Disney's Magical Express -- Luggage Tag Info

[mom23guys2]

I've been doing Disney forever but I have never used DME. We're using it in June.
1. If I am not on a preferred airline going to Disney, do I use the luggage tags? I'm assuming yes that arriving airline doesn't matter.
2. My son and his fiancee are arriving on a different airline but at approximately the same time so will we all be able to take the same bus assuming all our flights are on-time? We're all supposed to arrive about 9AM, how often do the busses run at that time-we're headed to Pop?
3. Where is this Welcome Center at MCO? I was just there and didn't see it. I arrived on SWA. Is it on the other side? Is it on Level 2?
4. We're flying Spirit and my son is flying SWA, again within minutes of each other, will we be on the same bus to MCO?
5. Will our bus stop at different resorts both arriving and departing?

TIA.

 

[goofy4tink]

I've been doing Disney forever but I have never used DME. We're using it in June.
1. If I am not on a preferred airline going to Disney, do I use the luggage tags? I'm assuming yes that arriving airline doesn't matter.
2. My son and his fiancee are arriving on a different airline but at approximately the same time so will we all be able to take the same bus assuming all our flights are on-time? We're all supposed to arrive about 9AM, how often do the busses run at that time-we're headed to Pop?
3. Where is this Welcome Center at MCO? I was just there and didn't see it. I arrived on SWA. Is it on the other side? Is it on Level 2?
4. We're flying Spirit and my son is flying SWA, again within minutes of each other, will we be on the same bus to MCO?
5. Will our bus stop at different resorts both arriving and departing?

TIA.

Let's try and get you some answers....
1. It doesn't matter what airline you arrive on. Every person arriving into MCO, that has booked a DME reservation, will get the info packet/luggage tags....one tag per person lately, but you can call and ask for more.

2. I'm going to assume that your son and his fiance both have DME reservations. So....you can just wait for them to get there and then hop on the same bus. The buses run every 15-20 mins or so.

3. It's on level 1, Side B. SW arrives on Side A, not sure about Spirit. But in any case...when you get off the tram you are on level 3. Look off to the sides...you will see a Side A and a Side B up above..bright neon letters. Head for the Side B sign. Go down the escalators/stairs. That will put you on level 2, baggage claim area. You want to take the elevator (that's what we do) down to level 1..ground transportation. DME is all the way down at the end, past the car rental counters and the Mears counter. There is a nice seating area where you can sit and wait for the others to arrive. Then, go through the line and head to the bus.

4. Again...you aren't assigned to a particular bus. YOu can sit and wait for your son to get to the DME counter.

5. Your bus to POP may stop at AKL (two stops there) and on other...CSR if I remember correctly. But, 4 out of 5 times that I've taken DME to POP, it has gone directly to POP from MCO. Departure is a different story. You may make another stop or not.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

I've been doing Disney forever but I have never used DME. We're using it in June.
1. If I am not on a preferred airline going to Disney, do I use the luggage tags? I'm assuming yes that arriving airline doesn't matter.

You can use the luggage tags on any airline for arrival. The participating airlines only come into play for Resort Airline Checkin (RAC) at departure.

2. My son and his fiancee are arriving on a different airline but at approximately the same time so will we all be able to take the same bus assuming all our flights are on-time? We're all supposed to arrive about 9AM, how often do the busses run at that time-we're headed to Pop?

Arrange a meeting place ahead of time, then wait for one-another. If you all check in together, you'll all be on the same bus.

3. Where is this Welcome Center at MCO? I was just there and didn't see it. I arrived on SWA. Is it on the other side? Is it on Level 2?

It's on the "B" side of the airport, level 1. Follow the signs for the rental car counters. It's way down past all the car rental counters. Unfortunately, there are no signs pointing the way. (I think this was due to complains by the limo and taxi companies.)

4. We're flying Spirit and my son is flying SWA, again within minutes of each other, will we be on the same bus to MCO?

Show up at the same time, and you'll be on the same bus.

