UMTravels

Well, the MegaDo starts tomorrow – this is the weird flyer junkie junket from Toronto to Tucson to San Francisco on a chartered plane.

Finally got a more detailed schedule of the events – two of them I really wanted to do have been cancelled:

• Air Canada behind the scenes tour (Marriott wanted more of the day)
• Boots on the ground Air Force Boneyard tour (cancelled due to the government shut down – they promise something equally cool in its place)

Pulled the temperatures for the various cities:

• Toronto, rainy and 47°
• Tucson, sunny and 84°
• San Francisco, partly cloudy and 64°

Talk about a pain in the ass to pack for – heavy jacket, no jacket, and light jacket.

Here is the full (edited) latest itinerary:

Schedule

Tuesday 22 October 2013

Registration package will be at the Marriott, where registration will be open from 6pm to 7pm.

Wednesday 23 October 2013

This is our day with Rimowa (high end luggage manufacturer). 

We will return to the hotels sometime between 4 and 5 pm.  This will be highly dependent on traffic in Toronto, which can be brutal.

Marriott Program will begin at 6:30 pm at the Ritz-Carlton.

Thursday 24 October 2013

This day will be a mix between Marriott and Air Canada.  Marriott will be hosting a behind the scenes look at hotel operations.  This event will be hosted at the Marriot and will begin at 8am.  The Marriott event will involve groups competing in various hotel challenges (cooking, housekeeping, front desk, etc…). Marriott is really excited about this and we hope you are too.

In the afternoon, Air Canada takes charge; unfortunately also at the Marriott. The logistics in getting everyone to and from the airport just wouldn’t work given Toronto’s traffic, but Air Canada has promised us a unique opportunities to hear from them and talk about our likes, dislikes and the future of Star Alliance

At 6pm Air Canada will be hosting a reception for the group. If you were on SMD3, you should remember they know how to party.  The event ends at 8pm and you have the rest of the evening to yourself in Toronto. 

Friday 25 October 2013

It is the day of the Charter Flight. 

AC and UA are both working to provide us our own dedicated lounge at the gate, including food and beverage.

We will arrive in Tucson at 11:15.

Due to the government shutdown the tours that we had set up with the Air Force were cancelled by the Air Force. As a result, we won’t be getting any “boots on the ground”; however, we have arranged for a special tour hosted by the Pima Air Museum, which still gives us access to the Boneyard. Pima has promised to make it memorable for the group. 

Boarding in TUS will begin at 2:50 PM and we will be closing the doors at 3:30 PM for the short flight to SFO from TUS.

The flight will land in SFO at 5:30 PM and proceed to the hanger for the UA reception. UA has requested that there not be bag lying all around the hanger, so there will be luggage bins as you get off the plane for you to put your carry-on bags into. Again, small purses or cameras are an exception, but items like laptop bags and roll-aboards will need to go in the bins.

At 8:30 PM the party and MegaDo officially come to a close. There will be transportation provided to the Marriott and the terminal as required.

WHEW! A couple of days ago I had to move my flight from 8:30pm on Alaska to 10:55 on United to not miss out on the last event. Still worried that I won’t make the registration 6-7pm since I don’t get in until 5:30 and with customs (should be quick) and the hour transit to the hotel…..

Two wine tastings this afternoon that with packing, paying bills, voting, and all the other miscellaneous errands, there just wasn’t enough time to both sample wine AND be prepared for this highly complex trip. At least I found a bag with about $28 in Canadian bills and coins in it.

After the madness of the day it was nice to just have a nice quiet steak dinner with the remains of yesterday’s tasting wine.

Must get to bed early tonight as my flight is at 6:15am… it’s a long way from Seattle to Houston to Toronto – at least I’m in First.

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