maggiann said:
WELL...........we used them last Sept no problem, this Sept we used them and we got to pop about 4:30 and it was about 1:00 am before they brought our luggage but it just wasnt ours it was everyones, I think the problem was that there was just so many people using it that day they were so backed up.
Was that the last weekend of September? Because, yeah, Pop's Luggage Assistance was completely overwhelmed that day - apparently they had about a thousand Guests check in/out on the 30th alone. I know my bags disappeared for many, many hours. I changed rooms that day, and had been told my luggage would be in my new room when I got back in the afternoon - not! - and met a family at dinner at the Turf Club who'd used DME that day and whose stuff also got, um, delayed in the confusion.
New England Disney said:
Not worth the risk to me. It only takes a few minutes to get your own bags, and you get to have your luggage as soon as you arrive. I still take the ME bus service, it's great! But the "convenience" of saving me ten minutes it takes to grab my own bag just isn't worth it.
Not to mention that the last time I opened my new room at Pop there was a whole families worth of luggage sitting there - and this was mid-afternoon. Disney forgot it, and the family flew home without it.
It's interesting that people trust airlines to transport their luggage several hundred to several thousand miles with no problem, but don't trust DME to transport it about twenty miles, especially since:
DME scans each tag FIVE times between the plane and delivery;
The DME trucks are equipped with GPS so the locations are known at any given moment;
Airlines misdirected over three million pieces of luggage, and permanently lost 250,000 of those (and the numbers have only increased this year);
Airline passengers have no way of knowing if their luggage even got on the plane, or on the right plane (usually - if you happen to be sitting over the ramp and SEE your bags being loaded, which I've done, and assuming your luggage is distinctive enough, then yeah, you know);
If your luggage doesn't make it on your flight for any reason, Magical Express kicks in, starts the tracking process, and delivers your bag or bags on arrival - instead of you fighting for a spot at your airline's Lost Luggage counter. As for the luggage in your room - yes, that sounds like a DME error, but that they delivered that luggage to the wrong room, not that anybody went home without it (see CleveRock's response, above)
But, to each their own
my2minnies said:
Because of flight restrictions were didnt have anything in our carry-ons besides a bathing suit for each of us.
In fairness, while yes at the time there were likely severe restrictions on liquids/gels (the zipper-bag, aka 3-1-1, change not going into effect until partway through the month), it's ALWAYS advised that airline passengers pack in carry-on luggage what they'll need for the first 24 hours of their trip. Basic toiletries (toothpaste, deodorant) are available at most hotels' gift shops; shampoo/conditioner/soap are provided by any reasonable hotel; most other items one might need while awaiting luggage delivery weren't restricted - including a change of clothing, pajamas, etc. I could be wrong, but I think the saline solution restriction was lifted long before that...
goofy4tink said:
So.....it would seem that most of the issues aren't 'technically' with DME but with the luggage/bell services dept at the resorts!
Yeah, I tried that argument once - but it was pointed out to me that since luggage/bell services IS part of DME in the luggage delivery process, it's a DME thing - at least by perception. DME users aren't going to differentiate between "My luggage is still in Philadelphia" and "The DME truck is lost" and "Luggage Assistance is overwhelmed today". Some people are such sticklers, ya know?
TiggerAllie said:
However, when we landed at home, our 3rd bag was not at the airport, and the airline had no record of ANY of our bags being scanned/received by the airline (even though 2 of them made it through ok). Our bag "magically" appeared the next day at our home airport.
That, frankly, sounds like the AIRLINE misdirecting your luggage.
Ditto for the post directly above this one, I think. Do you mean you used Resort Airline Checkin and checked your luggage through to your home airport? Because those bags wouldn't have gone on the bus - they'd have been loaded on a DME truck returning to the airport. I'm thinking that IS what you mean, because the alternative (for the bags to get loaded on the DME bus) would have required you to claim them from Bell Services - and you'd have noticed then if one was missing
... We were so happy to see them!!
