Aaahhhhh....help please!

[tchrrx]

We leave in 12 days & the only thing that we have received is our original paperwork with booking numbers, flight info, etc. This is all from December! Well...I just called the travel agent (National Leisure Group Vacations through Wal-Mart) and was informed that these are the papers that I would need. I asked about the ME luggage tags and they said that they don't send anything except the original paperwork. A Disney rep would meet us at the airport & take care of things from there. When I told them that I should be receiving ME luggage tags to put on my luggage before leaving my my home airport, the t.a. said that this must be something new b/c they never send anything!!!! Of course, it is after regular business hours, so I'm hoping to call tomorrow & find out better info from someone! I also mentioned to her that my flight had already been changed at least once, so why didn't someone from the ta contact me to let me know that? She informed me that it is my duty to check all flight info ahead of time. Wow! Looks like I could've booked the trip without their help & had things go smoother!

Anyways...I am going to call again in the morning & insist that they express mail my ME luggage tags to me. Is there anything else that I ought to ask them for? What's the best way to make sure that everything's taken care of? Thanks!

 

[mikey13v]

ME luggage tags are sent directly from ME. Your TA has no control over that.
I would call ME directly and inquire about the status of your flight info and luggage tags. It is quite possible that they don't know about your flight changes.
Many others would probably agree that it is important to use a TA that specializes in WDW to get the service that we need. There are so many things that are unique about WDW travel that other TA's aren't aware of.

 

[skyfire1982]

I think ME tags are sent from Disney as Mikey said, so give them a call.

What I would ask from your travel agent is the packet of vouchers and luggage tags Disney sends out about 3 weeks in advance. I'm also leaving around the time you are and I got my stuff a week or so ago. There's the hotel confirmation, some Planet Hollywood vouchers, luggage tags, photopass card and such, in a cute plastic envelope.

 

[CarolA]

Did your TA even tell Disney you wanted ME???? (I really thought the tags went from ME to your TA to you so yours could be stuck at the TA especially if that's the address Disney has for you)

However, overall I hope you got a good deal since you aren't going to get any service.

I would give up on the TA and call Disney directly. If they don't know where the stuff is and/or how to give service demanding it probably isn't going to help.

 

[goofy4tink]

I would call DME directly and see if they have you listed. Your info packet, with luggage tags, would have been sent directly to the TA, who in turn, should have sent them on to you! I know there are a lot of people out there that are just more comfortably using a TA, but I cringe when I see how badly they can mess things up for their clients!!! They just seem to have no clue as to how Disney works!!!
If you do not get your luggage tags in time to travel, just plan on getting them yourself at baggage claim. Then take the bags with you to the DME welcome area and put them on the bus with you. Try not to stress too much...it will all work out!!! Hope you have a terrific trip!!

 

[CleveRocks]

I had a hugely clueless TA (a friend of my MIL), and I had to teach her EVERYTHING about DME; a year later I think she still doesn't get it. Anyway, I kept bugging her about the DME packet (the tags are in the booklet) and she kept saying she didn't get anything. I called DME to make sure everything was good on their end, and they told me what to do if I never receive the packet (more on that later). The day before I left, I received a SNAIL MAIL from my TA with the DME stuff that the Disney subcontractor had FedEx'd to her office, the same stuff I told her I needed immediately. I'm lucky I got it, as her office is about 150 miles from my house and she mailed it the day before I got it.

ANyway, the GOOD NEWS is that you don't need your DME packet. As long as you have a DME reservation, everything is fine. If you have a DME ressie, the fact that you have one is noted on your WDTC paperwork.

Anyway, after your plane lands, do what the rest of the DMEers are doing -- skip baggage claim and go right to the DME Welcome Center. When you check in, they will ask if you have DME tags on your bags. Of course, you don't, and you'll tell them this. They'll ask for your baggage claim ticket numbers, and also ask you to identify your checked bags from a series of photo cards they have -- they have pics of every piece of luggage known to man, plus a few only known to those gorillas from those Samsonite TV commercials from the 70s. Anyway, once you do this at DME check in, they'll have a CM pull your luggage from the baggage claim carousel, and it'll be brought "into the back," tagged, and sent on its way with the rest of the DME luggage; it'll "magically" appear in your room a few hours later just like any other piece of DME luggage. The CM at the Welcome Center will also give you bus vouchers for your party.

So even if you don't get your DME stuff, you'll be fine.

ENJOY!