help with Magical Express

[Ali and boyz]

read some threads that if your flight was landing at night you sometimes don't get your luggage until the next day.

our flight would say land at around 5.30 pm so would you be likely to get it that night.

here is the reason I am asking

we arn't sure what to do . our DS as special needs so ME would be the answer for us to save us lugging the luggage especially twice (1st pickup then on to the next baggage reclaim part) plus wheelchair and with us being last to get off the plane I have read posts about there being no trolleys left.
but................. on the other hand we have medical stuff in the case which we would need that night for our DS so we are unsure what to do.

we carry quite a bit of special needs and medical stuff

 

[OneLittleSpark]

I would think you're arriving early enough in the evening for them to get it to you in time, but I'm not certain. If no one else here knows the answer, you could try ringing up; all the phone operators I've spoken to have been very Disney. Is there any way you can carry at least one night's worth of medical supplies in hand luggage, in case the baggage doesn't arrive in time or gets delayed (I used to travel standby when I was little, so I know all about baggage delays)?

 

[Ali and boyz]

thanks

no we have a repose mattress, sling for the hoist etc. but wondering if we could put the essentials in one of the cases and not put the ME label on it and let the rest go through.

we hire a moblity car to which picks us up at the airport , do you know how it works i.e. do you need to go on the coach to use ME

 

[robind]

thanks

we hire a moblity car to which picks us up at the airport , do you know how it works i.e. do you need to go on the coach to use ME

I'm pretty sure you have to take the magical express bus for them to take your luggage unless something has recently changed.

 

[SueM in MN]

I'm pretty sure you have to take the magical express bus for them to take your luggage unless something has recently changed.

I think so too.

 

[seashoreCM]

Do not pack valuables, medicine, etc. in checked luggage.

Only checked luggage is delivered magically to resort rooms.

Ergo (therefore) you must schlep valuables and medicines from your plane to the Magical Express bus yourself.

When you make your Magical Express reservation, find out what kind of mobility accommodations ME itself can handle. Only if ME gives up should you make an alternative mobility van reservation. Keep the ME reservation intact for at least one person. If you do have non-valuable stuff to check, use the yellow tags. Then go to the ME area, check in as usual, but then the people who need to accompany the person with needs to the mobility van may defect.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

It is my belief that ME will not give up regardless of the nature of the disability.

 

[clkelley]

From what I've read, the UK and other overseas airports do not have the same "medical equipment" exemption for carryon that the US has. So, if their medical equipment exceeds the standard carryon allowances they have to check it??

Am I correct??

Yes, if you want to pick up your medical equipment that you have to check, just leave the yellow tags off of that piece of luggage. You can pick that up at the carousel and have it stowed under the bus. Most ME buses have fantastic lift equipment that should handle your son's chair just fine.

 

[SueM in MN]

thanks

no we have a repose mattress, sling for the hoist etc. but wondering if we could put the essentials in one of the cases and not put the ME label on it and let the rest go through.

we hire a moblity car to which picks us up at the airport , do you know how it works i.e. do you need to go on the coach to use ME

You could do what we did when we went in December. We were also concerned that our DD might need something from the luggage before it arrived. We brought what we could in our carryon, but some things we might need were in the checked bags. I can see from your list of items that there is no way that you could carry it all on, so you will need to decide what it the most important -carry that and put the rest in the checked bags.

When we made our ME arrangements, we told them that we had a person traveling with a wheelchair (DD).
We did NOT put the ME tags on any of our luggage.
When we got off the plane, DH went to baggage claim and claimed all of our bags while I took DD to the bathroom.
Then we took our luggage and went to the ME check in area.
When we got on the bus, we brought our luggage with us and the bus driver loaded it onto the bus. They do have buses with wheelchair lifts and the process worked well. We were prepared that it might take a bit longer for the bus since not all of them are accessible. But because they knew ahead of time and knew what time our plane was arriving, we had only about a 15 minute wait for the accessible bus.
I have some pictures of the lift, but when I have tried to attach some of our pictures, it didn't work.

 

[Ali and boyz]

I never thought DS could have travelled on the bus so wasn't an option for us but this puts a whole different light on the situation. to be honest we are really tired having had to get up at say 4 am UK time for the plane to take off at 11 then a 9 half hr flight, we then have to go off-site for the disability car so its about 2 am UK time by the time we get to the resort all in all nearly 24 hrs. which is a worry because our son should only be sitting for a certain amount of time.

with this option we could leave the hired car and get it the next day if we wanted

you are right clkelley we arn't allowed here in the Uk to have anything but the minimum on our hand luggage and it is now worse since last July whereby even soft drinks are banned. we would be allowed to take DS's pills and that would be it.

Think the best idea is what you all kindly suggested and not put the yellow tags on the luggage and then we know its all safe .

 

[OneLittleSpark]

Are you allowed to take stuff and put it in the bus yourself still? The first time I used ME this was fine, but when I went last September, I was told they couldn't handle anything that we'd taken off the carousel (one of our bags lost its tag, and we were offering to go get it and put it in the bus ourselves). It was just after the security scare, so it might have been a tightening up, that has loosened now, but I would ring up to make certain.

