 5 staples at ER, and we were cleared to fly, though I was told to wake DS every hour.
The airline had gotten us onto a later, overbooked, flight . Our luggage had gone without us, our shirts were bloody, and the seats were in four different parts of the plane . One couple agreed to switch with me and DS so the two year old with a head injury did not have to sit alone. His four year old big sister, who'd had a rough night too, did end up seated away from us . That kid was a trooper.

Oh my goodness! I dont know how you managed! I guess us Moms turn into superheroes when needed.