Airline check in at resort-Use it!

[WDWLinda]

I just called the ME hotline at (866)599-0951 and was told someone HAD to be on the bus going back to the airport with the luggage. We weren't going to use ME since we're renting a car, but I thought I'd check in for the flight and ditch the luggage for the trip back to the airport. Now this lady said emphatically "NO - someone must be on the bus going to the resort AND coming back to the airport as well".

Sounds like the airline check in desk at the resorts don't follow that, so I'll take my chances and try it out when we're coming home...but should I call ME a day or 2 before we come home to make a reservation?

Thanks,
Linda

 

[BCV23]

Linda, when I checked into ME at the airport for our ride to WDW, I told the lady at the counter that we would not be using the ME bus on the return trip. She insisted that we must to use the baggage service.

The day before we left, I checked with the checkin counters at both Y&BC and both assured me that I could.

I felt pretty confident anyway because on the transportation board Horace Horsecollar had posted a publication of WDW for groups explaining ME. It clearly states that you can make your own way to the airport after checking in at your resort.

I think the training of some CMs on ME is not comprehensive and they "wing it."

 

[eclectics]

We're staying at the Poly and our flight leaves at 7:15pm. We plan to spend some time at Epcot before we leave, so what time do we need to be back at the Poly to catch the bus?

It's usually around 2 1/2 to 3 hours before your flight is scheduled to leave. You will recieve a sheet telling you the exact time to be outside. Don't be late! They will leave without you!

 

[byoung]

We usually take carryons only. For me and DW this works great. Even on the return no waiting .

 

[Disneytrip]

We have a 6:00 AM flight, does ME run before 6:00 to get us to the airport? Thanks.

 

[srfrgrl07]

Linda, when I checked into ME at the airport for our ride to WDW, I told the lady at the counter that we would not be using the ME bus on the return trip. She insisted that we must to use the baggage service.

The day before we left, I checked with the checkin counters at both Y&BC and both assured me that I could.

I felt pretty confident anyway because on the transportation board Horace Horsecollar had posted a publication of WDW for groups explaining ME. It clearly states that you can make your own way to the airport after checking in at your resort.

I think the training of some CMs on ME is not comprehensive and they "wing it."

Disney's Magical Express and Resort Airline Check-in are SEPARATE services. Some use both, others only use one or the other.

If you a renting a car and not riding the ME bus, you can use Resort Airline check-in as long as your airline participates and THEY (the airline check-in service) transport your luggage to the ariport, not ME.

If you are using ME, you can still use Resort Airline check-in and it's still that service that is transporting your luggage. ME transports you.

If you use ME but choose not or cannot use Resort airline check-in, you are responsible for getting your luggage to the ME bus...then ME transports you and your luggage to the airport and then you check-in at the airport just as it has been done before this service is offered.

ME can be used with any airline.

Resort Airline Check-in is only participating airlines.

If you want your luggage transported by ME either one way or round trip, at least one member of your party must also be transported by ME. Not sure how strict they may become on this in the future if there's a party of 6 booked on ME with 6+ pieces of luggage and only one person boards the bus though. Time will tell on that one.

I hope this clears up the confusion and that everyone can see that they are different services, separate of each other and not mutually exclusive.

 

[CHIPSTER]

Do they physically check the bags at the hotel while you are there so you can lock them or must they go unlocked? Thanks.

 

[srfrgrl07]

We have a 6:00 AM flight, does ME run before 6:00 to get us to the airport? Thanks.

I posted this earlier:

The ME buses run wenever there are guests needing transportation to the airport, just make sure they know what time your flight is so they can be sure to let you know the exact departure time.

 

[BCV23]

Disney's Magical Express and Resort Airline Check-in are SEPARATE services. Some use both, others only use one or the other.

If you a renting a car and not riding the ME bus, you can use Resort Airline check-in as long as your airline participates and THEY (the airline check-in service) transport your luggage to the ariport, not ME.

If you are using ME, you can still use Resort Airline check-in and it's still that service that is transporting your luggage. ME transports you.

If you use ME but choose not or cannot use Resort airline check-in, you are responsible for getting your luggage to the ME bus...then ME transports you and your luggage to the airport and then you check-in at the airport just as it has been done before this service is offered.

ME can be used with any airline.

Resort Airline Check-in is only participating airlines.

If you want your luggage transported by ME either one way or round trip, at least one member of your party must also be transported by ME. Not sure how strict they may become on this in the future if there's a party of 6 booked on ME with 6+ pieces of luggage and only one person boards the bus though. Time will tell on that one.

I hope this clears up the confusion and that everyone can see that they are different services, separate of each other and not mutually exclusive.

