DME - lost bags???

[Jiminy'sGirl]

Does anyone know what happens if your family uses the yellow luggage tags and rides the DME to the resort, but the airline lost the bags? I am thinking you owuld not be aware they were lost until they just don't show up? Or is this somehow checked before you get onto the bus??

My DH has very bad luck with lost luggage... He jinxes anyone on a trip with him, so I want to be prepared!!

 

[Edd]

I wouldn't worry about that. You probably have to many other worries that should be put ahead of that. There is no reports of lost luggage in the 5 years DME has been doing the luggage.

 

[Jiminy'sGirl]

Wow -that is impressive!

I am not worried about DME losing my bags... but I wouldn't put it past Delta! And my concern is that I won't physically be at the carousel to put in my lost bag report. Seriously, DH travels Delta for work (yay for FFmiles!) about once a month and he loses a bag at least 50% of the time.

 

[crashbb]

Wow -that is impressive!

I am not worried about DME losing my bags... but I wouldn't put it past Delta! And my concern is that I won't physically be at the carousel to put in my lost bag report. Seriously, DH travels Delta for work (yay for FFmiles!) about once a month and he loses a bag at least 50% of the time.

LOSES a bag? As in never to be seen again. Or has a bag DELAYED? Very, very big difference.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

When you check in at DME they scan your luggage tag receipts. If they don't scan your luggage, they start looking for it. That is why it is important to check in with DME.

 

[Jiminy'sGirl]

LOSES a bag? As in never to be seen again. Or has a bag DELAYED? Very, very big difference.

Ah, delayed!! Sorry - bad terminology on my part. Delayed for hours, sometimes days, once for nearly a month, but always just delayed.

When you check in at DME they scan your luggage tag receipts. If they don't scan your luggage, they start looking for it. That is why it is important to check in with DME.

Thanks SOOO much... this is exactly the info I was looking for!!! I wasn't sure if they did this or not. Awesome!

 

[anotherdisneygal]

DME is VERY thorough when it comes to finding bags. They actually took one of our bags when we went to Orlando (not to a Disney property) because it had a tiny bit of the tag still on it (a sliver on the handle).

When they realized that they took it in error, they contacted our airline and had it brought to us (within hours... we actually made it to the hotel after the bag).

If you are really worried, tell them when you check in and they will likely make a note of it. I have nothing but positive things to say about DME!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

When you check in at the Magical Express counter at the airport, the CM asks you how many bags you checked with your airline. Disney scans your bags when they get them from the airline. Disney knows if they don't get your bags in a reasonable time, and they follow up with your airline. In other words, a delayed/missing baggage claim is initiated. So you're covered.

I'm not aware of any case when a DME guest would have been better off if he or she had been at the airport to file a baggage claim personally instead of having Disney handle it. I would much rather deal with Disney than with the airline.

Most delayed bags are on the next flight, so Magical Express delivers the bags after they're turned over to Disney. That's much more convenient than waiting at baggage claim, only to have the bags not appear, and then waiting to file a baggage report with airline's baggage office. The airline will only deliver the delayed bags to your resort. Disney delivers them to your room.

In the rare case that an airline actually loses a bag permanently, you have the same rights with/through Disney as directly with the airline.

 

[Jiminy'sGirl]

Horace - thanks so much. That is a great answer and good to hear.

Thanks again.

 

[seashoreCM]

When you discover the bag is missing (typically after getting back from the park late in the evening), let the front desk staff know.

 

[strmtroopr96]

We didn't have any problems with lost bags while using ME, but did have a suitcase that was destroyed and ME had it replaced before we ever knew there was a problem.

Something must have happened when they were picking up our bags and delivering them to our resort. The bag must have gotten stuck or something in some type of machine (I don't know the specifics) and a whole side was shredded and torn off. Luckily the lining was still in place so none of our clothes or items were damaged or lost.

All of our bags except the one had arrived in our room later on so I just assumed that one was temporarily missing (we had a similar issue the year before) but awhile later my bag arrived wrapped in plastic along with a second bag. They ended up giving us a brand new large Disney Cruise Line suitcase to the replace ours. Very nice! The tag said either $120 or $220.