5. Will our bus stop at different resorts both arriving and departing?

Probably.
TIA.[/QUOTE]

 

[mom23guys2]

Thanks for the quick responses. They confirmed what I "thought" . I didn't want to give other the wrong info though.

 

[CleveRocks]

If I am not on a preferred airline going to Disney, We're flying Spirit

I live a few islands north of you, about a 15 drive to ACY. I LOVE LOVE LOVE flying Spirit to WDW. As you've learned, when talking about arrival in Orlando, everyone on every airline gets exactly the same DME treatment. There truly is ZERO difference on arrival day.

Will our bus stop at different resorts both arriving and departing?

DME has no pre-set grouping of resorts on buses, and no pre-set routes. It changes all the time. They do have the resorts separated into four DME "zones," but they don't stick to these zones when it would be more efficient to mix it up. And they know what will be most efficient because they know about how many people are going to which resorts at about what times. So, again, you can never know what other resorts will be on your bus.

When a bus stays within one zone, there is a maximum of 4 resorts on that bus. That's not to say there WILL be 4, just that 4 is the max. When a bus crosses zones, there is a maximum of 3 resorts on that bus, to compensate for the extra travel time.

[Just FYI, Pop Century is in the "AK" zone. When you get your DME tags, the initials "AK" will be on them, printed inside a color Mickey head silhouette. Other resorts in the AK zone include Animal Kingdom Lodge, Animal Kingdom Villas, Coronado Springs Resort, and all three All Star resorts.]

As far as the order to the stops for any particular bus ... this is 100% in the hands of the driver (with the small exception of Grand Floridian and Polynesian, not important to go into here). The driver decides the order of the stops. Most drivers usually choose to drop off first at the resort closest to the airport, drop off last at the resort farthest from the airport, and so on. It just so happens that Pop Century is the closest/most direct drive from the airport, so it's very common that Pop is the first DME drop-off no matter what resorts it's grouped with. Again, that's most common, not "always" ... your mileage may vary.

On the way back to the airport at the dreaded end of your trip, the groupings of resorts on the bus can be a little more random, but those maximum numbers above still apply.

 

[PammyPoppins]

Hi! We are going to Disney in June. I have been reading most of the day on the Dis boards. We have never taken the DME. We are flying SouthWest Airlines, which I read today is not a participating airlines, I am right with my thinking that on arrival our bags go directly to the resort but on departure, I am correct that we take our bags with us on the Disney magical Express. Do they then go to the plane or do we take them to check in?
Thanks,
PammyPoppins

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Hi! We are going to Disney in June. I have been reading most of the day on the Dis boards. We have never taken the DME. We are flying SouthWest Airlines, which I read today is not a participating airlines, I am right with my thinking that on arrival our bags go directly to the resort but on departure, I am correct that we take our bags with us on the Disney magical Express. Do they then go to the plane or do we take them to check in?
Thanks,
PammyPoppins

You are correct that your bags will be delivered to your room on arrival. The DME luggage service works for any flight arriving at MCO. Just be sure to put the yellow tags from your DME packet on your bags.

For non-participating airlines, you can't check your bags with Resort Airline Check-in (RAC) for the return flight. You must take your bags on the DME bus with you. Give them to the driver, who will put them in a compartment under the bus. When you arrive at the airport, you must claim them from the driver, and you're then responsible to take them to the airline's check-in counter.

However, Southwest has been expanding their participating in RAC over the past few months. Depending on where you're staying, you may be able to check your bags at the resort. Check at the RAC desk when you arrive to see if they're doing Southwest at that particular resort yet.

Where are you staying? Others may know.

