DME Concern

calismic

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 19, 2007
Messages
612
So I was reading through all the sticky threads and I saw this one asterick'd comment that has made me a bit concerned,

You DO need to use the ground transportation to get your luggage transferred.

We are renting a car in Orlando and do not use the DME transportation to the hotel. Last year we simply put our luggage tags on, picked up our rental car, got to the hotel and voila luggage was there. Has this changed? Will they now only pick up luggage if you are using the ground transportation? Thanks for the help!
 
I decided to rent a car and already have my tags, I called disney yesterday and asked if I could still use the DME for my luggage they said absolutey NOT! i was hoping to but according to them, its not allowed. like you I assumed it would get there but don;t want to take any chances.
 
But how would they know you were not using the transport?? surely the bags are just picked off the belts by the staff and loaded onto the next available transport to WDW, do they actually leave the baggage on the carousel's if you are not on the bus?, i think not, it would be too much of a logistical nightmare to check passengers were actually on the buses before they picked up the luggage off the carousel. Of course if you ring and ask the stock answer would be no, but in reality i do not believe they would leave bags at MCO if they had the tags on them, thats why it worked ok last time.
 

Not to get involved in a very sensitive issue but it has been determined in past discussions that there is no way set up for Disney to intercept bags that do not use the DME. Many people who post here do not like the thought of maybe someone taking advantage of the Disney luggage free delivery and so post negative reports on that procedure.

There is just positively to many bags and very little software for this to happen. Once Disney touches a bag it belongs to them according to the airport. Of course the sales people will tell you you can't take advantage of Disney, but if you check the boards you will not see one single post where bags did not appear in the room when the luggage transfer was used.

I post this because I feel the information you received is erroneous as I have personally done a lot of research, including talking to the CM's working in baggage itself, and have found no reason to believe that the bags are stopped at Orlando International because you didn't use the DME. If you get right down to it Disney saves money when you rent because they don't have to pay Mears the money to take you to their resort.
 
But how would they know you were not using the transport?? surely the bags are just picked off the belts by the staff and loaded onto the next available transport to WDW, do they actually leave the baggage on the carousel's if you are not on the bus?, i think not, it would be too much of a logistical nightmare to check passengers were actually on the buses before they picked up the luggage off the carousel. Of course if you ring and ask the stock answer would be no, but in reality i do not believe they would leave bags at MCO if they had the tags on them, thats why it worked ok last time.

In theory you might well be correct, but what a huge drag it would be if you tagged your bags, rented a car, and your luggage never left MCO.

The times I have ridden DME they have checked us in at the counter, and then scanned our tickets before getting on the bus. My guess is if one or both of those actions don't happen, they can (and just might) pull your bags off the truck.

So could it work? YES
Would I risk it? NO WAY
 
When you check in at the DME desk your voucher is scanned and you're asked how many bags you checked.

Disney said your luggage will be held at MCO until your voucher is scanned. The concern is with a luggage that arrives but a passenger that doesn't. Either a standby passenger that doesn't clear or a passenger that's bumped.

All anecdotal evidence points to Disney just sending all bags to the resort and not bothering to make sure the guest has checked in. Makes sense that it's not worth the effort and expense to pull bags and store them at MCO. The rules say you must ride the bus and if Disney decides to start enforcing the rule guests might have a problem getting their bags from MCO.

Edd has good information sources at MCO. I'll accept his information as being accurate to how the luggage is currently being handled but not as a guarantee to the future.
 
/
Will your bags get to your resort if you don't ride DME buses? Probably. But, and here's the rub. As was just posted, you will be asked how many bags you checked. Then, you are entered into the system as 'arrived'. This also alerts your resort eveidently. DME has made it pretty clear that it is not intended to be a luggage delivery service. It was set up to get WDW guests to their resorts, and the delivery of their bags was a plus. A lot of people believe that it was originally started to entice people into not renting cars and then heading off-site to spend their money...kind of like holding us hostage at WDW!!
So....will your bags get there? Most likely. But, it's not something I want to chance. I mean, really, what's the big deal going to baggage claim and grabbing your bags on the way to the car rental desk? If you send your bags with DME, you can't get into them for hours. If I weren't getting the service for nothing, I wouldn't go without the bags for that long. So, I use DME as it is supposed to be used, for me and my luggage. It would be just my luck that the one time I decided to not ride the bus, yet send my bags through, that Disney would start 'enforcing' their rules. And I would imagine it wouldn't take too much to enforce the rule. They seem to have a pretty good system in place for tracking both the passenger and his bags. Sure would hate to be the first one to post that my bags hadn't made it to the resort.
 
