Luggage & Magical Express

[BobC]

Ugh...

I asked something like this before and I apologize because i'm sure it's been asked before, but my luggage was lost on DME prior (mostly my fault) and Saturday I want to ensure I'm doing this right:

-Arrive at departing airport. Check bags (DME tag attached)
-Arrive at Orlando and go to DME station and give bag check tag from departing airport
-Bags magically arrive at room

Right?

Leaving Disney:

-Leave bags with DME or is it front desk upon departure at resort
-Bags magically come to airport when I get back home?

Thanks!

 

[han22735]

No need to give any bag check tags. Just scan your magic band and head to the bus. If you put on the yellow tags your all set.

For leaving if your flying an airline that offers resort check-in you give your bags to them and check in. If not then leave them with bell services and get them before heading onto DME and check them it at the airport like you did at home just no yellow tags.

 

[BobC]

No need to give any bag check tags. Just scan your magic band and head to the bus. If you put on the yellow tags your all set.

For leaving if your flying an airline that offers resort check-in you give your bags to them and check in. If not then leave them with bell services and get them before heading onto DME and check them it at the airport like you did at home just no yellow tags.

Thanks for that! Just nervous and wanted a pro to clarify.

I/they lost my luggage prior. I carried my bag with me (with DME tag) onto the plane and onto the bus and left it under the bus thinking it'd be in my room. Nope. Never to been seen again! I didn't check it with the airline so that's where i went wrong i guess. No idea where it is 10 years later lol, got reimbursed (small amount) though... my fault in retrospect

 

[happymommy]

That is too bad for that to happen! It seems a mistake that would be easy to make - surprised they weren't able to get you your bag.

Remember (I didn't know this last trip - lesson learned) if you fly back home in the evening, check your bag in with them when you check out of your room. They only check bags in during certain hours (I think they end at like 1:00 or so). I had the bell men hold our luggage, then discovered that evening that I had to bring it to the airport with DME and check it in at the airport. We always fly home on the later flights.

 

[BobC]

I'm thinking when I check out, I'm leaving bags with the bell hop and just taking them on the plane myself.

Worried I'll be waiting at my home airport quite a while to receive them.

 

[carmelhp]

This is how it always worked for us, YMMV:

Check bags at departure with Disney tags attached.

Arrive at MCO and head to DME, don't screw with bags.

Bags arrive in room later in day.

On departure day, Check bags at airline check at hotel (there is a time window in the mornings during which they must be checked in as I recall).

Don't screw with bags again.

Pick bags up at destination airport luggage carousel and leave.

 

[MrPTato]

I'm thinking when I check out, I'm leaving bags with the bell hop and just taking them on the plane myself.

Worried I'll be waiting at my home airport quite a while to receive them.

They will be on your flight with you.

 

[nkereina]

You won't be waiting for them at your home airport for a while, unless your home airport is slow at sending the bags onto the carousel (like mine!). We do Resort Airline Check-in every time we leave the resort. All they do is transport your bags to the airport for you, and they get loaded onto your flight for you so you don't have to drag them to the airport with you. They'll come off the baggage carousel at home with everyone else's. Only thing to keep in mind is that the counter where you need to check them at your resort is only open 5am-1pm and you need to check your bags there at least 3 hours before your flight time.

 

[siskaren]

Thanks for that! Just nervous and wanted a pro to clarify.

I/they lost my luggage prior. I carried my bag with me (with DME tag) onto the plane and onto the bus and left it under the bus thinking it'd be in my room. Nope. Never to been seen again! I didn't check it with the airline so that's where i went wrong i guess. No idea where it is 10 years later lol, got reimbursed (small amount) though... my fault in retrospect

Yep, DME only handles checked luggage, not carry-on.

 

[BobC]

Yep, DME only handles checked luggage, not carry-on.

Learned that the hard way! Unfortunately, (and i hate to assume!) but I think the DME driver took my bag. Finished his day and saw an unclaimed bag under his bus that was a carry-on and kept it. Still upset about 10 years later! Had some nice LaCoste shirts, Disney pins, and Oakley glasses in it! The $150 reimbursement basically only paid for the bag itself

Oh well, over and done with! Replaced most of the pins and life goes on!

 

[nkereina]

think the DME driver took my bag. Finished his day and saw an unclaimed bag under his bus that was a carry-on and kept it.

Very possible, but from all the times I've put my bag under the bus on DME, I've always had the driver pull all the bags out and set them on the ground at the last stop so people can come up and take theirs. I've not been around to know what happens if there's a bag leftover, but I would have assumed the driver would have given it to bell services because presumably the guest is at that resort or one of the ones dropped off early. Unless he was dishonest, of course.

