How to find out that bags were lost by airline when using ME

[MATIO_SVK]

Hi
This might sound a bit complicated (or not ), i have searched on this topic but found no answer. Forgive if it was already answered.

Me and my girlfriend will be arriving to WDW for our 1st time. We are European and we will be traveling quite intensively(3 flights, with short layovers). The probability that our luggage is going to be delayed/lost is rather high.
My question is, if my luggage gets lost/delayed, how will i be able to find out it has not arrived to Orlando with me when using ME.
The way I understand, is that I arrive at MCO, check in with ME, arrive at the hotel, 3 hours pass, no bags... Then what, my airline will not accept my claim, and my travel insurance won't either...

thanks

 

[Alesia]

If ME is expecting your bags and they don't show up, they will file the claim for you.

 

[MATIO_SVK]

Thanks for the info, and how will I be notified? and more importantly how will ME know the details for the claim?(Like size/type of bag, color, etc ) and more importantly, my signature on the claim?

 

[seashoreCM]

If your bags don't arrive in your room, you as a Magical Express guest would go down to the front desk to file a claim. This could possibly happen around midnight when you just got back from the parks, even if you arrived in the morning. You would bring boarding passes, baggage claim checks, DME materials, etc. You would be asked various questions perhaps including picking your bag out from a chart.

The claim would be handled comparably to traveling elsewhere and not finding your bags on the carousel at your destination airport.

There are no recorded instances of DME guests being sent back to the airport (which would be via DME since the DME guest would not have a car.) This shows how efficient DME is at handling the very few baggage problems that unfortunately may happen.

Exception! Arriving in Orlando after 10 PM you must claim your own baggage, yellow tagged, or not, from the carousels. You would file a claim with your airline if needed, prior to leaving the carousels for the DME welcoming area.

 

[MATIO_SVK]

So I can make a missing luggage claim with my airline, AT the resort?

I am scared only and only because of this:

Important information
If your baggage has not arrived at your final destination, please notify a US Airways representative before you leave the airport and within four hours of your arrival.

I arrive at MCO, give my luggage tags/cupons to ME(so me not having them no more for future claims, no yellow tags for me as flying from overseas), arrive at the resort, waiting thinking they have not been yet delivered, and afterwards finding out that they have in fact not arrived in MCO, but already passed my 4 hour timelimit for reporting it.

 

[DebbieB]

If you are coming from Europe, you will have to claim your luggage to go through customs in the US. Is Orlando your first US city or are you connecting from somewhere else?

 

[MATIO_SVK]

If you are coming from Europe, you will have to claim your luggage to go through customs in the US. Is Orlando your first US city or are you connecting from somewhere else?

no, I'm connecting in PHL, so customs in done there, to MCO I arrive as regular US visitor, but without the yellow luggage tags, as they are only sent to addresses in the US

 

[FoodLover]

no, I'm connecting in PHL, so customs in done there, to MCO I arrive as regular US visitor, but without the yellow luggage tags, as they are only sent to addresses in the US

So after you go through Customs you only have the one leg, PHL-MCO? If that's the case, why be so concerned about your bags getting lost? The chances of it happening are very, very small.

If it worries you that much, don't use the tags, pick up your own bags at MCO and carry them onto the ME bus with you!

Mary

 

[Alesia]

So I can make a missing luggage claim with my airline, AT the resort?

I am scared only and only because of this:

Important information
If your baggage has not arrived at your final destination, please notify a US Airways representative before you leave the airport and within four hours of your arrival.

I arrive at MCO, give my luggage tags/cupons to ME(so me not having them no more for future claims, no yellow tags for me as flying from overseas), arrive at the resort, waiting thinking they have not been yet delivered, and afterwards finding out that they have in fact not arrived in MCO, but already passed my 4 hour timelimit for reporting it.

I understand your concern, as that certainly is the case in other situations. However ME is a special case and if there is a problem, they are absolutely able to file a claim on your behalf.

Generally speaking, though, luggage isn't actually lost, just delayed. Even with international flights. If it is delayed, ME will get it when it arrives and bring it to you - probably without you even knowing there was a problem at all.

 

[DebbieB]

no, I'm connecting in PHL, so customs in done there, to MCO I arrive as regular US visitor, but without the yellow luggage tags, as they are only sent to addresses in the US

Personally, I would just pickup the bags yourself and take them to the bus and then you don't have to worry. US is on B side so you don't have to go very far.

 

[sam_gordon]

no, I'm connecting in PHL, so customs in done there, to MCO I arrive as regular US visitor, but without the yellow luggage tags, as they are only sent to addresses in the US

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but if OP doesn't have the yellow luggage tags, she'll (he'll?) need to get the bags off the carousel @ MCO anyway, right? Or give the claim tickets to ME @ checkin. Either way, it should be pretty quick to find out if the luggage made it to Orlando.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Nope, that's not accurate, sam. Neither is this, OP

I arrive at MCO, give my luggage tags/cupons to ME

You will SHOW your claim checks to the Cast Member, and describe your luggage or pick it out from a notebook of pictures of luggage. Other Cast Members are assigned to the luggage carousels to get luggage belonging to Guests without yellow tags - like the OP - or even bags that were missed on the tarmac.

