Disney's ME- The good, the bad, the UGLY

[4paws]

OK, OK, I know DME is new and everyone LOVES it- it is so convenient, but I would just like to let everyone know our experience. We are annual Disney goer's so DME was new b/c we usually rent a car.

The Good: it only took about one hour from landing to AKL. We landed at 4:30pm EST got to AKL around 5:30EST. Not really too long of a line- very organized. That was nice I have to admit, but that is where it stops.

The BAD: 5/6 pieces of luggage w/ correct YELLOW tags (that arrived only 2 days before we left) arrived at 10 pm EST- CM told me this can be normal. Normal?? it was Feb. 4th- not a very busy time of year. We had swimming suits, diapers for DS 9 months old and bottles, but not pjs b/c I was assured we'd have our luggage by 1-2 hours after our flight- even when checking in the CM said "oh it may already be in your room, if not it'll arrive shortly" The 6th piece was MIA- no one seemed to know where it was- of course, it had my pillow and fan- yes, I bring a fan to sleep with and my own pillow- otherwise, I can't sleep. The CM made me describe our luggage and had to make several calls to MCO she said she'd "alert" us as soon as it arrived. 12am rolls around and I am lying there no pillow, no fan- so I call and it had just arrived- not sure from where or how. I was a little bit disappointed my trip started off this way- we love going to DISNEY annually.

The UGLY: When we left we had 4 tickets for transportation to MCO scheduled for 8:05am- we were the first stop- the 9 month old had had enough and he was trying to fall asleep by me swinging him back and forth- all while on a bus- my DH and other DS were in back of me- 4 tickets I said-
we get to POP and there wasn't enough room for all of the people with tickets and scheduled for the same time- some lady had to ride in the aisle b/c the driver loaded her stuff and she wasn't getting off. Another rude lady, gave me a look and said- she could give up seat for the baby- to which I said back- LOOK, I had 4 tickets- enough for all of us to take a seat- normally, I of course would give up my seat and in fact, did alot of the times on the Disney buses, but this was different, I had him almost asleep and needed the extra room and again, I did have a ticket for him- it wasn't my fault that DME or Mear's or whomever didn't plan accordingly.

There- I had to get that off my chest- my DH seems to think it was better than renting a car, but I have to say I think next time we'll rent. For anyone staying at AKL, remember you are FAR away from most parks, so buses don't run as often as to other resorts. We had to arrive plenty early to get to places on time. Also, while at parks, AKL had very long waits for buses. I wouldn't recommend it even though the resort was beautiful. Next time, we'll rent a car and maybe even stay off-property. The advantages to staying on property are becoming slim - sorry to say. Especially with EMH- instead of characters visiting your resort- everyone uses EMH especially in the am and it is a mad house.

5th year at Disney and disappointed w/ DME,

4 PAWS

 

[kaytieeldr]

Okay, the GOOD - good
The BAD - yes, four and a half hours is aggravating, but to the best of my knowledge, luggage delivery has always taken "several" hours, several being open to interpretation. The luggage has to be offloaded, pulled, sorted, loaded onto trucks (which, as with the buses, may deliver to more than one resort), delivered to the resort, sorted by the CMs there and eventually delivered to the rooms.
Most of the fans I've seen here (and I admit, I'm one of 'em) recommend packing medicines, immediate-need toiletries, documents, swimwear if applicable, sleepwear and a change of clothes in each person's carry-on. The airlines misdirect tens of thousands of pieces of luggage each year. It's extremely possible this is what happened to your late bag.
And the UGLY - absolutely you're entitled to every seat you reserved. I'm surprised the driver would allow more passengers to board than there were ACTUAL seats available. For all you know, there WERE enough seats but somebody elsewhere on the bus chose to use a seat for luggage. That's not your responsibility, and good for you for not letting the other passenger intimidate you.
On the other hand, I do think you're wrong about the AKL buses. I really think Disney runs enough buses from each resort to each park to keep on the frequency schedule for that time of day (if that made sense).

 

[goofy4tink]

I'm really sorry you had a not so terrific DME experience. Not getting your luggage for over 5 hrs is a bit much! I know that when I have transferred from one resort to another it has taken over 8-9 hours to get my stuff, and it was a real pain. I can't imagine having such a little one and no luggage.
I think that if people have any concerns at all, especially with young children, you should not tag your bags with those yellow tags. Sure, you'll have to go to baggage claim and grab your bags, but you would have had to do that anyway if you either rent a car or use a towncar. Then you'll have your stuff with you. For the most part, people have been very happy with DME but that just doesn't cut it if you are the person with a bad experience.

 

[grimley1968]

The advantages to staying on property are becoming slim - sorry to say. Especially with EMH- instead of characters visiting your resort- everyone uses EMH especially in the am and it is a mad house.

I disagree with this statement. It seems to me that the advantages of staying on property are growing, not shrinking. DME didn't exist until this past year. EMH is also something that is less than 5 years old or so (I could be wrong here, but I KNOW it's got to be less than 10 years old). Just because something is new and has, apparently, a lot of kinks in it doesn't support a statement that on-property advantages are less than before. It used to be that the only real advantage to staying on property was being able to use Disney transportation to get to the parks. There's a lot more than that now, you have to admit, even if it doesn't always go smoothly.

