Claim my own bags

[firsttimerw2]

New at this and worried about my luggage--are you allowed to claim your own luggage and take them on the magical express with you? Will they tell me there is not enough room for my luggage?

 

[goofy4tink]

Yes, you may claim your bags and then take them to the bus. Just do not put the yellow tags on them. But, I would be more concerned about the airlines losing your bags than DME. The only issue with DME is the arrival time for your bags. If you are arriving into MCO in the morning or afternoon, then it shouldn't be a problem. Your bags will be delivered to your resort up to three hours after your arrival. If it's later in the day, it can take longer, or not until the following morning.
If everyone were to start bringing their luggage to the bus, no, there wouldn't be room for all the bags.

 

[bab31]

do not be afraid to use ME. we got in at 6:30 pm at the airport and had our bags when we arrived back from dinner. I was glad to have trusted the system - it was so easy and painless.

 

[CleveRocks]

New at this and worried about my luggage--are you allowed to claim your own luggage and take them on the magical express with you? Will they tell me there is not enough room for my luggage?

First of all, welcome!

I know that anything new can be scary, but there's no need to worried about your luggage going with DME. I mean, do what you want, all I'm saying is there's nothing to worry about. DME has been around for over 22 months, and if it weren't so successful it wouldn't be so popular.

Tp put it in a different perspective, we all trust our airlines to take our bags 1,000 miles or so, so Disney taking it the last 20 miles shouldn't be a big deal.

One more thing, to help you understand how it works in general ....
The DME tags have barcodes. Those barcodes are scanned 5 separate times between airplane and the inside of your resort room. In addition, the trucks that transport the luggage are GPS-equipped. Disney knows where your luggage is at all times. It's a pretty high-tech system.

Enjoy your vacation, and enjoy DISboards!

 

[mcco5543]

Thank you so much for this post! I am not afraid DME will lose my bags. I just don't want to spend any time waiting for them to arrive. Now I don't have to worry and I can take my bags with me. I love the DIS!

 

[sue1013]

You don't have to waste any time waiting for your bags to arrive. They will deliver them to your room you do not have to be there.

 

[disneyag]

I think having ME deliver your bags is the best perk of the whole program! Just bring a change of clothes or swimsuit in your carryon and forget your luggage.

 

[CleveRocks]

Thank you so much for this post! I am not afraid DME will lose my bags. I just don't want to spend any time waiting for them to arrive. Now I don't have to worry and I can take my bags with me. I love the DIS!

Make whatever choice best suits you, but I just want to make sure you're making an informed decision.

DME luggage gets delivered to the inside of your resort room whether you are there or not. It's great because you can just go out and play and not have to even think about your luggage -- it will be there whether you're in there or not. The person delivering the DME luggage to your room has already been pre-tipped by Disney, because Disney designed the system so that you don't have to wait for it in your room, but they also didn't want the Bell Services staff to revolt at the idea of bringing luggage to a room and missing a tip opportunity if no one's home.

 

[mcco5543]

Oh, I wasn't clear..so sorry!

I would HAVE to sit around waiting for my bags becuase they have important medical equipment in it that I will need! I won't be able to relax or rest until I know its with me safe and in my hands.

That's why I was happy to hear I could take my luggae with me.

 

[Edd]

You keep saying that and you are wrong. Bags are scanned off the airplane, by the airlines. The Disney barcode is scanned when they arrive at the sorting location. And it is possible they are scanned when they arrive at Disney. Disney isn't going to pay 5 people to scan 1 bag, they are to efficient.

It is also doubtful that the trucks are GPS equipped going out. I have been told by drivers they are not GPS equipped. Trucks are supposedly equipped because of TAS regulations going back to the airport, but even that has not been verified. The baggage transfer is very simple but efficient. There have been reports of lost luggage, but not much and I am sure if Disney was responsible, they took care of the folks. So you really don't have to worry about your luggage. It is being handled by a very efficient corporation and system.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Even though my family and I have never used DME chances are if your bags do not show up in your room most likely your Airline lost them. Now I am sure since DME began there might have been some problems with bags going from the Airport to your Resort, but since it has been in business for a while if bags are lost chances are it's because the Airline lost them. So am I correct about that?

 

[Edd]

Amen

 

[CleveRocks]

Oh, I wasn't clear..so sorry!

I would HAVE to sit around waiting for my bags becuase they have important medical equipment in it that I will need! I won't be able to relax or rest until I know its with me safe and in my hands.

That's why I was happy to hear I could take my luggae with me.

Is it at all possible to take this medical equipment in your carry-on? If it were me and I had a choice, I wouldn't allow anything truly NECESSARY out of my possession, whether it was in the custody of the airline, Disney or anyonse else.

