Dme....luggage only.....don't want to ride the bus!!!!!

[Brygida]

Becca, won't be an issue at all. Your dh can get the rental car, while you and your ds ride the bus. Tag all the checked bags, Disney will take them to the resort for you.
For your return, what airline are you flying home on? If it's a participating airline, you can get rid of those checked bags right at the resort....no need to try and stuff them into the rental car.

I am doing this too. Does each of the yellow DME tags have a particular person's information on it (staying in your room)? I guess if all people are listed on the room reservation, then this makes sense.... If at least one person from the room goes on the DME bus, then all the bags still get to the room.

 

[goofy4tink]

I am doing this too. Does each of the yellow DME tags have a particular person's information on it (staying in your room)? I guess if all people are listed on the room reservation, then this makes sense.... If at least one person from the room goes on the DME bus, then all the bags still get to the room.

Each person should get one tag. That tag will have the main person's name on it (person who made the reservation) and it will also have that person's name on it. Example...there are three of us traveling July 31. We got 3 tags...each with my name on it, but each person got a tag with their name in addition to my name. My tag has me listed twice!!
It doesn't matter who uses the tags. Any bags with a tag on it will get taken to the resort indicated by the bar code. Then, at the resort level, it will be taken to the room number assigned to the lead person on the reservation. It's up to each group to divvy up the bags.

 

[Brygida]

Each person should get one tag. That tag will have the main person's name on it (person who made the reservation) and it will also have that person's name on it. Example...there are three of us traveling July 31. We got 3 tags...each with my name on it, but each person got a tag with their name in addition to my name. My tag has me listed twice!!
It doesn't matter who uses the tags. Any bags with a tag on it will get taken to the resort indicated by the bar code. Then, at the resort level, it will be taken to the room number assigned to the lead person on the reservation. It's up to each group to divvy up the bags.

Your answers are fantastic! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

 

[goofy4tink]

Your answers are fantastic! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

No problem..those of us from NE have to stick together!!!!

 

[FigmentChick]

MrsNick, thank you for posting your experience. We are hemming and hawing about what to do...it may end up being a last minute experience for us.

I would love to hear other people's experiences - both good or bad.

 

[lionqueen]

I'm contemplating the same thing...i keep going back and forth over rental car vs disney transportation. if we rent a car my husband wants to send the luggage on with ME. (as we have a two year old with all the "gear" also. Have there been any reports of people loosing their luggage for their entire trip??? i would also love to hear people's recent experiences.

 

[goofy4tink]

I'm contemplating the same thing...i keep going back and forth over rental car vs disney transportation. if we rent a car my husband wants to send the luggage on with ME. (as we have a two year old with all the "gear" also. Have there been any reports of people loosing their luggage for their entire trip??? i would also love to hear people's recent experiences.

Truly...the only way you can not get your luggage is if the airlines misdirect it. Now..this is the issue with not riding DME buses yet allowing DME to handle your bags. In the vast majority of experiences, this goes just fine. DME workers see those yellow tagged bags come out of the belly of the plane and they grab 'em, then they get sorted by resort area, then by specific resort and then taken to the resort.
Now...what happens if the airline misdirects your bags. If you have checked into the DME area, and told them how many bags you checked, they know how many bags you have. I'm not at all sure how they keep track of them, but I'm told they do. So..if you have checked in, given them a total of 5 checked bags (which they note on your reservation), then when the bags get to your resort, the baggage people should know how many bags you 'should' have. If only 4 bags show up, but youi checked 5, they should start the search for the missing bag.....hopefully I say since I am not absolutely sure how they handle this.

But..if you don't checkin at the DME counter, the baggage people at your resort have no idea how many bags you should have coming in. When they get 4, they figure..yep, that's it, and deliver them to your room. If you were to head off to a park for the day, assuming your bags will 'magically' appear in your room, and you can unpack them when you return at park closing...well, you are going to have an issue. You are going to find you are missing a bag, and then start the search for it...and many hours may have gone by at this point.


