DME Photos!

[msr709]

I just came back from my vacation and wanted to post some pics of the DME bus and the counter at the airport. It worked like a charm for me. I got in on time at 10:00am and was at my resort (POP) by 10:30am). I got off the plane went to the tram, got off the tram saw the Disney reps, they showed me the counter

After 2 minutes of checking in I was led to the line and the bus was boarding at the time

I got on and settled in and took these pics of the interior of the bus:

Had a wonderful time!

 

[paulmc80]

Thank you!

What very nice pictures.

 

[cocowum]

Thank you for the pics. I can't wait!!!

 

[KatieKateKate]

Yikes! That's a huge bus - how do they decide who gets dropped off first? I really do not want to sit on it and ride all the way around the 49 miles or however large it is. I want to check in and go to the parks ASAP!!!

 

[Dreamer04]

Thank you for posting these. Looks great!

 

[CleveRocks]

Yikes! That's a huge bus - how do they decide who gets dropped off first? I really do not want to sit on it and ride all the way around the 49 miles or however large it is. I want to check in and go to the parks ASAP!!!

First of all, there's a max of four resorts per bus. The bus I was on had 3 resorts in it. There's no set grouping or routing, it's all arranged "on the fly" on an as-needed basis. For any particular bus, the order is generally closest resort to MCO gets dropped off first, etc.

-- Eric

 

[Bella2000]

Thank you for posting the photos. I keep going back and forth on using them but it's helpful to see the setup.

 

[mpbs]

Thank you for the pictures, will be using ME for the first time in Aug..

 

[alicenwonder99]

Thanks for posting the pics. I'm really clueless about the DME. I'm heading to WDW in December with just my youngest children (dh can't come with), and I'm nervous on doing this myself (without dh there to keep me from getting lost).

Could you fill me in on exactly what I have to do? When I get to the airport in my hometown, can I check in on curbside? Or do I have to go to AA's check-in counter with my luggage? Or is there a special Disney counter I go to? I'm flying out of O'Hare airport in Chicago, and I don't know my way around there.

OK, then once I get off the plane, where do I go?

And yes, I'm one of those people who gets lost all the time.

Mary

 

[CleveRocks]

I'm really clueless about the DME. Could you fill me in on exactly what I have to do? When I get to the airport in my hometown, can I check in on curbside? Or do I have to go to AA's check-in counter with my luggage? Or is there a special Disney counter I go to? I'm flying out of O'Hare airport in Chicago, and I don't know my way around there.

It's a very easy system, no need to worry. Luggage-wise, the only thing special you'll need to do before flying to Orlando (MCO) is putting the special DME tags (they're sticky paper) on your checked luggage. American Airlines in Chicago and employees of O'Hare have never heard of DME and don't need to, because they have nothing to do with it. In fact, if you mention DME anywhere in Chicago you're likely to get strange looks, because it has NOTHING to do with them, period.

Let me put it a different way. Let's say you arranged for your cousin Fred to pick up your luggage for you when you fly to Tulsa, and you put a special label on your suitcase so he'll recognize it. At ORD, when you check in at the AA counter or do curbside, if you tell them your cousin Fred is going to pick up your bags for you and you put a special label on it for him to recognize, everyone at ORD will make some wise-a@@ remark like "Good for you" or "What do I care!" Same thing with DME. Has nothing to do with anything done in Chicago. Just put the tag on each piece of checked luggage and relax.

OK, so now you're at MCO. Disney (or a subcontractor) has employees at MCO watching all the regular luggage "behind the scenes" at some point BEFORE the luggage gets to the baggage claim carousel. All those employees do is look for the special DME tags, and then they pull those bags out of the regular route and set them aside to be transported to your resort. If you understand this process, you'll realize that you don't need to do anything special with your luggage (except of course tag it).

OK, then once I get off the plane, where do I go?

You have to go to the DME counter (DON'T GO TO BAGGAGE CLAIM!). Disney has lots of CMs throughout the airport dressed in DME uniforms and holding clipboards as well as giant Mickey hands, to direct people towards the DME counter. Even if you don't see any of those CMs, you can probably ask just about any airport employee, as DME serves 5,000-6,000 people a day.

Once you get there, you get in line to check in, and then they will direct you to the correct line for your bus to your resort. The bus is air conditioned, has plushly upholstered seats, and you'll watch a pleasant WDW infomercial on the TV screens that fold out from the ceiling.

Your luggage will probably get to your resort about 3 hours or so after you, so plan accordingly and take necessities in your carry-ons (each ticketed passenger is allowed one, even the kids!). I always pack 24 hours worth of supplies no matter where I fly, just in case the airline delays or loses my luggage, so when my luggage arrived at my resort 4 hours after I did I didn't care. I didn't even know about it, because I was at the pool with my kids enjoying the beginning of my WDW vacation. Pack a bathing suit, change of clothes, toiletries, medications, PJs, you get the idea. DON'T PLAN ON WAITING FOR YOUR LUGGAGE BEFORE YOU GO ANYWHERE. PLAN ON IT NOT BEING THERE BUT HAVING FUN, ANYWAY! The luggage "magically" appears in your room whether you're there or not, and even the tip for the bell person is included.