 

[siskaren]

You won't be waiting for them at your home airport for a while, unless your home airport is slow at sending the bags onto the carousel (like mine!). We do Resort Airline Check-in every time we leave the resort. All they do is transport your bags to the airport for you, and they get loaded onto your flight for you so you don't have to drag them to the airport with you. They'll come off the baggage carousel at home with everyone else's.

This. Resort Airline Check-in is the same as curbside check-in, except the curb is at your hotel instead of at the airport.

 

[BobC]

Very possible, but from all the times I've put my bag under the bus on DME, I've always had the driver pull all the bags out and set them on the ground at the last stop so people can come up and take theirs. I've not been around to know what happens if there's a bag leftover, but I would have assumed the driver would have given it to bell services because presumably the guest is at that resort or one of the ones dropped off early. Unless he was dishonest, of course.

In my excitement of being at Disney, I hopped off the bus and ran into my resort. In retrospect I should have waited by the bus to watch him take my bag off. I didn't. I take some blame in this since I was naive and careless and obviously used DME wrong. My bag was tagged with my name and DME tag too even though I carried it on.

 

[patster734]

In my excitement of being at Disney, I hopped off the bus and ran into my resort. In retrospect I should have waited by the bus to watch him take my bag off. I didn't. I take some blame in this since I was naive and careless and obviously used DME wrong. My bag was tagged with my name and DME tag too even though I carried it on.

It is possible that the driver dropped it off and someone else picked it up.

 

[nkereina]

In my excitement of being at Disney, I hopped off the bus and ran into my resort. In retrospect I should have waited by the bus to watch him take my bag off. I didn't. I take some blame in this since I was naive and careless and obviously used DME wrong. My bag was tagged with my name and DME tag too even though I carried it on.

It is possible that the driver dropped it off and someone else picked it up.

Yeah, I'm not saying you should have known to wait but just that it could have ended up lost in bell services or another guest may have taken either by accident or on purpose. Odd that you never saw it again! What a bad first experience!

 

[Hopefully]

Resort Airline Checkin is a great service you should not be afraid to use. There is a desk at each resort which is staffed 5 AM to 1 PM. you bring your bags to the desk and they generate and tag your luggage with the normal airline baggage tags. You get your receipt. Your luggage is trucked to MCO for you and loaded on your flight. It arrives just as if you checked it yourself at MCO. WE have used it successfully many, many times
Have Fun

 

[Dean Marino]

Slowing down a bit .... the biggest problem with Bags is, in our opinion, the AIRLINES.

The Airline Monkeys will do their best to rip off or mutilate anything attached to a bag HANDLE. They are in a hurry, and that's where the bag gets grabbed. More connections? More grabbing.

Ergo - often, those bag check tags and (sadly) ME Yellow tags just vanish in transit, ripped to pieces.

What can you do?
Well, we do THIS....

1) We have a little RIVETED 1/2" leather strip on our bag front. We attach ME tags to THIS, not a bag handle.
2) We re-enforce the tags with clear packing tape at the fold - they must be CUT off.
3) RIGHT ON TOP of our clothing, each bag gets a printed notice: Name, address, Cell Phone, schedule (with airline & flights). Second copy goes in a Velcro closed pouch, outside of bag (bags came with this feature). So, if bag ends up in Italy, it CAN be traced by the Airline.
4) TAKE A PICTURE of each bag. If (when) a bag gets lost in the DME process? The Bell Captain will sing your praises if you can give him/her a PHOTO of the bag.
5) (Optional) - take advantage of that Travelex Trip Insurance that Disney promotes. You get PAID (well) for delayed, or lost, bags - and Travelex is a primary payer (translation: no 12 month delay trying to get the Airline to cough up first). We get this every year through DVC.

We've had ONE bag delayed (not lost) in 10 years, two trips per year. Bag Photo with the Bell Captain got that bag to us FAST (overlooked in the MCO DME warehouse).

 

[cedricandsophie]

After one bad experienc with bags arriving in the room...it took over 8 hours to get them and about 10 pm...I have since decided to just pick up our bags at airport, take them to bus, take them off bus and if the room isn't ready just leave them with bell service until we get in the room. I'm not afraid of losing them, I just prefer to have them as early as possible so we can get unpacked. And At least I know where they are. But I always check them in at hotel prior to flight.

 

[michelepa]

When we arrive we are taking DME from airport to hotel.

But when we leave we are taking a taxi from hotel to airport.

On departure day can I check our bags in at the hotel between 5am-1pm even though we are not taking DME back to airport or is bag check-in only for those using DME?

 

[grammimouse]

First time for this service for us. Somewhat concerned as we spent an entire cruise without our luggage. I have considered doing this for many of our WDW trips and finally decided that this is the one. DH is having hernia surgery when we return , so not carrying the bags around the airport will be very helpful Now that Erica has been downgraded , it seems that things are falling into place quite nicely. Leaving Monday early A.M. ---- so-o-o excited (as always). I know I will feel a whole lot better when my bags " magically " appear in my room