DME on a Saturday and placing your own luggage on the bus ?

[pooh2001]

Can we place on luggage on the DME bus when we arrive at MCO to go to POFQ ?

We will have 4 suitcases.

We fly JetBlue. Airside Terminal 2
Airside 2 contains gates 100-129.
Side A or B ?

If JetBlue is on side A - how to you get to side B ?
What if we carry our own luggage to DME side B ?
Do you think this is do able ?



DME bus is level 1 and the B side.
Disney Airport Welcome Center (Level 1, "B" Side).

 

[Missytara]

You can bring your luggage on the bus with you. It will be placed underneath by the bus driver and you should tip about a dollar per bag.

 

[Jestocost]

Yes, it's acceptable and "doable." In fact, if your flight arrives after 10:00 p.m. and before 5:00 a.m. you have to collect your bags as the DME luggage service doesn't collect during those hours. (Actually, you can just let them sit around the airport all night and they will be delivered in the morning, but few people choose to do that.)

Here's what you should consider.

If you want to collect your own bags, just leave off the DME luggage tags and head to baggage claim after your flight lands. However, JetBlue is on the 'A' side of the terminal, which means that after the tram from the gate area deposits you on level 3, you will need to go down to level 2 for baggage claim. Then, you need to go back up to level 3, cross over to the 'B' side of the terminal and then from there down to level 1 for DME.

You can take your bags with you and have the bus driver put them under the bus, then unload them at the resort. You should be prepared to tip the driver $1-$2 per bag for this.

In addition, stopping to collect your bags will add at least 20 minutes to the time it take to get to your resort. As a result, you should expect to arrive 80-110 minutes after you get off of your flight (longer if your bags are delayed for any reason) v. 60-90 minutes if you use the luggage transfer service.

 

[dzorn]

Yes you can, but that also defeat the great feeling of walking without it. I always let Disney deliver it to our room. That's the best part of DME the luggage delivery.

Denise in MI

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Yes, if you choose to, you can go from your aircraft to your airline's baggage claim, wait there for your bags, carry them with you to the DME welcome center, and have the driver stow them in the luggage hold of the DME motorcoach. (If the driver handles your bags, a tip is customary when he returns them to you at your resort.)

Just do not use the yellow DME tags. Otherwise Disney will take control of your bags "behind the scenes" at the airport.

You can cross between the "A" side and "B" side on level 3 of the huge terminal building.

Just keep in mind that claiming you own bags means that you're likely to arrive at your resort 30-60 minutes later than if you go directly from your aircraft to DME. And it means you have to handle all your bags at the airport and at the resort (or tip for assistance), especially if your room is not ready.

I'm not sure why you would want to claim your own bags. Perhaps you want immediate access to a few things when you get to the resort. If that's the reason, consider packing such things in a carry-on. You then have the best of both worlds.

 

[Missytara]

That is another thing to consider; if you arrive at the resort, and your room is not ready, you have to stow your bags at guest services. You have to be in your bags, or take them to your room yourself. Again, tipping involved and extra time.

If you let ME take your bags, you do not have to be in your room to receive the bags, since the tip has already been taken care of. You can be enjoying the parks while waiting for your bags to be delivered to your room.

 

[GreatGranny]

We allowed DME to look after our bags last time we were at WDW but they were not delivered to our room until around 11pm (we arrived in MCO mid-morning). We saw our bags in the resort luggage area hours before that and asked if we could take them to our room and they would not let us have them.

We would never do that again, would rather take 20 minutes more of our time at the airport and get our own bags.

 

[Jestocost]

We allowed DME to look after our bags last time we were at WDW but they were not delivered to our room until around 11pm (we arrived in MCO mid-morning). We saw our bags in the resort luggage area hours before that and asked if we could take them to our room and they would not let us have them.

We would never do that again, would rather take 20 minutes more of our time at the airport and get our own bags.

I don't doubt your story one bit and know that there are occasional delays in DME luggage delivery, but the vast majority of bags are delivered to their proper room within three hours of resort check in (provided the room is available then). We've always had our luggage delivered within normal expectations when using the luggage transfer service.

I've waited as long as two hours at baggage claim for my luggage in one extreme case, on the other hand, so I guess I could warn people never to collect their own bags because it can take hours for them to get out on the carousel. That's not very good advice, however.

The bottom line is I would caution against making decision based on the slight chance that something out of the ordinary will occur. Understand that something can go wrong with any part of the process and that there is no way to completely eliminate the potential for delays or other problems.