Has Anyone Ever Had Their Luggage Lost By DME??

[AndyMcV]

Just curious. Someone else handling my luggage to a resort still doesn't fully sit well with me.

 

[Princess Jenny]

Just curious. Someone else handling my luggage to a resort still doesn't fully sit well with me.

Just to put you at ease, everything went fine. It only took about a hour and a half for our luggage to get to our room. I was a little nervous myself but everything worked out fine. We will be using it again in September. Have a great vacation!

 

[clanmcculloch]

Airlines are far more likely to lose luggage than DME.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Out of the ten million or so DME users to date, I think there's been ONE report by a DISer of either them or someone they know never getting their luggage. Magical Express accepted responsibility for the loss, but it was never explained (determined?) that it was actually DME's fault.

And there was one report this year about much of a family's luggage getting tagged wrong for the trip home - six out of eight bags went to some other state, and when the airline transported the stray luggage to the owners' home airport, they would not then deliver to the person's home - since it wasn't the airline's fault the luggage was mistagged. It was the fault of the RAC staff, but it's always advisable for the passenger to make sure their luggage is tagged for the correct destination. It happens at airports MUCH more than it happens at Walt Disney World.

 

[lillykat]

Airlines are far more likely to lose luggage than DME.

See this is what I was thinking - but wouldn't DME blame the airlines who would in turn blame DME for losing the bags? That was my concern with checking my bags all the way through.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

This is one reason why DME checks your luggage receipts. They can make sure that if you are expecting 4 bags, they will pick up and deliver 4 bags. If there is a bag missing, the sooner DME can help you track it down, the sooner it will be retrieved.

I love DME and have used it twice using DCL tags. All my luggage was delivered correctly to the resort and the ship.

 

[kaytieeldr]

See this is what I was thinking - but wouldn't DME blame the airlines who would in turn blame DME for losing the bags? That was my concern with checking my bags all the way through.

Magical Express luggage is scanned five or six times, starting with - I think - when it comes off the plane and before it is transported to the sorting facility at the airport.

Disney has no reason to lie. If they did not scan something, odds are it did not come off the plane. If they DID scan it, they'll know at what point in the process it went missing.

 

[CarolAnnB]

The last time we went with a group, only 2 of our 3 bags were in our room when we got back that night. I called Luggage Services, had the tag #, he was able to trace it and determine that it was on the hotel property and would be there within 15 minutes. So I agree with PP that they must scan it frequently and always know where your luggage is. I am very confident with ME service.

 

[maxiesmom]

For me, the absolute best thing about using DME is not having to handle my luggage. I have more faith in Disney than I do in the airlines.

Of course it is always adviseable to put anything you may immediately need, or anything of value in your carry-on.

 

[stitchlovestink]

Airlines are far more likely to lose luggage than DME.

Absolutely!

I know I have used ME at least 4 or more times now. Once in 2007, when we were travelling with friends, one out of 7 bags did not arrive at our room w/ the others. We called and for some reason TSA had pulled the bag at MCO (it had that little love letter in it from TSA ) Anyway, as soon as TSA released it, ME took possession, but it took a little longer to get to us than the others.
When we just went in Nov 08, our bags were being taken off of the Luggage truck as we were getting off of the ME bus. Trust me, I know my suitcases. They are identifiable. Our luggage literally beat us to the hotel by seconds.
I love the fact that once I check my bags at BWI, I don't have to touch them again until I'm in my room and ready to unpack them.

 

[CleveRocks]

Just curious. Someone else handling my luggage to a resort still doesn't fully sit well with me.

It's a very high-tech system.

Each DME luggage tag has a barcode. The barcode is, basically, a computer-friendly version of your reservation number. SO when the barcode is scanned, the computer knows your name, resort, etc. And your name and resort are also printed on each tag in plain English.

Anyway, on the route from resort to airplane, each DME tag is scanned 5 separate times.

The DME tags are bright yellow, making them easy to pick out. When the luggage is still behind-the-scenes (before it makes it out to the baggage claim carousel), airline/airport employees as well as Disney cast members pul the DME-tagged bags from the rest of the luggage stream. These bags are transported to Disney's luggage sorting facility on the grounds of the airport.