 

[CleveRocks]

You keep saying that and you are wrong. Bags are scanned off the airplane, by the airlines. The Disney barcode is scanned when they arrive at the sorting location. And it is possible they are scanned when they arrive at Disney. Disney isn't going to pay 5 people to scan 1 bag, they are to efficient.

Yes, I know that Disney doesn't scan bags coming out of the belly of the aircraft. But to explain the sorting facility I'd have to explain the whole process, and wasn't it you who started saying there was just too much information there that no one cared about? So I pared it down for simplicity sake, and now you're being nitpicky.

I give up.

And you need to stop saying that it's "possible" the DME tags get scanned at the resorts. Enough of us have seen it with our own eyes that it is accepted fact by now. We may not know managers at OIA like you do, but we know a Bell Services CM with a handheld unit held up to each individual yellow tag and it making a beeping noise each time when we see it and hear it.

 

[Edd]

Cleve,

The only way you could have seen them being scanned at Disney is when you turn them in, at bell services, to return to MCO.

I don't think anyone sees them being scanned when they arrive at Disney from MCO, because they go from the truck, in a cage, to the resort sorting point. All the bags that arrive at the resort are in the cages. They are rolled off the truck and taken inside. Most of you guys are in the parks when this happens so how can you see it. The yellow tags contain enough information that the bags wouldn't even have to go through a scanner.

Both times you went to Disney your bags appeared magically in your room. Did you go back and watch while they checked them in?

 

[mcco5543]

Oh believe me most of my medical equipment and sacred posessions will be on my persons but some are just too much for a carry on (they are duplicates though so no worries! thanks though! Thanks Cleverocks!

 

[CleveRocks]

Both times you went to Disney your bags appeared magically in your room. Did you go back and watch while they checked them in?

While I don't expect you or anyone else to recall the details of my trips, I also don't expect you to incorrectly report my own experiences for your own convenience.

Using your preferred (military) time mode ... November 4, 2006 -- arrived POFQ ~2300, forgot to ask them to hold bags 'til morning, got a call at 0116 (Nov. 5) and I asked to have them held 'til morning. Around 0630 I called to request bags be brought to room, about 5 minutes later the Bell Services CM knocks at the door, has some sort of handheld electronic device that he was wearing on his belt (or that area), scanned each bag on the cart before he put them across the doorway into my room.

Please don't put words in my mouth. And why must you doubt first-person eyewitness reports?

It was my May 2005 trip when the bags "magically appeared" in my room. Tinkerbell could have brought them on Aladdin's magic carpet for all I know. But Nov. 2006, I was there.

 

[clkelley]

Cleve,

The only way you could have seen them being scanned at Disney is when you turn them in, at bell services, to return to MCO.

I don't think anyone sees them being scanned when they arrive at Disney from MCO, because they go from the truck, in a cage, to the resort sorting point. All the bags that arrive at the resort are in the cages. They are rolled off the truck and taken inside. Most of you guys are in the parks when this happens so how can you see it. The yellow tags contain enough information that the bags wouldn't even have to go through a scanner.

Both times you went to Disney your bags appeared magically in your room. Did you go back and watch while they checked them in?

In December of 2005, (about 1215am), I arrived at Ft. Wilderness on DME. After I went to the restroom and then checked in, I asked about my bags. About that time the DME luggage truck showed up with my luggage from the airport. I physically watched the Ft. Wilderness CM scan my luggage with a handheld scanning device when my luggage was pulled out of that cage.

The Ft. Wilderness CM then dropped me and my luggage off at my campsite. The Ft. Wildernes CM also scanned my luggage when we arrived at the campsite. So YES, Disney CMs scan luggage when it arrives at WDW.

Just a FYI, the reason the luggage got there shortly after I did was I took awhile at the airport. I waited at the gate for them to deliver the ECV up the elevator, (that took about 15 minutes), I had to go to baggage claim to pickup a carryon that was gate-checked . (It was packed correctly to fit under the seat by me, but TSA opened it at the security checkpoint and did not repack it quite as carefully, so the FA checked it for me). (that took about 20 minutes). Then I was at the DME area for about 20 minutes, plus another 10 minutes in traveling through the airport, so it was over an hour before I even boarded my bus. (Not DME fault).

 

[goofy4tink]

I have also watched them scan at the resort point. I was standing on a BWV balcony, overlooking the dread DME truck unloading. While I can't say for sure exactly what they were doing, they sure did seem to be scanning something. Each bag came off, the CM moved something over the bag and then the bag was moved away. I can only imagine it was being scanned.

 

[kaytieeldr]

While I don't expect you or anyone else to recall the details of my trips,

Except me. I remember every detail of certain aspects of Eric's trip No, I wasn't there - I'm who he called with his on-the-scene report of his 5/8/05 Magical Express experience!