Wow, I had no idea this was such a hot topic! It's funny too because last year when we arrived at MCO we made sure to check with a CM that it was ok not to pick up our luggage. I honestly had NO clue this was not part of the deal. I will make sure to grab it before we leave, no biggie. =)
 
Wow, I had no idea this was such a hot topic! It's funny too because last year when we arrived at MCO we made sure to check with a CM that it was ok not to pick up our luggage. I honestly had NO clue this was not part of the deal. I will make sure to grab it before we leave, no biggie. =)

Oh, don't worry, no one is upset here. We just want to be sure that everyone understands what 'could' happen. I would much rather err on the side of being too careful rather than not tell someone the possibilities and have their vacation start badly. Hope your trip is a terrific one!!! Have a ton of fun!:wizard:
 
Oh, don't worry, no one is upset here. We just want to be sure that everyone understands what 'could' happen
Or rather, what might NOT happen :teeth:

Clearing up a possible misconception in Manatee's post: DME-tagged luggage does not go to the baggage carousel. All* yellow-tagged luggage is pulled before any luggage from a given flight is sent onto the carousel or belt.

*The occasional bag might get missed. There are CMs at the airport to pull any luggage that accidentally 'goes public', as well as luggage from DME Guests who didn't get the tags.
 
read the red line


Inbound to Walt Disney World:




Anyone who flies into Orlando International Airport with a Disney resort reservation can take advantage of Disney's Magical Express ground transfers, along with luggage transfers, provided you have specifically made DME reservations prior to arriving at Orlando International Airport.
You do NOT need to use the luggage tags to take advantage of the ground transportation. You are more than welcome to claim your luggage at baggage claim and bring it on the bus with you.
You can still take advantage of luggage transfers without using the yellow tags. Just proceed directly to Welcome Center and give them your claim tickets. (Be advised, luggage transfers will take slightly more time than usual)
You DO need to use the ground transportation to get your luggage transferred.You MUST have reservations prior to arriving at OIA

by this line alone I wouldn't chance it. It's in writing so if the bags don't get to the resort then blame no one but yourself ( for all ):goodvibes
 
Last time my family of five went to DW, we rented a car. Great idea, but our luggage barely fit in the car with the three kids. Rather than getting a bigger car just to go back and forth to the airport, I was thinking about sending my DH and kids in the car while I take advantage of the free luggage service on the bus. That would work, right?
 
We rented a car, and used Magical Express. Wr received our Magical Express tags, and I used the tags for four if us (dh & 3 kids). Dh and the kids rode Magical Express, and I rented the car and drove to the resort.

The advantage for us was we didn't have to worry about fitting all our bags into the car, and were then able to rent a smaller and cheaper car.

We actually didn't go off property during our 10 day Xmas trip, but I wanted the car because I hadn't heard for sure that there would be mass at the Contemporary (I thought there would be, but wasn't sure) I wanted to be able to get to church on Christmas in our own car. We also used the car to get to meals at other resorts.

The best of both worlds, in my mind.

Julia
 
Do you know if all of the bags could be picked up by ME - even if only one person rides? Or would everyone with bags need to ride?
 
DME picks up all bags tagged with the Disney tags.
 
Do you know if all of the bags could be picked up by ME - even if only one person rides? Or would everyone with bags need to ride?
I phoned DME about this a while back. The official response was that if even one person from a reservation number rode the DME bus and no one else did, all of the luggage associated with that reservation number would be delivered via DME.
 
DME picks up all bags tagged with the Disney tags.

Absolutely Edd....but, based on what Disney says, and what Disney has in writing, they could change that at any given moment. Will they? Probably not. But I would always feel more comfortable if someone is riding the bus, even if everyone else in the party is in the rental car.
 
I have to put my 2 cents worth in here. If you do not take the motor coach to a resort, but put the tags on your bags, there is a good chance that your bags will end up at your resort. That is, if everything goes perfect. If, on the other hand, your bag gets delayed by the airlines or a tag falls off or enything else that requires human intervention in the system you will have problems. The first thing that is checked for on a delayed bag is if the guests checked in at the welcome center and was scanned onto a motor coach. If this shows up as negative, the bags are left where they are and the resorts are instructed to inform the guest that they will have to contact the airline to arrange transportation of the bags to the resort. Some airlines will send the bags to the resort C.O.D. and others will require that the guest return to the airport to retreive the bags. I have personnally seen this done.

Sluggo
 
The DME tag falls off your bag and your luggage winds up in the airlines unclaimed luggage office. DME pulls the luggage based on name, if the name is on the DME reservation list the bag goes to WDW.

One poster decided not use DME, didn't use the provided tags and was delayed getting to baggage claim. DME had already taken the bag from the airline unclaimed luggage office and sent it on to WDW.

I'll agree if the airline delays the luggage and the guest didn't check in at the DME desk Disney won't be following up with the airline.

All credible evidence points to all yellow tagged DME bags going directly to WDW without checking to see if the passenger checked in at the DME desk.




I have to put my 2 cents worth in here. If you do not take the motor coach to a resort, but put the tags on your bags, there is a good chance that your bags will end up at your resort. That is, if everything goes perfect. If, on the other hand, your bag gets delayed by the airlines or a tag falls off or enything else that requires human intervention in the system you will have problems. The first thing that is checked for on a delayed bag is if the guests checked in at the welcome center and was scanned onto a motor coach. If this shows up as negative, the bags are left where they are and the resorts are instructed to inform the guest that they will have to contact the airline to arrange transportation of the bags to the resort. Some airlines will send the bags to the resort C.O.D. and others will require that the guest return to the airport to retreive the bags. I have personnally seen this done.

Sluggo
 

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