Why wait?

We grab our carry-ons and climb off the bus. Benjamin’s a little droopy – I think he slept pretty hard on the bus – but he’s able to get moving pretty quickly.

Into the security line we go. There’s a line ahead of us, but it moves steadily. We use the time to clear ourselves of metal – jackets, lanyards, pins, cameras, phones, watches, all go into our carry-ons or are in our hands ready to put in the basket.

When it comes our turn, I’m the first in our group through the metal detector. BEEEP. I immediately suspect my belt buckle, which I took a chance leaving on since the cruise line doesn’t turn its detectors up as high. Belt off, then back through the machine, and… BEEEP. Shoot.

I’m pulled aside to be wanded, wondering what I’ve overlooked. The security guard, an older man, is friendly and apologetic as he waves the wand over me.

It beeps in front of my right pocket. That can’t be right. There’s nothing in that pocket but a piece of trash. I pull out the trash – an empty packet that once contained an eyeglass wipe – and the guard runs the wand past it. Beep! That was it! Apparently those little packets contain a lot of metal.

While I’ve been wanded, most of the rest of my group has made it through the checkpoint. I grab my stuff from the bins, trying to gather it all up and get quickly out of the way, without letting my beltless pants fall down. Not as easy as it sounds.

Once we have all of our stuff, we step onto the large escalator and up we go into the main part of the terminal. This is a beautiful building, one that Disney put a lot of thought and effort into, and I’ve always thought it a shame that it’s overshadowed by the ships themselves. Since we’re already checked in, it’s easy to rush through without stopping to enjoy the place.

The holiday decorations here are clever – oversized Christmas tree ornaments hung from the columns by giant gloved Mickey hands! Too cute.

“Sailor Goofy” is greeting people in front of the ship model in the middle of the terminal.

Although we don’t have to check in for the cruise, having done so back at the Polynesian on our arrival at Walt Disney World, Benjamin and I have one stop to make. Since our last cruise, Disney Cruise Line has put much of the check-in process onto their website. Cruisers can now enter all of their information, print the cruise contract, sign up for shore excursions, and enroll kids in the kids’ clubs before leaving home. We passed on shore excursions for this trip, and Brandon’s now a teenager and too old for the Oceaneer’s Lab, but we did sign Benjamin up online a couple of months ago. Rather than visiting the Lab onboard, we are now supposed to go to a new kids’ club desk in the terminal to get our pager.

Hopefully with the paperwork completed online already, this will be a speedy process and we can get on the ship quickly. But when Benjamin and I reach the check-in desk at the far end of the terminal, there are 25-30 people waiting in line. Even though there are 3 or 4 attendants checking kids in, I don’t think this is going to go fast at all!

A female crew member is at the entrance to the queue. I question whether we have to go through this (long) check-in even though we’ve enrolled Benjamin online, and she confirms that we do. Sigh. I’m resigning myself to the delay, and then… then the crew member spots the KTTW card at the end of my lanyard. My gold KTTW card.

“But actually you can just go to the concierge meeting and they’ll sign him up. That will be a lot faster.”

I’m all smiles. Okay, this concierge-level thing does have its perks. I thank the CM, and Benjamin and I turn away from the lengthy line to rejoin our family.

It’s time to board the ship!