At that facility, they are grouped by "zone" and then by resort. The luggage is loaded into resort-specific cages, and these cages are then loaded into dedicated DME luggage delivery trucks. These trucks are tracked by GPS. The bags were already scanned 3 times by this point, and since the trucks are tracked by GPS, Disney knows where your bags are even when they're in transit.

The cages get dropped off at the appropriate resorts. Then each resort's Bell Services (Luggage Assistance, at the Value resorts) is responsible for the bags. They get scanned a fourth time upon arrival, and a fifth and final time by a hand-held scanner by the Bell Services cast member after he/she delivers the bags to the inside of your room.

Of course, no system is absolutely perfect and Disney isn't perfect, but they run a very tight ship and are world-renowned for having excellent customer service.

That's why I've trusted them with my bags each time I've traveled to WDW since May 5, 2005, when DME first started.

 

[Alesia]

Just curious. Someone else handling my luggage to a resort still doesn't fully sit well with me.

I would be way more concerned about the airline losing the bags than DME.

 

[Tozzie]

Just curious. Someone else handling my luggage to a resort still doesn't fully sit well with me.

I think the luggage delivery is one of the best features of DME, I have used it about seven times and I always get my luggage.

 

[GCM]

I don't know about losing luggage, but I do know last year when my family arrived back to our room after a day at the parks, we had someone elses luggage in our room. That's right. Walked in and there was a red suitcase and a blue one sitting by the table. Now, I really could not understand why ME had not questioned the room since we had been there for several days and our personal belongings were strewn all over the room. But, they might have thought we had family or friends joining us. Anyhow, we called the front desk and someone was there to get it in less than 5 minutes. I always wondered who that luggage belonged to and if they had been looking for it.

 

[3_disprincesses]

It is so nice to check in at the airline curbside and then you're through with your luggage! We do carry on a change of clothes and any essentials we could need if anything were to happen. We also pack at least one change of clothes in each others luggage that is checked just in case on gets lost and not the other. It's great to be able to check in, freshen up and head out to the parks. The extra park time ME allows us is wonderful!

 

[MariDisney]

I've never used DME as I rent a car. But, last trip one of my bags mistakenly was picked up by DME (It has a yellow handle, which the rude person at Air Tran told me I shouldn't have as it confuses DME...um....what if I didn't even know DME existed...but I digress). Anyway, the bag found me in my resort several hours later, which I thought was amazing since it didn't have a DME tag or my resort information on it. This has nothing to do with what you asked. I just like the story.

 

[cheerful chickadee]

we used ME for the first time this past May and although it didn't go perfectly, I would use it again. We arrived at MCO around 9:45am, got the hotel around 11am (great so far!). Around 1:45pm we had a knock on the door and a CM brought in 2 pieces of luggage. We were expecting 3 so I asked the CM if he had another one for us, he said no but it should be coming soon, it must have gotten left behind in the luggage room or maybe there wasn't enough room on his cart for it. Ok so we wait, DH stays in the room with DD to take a nap, DS and I go to the pool. At about 3:30 I return to the room to DH saying "no, the 3rd piece hasn't come yet" so I call down to luggage services, they say they will bring it within 20 minutes. At 4:15 and still no luggage I called again and asked if they lost it, the CM assured me not, it would be there very soon. At 4:45 my DH called and the CM assure him that it was on it's way. At 4:55 it finally arrived. So it took about 7 hours. They never said what the hold up was, I was just glad to have my luggage at that point.

 

[kaytieeldr]

cheerful chickadee - while it did take your third bag unusually long to arrive in your room, it should be noted that all Magical Express information states that it can take up to three hours after you check in* for your luggage to be delivered to your room. Your 'late' calculation assumes the time-count starts when you arrive at the airport.

*combined with "and your room is ready" even though that's not stated; others have disputed this presumption, but it's just common sense. If someone checks in at 9 AM, but the room isn't ready until 4, there's no possible way the luggage can be in the room within three hours of when the Guest checked in.