When you check your bags and collect your boarding pass at your resort, are you saying that bags will go with the independent carrier if you are not riding ME back to the airport and with ME transport if you are? I don't think so.

If you do choose to ride ME and are not with a participating airline, then your bags go right on the ME bus and you are resposible for getting them from the bus to your carrier and checking in.

WDW promotes the total program as Magicall Express not just the bus ride. Pretty much everyone knows the people at the checkin are an independent firm and they will affirm it. By the same token, Mears is operating the buses.

But it remains misleading to tell people that they can't use the luggage service and checkin on the outbound trip unless they physically ride the ME bus.

 

[ladysoleil]

That's interesting... I plan on checking ours in real early to avoid a line and be able to spend rest of time available at a park. We're taking Jet Blue and flying into EWR. Is that where you arrived? And how much time was involved in this whole process of realizing your luggage wasn't on the carousel and getting it from baggage claim office?

We flew into JFK. We went to the carousel as usual, didn't see our luggage, and went over to the office to check. They had the bags sitting right there- they'd come in on an earlier flight and had big yellow tags on them saying "hold for (our last name) 4:30 (when our flight arrived). Probably took about ten minutes to have the carousel cycle through. We spotted our luggage on the rack as soon as we walked into the office, it took a minute, if that, for us to show ID and for them to hand us the bags. It wasn't really any additional hassle past the 30 seconds of panic when we realized our bags didn't come out on the carousel.

I just figured it was handy to know that just in case anyone else runs into the same issue.

 

[jrogers345]

We flew into JFK. We went to the carousel as usual, didn't see our luggage, and went over to the office to check. They had the bags sitting right there- they'd come in on an earlier flight and had big yellow tags on them saying "hold for (our last name) 4:30 (when our flight arrived). Probably took about ten minutes to have the carousel cycle through. We spotted our luggage on the rack as soon as we walked into the office, it took a minute, if that, for us to show ID and for them to hand us the bags. It wasn't really any additional hassle past the 30 seconds of panic when we realized our bags didn't come out on the carousel.

I just figured it was handy to know that just in case anyone else runs into the same issue.

Thanks! Yes it is good to know. Just in case we have the same situation.

 

[safetymom]

Airlines frequently put luggage on other flights. If your luggage got to the airport before you did it might go earlier. Or if they have a full planeor are expecting a weight issue with the plane they sometimes will put the luggage on an earlier or even later flight.

 

[mlwear]

First, ME was wonderful arriving to Disney. Our bags were in our room within a couple hours. And were stored neatly in the closet.
But, the end of the trip didn't go so well...
I was very disappointed that we couldn't get our boarding passes and check our bags the morning of our departure.
We were flying Delta, so it was definitley a provider.
There was some sort of mix-up or we were "flagged". The guy at the kiosk at the Poly could see we were on the flight but couldn't check our bags.
Our situation: Our flight to Orlando was cancelled and we had to switch flights. I think this put a flag on our flight reservations. We had to go through the additional security screening both times. My assumption is this is why our bags couldn't be checked by Disney. They were very apologetic.
They did put them in storage for us and we were able to go to the parks. It wasn't a big deal to get them out of storage and load them onto ME. But then we had to get them into the airport with our two kids. It also involved some extra tipping (btw, the ME driver was not very helpful loading or unloading, DH ended up doing it by himself except that a CM helped seeing that the driver wasn't going to do anything as we left the Poly. We had to unload at the airport ourselves. We did give her a pity tip of $.50/bag).
Also, the bus on our return to the airport was very worn. Broken seats, torn interior.
I know this had nothing to do with Disney, but Delta lost one of our bags on the return flight, as well. Received it the next day, so all is good now.
I think it is a great system, but as with everything there can be problems.

 

[srfrgrl07]

When you check your bags and collect your boarding pass at your resort, are you saying that bags will go with the independent carrier if you are not riding ME back to the airport and with ME transport if you are? I don't think so.

Yes, that is what I'm saying. But only if you check your bags with them, which you have the option to do. Otherwise, you get your luggage to the airport on your own.

If you do choose to ride ME and are not with a participating airline, then your bags go right on the ME bus and you are resposible for getting them from the bus to your carrier and checking in.

Exactly what I said.

WDW promotes the total program as Magicall Express not just the bus ride. Pretty much everyone knows the people at the checkin are an independent firm and they will affirm it. By the same token, Mears is operating the buses.

Yes, Mears operates the busses based on a contract with Disney. But many people here were confusing airline check-in with Disney's Magical Express, hence the reason for my post. Disney promotes Magical Express and Resort Airline check-in as two new services provided as a WDW resort guest. It does not say that Magical Express includes resort airline check-in, but that it is available in addition to the Magical Express.

But it remains misleading to tell people that they can't use the luggage service and checkin on the outbound trip unless they physically ride the ME bus.