 

[seashoreCM]

SoI arrive at MCO, give my luggage tags/cupons to ME(so me not having them no more for future claims, no yellow tags for me as flying from overseas), arrive at the resort, waiting thinking they have not been yet delivered, and afterwards finding out that they have in fact not arrived in MCO, but already passed my 4 hour timelimit for reporting it.

You keep your coupons, baggage claim checks, boarding passes, etc. until everything connected with your flight including posting of frequent flyer miles into your account has been finished. Anyone needing to use your claim checks etc. should make a copy and return them to you.

The normal DME process of skipping baggage claim and going to take the Magical Express bus cuts out the ability to report baggage problems with the airline within 4 hours, therefore a baggage claims procedure for DME guests is set up at your resort.

International guests who need to clear or reclear customs in Orlando will see their baggage at the customs station prior to boarding the monorail to the main terminal. Optionally guests may throw the bags on the other conveyor belt for entry into the DME baggage delivery system. (After 10 PM baggage not carried right out of the customs station and onto the monorail must be refetched at the carousels.)

 

[Edd]

This is from the Delta airlines office which I checked at a little while ago at Orlando International. If you do not receive your baggage at WDW. You can can call or bring the claim tickets and they can be researched. If they arrive in Orlando they will be noted to have arrived in Orlando. If they are not picked up by the passenger or WDW than they are duly noted not picked up and stored in the Orlando facility. However that is as close as you will get to a grood trace on them. Whether Disney picks them up or you pick them up the airlines have no record of it.

The airlines does have a record of the bags not yet picked up and they are stored in the facility where the bags finally landed. The girl said all bags are eventually picked up in a matter of time. Evidently there is no time limit on how long they are store because most people will put in a claim for them within a couple of weeks and the bags will than be sent to the person or they are picked up.

The lady at Delta said most airlines at Orlando International work the same way because of WDW and actually other hotels who do the baggage pick up for their passengers. I think some of the bigger non-disney hotels have a system where they pick up the bags for the guests arriving in their hotels. I am not really familiar with it yet.

You can call the airlines at any time for baggage claim and they will be able to tell you where you luggage is and if no one picked it up will be able to find it for you and ship it to an address of your choice. The statements above about calling luggage after 4 hours is absolutely incorrect. If your baggage was not picked up by DME, you or another passenger the baggage will be in the airlines facility and as soon as you call to claim it, arrangements can be made for you to get it whether it is shipped to you or you pick it up. There is no time limit to claim that luggage left behind.

The airline assumes that if they have no record of it left behind on the carousels either you, a friend, WDW or another passenger took your luggage and will not honor a claim on it. If your luggage is at MCO or at another facility under the airline control there is no time limit on claiming it.

I hope this clears up all the misinformation that is given if you use the luggage optioon of the DME, not reporting the luggage to them and finding another type of transportation from MCO to WDW.

 

[MATIO_SVK]

after a phone call to WDW i received the following recommendation:

The easiest solution will be to wait by the carousel so see if my luggage shows arrived as it should, if it does, leave it on the carousel, and proceed to ME to check-in + let them handle the the bags

If it doesn't, I will know right away and can do claiming right at MCO...

PS: We are transferring in PHL, so no customs for us at MCO

 

[verticalchaos]

after a phone call to WDW i received the following recommendation:

The easiest solution will be to wait by the carousel so see if my luggage shows arrived as it should, if it does, leave it on the carousel, and proceed to ME to check-in + let them handle the the bags

If it doesn't, I will know right away and can do claiming right at MCO...

PS: We are transferring in PHL, so no customs for us at MCO

Since you will clear customs in Philadelphia, you will have to claim your bags and then re-check them domestically for the flight to Orlando. Therefore the ONLY way they will be lost from that point is if US Air manages to lose them putting them on ONE plane. If they're lost before Philadelphia, you'll need to do the claim there I'd think.

 

[sam_gordon]

after a phone call to WDW i received the following recommendation:

The easiest solution will be to wait by the carousel so see if my luggage shows arrived as it should, if it does, leave it on the carousel, and proceed to ME to check-in + let them handle the the bags

Simply my opinion, but if I'm going to wait by the carousel to see my bags, I'll take them off the carousel and bring them on the ME bus. Aside from whatever hassle it is to get the bags from the carousel to DME, I don't see what you gain by leaving the bags in place.

 

[clkelley]

Simply my opinion, but if I'm going to wait by the carousel to see my bags, I'll take them off the carousel and bring them on the ME bus. Aside from whatever hassle it is to get the bags from the carousel to DME, I don't see what you gain by leaving the bags in place.

The only thing they gain really is they won't need to tip the bus driver or the Bell Services folks, and perhaps they won't need to use a porter at the airport.

You most definitely will lose quite a bit of time by waiting on the bags just to make sure they are there.

 

[dzorn]

after a phone call to WDW i received the following recommendation:

The easiest solution will be to wait by the carousel so see if my luggage shows arrived as it should, if it does, leave it on the carousel, and proceed to ME to check-in + let them handle the the bags

If it doesn't, I will know right away and can do claiming right at MCO...

PS: We are transferring in PHL, so no customs for us at MCO

If you are going to wait for your bags you might as well just bring them on the ME bus with you.

Denise in MI

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

The probability that our luggage is going to be delayed/lost is rather high.

This isn't true; it is likely that you will have no problem with your bags.

If you are worrying so much about this, why not pack lighter and carry-on only?