Post by TexasChick on Feb 22, 2023 17:22:26 GMT -5
We got back from WDW on Monday, February 20th. It was just me traveling with the kids. The trip itself was actually really good. I may write up a trip report and exclude this experience from it. I needed a few days to collect my thoughts on it before I wrote about it. Here it goes...
We got into the terminal at MCO about 1.5 hours before our flight left. We weren't checking any bags, and I am TSA precheck as well as a CLEAR member. I've never had any issues with this in the past. I walk in, and all the signage says this way to "all gates". I realized it was different than where we usually go, but I figured maybe there was some kind of reason why they wanted everyone to go to this security area instead of another. Since it wasn't where we usually go, I asked a TSA officer where to go for TSA precheck for our specific gate. She said just over there and pointed to where the TSA precheck sign was. Again, signs said that all gates were to go this way. It took us over 30 minutes to get through the TSA precheck line just to the officer to check my ID. The line for CLEAR was so long that many CLEAR members were going to the TSA precheck lines.
We finally get through the ID check, and then we go to the X-ray machines and the metal detectors. My 9-year old daughter dings when she goes through, and they say they need to test her hands because she has been randomly selected. They test them, but then TSA pulls her bag off the line because they say they need to check it because something showed up on machine. Then, we hear a grown 50-something year old man (aggressor) start yelling and cursing at another man (victim). Apparently, the aggressor was arguing with TSA over something, and the victim whispered to his wife that aggressor was a real a**hole. Aggressor heard it and went berserk. He started yelling and charging the other man who looked shell shocked standing next to his wife. Aggressor's wife tried to calm him down, but it wouldn't happen. Most of TSA just stood there like a bunch of deer in headlights. I pulled my kids closer to keep them out of the way as we were just a few feet from all of this. After he kept yelling, and victim wouldn't respond, aggressor charges him, and a very large TSA agent appeared and jumped in between them. Aggressor starts kicking victim around the TSA agent. Local PD shows up and pulls him away. My poor kids are scared as are all the other kids standing around. All the while TSA has our one bag and isn't checking it because of all of this.
I ask them to please start checking the bag because at this point we are 45 minutes from wheels up. I swear it was this woman's first day on the job. She moved at a snail's pace and looked through my daughter's whole bag and pulled out coffee. I've had my coffee tested before, so I think it'll be fine. Nope. She says coffee isn't allowed because it could be explosives or hiding something. I tell her I'm ok with her testing it. She swabs it but can't seem to figure out how to operate the machine that you put the tester in. I see the clock ticking while this went on for another 10-15 minutes of her trying to figure out the machine, and I tell her to just throw it away because we need to catch our plane. She says she can't, comes around and tells me that I have to be patted down because of the coffee. I tell her that's fine. She then goes into a 5+ minutes explanation of what she is going to do. I told her it was fine and to just please do it. She wouldn't be deterred from her full explanation. I pleaded with her to please do it because we were going to miss our flight. She didn't care. At no time did I raise my voice or become angry because it is counterproductive. She pats me down 1/2 way and then starts looking around and talking to someone else. I ask her if she is done, and she says she isn't. I asked her to please finish because we had to leave. Two other TSA guys are now looking through my daughter's bag for a second time. I reiterate that they can just throw the coffee away which they tell me they can't do. The woman tells me that their expert must come and evaluate the coffee's contents in its entirety. The guys tell me that isn't true, but they need to swab it. They swab it and use the machine. It's fine. They say I can't take the coffee though even though it came back clear. I say again they can throw it away. She finally goes back over there, and they swab her gloves which are clear. We leave and look at the trams which are the wrong gates. I walk over to a TSA agent and ask how to get to our gate, and he says I need to leave and go back through security at another terminal. I asked why the signs all say All Gates were accessible there, and he said he doesn't know, but it's causing some problems, and they need to change it. 
At this point we have been screwing around for over an hour with all of this. We basically skipped through TSA precheck at the correct terminal and security. We get on the tram and walk very quickly to our gate. I've already told my kids they have definitely given away our seats, and I will sort it out with the gate agent. When we walk up, no one is at the gate except the agent, and the sign says "Now Boarding". I walk up as the agent calls on the loud speaker, "Last Call for 'Our Name' Party". We were those people! I tell them that's us. The gate agent lets me know that we won't be able to sit together. This particularly sucked because I paid for EB on SWA, and we had A boarding groups, but nothing I can do about it now. We get on. It's me and my 9 yo daughter and 11 yo son. The seats we get are: Aisle row 3, middle row 5, window row 6. How did that happen??? I let the kids sit in rows 5 and 6 so that they will be closer together. Everyone was super super nice about everything. The flight attendants found spots for our bags further back so that we didn't have to gate check them. Honestly, SWA was amazing becasue they left the gate door open for us to board even though everyone else was onboard, and they didn't give away our seats. This was the only nonstop flight that day from MCO to IAH. They fly a lot more to the other airport in Houston which is clear across town and not where my car is parked back in Houston. I knew it would've been a nightmare to try and get to IAH on SWA which would've included connections or else we would've had to fly to the other airport and take an Uber to IAH. We boarded at 9:17am for a 9:25am flight and still left on time!!!
In conclusion, MCO signage and TSA agents are the worst, especially that woman. SWA, in this instance, was the best!