 

[bzzymom]

We flew to WDW 1 week after the no liquids rule. We took a small case with our suntan lotion and toiletries and such and did not put the ME tag on the bag. We picked it up at the luggage return area, and then proceded to the ME area. No problems with doing it at all.

 

[SueM in MN]

Are you allowed to take stuff and put it in the bus yourself still? The first time I used ME this was fine, but when I went last September, I was told they couldn't handle anything that we'd taken off the carousel (one of our bags lost its tag, and we were offering to go get it and put it in the bus ourselves). It was just after the security scare, so it might have been a tightening up, that has loosened now, but I would ring up to make certain.

We did it in December. The person at the ME check in desk and the driver thought we were a bit silly, but they were OK with it. We just told them that because of DD being disabled, we really needed to make sure our stuff had gotten to Orlando with us and we had things we might need before our luggage was delivered to the resort.
I think having a person with a disability in our party, they cut us a little slack because they could see that we might have some things that could not be easily replaced or done without.

It might be a good idea though to call and see what they say. If you are concerned, what about if your DH hired a regular car that he could pick up at the airport. You could put the ME tags on the luggage that it's not vital for you to have right away. Your DH could pick up the really important to have bags and bring them to the resort in the car (don't put the ME tags on those).
Then, the next day, your DH could return the regular car and pick up the accessible vehicle that you hired.

 

[Marie14625]

OK, I am a bit tired as I read this, but, is the Magical Express transportation accessable? When we made our Disney reservaions, the CM knew we were with three power chairs...and suggested the ME. So, they WILL take us and our baggage, right?

 

[Cheshire Figment]

OK, I am a bit tired as I read this, but, is the Magical Express transportation accessable? When we made our Disney reservaions, the CM knew we were with three power chairs...and suggested the ME. So, they WILL take us and our baggage, right?

When you get your documentation there should be a contact phone number for ME. At that time I would suggest calling; speaking to a supervisor if necessary.

Stress to them that there are three people with power chairs. Most of the buses are designed to handle only one or two. However, they can have a special van for you that can take all three at one time. Make sure you get names and date/time of the calls.

 

[SueM in MN]

When you get your documentation there should be a contact phone number for ME. At that time I would suggest calling; speaking to a supervisor if necessary.

Stress to them that there are three people with power chairs. Most of the buses are designed to handle only one or two. However, they can have a special van for you that can take all three at one time. Make sure you get names and date/time of the calls.

I know the regular accessible ME buses can hold at least 2. We rode the bus in December 2006 (and to get back to the airport on January 3) with DD in her wheelchair.
While we were waiting for the rest of the passengers to load, we kind of looked around at how the bus was set up. The regular seats actually roll up and out of the way to make room for a wheelchair. We could see that there were at least 2 wheelchair spots on the bus. I don't know if there was space for more than 2, but if you call the contact phone number, they should be able to set you up.

 

[Marie14625]

Thanks for the info. Out of curiosity...I know that one member of our party would be able to transfer out of his chair into a regular bus seat. Do you think there would be room for his chair if it did not need to be tied down?
This would be the first experience for all of us with the ME, so we have no experience to fall back onto. Thanks.

 

[OneLittleSpark]

If the chair was in the main part of the bus, it would need to be tied down for safety reasons, and I wouldn't be sure about putting such an expensive piece of equipment in the luggage hold. I would second the recommendation to ring up and see what they can do. Disney are great and if you give them enough warning, they can cope with just about anything!

 

[BCV23]

Ali, I think if you use ME your bags will certainly make it to your room that night. We used it in January and landed about 4:30. We had dinner at 6:30 and our bags were in our room when we got to it.

I almost feel safer letting ME handle the bags since they are pulled before they even go on the carousel. Since we were the last off the plane, our bags could have been going around before we got to the carousel. It would also make your arrival just a bit easier after such a long day.

We however do not travel with any special medical equipment in the baggage so I know it is easy for me to say.

You might ask on the regular transportation board about folks experiences with arrivals at that time. The only posts I've seen about not getting luggage until the next day were for late evening arrivals.

 

[SueM in MN]

Thanks for the info. Out of curiosity...I know that one member of our party would be able to transfer out of his chair into a regular bus seat. Do you think there would be room for his chair if it did not need to be tied down?
This would be the first experience for all of us with the ME, so we have no experience to fall back onto. Thanks.

As long as it would fit in the luggage compartment, that would work. Having it in there would basically be not much different than being in the airplane hold.
People have posted that they have put their ECVs there.
There are about 5 fairly steep steps to get into the bus. I believe (but am not sure) that some people have posted they were able to stand on the lift and get into the bus that way if they could not climb the steps.

I would call and discuss your options.

 

[clkelley]

The only problem with putting ECVs/Electric Wheelchairs in the luggage compartment under the bus is that the Magical Express folks/Bus Drivers won't do it for you. So even if you can transfer, if you are not physically able to load the equipment under the bus yourself, you are better off using the lift.

For us it's not a problem, we have our strong boys along with us and they can lift the ECV like it's a piece of paper. If they boys aren't with us, we just remove the batteries and then it doesn't weigh anything.