Now, what happens when you go home? Since I'm pretty sure AA isn't one of the "participating" airlines, you will have to take care of your own luggage on your return trip, just like you would have to do if you traveled anywhere else in the world! But you still get a free DME ride back to the airport. It will be scheduled about 3 hours prior to your scheduled flight departure. If your pick-up is after check-out time (11:00 a.m.) you can get Bell Services to store your luggage for you (even your carry-ons!) while you go out and play. When the DME bus arrives, get your luggage to the driver and he/she will load it under the bus for you. When you get to MCO, he/she will unload it for you (and you should tip accordingly!) and then you're on your own to check in, etc.

I know this is a very long post, but DME is a very easy system to use and enjoy. ENJOY YOUR VACATION!

-- Eric

 

[alicenwonder99]

Thank you Eric!

I guess I thought there was a "special" thing to do at O'Hare because when I made my reservations, the CM told me I couldn't check my luggage in at curbside (with the skycap). She said I had to go into the airport and check my luggage in at the AA counter. I've never done that before, and I was just going to have dh drop me, the kids, and the luggage off at the curb. Dh would take care of getting the luggage to the skycap and the tip (you know, important husband duties that I've never done before).

Also, I think AA does participate in the DME leaving WDW. That is, I hope so because then it would be one less thing for me to worry about.

When I get done with my trip, I'll have to post a "DME for Dummies" thread. Kinda like, "Step 1: get out of car. Step 2: take luggage out of trunk..."

Thanks for your help.

Mary

 

[Lewisc]

No reason why you can't use the skycap at O'Hare. Just make sure you have your ME tags on each bag. The skycaps get tipped, the employee at the AA counter doesn't. Sometimes the line inside goes faster than the skycap line outside.

Thank you Eric!

I guess I thought there was a "special" thing to do at O'Hare because when I made my reservations, the CM told me I couldn't check my luggage in at curbside (with the skycap). She said I had to go into the airport and check my luggage in at the AA counter. I've never done that before, and I was just going to have dh drop me, the kids, and the luggage off at the curb. Dh would take care of getting the luggage to the skycap and the tip (you know, important husband duties that I've never done before).

Also, I think AA does participate in the DME leaving WDW. That is, I hope so because then it would be one less thing for me to worry about.

When I get done with my trip, I'll have to post a "DME for Dummies" thread. Kinda like, "Step 1: get out of car. Step 2: take luggage out of trunk..."

Thanks for your help.

Mary

 

[msr709]

Thank you Eric!

I guess I thought there was a "special" thing to do at O'Hare because when I made my reservations, the CM told me I couldn't check my luggage in at curbside (with the skycap). She said I had to go into the airport and check my luggage in at the AA counter. ...

Also, I think AA does participate in the DME leaving WDW. That is, I hope so because then it would be one less thing for me to worry about.

When I get done with my trip, I'll have to post a "DME for Dummies" thread. Kinda like, "Step 1: get out of car. Step 2: take luggage out of trunk..."

Thanks for your help.

Mary

I checked my luggage curbside, I just had the DME tags on my luggage already. I'm also pretty sure AA does participate so you can check in at the resort airline counter on the day you leave and get your boarding pass from them. I checked my bags at 7:00am the day I was leaving because I wanted to go to the parks one last time. I checked my carry on also with luggage services and went off my merry way. I got back about 1:00pm for my 2:40 bus and had no trouble at all. HTH

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Just curious...what day of the week did you use DME and how crowded was the bus? I'm using DME next month and getting pretty excited. The kids and I loved the pics...thanks!!

 

[geetey]

Nice photos! I especially like the star sprinkled seats! Cute!

 

[kkmauch]

My flight in October arrives about 8 AM. Does anyone know if DME is particulary crowded at this time in the morning?

 

[Mears_Driver]

My flight in October arrives about 8 AM. Does anyone know if DME is particulary crowded at this time in the morning?

It is not normally busy at this time of the morning. The only exception might be on a Saturday morning but right now it is not that busy.

 

[ZIPBAGS]

Thanks for the pictures!

 

[msr709]

Just curious...what day of the week did you use DME and how crowded was the bus? I'm using DME next month and getting pretty excited. The kids and I loved the pics...thanks!!

I arrived on a Wednesday (7/6) and left on a Wednesday (7/13). I purposely picked these days because I figured it might be less crowded and I was right! The bus was almost full. I say almost because the back 3 rows everyone seemed to have a seat to themselves but the front was full. Those 2 seats I took the picture of were the back of the bus and they remained empty.

 

[aubriee]

American Airlines are definitely a participating airlines. I flew AA when I used DME in May. I arrived on a Friday about 9:20am and was also on the bus fairly quickly. The bus I was on was not even half full. POP was the first stop and because they knew we were coming had lots of CMs on duty for check-in. My room was ready, so I took my carry-on over and checked out the room. I was still able to be in MK for lunch. My checked luggage was waiting for me in my room, when I returned from the park that night.

Checkout day was just as easy. I went down early that Sunday morning, checked both my bags, got my boarding pass and went off for a character breakfast. I came back just before my 3:00pm pick-up time, waited about 10 minutes, then got on the DME bus, which again was not even half full. We did not make any stops on the way to the airport and because I had checked my carry on bag for the return trip, I was able to just get off the bus and walk straight through security to my gate. Walking through the airport having no luggage to deal with was great. When I arrived back in Dallas, my luggage (which I hadn't seen since early that morning) was waiting for me in Dallas. I was traveling solo that trip by the way.

DME worked great for me and I will be using it again in Sept, Dec, and again in the spring. Between those four trips that's well over $400.00 I will be saving by not using a towncar.