is this ok w/ DME??

[ShellyMouse]

we plan to use DME when flying into mco. my mom is on our wdw package, but will already be in florida. (mom and step-dad do 6mo fl,and 6 mo in michigan) so my step-dad will drop her off to us at mco. since she is on the disney package will they send her a tag as well, for her luggage so she can use DME even though she didn't fly? we are booking airfare ourselves, not through disney.

does this make sense? do they check your plane tickets? is this ok to do?

 

[CleveRocks]

we plan to use DME when flying into mco. my mom is on our wdw package, but will already be in florida. (mom and step-dad do 6mo fl,and 6 mo in michigan) so my step-dad will drop her off to us at mco. since she is on the disney package will they send her a tag as well, for her luggage so she can use DME even though she didn't fly? we are booking airfare ourselves, not through disney.

does this make sense? do they check your plane tickets? is this ok to do?

First off, DME is a perk of being a Disney resort guest. No package or anything else is required.

The DME information packet, which includes the DME luggage tags, is mailed to the "head" person on the reservation. It will include the materials for all people named on the room reservation. If your Mom is named on the room reservation, then the 2 DME luggage tags with her name on them will be in your DME packet.

She won't need those DME luggage tags. She will have her luggage with her when she gets dropped off at MCO. The DME luggage tags are used when the baggage is removed from the airplane. DME-tagged bags taken from the airplane are handled "behind the scenes" and are eventually automatically delivered to the inside of your resort room. So if your Mom already has her bags, there's no reason for her to have DME tags on them. In her case, it will be more convenient for her to hang onto her bags, then take them to the bus. The driver will then load her bags into the cargo bay of the bus, and will then unload them for her when she arrives at the resort.

Two of the perks of the DME luggage delivery service are not having to wait at baggage claim, and not having to lug your luggage around the airport. Your Mom won't benefit from either of those perks. She doesn't have to go to baggage claim at all, and since at minimum she'll have to get her bags to the DME Welcome Center, from there she only has to get them basically across the room (to the bus queue) and then from there just to the outside to the bus (and the driver will take them from there), so it's not like she'll really benefit much there, either. I hope this makes sense. In other words, she'll have to carry them only very little between the DME Welcome Center and the DME bus. And once she gets to the resort, Bell Services can handle them from there if she wants.

She will need to check in at the DME Welcome Center to check in, etc., however.

No one will check your plane tickets. I think officially she doesn't need to even fly into MCO to use DME. That being said, it will probably be easier to just say she's on the same flight you are, and when you get to the DME Welcome Center and they ask how many bags your party checked with the airline, just tell them the number you actually checked and tell them she already claimed hers (or didn't have any, or whatever). From a practical standpoint, this white lie will make everything a lot less complicated. It's not like you're "getting away with anything."

 

[CleveRocks]

Just to clarify just in case you don't know some of the nuts and bolts of how DME operates ....

The DME-tagged luggage that is pulled "behind the scenes" is eventually delivered to your resort by truck. Bags handled in this manner are never on your DME bus with you. ANY bags loaded under the DME bus are also unloaded when the bags' owners get off the bus at their resort. Thus, there's no need for the bags on the bus to have DME tags on them.

I hope this cleared things up rather than confused.

 

[goofy4tink]

Is your mom already listed on your DME reservation? If not, add her. They will send you yellow luggage tags for her also, but obviously she won't use them since they go on the bags at the home airport. When you all meet up and head to the DME checkin area, only one person per party, I would think it would be you, has to get in line to check everyone else in. They will stamp the vouchers for each person in the party, ask how many bags total are in your group, and off you go. Hand everyone their bus voucher, and hop on board the bus. As the others have said, your mom's bags will go with you guys, underneath the bus, while your bags (assuming you put those yellow tags on before you left home), will go on a different truck to the resort.

 

[ShellyMouse]

yes, my mom is on the wdw package reservation through AAA. i have never flown before (just a little nervous ), so i had no idea how this worked.
i haven't booked airfare yet, i don't know what i'm waiting for.....i doubt the fares are going down for over x-mas .

so after i book airfare, i call AAA, tell them my flight info....i'm sure they will assume my mom is flying since on the ressie......they send yellow tags for our luggage. we scrap hers, she meets us at mco, i (b/c i'm main person on ressie) go to counter at mco to check in for DME, we load her bags on the bus, and have hotel keep them until room is ready, DME people bring bags for the rest of us to our room......

do i have it?

 

[CleveRocks]

Yup, all except for what I guess was a typo. You'll call DME, not AAA.

 

[ShellyMouse]

oh no! that wasn't a typo.....

where would one go to get the DME phone # ??

thanks for the correction. i'll get this all down before december.....

thanks again!

 

[robind]

oh no! that wasn't a typo.....

where would one go to get the DME phone # ??

thanks for the correction. i'll get this all down before december.....

thanks again!

You can tell AAA - since they are the travel agent and they will call DME. I booked thru AAA and they did all that for me. I booked my own flight (FF miles) and just gave the info to my travel agent.

Have a great time.

 

[goofy4tink]

oh no! that wasn't a typo.....

where would one go to get the DME phone # ??

thanks for the correction. i'll get this all down before december.....

thanks again!

Nope, you had it right..AAA should do the calling for you..they handled the rest of your stuff for Disney. If I have booked a room through Disney, I add DME with them, if I'm staying DVC on my points, I have Member Services add DME to my reservation. Call whoever made your original reservations.

And yes, you've got it

 

[CleveRocks]

Nope, you had it right..AAA should do the calling for you..they handled the rest of your stuff for Disney. If I have booked a room through Disney, I add DME with them, if I'm staying DVC on my points, I have Member Services add DME to my reservation. Call whoever made your original reservations.

And yes, you've got it

I understand the theory, and in most cases I'm sure it works out that way just fine.

But when I used DME last year (when it first started), my TA had never heard about it. I had to teach her everything she knew about it, yet she then had the nerve to turn around and tell me I was wrong about some detail or another regarding DME, even though she freely admitted that I had been her only source of information. Yeh, I think you're getting the picture about this person who'll never handle my travel arrangements again.

Anyway, I called DME myself the day before I traveled (I had just received my tags that day and there was a date error on them) and I made arrangements directly with them no problem, even though the reservation was "owned" by the TA and not by me.

But with a "normal" TA, I agree that it's best to go through the TA. When I made my post, I didn't realize the OP used AAA as a TA. Sorry!