Miles of sandy beaches dotted with properties and snake lines of roads with tiny coloured dots that are cars can be seen.  As there is invariably little cloud the sun is up waiting to welcome us to your best ever vacation in Orlando.

“Fasten Your Seat Belt and Cabin Crew prepare for landing” and now we just wait… Maybe up to 30 minutes getting lower and lower. We may come in from the North and see Downtown Orlando on the right as we descend gently above the bustling city. Or we may approach from the South over miles and miles of shrub land dotted with innumerable lakes that reflect the sun with bright flashes.

Then suddenly we are much lower crossing The Beach Line Expressway from the North or SR – 417 from the South and we are down. Slight bumps and the reassuring power of braking and thrust reverse. As our plane slows to ground speed there is a buzz of sound, of human voices – we are here…

As soon as “the aircraft comes to a complete standstill” everybody jumps up and gathers their belongings in double quick time. The isles fill with anticipation and sometimes frustration as we wait and wait for First Class passengers to disembark first. The lines start to move and we still politely let people go first but wish they would just be a little quicker, please.

A nod, a smile and a thank you to the Cabin Crew member who wishes us a good trip and then a waft of hot air as we step from the door onto the air-ramp. “Wow, is it always this hot?”

We move as quickly as those before us will allow up the ramp and into an unimaginative set of corridors to eventually enter a very large room with queuing spaces before small booth areas. This is Immigration.

Officers of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a part of The Department of Homeland Security, conduct all aspects of inspection upon arrival to the United States of America. These include Immigration, Customs and Agricultural Inspections.

All paper work must be in order. Official yet friendly staff announce this loudly and herd the throng to balance up the queues. The same officers also quickly check our paperwork and point out any errors. A quick glance around and we see The Flag and a picture of the President with a welcoming message along with many signs about Homeland Security. It’ is all a very erious business and taken as such buy us all.

We wait at the Yellow Line for the group in front of us to clear the Officers Booth and then it is our turn. A very official but friendly Officer beckons us forward to their booth. We told the kids this was a serious matter and they look scared stiff. A picture, a finger print, check the passports & paperwork and a “Welcome to the United States”. We are free to continue to Baggage Claim.

Now we did remember to give our bags some easily identifiable colourings with insulation tape, so we spot them almost immediately?

Trolleys are available here and are returnable after the next section… Onwards to Customs and Agricultural inspection.

We form an orderly line again moving towards a point where Officers ask if we have any Meat, Dairy, Fruit or Vegetables or anything else to declare in our luggage. From here there are three routes… Depending on the answer we will move either forward to a table area for inspection or instructed to have our luggage scanned. We may though be directed to circle all of this and simply exit the room. A percentage of visitors are pulled from the line and inspected by Offices as a matter of routine.

Though the next doors we are now in the United States and fully entitled to be here for the period of our declared stay… It is a little unattractive corridor that then opens up into an area with some attendants on the left by a baggage ramp and an escalator in the distance.

The flow here is that we hand our luggage over and it is whisked to the Main Airport Terminal Building. Since de-boarding our flight we have been on an island around a third of a mile from the main buildings, we must now get into the real world. Onwards is an escalator up to the AGT train station. In 2008 there was the opportunity for arrivers to carry their own luggage forward. This could be tricky as the escalator has no provision for luggage so consider this if this is offered. This though does save a considerable amount of time in the next stages.

If we choose to have our baggage taken to the main building we should hope that the airline baggage tags are in place. It is by these that the bags are indentified. The staff tell us to proceed to either Baggage Claim A or Baggage Claim B on Level 2. Oh, and to remember our flight number as that is how the carousel will be identified. Now we do know our flight number?

Up to the AGT and as the journey time is less than 2 minutes, there is either a train waiting or one in just a few…

The AGT is an elevated people mover type carriage with all round panorama windows. Wide doors slide open and allow us to board. There are some seats but it is mostly a Strap Hanging short and smooth ride. Many will miss the view from the train as the excitement of being in America is growing.

The AGT pulls into the Main Terminal Station and the doors on the left open to a wide platform and we make a right turn towards a huge Atrium area. We walk to the left of the central section where we can see departing passengers going thought the search process prior to the flights.

This space is vast and at Christmas sports a huge tree. It is brimming with people arriving, departing and milling.  Airport Security staff and barrier tapes guide us to the left and escalators and elevators down to the lower levels. If our luggage is ‘on its way’ we head for Level 2. If we are meeting a Travel Representative this will also be in the Level 2 carrousel area. If we are heading for Car Rental it will be the elevators down to Level 1. If we are using ground transportation (shuttles, buses taxis etc.) to our accommodation these are located on Level 1 also.

Our second baggage claim at MCO should take but a few minutes and can take much longer. If we have to meet up with our Travel Representative there is plenty of time for the luggage to arrive.

Car Rental on Level 1 is a matter of taking the elevator down a level and finding our rental company from a long line of desks along the wall.

From here we are directed down one more level to the Ground Level where we walk across the road to the Garage Parking Area.

This is our first breath of ‘fresh’ Orlando Airport air. Heavily laced with Gas and Aviation Kerosene fumes but warm and with a hint of the heat of days to come.

There is no one explanation of how ‘getting your car’ works. Each company has their own procedure. We just follow the signs and the staff will help.

We have arrived in Orlando and all we have to do now is drive to our accommodation location…