 

[PammyPoppins]

Thank-You so much for the ibfo. We are staying at the Polynesian. Is that a participating hotel?
I have another question that I am hoping someone can answer for me. My daughter is disabled and has seizures. Can I carry all of her seizures meds on my carry on bag or is there a limit to how many medications? I wouldn't want them to tell me I can't and have nowhere to put them because my bags are already checked. It would be many bottles of prescription seizure meds.
Thanks to anyone who can answer this for me.
Thanks,
pammyPoppins

 

[CleveRocks]

Thank-You so much for the ibfo. We are staying at the Polynesian. Is that a participating hotel?
I have another question that I am hoping someone can answer for me. My daughter is disabled and has seizures. Can I carry all of her seizures meds on my carry on bag or is there a limit to how many medications? I wouldn't want them to tell me I can't and have nowhere to put them because my bags are already checked. It would be many bottles of prescription seizure meds.
Thanks to anyone who can answer this for me.
Thanks,
pammyPoppins

All Disney owned-and-operated resorts are served by Disney's Magical Express, and the Polynesian is a Disney owned-and-operated resort.

There is no limit to the number of prescription medications you are permitted to have in your carry-on.

 

[Disney93]

This site has been great reading but haven't found anyone with our exact plans. We are visiting Disney in late October, there is a total of 10 of us including a baby. We are using DME for 7 members and getting 3 rental cars. We are taking some of the bags in the cars and checking the rest on DME. We know that DME is not a luggage transport service and plan on using their service for some of the bags. When returning, we all will use DME, we are returning the cars the night before at the Swan. One member of our group will arrive at MCO 20 minutes before us. We are all flying SWA so we plan on having him wait until we get there so we can all go to the DME counter together. By doing this, we should be on the same bus. My questions are, will my plan work as outlined? Is SWA RAC up and running now at the BWV? How far in advance do we need to reserve DME? We have 3 reservations at Disney, how will they know which bags goes to which room? Can we collect our bags at the resort or do they have to deliver them? Thanks for all the great info from everyone.

 

[CleveRocks]

My questions are, will my plan work as outlined? Is SWA RAC up and running now at the BWV? How far in advance do we need to reserve DME? We have 3 reservations at Disney, how will they know which bags goes to which room? Can we collect our bags at the resort or do they have to deliver them? Thanks for all the great info from everyone.

No matter when different people land at MCO, if you all show up at the DME area together and you're all going to the same resort then you'll all be in the same bus. On your arrival day, no one is pre-assigned to a specific bus for a specific time. It's just like, you show up and you are shown to a bus queue and you wait for the next bus to your destination.

SWA will be part of all resorts' RAC any day now (I'm not familiar with the exact roll-out schedule), but it will certainly be done by the time you will be there, so no worries about that.

It is precisely because you have 3 reservations that DME will know which bags go to which rooms on arrival day. Each reservation will be sent DME tags. Each DME tag is personalized with each person's/each reservation's info (both in writing and in a barcode). Since your party is actually 3 separate reservations, it will be very easy for them to know which bags to put in which rooms, in the same way that when I show up with only one reservation they know to put my bags into my room and not your room, if you can follow what I'm trying to say.

If you put the yellow DME tag on a piece of luggage, you won't have access to it until you see it inside your resort room; delivery is supposed to occur within 3 hours of your check-in at your resort, and is done whether you are in the room or not. Therefore, it would be totally impossible for you to arrive at your resort and then ask them to immediately hand-over your luggage ... you probably arrived at your resort before your bags did.

If you need immediate access to your checked bags, then your only choice is to leave the DME tags off of the bags you need and collect them yourself at baggage claim.

Did I answer all of your questions?

 

[Disney93]

So if I'm understanding you correctly, each reservation needs to request the tags independently. Also the reason for wanting to get our own bags at the resort is because we don't get into MCO until about 9:30pm. If it takes 3 hours to get the bags it's going to be pretty late before we get them. One more thing you might answer for me, does the number of bags have to match the number of people riding the DME? Thanks again.

 

[goofy4tink]

This site has been great reading but haven't found anyone with our exact plans. We are visiting Disney in late October, there is a total of 10 of us including a baby. We are using DME for 7 members and getting 3 rental cars. We are taking some of the bags in the cars and checking the rest on DME. We know that DME is not a luggage transport service and plan on using their service for some of the bags. When returning, we all will use DME, we are returning the cars the night before at the Swan. One member of our group will arrive at MCO 20 minutes before us. We are all flying SWA so we plan on having him wait until we get there so we can all go to the DME counter together. By doing this, we should be on the same bus. My questions are, will my plan work as outlined? Is SWA RAC up and running now at the BWV? How far in advance do we need to reserve DME? We have 3 reservations at Disney, how will they know which bags goes to which room? Can we collect our bags at the resort or do they have to deliver them? Thanks for all the great info from everyone.

