Some of the above posts are confusing two very different issues. If you have a PACKAGE reservation (as opposed to a room-only reservation) you will get two separate mailings. One is the resort package, which is mailed from Walt Disney Travel Company or Disney Parks or something like that ... this will have your itinerary, little coupons/vouchers (like some % off water craft rental, some % off Planet Hollywood, and so on), and hard-plastic souvenir decorative luggage tags ... these luggage tags are not the Disney's Magical Express luggage tags.
There is a totally separate mailing that comes from a Disney's Magical Express mailing address. This mailing includes a DME instruction booklet and your DME luggage tags. The DME luggage tags are long strips of yellow sticky paper, pre-printed with all kinds of personalized information such as your reservation number, your name, resort name, barcodes, and so on.
No.
Mears is the subcontractor that provides the buses and drivers, but Mears has nothing to do with the paperwork the logistics, the mailings, and so on. Disney has a different subcontractor that handles most of the printing and mailing, they have yet another different subcontractor that handles the logistical end of things, and so on. And then Disney itself manages it all, and also staffs the DME area at the airport. In fact, in the public area of the airport, the only non-Disney folks you'll see are the DME driver and the person who scans your voucher as you walk onto the bus ... those two folks are Mears employees.
As explained very well (above) by ses1230 and by justplaingoofy, you can still have DME automatically handle your luggage for you even if you don't have the DME tags, AND you can do everything you want and need to do before and during your check-in at your resort even if you don't have a shred of Disney paperwork with you.