I never said that, maybe you misunderstood. Let me know if there's a better way to say it that is more clear.

 

[Fire14]

Does anyone know if this service is offered at Pop Century?

Thanks
Theresa

I know they have resort baggage check at pop.

 

[BCV23]

Let me know if there's a better way to say it that is more clear.

LOL,I think we agree on most aspects of ME which is why I wonder the point of quoting me in your first post.

But my point was that some CMs are misleading people and telling them that they can not check their luggage unless they ride the ME bus. I personally had a CM at the airport tell me that. It is wrong.

I do disagree with you about resort checkin not being a part of ME. I have my ME for our upcoming trip right here and Resort Airline Check-in Service is listed as one component that you may use if you are on a participating airline.

I also suspect you are wrong about the luggage going on a ME bus in all cases as long as you're riding the bus. If you are taking the ME bus at the same time as you are checking in and dropping your luggage, perhaps the baggage goes directly on the ME bus. I don't know as I haven't ridden an ME bus back to MCO.

But in the case of someone who checks their luggage at 8am and then catches the ME bus at 3pm, I wouldn't think the baggage would be hanging around the resort until then. Maybe it does but it seems more likely to me that the same service that delivers the bags to the resorts would also be picking up and delivering to MCO as well. I'll have to ask about that in a couple of weeks.

I will also say that when we checked our bags for our return trip and got our boarding passes, we weren't even asked whether we were taking the ME bus. That again leads me to believe that the independent contractor who does that portion of ME transports the bags regardless. Just as the other independent contractor, Mears, transports the guests. Two seperate components of ME.

What personal experiences have you had with ME so far?

 

[srfrgrl07]

I quoted you because I wanted to be sure that I clarified all of the points that you brought up. We are both in agreement that if you check your bags with the Resort Airline Check-in service that that independent party also takes your bags to the airport, regardless of whether or not you use ME. Like your example, if you check bags at 8am but depart wdw at 3pm, it's not ME that takes your bags.

I guess it's a matter of interpretation as to whether or not ME and Resort Airline go hand-in-hand. For someone who is using both, I guess it can be perceived that way. I just wanted people to be aware that they can use one service and/or the other dependent upon the participating airlines.

I haven't used ME because I live in Orlando, but if I can plan a trip out of town and fit in a wdw vacation after I fly home, I definitely want to "try it out."

 

[kaytieeldr]

LOL,I think we agree on most aspects of ME which is why I wonder the point of quoting me in your first post.

But my point was that some CMs are misleading people and telling them that they can not check their luggage unless they ride the ME bus. I personally had a CM at the airport tell me that. It is wrong.

Actually, that's NOT wrong when you're travelling from the airport to your Disney resort via Magical Express. If you or anyone you know or heard of was able to send their luggage without riding the bus, that was a fluke.

The standard procedure is for each Guest to be given a voucher when they check in at the DME counter upon arrival at MCO. Once the bus driver scans the voucher, that Guest's luggage is pulled and placed on the truck transporting the DME luggage to the various resorts. No voucher scan, no luggage delivery.

I also suspect you are wrong about the luggage going on a ME bus in all cases as long as you're riding the bus. If you are taking the ME bus at the same time as you are checking in and dropping your luggage, perhaps the baggage goes directly on the ME bus. I don't know as I haven't ridden an ME bus back to MCO.

Interesting consideration... that process would make sense BUT it would defeat the "check in for your participating airline flight at your resort, check your luggage and don't worry about it again until you arrive at your home airport" philosophy.
Just as they have non-scheduled but regularly-running buses taking Guests back to the airport, they must have Bags Inc trucks doing the same with the luggage.

I will also say that when we checked our bags for our return trip and got our boarding passes, we weren't even asked whether we were taking the ME bus. That again leads me to believe that the independent contractor who does that portion of ME transports the bags regardless. Just as the other independent contractor, Mears, transports the guests. Two seperate components of ME.

Yep. My understanding is you don't need to ride the DME bus back to the airport if you're on a participating airline - your baggage gets transported independently anyway.
A more cynical way to look at it is, frankly, Disney got you TO Disney World expediently; if you choose not to use DME on the way back, they really don't care

 

[BCV23]

No, I wasn't implying that you could send your baggage on its merry way from MCO to WDW without riding ME on the inbound leg. We were talking about outbound...or at least trying to. I thought that was clear from earlier posts. Sorry if it wasn't.

In your second point, I said "perhaps" because as far as I know, it could happen that way. I am sceptical of that though. But regardless, I don't think it would impede the seamless operation for guests flying on participating airlines. I agree about "Bags, Inc." probably taking the baggage and was trying to suggest that.

I'll try to do some DIS research in a couple of weeks.