Jet Blue....Can you Make My Disney Dreams Come True?

I live in a little place called Worcester , Massachusetts. An hour away from Boston, it's got a little bit of everything . Parks, museums, great colleges, some notable restaurants, an airport....oh wait...scratch that airport part since what good is an airport with no airline.

Yes that's right, I live in a town with a fully functioning, abandoned airport. Last November I flew out of here with my family for a Disney vacation. I had heard horror stories about Direct Air -the previous airline-and was skeptical. The price and convenience were too good to pass up, so I booked my tickets, drove the 10 minutes to the airport and had the easiest flight ever. I praised the Worcester Airport swearing my allegiance to them and 5 months later Direct Air declared bankruptcy and the airport shut down. I did hear that Tom Hanks was up there shooting a movie though. That was sarcasm if you couldn't tell.

Every Disney vacation was planned in my mind out of Worcester, even though Jet Blue is my preferred airline. So imagine my excitement overload when  I read this week that Jet Blue CEO Dave Barger was coming to visit the ghost town for the second time this week!! Word on the street is that the deal revolves around the installation of a category 3 landing system at the airport.  Basically that means jazzing the airport up to Jet Blue standards and giving it the capability for planes to land in all types of weather. If it snowed up there in February and you had Direct Air tickets, you crossed your fingers and said a silent prayer.

This is news that , for a small town Disney freak like me, gives me butterflies of excitement. Imagine my fave airline ten minutes away, offering all the ease and convenience that Logan doesn't give me? I can also tell you I am not alone in feeling this. The people almost rioted around here when Direct Air said adios, so Jet Blue, if you are reading this ( please read this ) Worcester LOVES you. With service to Orlando you are guaranteed full planes every time. Everyone loves Mickey just as much as they love you.  Please help us make our airport more than a set from the Walking Dead.



Take us to Big Thunder Mountain Jet Blue!!!!!!!!!!

 

~ Karen

"Hey look kids, Big Ben, Parliament." - Clark Griswold

Before I had kids I remember saying to my husband, "I don't want anything to change about our lifestyle. I want to travel just as much. I want to spend as much time on my hair. I want to watch the same TV that I would have if kids were not in the room."

Obviously, I was completely mistaken.

Two and a half years later, my oldest son controls the TV remote with an iron fist. My hair has been in a ponytail for the better part of two years. And travel... well actually that's the one thing that remained somewhat the same.

Before kids I was always on the way to someplace else. Business trips blurred into pleasure trips and frequent flier miles added up. I would stand at the front of the line with my gold encrusted magic flier card and shrug as families with entire living rooms for carry on baggage watched me board with only a laptop and purse. I glared at kids who screamed on flights. I mentally willed the woman with the infant in arms to sit anywhere but next to me. 

In my second life as a parent,  my gold travel magical front-ofthe-line card has expired and I have joined the masses of families waiting for the red carpet business travelers to make their way onto the plane. Instead of glaring, I get glared at.

I love to travel. I think I may have some gypsy blood in me and I want more than anything to pass this love to my children. So far we have done the safe family trips. Disney, Disney, and Disney. Beach vacations and the mother of all vacations, Hawaii. One location remains uncharted, Europe. So it was with interest that I read the article, Travel to Europe on a Family Budget in the May 2010 issue of Parents magazine. 

After reading the article I realized that I have been playing my vacations child-safe. Europe is possible with small children, you just have to be smart about your choices. I was thinking in terms of big foreign cities with even bigger toddler melt-downs -no thanks. However, there are more than enough alternatives off the big city grid to satisfy all ages. 

Take Ireland for example. I have been two times as an adult. Dublin - loved it. But now? With kids? What would we even do? Well skip Dublin completely of course. What kid wouldn't love a horse and buggy ride around the Aran Islands? Or explore some really old castles or even older caves. It didn't dawn on me until reading Ms. Klurman's article that this same logic could be applied to most every European country.

The question really is, is traveling overseas with children under 10 worth the hassle? Depends. If your goal is to sit in a Parisian bistro, smoke cigarettes and drink a glass of red wine... well, a toddler may cramp your style. I would suggest hitting up Epcot faux-France and pretend. They have red wine. A smaller version of the Eiffel Tour and a smoking section if you must.


Chances are I will stick with the kid friendly vacations for now. But as the boys get older and the itch to broaden our travel repertoire grows I will think back on my pre-kids travel self with fondness and chart a new travel path that the whole family can enjoy.

Happy Travels!


~Davina

Go Go Kidz TravelMate Review

There was a time in my life when I would check out another woman's pocketbook or shoes. So imagine my surprise when I found myself ignoring the Louis Vuitton carry on bag and instead checking out another woman's infant car seat hand roller. I watched with admiration as a mother pulled her two children through the airport. Both kids snugly attached in their car seat, this super-mom rolled them easily through the check-in line at Orlando's airport. "I must have that", I thought to myself.

Knowing an airline trip was coming up with a car seat required at our destination, I started my research. All signs pointed to a giant headache manually carrying car seat, stroller, baby, and luggage. So what was the magical device this woman used to transport her children?

Turns out, she was using a Go Go Kidz TravelMate.

What is is: A piece of plastic with two wheels that attaches to your car seat. The buckle that holds the Go Go Kidz and the car seat together is pretty simple. If you have ever ratcheted ski boots, this will seem strikingly similar.


What it is not: Useful in any other capacity than pulling (or pushing) through airports and train stations.

On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the equivalent of the invention of the disposable diaper), I would give it around a 5. It does the job it is supposed to do and it freed up our hands for wrangling everything else. Mission complete. However, there were some things I would love to see the 2.0 version do.

• It cannot roll onto the plane. Not really their fault as the plane aisles are small. You just need to know that there will be some disassembling and reassembling on your journey.
• It cannot be attached to the car seat while on the plane. I would love a version of this product that could somehow transform itself into plane seat compatible so no overhead space is needed.
• It does not like to lean against walls. When not attached to you car seat the product is in the way... all the time. something that prevents it from rolling so you can lean it against a wall would be nice.
• It does not fit every car seat ever made. A tall order, I know.
• There are x-ray machines that this product will not fit through. We had to have it hand checked by security at Logan. It went through fine in Maui... go figure.

All in all, I was thankful I had this with me. Until they make a car seat that can convert into a roll-on (now there's an idea) I say go for it if you have the extra $70. It saved some headaches, it was easy to hook up and take off (for the most part) and I received a few envious glances myself as I rolled with ease through the airport.

Some notes on where to buy: I bought my version through Amazon. I tried the Go Go Kidz website and found the check-out process clunky. I trust Amazon and they delivered the product within a week.

Happy Travels!

~Davina