 

[aussietravellers]

Due to flight cancellations nationwide with some plane (think it was an MD something) we were rerouted around the country to get to WDW. We ended up on a flight from LAX to JFK with AA and then changed terminal and flew with Delta from JFK to MCO. The change over was so tight, we literally ran the whole way (loved the rest on the train between terminals) and our flight was boarding when we got to the terminal. Anyway NONE of our bags made the Delta flight. We didn't have the yellow tags as they hadn't arrived before we left Australia. So we went to the carousel to claim our bags and found they hadn't arrived. We went to the lost bags and lodged the missing bag claim. We then headed off to DME and they scanned our tags and the lost bag claim thing and they looked after it! I was so impressed, the bags arrived a few hours later, I was not expecting them to arrive so early as I had heard that normally the bags can take quite a few hours. We arrived at the hotel about 2.30 and we had our suitcases by about 6pm.

So even if you do know your bags are lost and you lodge the claim, DME will follow it up and find the bags. They were great!

 

[kaytieeldr]

We didn't have any problems with lost bags while using ME, but did have a suitcase that was destroyed and ME had it replaced before we ever knew there was a problem.

Something must have happened when they were picking up our bags and delivering them to our resort

Not necessarily. In fact, not even likely. Magical Express uses people to pull tagged luggage on the tarmac and sends it to a warehouse on airport property to be sorted, caged, and loaded onto trucks - again, by people.

In all likelihood, the airline mangled your suitcase and Magical Express accepted responsibility for the damage.

 

[seashoreCM]

Hmmm. Can Magical Express make claims with the airlines for damaged baggage without the owner present?

(The owner, now at the resort, would not be told what exactly happened.)

Another twist, whether the DME computer system allows the CM behind the carousel with the damaged bag to check with the welcoming area CM to see if the guest has not checked in yet and intercept the guest at the welcoming area to file the baggage claim with the airline.

 

[*Seanaci*]

We had one of our bags go MIA back in Dec 2008. Luckily, after 2 hours and finally reaching someone at United who would help with my claim, she informed me that it HAD been scanned into Orlando airport...so it was just a matter of finding it and delivering it to us. On the DME end, they were able to look up our lost bag by the United bag tag number...even though I'm pretty certain I never handed over our luggage claim tickets. Overall, everyone was very helpful and the bag was delivered before we went to bed that night. I think all told, between the time we came back to the room found that 2 of our 3 bags made it and running back and forth to the front desk at the resort, not to mention the phone time trying to get someone at United, it was like 2 hours until we had the bag. In our case, it just so happend that somewhere along the line our Yellow DME tag was pulled/ripped off the bag and stuck in the front pocket of the suitcase. SO DME had to go off our description of the bag as well as the United bag tag number.

 

[strmtroopr96]

Not necessarily. In fact, not even likely. Magical Express uses people to pull tagged luggage on the tarmac and sends it to a warehouse on airport property to be sorted, caged, and loaded onto trucks - again, by people.

In all likelihood, the airline mangled your suitcase and Magical Express accepted responsibility for the damage.

Maybe, but they did enclose a letter when the original suitcase and new suitcase were dropped off at our room explaining the bag was damaged while in their care. The damage was definitely not something that could have been done by a person. I hated leaving that suitcase behind as it was fairly new but it was totally unuseable.

Not sure if I still have the letter or not to see exactly how they worded it. So I'm not sure but as long as I had somewhere to pack all of our clothes for the flight home, I was happy.

 

[seashoreCM]

We had one of our bags go MIA back in Dec 2008. .... On the DME end, they were able to look up our lost bag by the United bag tag number...even though I'm pretty certain I never handed over our luggage claim tickets. ..., not to mention the phone time trying to get someone at United, it was like 2 hours until we had the bag. In .

Your name on the outside of the bag also helped.

Disney should have let you use one of their desk or office phones. (Or reimbursed you for minutes of your own phone time, or comped you the use of the room phone.)