So if I'm understanding you correctly, each reservation needs to request the tags independently. Also the reason for wanting to get our own bags at the resort is because we don't get into MCO until about 9:30pm. If it takes 3 hours to get the bags it's going to be pretty late before we get them. One more thing you might answer for me, does the number of bags have to match the number of people riding the DME? Thanks again.

Yes, each 'lead' person on each reservation needs to make a reservation for DME....do it about 2-3 months in advance. That way you won't forget to do it. You can actually do it now. Just call whomever you booked your room with and they can add DME to your reservations.
As far as picking up your own bags..you can try. The issue is that you won't know exactly when the bags get to BWV..they may get there quickly after you do, or they could be held up for a few hours. I would pack anything you are going to need, for that night and the next morning, in any bags that you check but don't tag with the yellow DME tags.
Your bag numbers don't have to match who is on the bus...DME just doesn't care. When you get to the DME counter, you may very well be asked how many bags were checked...you need to be able to tell them how many were tagged. They won't know, or care, how many bags each person tagged. They just need to know the total number to watch for.

 

[Disney93]

Thanks for your help, I think I'll make our reservations for DME now. That way if we have a problem with tags I'll have time to fix it. We have made over a dozen trips to WDW and this is the first time using the bus service. It might also sound silly getting 3 rental cars but we actually save over $600.00 doing it that way. We plan on taking a couple bags in each car so having the things we need for the next day isn't a problem. We plan on a 10 day visit and coming from Washington State you can imagine how much luggage we have with 5 kids and 4 adults plus golf clubs. Thanks for your help

 

[Deffenm]

How soon before your trip do you get your DME packet with your tags? I can't seem to remember and I want to make sure my DH didn't misplace them as he gets the mail.

 

[goofy4tink]

How soon before your trip do you get your DME packet with your tags? I can't seem to remember and I want to make sure my DH didn't misplace them as he gets the mail.

Usually about 4 weeks before departure.

 

[StephyDee]

How soon before your trip do you get your DME packet with your tags? I can't seem to remember and I want to make sure my DH didn't misplace them as he gets the mail.

My trip's on May 28th, and I literally got my DME packet today. Comes with a booklet and my yellow tags just like everyone else has said. The booklet contains a lot of useful info, such as a map of MCO, travel tips, as well as your transportation vouchers, so make sure not to lose it!

It's like a sudden reminder, when you get your packet, that your trip is very soon. It makes me all giddy now!

The envelope is plain white with the DME logo on the far left corner. It's hard to miss.

 

[simzac]

Recieved our tags about a week ago. Only got one tag per person vs. the 2 pp we got in the past. Is this a change in procedure? TIA

 

[goofy4tink]

Recieved our tags about a week ago. Only got one tag per person vs. the 2 pp we got in the past. Is this a change in procedure? TIA

When the airlines started charging for checked bags, DME figured that most people wouldn't be taking two checked bags anymore. So, in order to keep costs down, they started sending only one yellow tag per person. If you find that you need more than that, you can call DME and request more. They are happy to send them out.

 

[SnowWhite33]

and I'm sure it is

Tonight we decided to switch from Pop to POR for our June 7th trip, I told the CM that I had already received my ME packet and would need a replacement one so that we would have new luggage tags to go to the right resort.

She told me to just mark out Pop and put POR and that when it was scanned in it would come up the right way- that doesn't sound anywhere close to right to me

We are far enough out that they should be able to get new tags to us right?

Should I just call the number in the ME booklet and get it sorted out with them?

One more thing-we are moving to the Poly after 2 nights, can I just arrange our trip back to MCO once we get there or will I need to do that prior to our trip down?

TIA