Again...this is just a theoretical situation. I think we have heard of it one time so far, and we aren't completely sure what all the particulars were.
I really don't have any problem with not riding the bus, but allowing Disney/DME to handle my checked bags. I haven't done it yet because I always ride the bus...I haven't rented a car at the start of our stay yet and I don't use car services all that much.

 

[sam_gordon]

There is no need for debate...this is how it works, plain and simple.

OK, since I was told discussion needs to stay in this thread, I'm going to post my .02 here.

Yes, this is how the system works. BUT, IMHO, that's going against stated Disney policy. So why do people feel it's ok to go against Disney policy in this instance, but not in others (line jumpers, "old" mug refillers, etc)?

 

[goofy4tink]

OK, since I was told discussion needs to stay in this thread, I'm going to post my .02 here.

Yes, this is how the system works. BUT, IMHO, that's going against stated Disney policy. So why do people feel it's ok to go against Disney policy in this instance, but not in others (line jumpers, "old" mug refillers, etc)?

It is only 'sort of' against Disney policy. They allow it, same as they allow 'refillable mug' reuse, 'pool hoppers' and line jumpers.
We are not discussing ways to get around stated policy.....getting your 5 y/o child in as an under 3 child, for free, or trying to get on rides during EMHs if an offsite guest, or hanging out at the parks for the hard ticketed parties, without a ticket. That is what we mean when we say 'it is against board guidelines to discuss ways around Disney policy'. Disney has made it very clear that they have no issue with those who use the luggage delivery part of DME, but choose not to ride the bus. Now...to me, that makes them idiots. They are tagging those bags, then having Disney move them, paying to either rent a car or hire a car service, and then still have to wait around for up to 4 hrs for their bags to arrive. If it were me, and I were paying for transportation to WDW, I would leave my bags untagged and get them myself...sure, it would add about 15 mins to my time, but at least I would have my bags with me.

Disney can change this policy at any time. Until they do, people will still use the luggage delivery part only.

 

[sam_gordon]

We are not discussing ways to get around stated policy.

Really? Am I incorrect that stated Disney policy is "You must ride the bus to use luggage delivery"? How are you NOT discussing how to get around that?

....getting your 5 y/o child in as an under 3 child, for free, or trying to get on rides during EMHs if an offsite guest, or hanging out at the parks for the hard ticketed parties, without a ticket. That is what we mean when we say 'it is against board guidelines to discuss ways around Disney policy'.

So you are picking and choosing which policies should be followed and which shouldn't be.

Disney has made it very clear that they have no issue with those who use the luggage delivery part of DME, but choose not to ride the bus.

How have they made it clear? Because no one gets "caught"? Do all line jumpers/pool hoppers/mug fillers/etc get caught? I guess if they get away with it, it's ok? That's what it sounds like you're saying.

Now...to me, that makes them idiots. They are tagging those bags, then having Disney move them, paying to either rent a car or hire a car service, and then still have to wait around for up to 4 hrs for their bags to arrive. If it were me, and I were paying for transportation to WDW, I would leave my bags untagged and get them myself...sure, it would add about 15 mins to my time, but at least I would have my bags with me.

I agree with you on this point.

Disney can change this policy at any time. Until they do, people will still use the luggage delivery part only.

Change the policy to what? The POLICY is "ride DME and you can use the luggage service". That seems fairly simple to me.

 

[goofy4tink]

You seem to be pretty concerned about this one. Any particular reason why??
Here's the thing....many, many people have tagged their bags, and then gone off to ride in a nice, cool towncar to their resort. And with no ill effects. Right or wrong, this is what is happening. So...with that in mind, we have decided to put a thread out, that explains the 'whys and wherefors' of doing this....Disney does state that DME is not a luggage delivery service and that you can not book luggage only sevice. On the other hand, Disney hasn't said that it wants guests to be bringing their checked bags to the DME bus with them...and many do just that. And that, rather than luggage going on the delivery trucks without the owner riding the bus, ties up everyone else on that bus!!!!

