Another ME Question??

[SteveS]

During all of my previous trips to WDW I have used a rental car. On my upcoming trip I am going be using ME for the first time. For all you seasoned veterans I have a few questions regarding ME.

1. If luggage is delivered directly to your room, how does the bellman that delivers the luggage get tipped if I am not sitting in my room waiting?

2. We are flying with a ME partner airline, Northwest, we leave around 7PM. We will be checking out and having our luggage stored with the bellman for the day. When I go to the hotel ME desk to check in for my flight home how will my bags be tagged properly? Will I get tags that I will apply myself before I get on the bus?


Thanks

 

[fanofdisney]

I don't see that there is any way to tip them if you aren't there.

If I remember correctly, our luggage was placed on the ME bus, and we took it off ourselves at the airport.

 

[DVCisME]

What happens if your luggage is lost? How will you know? Will it be to late to file a claim?

 

[sue1013]

You are flying a participating airline. When you checkin at the desk in the resort they tag your luggage and issue your boarding pass. You will not touch your luggage again until you arrive at your destination airport.

 

[ParrotBill]

Right - on a participating airline your checked luggage will be checked in as if you were at the airport. You can give your carryons to bell services for storage until you depart.

We were on a non-participating airline (Airtran) so we just put all our luggage in storage and reclaimed it 20 minutes before our departure time. They brought it all out on a cart, tagged it for our departure time and we sat and kept an eye on it. When the bus pulled up they loaded it on for us. At the airport we needed to have a porter take it from the bus area up to airline checkin. You can roll it or carry it all yourself but it's a long haul.

 

[ParrotBill]

Oh - tips are included and paid to all handlers for your Magical Express transfers on the way down... so tip at your home airport if you get help, but not again. Luggage will appear in your room 2-3 hours after you arrive.

When you leave, call for luggage pickup and/or storage. I did tip at this point. If you are on a participating airline, no tips needed again. For us on Airtran, I tipped again when bell serivices retrieved and loaded it on the bus, I gave a couple dollars to the ME driver who unloaded it from the bus, and we needed a porter so another tip here.

We carried it all at our home airport, I was tired of tipping!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Oh - tips are included and paid to all handlers for your Magical Express transfers on the way down... so tip at your home airport if you get help, but not again. Luggage will appear in your room 2-3 hours after you arrive.

Yes, Disney takes care of the inbound bellman gratuity, which is why DME guests don't have to wait in their rooms for the luggage delivery. That's the only tip that Disney pays for you.

Guests using DME should apply the yellow DME tags to their checked bags before checking their bags at their home airport. (Only tip at your home airport if checking bags with a skycap; do not tip if checking bags at the airline counter in the terminal.)

When you leave, call for luggage pickup and/or storage. I did tip at this point. If you are on a participating airline, no tips needed again. For us on Airtran, I tipped again when bell serivices retrieved and loaded it on the bus, I gave a couple dollars to the ME driver who unloaded it from the bus, and we needed a porter so another tip here.

We carried it all at our home airport, I was tired of tipping!

Actually, Disney does not take care of the bellman gratuity if you get help from a bellman upon check-out — regardless if your airline does or doesn't participate in Remote Airline Check-in. If you get assistance from a bellman, it is customary and appropriate to tip.

If you're flying home on an airline that participates in Remote Airline Check-in, you can get your boarding passes and check your bags right at your resort lobby. (Be sure to read the sheet that you'll get the day before you check out for hours.) Even if you're not flying until the evening, you can use Remote Airline Check-in in the morning. (In fact, if you wait until later, the Remote Airline Check-in desk will be closed.)

Disney doesn't provide tipping guidelines for Remote Airline Check-in. It's customary to skip skycaps, and Remote Airline Check-in is essentially a remote skycap service. Your luggage will go to the airport in a luggage truck, not on the motorcoach.

If you're flying home on an airline that doesn't participate in Remote Airline Check-in (or your flight is very early in the morning), you'll take your luggage to the DME motorcoach, and the driver will load it in the luggage hold.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

What happens if your luggage is lost? How will you know? Will it be to late to file a claim?

If you haven't received your luggage after several hours, simply call your resort's bell service. Disney has a sophisticated luggage tracking system, so they'll know the status of your bags. If Disney didn't receive your bags from your airline because your airline mishandled your bags, Disney will take care of tracking them down and getting them to you.

I'd much rather deal with Disney than directly with the airline. I've had to wait in long lines at airline baggage service offices at the airport, and then follow up with phone calls, with way too much time spent on hold. That's no fun at all!

 

[fanofdisney]

How can you find out if it's a participating airline?

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

How can you find out if it's a participating airline?

See Disney's Magical Express - What "Participating Airline" Really Means! — a "sticky" thread at the top of the DISboards Transportation board.

 

[seashoreCM]

Yes, Disney takes care of the inbound bellman gratuity, which is why DME guests don't have to wait in their rooms for the luggage delivery. QUOTE]
(Off topic) Other way around. DME guests don't have to (shouldn't have to, and won't) wait in their rooms for the luggage delivery, which is why Disney takes care of the gratuity for the bellman who brings the DME luggage to the room for check in!

(No other tips are "included" in DME.)