Dme ?

[Honeymooners1021]

Have any faithful DME users picked up their luggage and brought it with them on the bus? Our flight gets in at 5:30 and we want to have our luggage with use to unpack and to have an easy eveing at the hotel. Plus DF is a freak about losing luggage or getting it stolen. Any thoughts?

 

[CleveRocks]

There is no problem with your doing this, except for causing yourself a delay.

Here's what to do:

1) DON'T put the DME luggage tags on your bags.
2) After your flight arrives, go to baggage claim and get your bags.
3) With your bags, go to the DME Welcome Center to check in.
4) With your bags, get in the assigned bus queue.
5) When you get to your bus, ask the driver to stow the bags under the bus.
6) When you arrive at your resort, collect your bags and tip your driver.

 

[kaytieeldr]

You can certainly pick up your own luggage (I'll let other advocates talk about the 'missing out on the best part...' issue )
Don't attach the yellow DME tags - throw them away.
Go to baggage claim, wait for and pull your bags
Proceed to the DME counter, check in, bring bags to bus, don't forget to tip driver when you get to your resort because he/she handled your luggage.
Check in, go to room, unpack.

I will point out two things, though. First, in 2005 alone the airlines misdirected over three million pieces of luggage and permanently lost over 250,000 of those - so it's interesting that your DF trusts the airline to successfully transport your luggage several hundred or several thousand miles, but not DME to get it the last twenty or so; which brings me to thing two - between when your luggage is removed from the plane and when it arrives in your room, the tags are scanned (and the scans recorded for tracking purposes) five times AND the trucks on which they're transported are equipped with GPS. This information, combined with properly-tagged luggage being pulled between the plane and the terminal before ANY luggage shows up on the carousel pretty much eliminates any bags being stolen. That's actually a more likely scenario, even accidentally, with luggage that does go on the carousel - since many bags look alike and it's possible for someone to walk off with the wrong bag, thinking it's theirs.

eta: I started typing before CleveRocks posted, but I had more to say so his response appeared first.

 

[Honeymooners1021]

Ohh don't worry he doesn't trust the airline with his luggage! He would hold his suitcase on his lap the whole trip if they woud let him! He keeps asking me if we can drive to WDW! Yeah right a 24 hour car trip on our honeymoon does not sound relaxing to me!!! I love to fly and we got a decent deal on tickets definately cheaper than buying the gas to fill our SUV. Thanks for the help!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

You can certainly pick up your own luggage (I'll let other advocates talk about the 'missing out on the best part...' issue )

I'll take that as my cue.

In another recent thread, Can we bring our luggage on DME?, I wrote:

Yes, guests are allowed to throw away the yellow luggage routing tags instead of using them — but that really means those guests are throwing away the best part of the Magical Express service. Guests who do so have to go to baggage claim, wait for their bags, lug them to Magical Express check-in, typically arrive at their resort on a later motorcoach than if they had bypassed baggage claim, have the driver store them under the motorcoach, tip the driver when he returns them, lug their bags through resort check-in and to their room (or tip bell services to do so).

I trust Disney (and Disney's contractors) much more than I trust the airlines.​

Also in that thread, Eric (CleveRocks) provided an excellent, detailed explanation of the DME luggage handling process.