So yes, I guess we are picking and choosing here. BUT.....we just want to give the correct info out. No one here is advising anyone to tag their bags and then not ride the bus. Oh, I suppose some might say it is a terrific idea. But, most of us here let everyone know that it is against Disney policy, and the possible ramifications of doing it. There were so many threads about doing this, and so many nasty discussions, that we put it all here.


No one, certainly not the moderators, advocate for tagging your bags and then letting DME deliver your bags whilst you head to your resort on your own. That is not the intention of this thread. Did you actually take the time to read my first, opening post to this thread?? If so, how do you get the idea that I am trying to give ideas as to how to get around Disney policy??? Thought I made myself perfectly clear there.

 

[sam_gordon]

You seem to be pretty concerned about this one. Any particular reason why??

I guess it's the lack of consistency (through the boards). I've only been on the board a short time, but I've seen all kinds of posts from members complaining about other WDW guests (and CMS) who don't follow Disney policy. Now I've stumbled onto a thread that basically says "this is Disney policy, but (wink, wink) you can ignore the stated policy".

Disney does state that DME is not a luggage delivery service and that you can not book luggage only sevice. On the other hand, Disney hasn't said that it wants guests to be bringing their checked bags to the DME bus with them...and many do just that.

I thought Disney has said you can bring bags on DME. So I don't see how those two items are mutually exclusive.

So yes, I guess we are picking and choosing here. BUT.....we just want to give the correct info out. No one here is advising anyone to tag their bags and then not ride the bus. Oh, I suppose some might say it is a terrific idea. But, most of us here let everyone know that it is against Disney policy, and the possible ramifications of doing it. There were so many threads about doing this, and so many nasty discussions, that we put it all here.

OK.

No one, certainly not the moderators, advocate for tagging your bags and then letting DME deliver your bags whilst you head to your resort on your own. That is not the intention of this thread. Did you actually take the time to read my first, opening post to this thread?? If so, how do you get the idea that I am trying to give ideas as to how to get around Disney policy??? Thought I made myself perfectly clear there.

Yes, I actually did read your first post. The way I read it was "here is Disney's Policy. If you don't follow it, here's the worst that can happen, but that's very rare. And that's the way it works, so don't argue it."

If someone started a thread that said "I bring my old refillable mug and have no problems refilling it on later vacations", people would be up in arms. But, for that guest, that's the way it worked.

As far as I'm concerned, we can agree to disagree. IMO, it's a strange sticky.

 

[goofy4tink]

And you have found the basic difference between the Transportation Board and other boards here. We are pretty even-keeled people here. We know what the policies are. We realize people are going to do what they want to do. So...rather than just say 'that's against Disney policy, you can't do it', we choose to tell people the possible consequences of their actions.
This thread does not condone using DME as a luggage delivery service....far from it. It is here solely to keep this particular discussion off the main part of the boards and the nastiness to a minimum...it's a place where people can come to find out what the story is.

Here's the way I wish Disney would handle this situation.
1. you can sign up as usual, for your DME reservation. You are expected to ride the bus. You get luggage tags...same as now.
2. when you arrive at MCO, you check in at the DME counter. Your voucher is scanned there, and again when you get on the bus. That scan shows you as there and accounted for. When your luggage is taken off the plane, your tags are scanned and put aside to be put in the appropriate resort luggage area.
3. When those bags are scanned, it will show whether or not the guest has checked in. If the guest doesn't check in, a charge is added to their resort bill....x amount per bag. IF the guest has checked in, all is good.

Will this ever happen? Probably not. Not as long as guests don't negatively impact DME by not riding the bus but letting DME take care of their bags.

But, we aren't truly suggesting anyone tag their bags and let DME take care of them without riding the bus. I know that some have posted otherwise, but that's their issue. As long as it all stays here and people are told the truth, that's all I can ask.

 

[Brygida]

Don't want to debate the fine-line of legality here, but....

Arrival info
Signed up all members of our party for DME (through AAA) to insure we got the 4 luggage tags we needed.

Some members of our party rode the DME bus to the resort. Don't know which DME bus our luggage rode? Doubtful it was the same one!