Also, did the rude woman say she would give up her seat for your baby, or that "she could give up her seat for the baby", referring to you? I wasn't sure by the way you wrote it.

Sorry you had such a bad time with DME. Not having your bags for 5 hours would be difficult to take, but then DME is not a fee-based service, so it's hard to expect your bags to be with you when you're whisked away to your resort so quickly. Sounds like Disney needs to make a few more trips for luggage so it gets to the resorts sooner. Personally, I've had far more inconvenient things happen than that, and wouldn't let that color my experience so much. Try having the airline lose every single piece of your luggage for over a day, or having your wallet stolen at WDW! I just learned from the experience to carry the stuff I absolutely can't do without in a carry-on bag, and not to take my wallet with me to the parks. How do you know the airline didn't lose that 6th bag and not DME?

 

[Lewisc]

1-2 hours for luggage is a reach. I think 3-4 is probably more typical. People who arrive earlier in the day are in the parks, pool or restaurant when their luggage is delivered and probably don't even know exactly when it was delivered.

OP mentioned it wasn't busy when they arrived. I'd actually expect faster luggage delivery if they were busy. I think they dispatch the luggage trucks and buses as soon as they are full. I suspect when it's slow they leave on some schedule.

I agree about the missing bag but we don't know if was the airlines fault or a DME problem. The resort could even have delivered your bag to someone elses room and the guest didn't report the extra bag until late.

DME certainly doesn't take the place of renting a car if you're not happy with the Disney buses.

Sorry you had a bad experience.

 

[PlaneJoy1]

I agree that getting your luggage that late is frustrating.... however, depending on your flight, aircraft, etc. your luggage may not have even been on your flight and had just arrived in Orlando for Disney to deliver.

Most airlines have "weight and balance" issues on some aircraft, especially in winter. Instead of taking a customer off the airplane when the airplane is too heavy, they remove baggage. You get to your destination - your bags don't, until later.

This may or may not have been what happened to you, but there are situations beyond Disney's control that could have happened. I have not used it, but reports seem to indicate that DME is getting much more effcient. With the amount of time it took, it really leads me to believe that the luggage delivery was probably a problem with the airline, not Disney.

 

[Buzz's Buddy]

I could be wrong, but I believe the paperwork that we received from Disney indicated that it could take up to 3 to 5 hours for the luggage to be delivered to the room.

We landed at 10:35am on Feb 4th and our luggage was delivered to the room at 3:00pm. So it took our luggage 4 1/2 hours to reach our room.

If I were arriving on a flight later in the day, I don't believe I would use the luggage tags and I would collect the luggage myself to make sure it arrived at the resort when I did. While it's not as convenient, at least I'd have my luggage. Plus, I wouldn't have to wait up for the luggage to be delivered.

 

[seashoreCM]

Doesn't Animal Kindom Lodge have 20 minute bus service? Or is it 30?

AKL does not have worse service because it is far away but rather All Star Music and Boardwalk have better service because they share buses with other resorts, and Pop Century has better service because it is so large. Their service is billed as every 20 minutes but it is often more efficient to have one shared bus every 15 minutes instead of separate buses for three All Stars every 20 minutes.

As far as I can tell, after detailed analysis, is that your complaints are quite minor. The lady who had to stand in the aisle has a much bigger case.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/magicx.htm

 

[IlovePiglet]

That lady in the aisle should not even have been allowed to stay on the bus. Mears doesn't allow standees, the buses are not designed for it. It's unsafe. If the bus has to stop short, she's going flying.
The vouchers are so the driver can keep track of how many people have already been loaded. Unfortunately some folks that have already checked their luggage don't realize they still need to check with the driver before they board and this will mess up a passenger count in a heartbeat. Short of closing the door and making everyone wait while loading the baggage, I can't figure out a solution.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Just to add my two cents:

I've taken a tour of the DME luggage operations at Orlando International Airport, and it's a pretty sophisticated setup. DME scans those luggage tags no less than 5 times between getting the luggage from the plane, and putting them in your room. All the trucks have GPS in them, so they always know where your luggage physically is. If it hasn't been scanned in yet, that means it didn't arrive on the flight. Remember, the airlines are not flawless when it comes to baggage. They delay bags too. The unfortunate part (that the airlines love) is that DME takes the blame for it all.

In regards to the return trip -- I can tell you most likely why that bus was overloaded. One (or more) of those guests had an earlier reservation, and just decided to board whenever they felt like it. That's why its so important to stick to your reserved time.

 

[jimmiej]

We stayed at AKL Feb. '05 and with one exception, the bus service was excellent. No different from other resorts and we've stayed at several. If we stay a week at a Disney resort, it doesn't surprise me if once or twice the bus seems to take a little longer than expected. All in all, I think the Disney bus service does a great job.

As far as AKL being way out in the "boonies", I disagree. We didn't notice any significant differences in times to the parks or time between buses. I wouldn't hesitate staying there again. It's awesome! Easily our fave Disney resort.

 

[seashoreCM]

It is not proper to force anyone off the bus without also pulling their luggage. The fastest way I can think of in resolving the problem once it happens is to bribe someone off the bus with enough for a taxi, the tip, and something significant left over.