And other members of our party procurred the rental car and drove to the Disney Resort.

The DME bus riders arrived about 20 minutes after the rental car riders. Room was not ready upon arrival. Went off for a late lunch and several hours later, got text that the room was ready and when we got there, all the DME luggage was there.

Departure info
Called DME to schedule a ride for 1 member of our party leaving early. Left the yellow DME tag on her bag and brought it down to resort luggage check-in area in the early morning. Left to parks. The member returned to resort in the afternoon for a 3:00pm DME pick-up.

Several days later, the remaining bags (with DME yellow tags removed) were checked-in at the resort luggage check-in early in the morning. Then, the remaining members of our party rode in the rental car to the rental car return at MCO.

Thank you to Goofy4Tink for this thread!

Why did we do this? The adults in this party are all recovering from back/neck injuries and no one is allowed to lift luggage! Without DME, we would have had to do sky-caps/bell services everywhere - adding probably an hour or two before we could get to the parks.

Why do we rent a car? We could do AK in the morning. Then WPE at DD for lunch. Then drive to Typhoon Lagoon for a quick dip. Then return to shower/change for dinner - driving to Contemporary Resort. Then end out the day with some rides at MK. Not having a car would have taken several hours longer to get anywhere. Having a car and AAA diamond up-close parking allowed us to do this every day!!

I don't understand why Disney doesn't allow luggage-only service for arrivals, since they allow it for departures.... that does not make sense!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I don't understand why Disney doesn't allow luggage-only service for arrivals, since they allow it for departures.... that does not make sense!

DME transportation and luggage transfers are a huge business expense for Disney. Because the bags require handling at several steps, it probably costs Disney more money to provide the luggage transfers than the transportation.

There are various benefits to Disney that justify this expense of offering DME.

One of the major business benefits to Disney of offering the full DME service is that it keeps millions of guests out of rental cars. Without cars, these guests spend all their admission, dining, and shopping dollars on Disney's property. Sure, it's still possible to rent a car after arriving at WDW, but most DME guests won't bother to do so.

 

[Brygida]

One of the major business benefits to Disney of offering the full DME service is that it keeps millions of guests out of rental cars. Without cars, these guests spend all their admission, dining, and shopping dollars on Disney's property. Sure, it's still possible to rent a car after arriving at WDW, but most DME guests won't bother to do so.

I disagree with this generalization. Because I have a rental car, I can do AK, TL, MK and dine at DD and the Contemporary resort in one day. I would NOT attempt this using only Disney transportation. Therefore, I spend MORE money at Disney WITH a rental car. By the way, I never go off property to eat/play either. Why would I do that? I'm at Disney!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I disagree with this generalization. Because I have a rental car, I can do AK, TL, MK and dine at DD and the Contemporary resort in one day. I would NOT attempt this using only Disney transportation. Therefore, I spend MORE money at Disney WITH a rental car. By the way, I never go off property to eat/play either. Why would I do that? I'm at Disney!

Clearly there are some people who rent a car, but never leave Disney property anyway.

However, guests with rental cars are in a much better position go to off-site restaurants, bars, shopping centers, and attractions than guests who use DME transportation from the airport and WDW transportation for their whole stay.

 

[Brygida]

Clearly there are some people who rent a car, but never leave Disney property anyway.

However, guests with rental cars are in a much better position go to off-site restaurants, bars, shopping centers, and attractions than guests who use DME transportation from the airport and WDW transportation for their whole stay.

I think that most WDW people rent cars for two main reasons! They want to do stuff at WDW other than just the 4 major parks - like eat at resorts every day, etc.

The 2nd top reason is with small children. You know how much easier it was to load a baby into his stroller and just walk to the park (AAA 1st-roiw diamond parking ). The AAA parking is usually closer to the park entrance than the bus stops are! You know how easy it is to exit the park, walk directly to your up-close car, put your infant / toddler in his car-seat, and drive to your hotel immediately! (No waiting for the next bus, etc, etc)! If you have ever been in charge of a hungry or tired child, this is priceless! and the main reason families rent cars!

Rental cars are the best insurance policy you can buy for your tired / hungry family at WDW!

 

[goofy4tink]

Don't want to debate the fine-line of legality here, but....

Arrival info
Signed up all members of our party for DME (through AAA) to insure we got the 4 luggage tags we needed.

Some members of our party rode the DME bus to the resort. Don't know which DME bus our luggage rode? Doubtful it was the same one!

And other members of our party procurred the rental car and drove to the Disney Resort.

The DME bus riders arrived about 20 minutes after the rental car riders. Room was not ready upon arrival. Went off for a late lunch and several hours later, got text that the room was ready and when we got there, all the DME luggage was there.

Departure info
Called DME to schedule a ride for 1 member of our party leaving early. Left the yellow DME tag on her bag and brought it down to resort luggage check-in area in the early morning. Left to parks. The member returned to resort in the afternoon for a 3:00pm DME pick-up.

Several days later, the remaining bags (with DME yellow tags removed) were checked-in at the resort luggage check-in early in the morning. Then, the remaining members of our party rode in the rental car to the rental car return at MCO.

Thank you to Goofy4Tink for this thread!

Why did we do this? The adults in this party are all recovering from back/neck injuries and no one is allowed to lift luggage! Without DME, we would have had to do sky-caps/bell services everywhere - adding probably an hour or two before we could get to the parks.

Why do we rent a car? We could do AK in the morning. Then WPE at DD for lunch. Then drive to Typhoon Lagoon for a quick dip. Then return to shower/change for dinner - driving to Contemporary Resort. Then end out the day with some rides at MK. Not having a car would have taken several hours longer to get anywhere. Having a car and AAA diamond up-close parking allowed us to do this every day!!

I don't understand why Disney doesn't allow luggage-only service for arrivals, since they allow it for departures.... that does not make sense!

Thanks for the summary. You did what many others do...some take the bus, some go off and rent a car. Nice way to spread the group out and see what happens. I have no issue at all with renting a car. I prefer to do it at WDW but that's my choice. I've done it both ways.
I have seen guests, arriving at the DME bus line, stop and put on their yellow tags at this point. I just have to shake my head. Why in heaven's name didn't they tag the bags before checking them at home, and then not worry about them..but no, they lugged them from baggage claim and onto the bus with them. To put your tags on the bags before boarding the DME bus shows a decided lack of information. I have to wonder if people even read the DME booklet.

The one thing I will take issue with, in your report, is that DME allows luggage only service back to the airport where they don't from the airport to the resort. That's not true. RAC is an entirely different service than DME. DME doesn't provide luggage transfer from resort to airport. You take your bags with you, they are stored under your bus..that's as far as Disney goes. If you use the RAC system (checking bags at your resort for your return home flight) you are using a completely different service, not tied in with DME at all. Yes, they wear DME outfits but they aren't DME. RAC is actually curbside service...provided by various airlines.

All in all, it sounds like you took advantage of all that DME has to offer, in the correct fashion. Again, the vast majority of people don't much care if you send your bags with DME but don't take the bus. It doesn't impact anyone else. I would much rather see that happen vs people bringing all their checked luggage to the DME bus with them. That does impact others.

 

[seashoreCM]

I don't understand why Disney doesn't allow luggage-only service for arrivals, since they allow it for departures.... that does not make sense!

For the trip back to the airport, the luggage check stand in the resort is part of the airline system, not part of the Disney system, so the airlines are responsible for claims.

For the trip to Disney, the DME luggage handling is part of the Disney system. Of course Disney wants to deny as many claims as possible and formally disallowing non-DME guests' use of the luggage service allows a chunk of those claims to be denied quickly.

DME transportation and luggage transfers are a huge business expense for Disney. Because the bags require handling at several steps, it probably costs Disney more money to provide the luggage transfers than the transportation.

However once the yellow tagged luggage gets to Orlando, it is easier for DME to deliver it all to the resorts instead of recull that belonging to non-DME guests and leaving it behind.