Magical express did not get us home!!

[princessSadiesMom]

This was our third time using ME and I had never had a problem before. On the day of our departure (12-11-10) we were told to be down at the ME counter at the GF 15mins early. We were all there on time. Me, DH, 3DDs, and 3 grandparents. We were asked be the staff when our plane was departing. They said "oh, good you have plenty of time" We were the 4th or so family in line.
Oh, forgot to mention me, DH and DD5 woke up with a nasty stomach virus and poor lil DD5 was puking in the GF gardens. Me and DH felt TERRIBLE and here we are waiting in this line thinking ME will take care of us.
My parents get up to the front and we are informed that we missed our bus. WHAT??? How does this happen??? One of the ME workers (female named Joe) smiled and said "oops"
We were told they could no longer check us or our bags in b/c we were flying Southwest and could not check in less than 3hrs from our departure (we were 5 mins past that). They refused to take our bags and told us to get on the bus that was in front of the hotel. That was it!! Then they just turned away from us. They were the reason we missed our bus. They were the ones who made us wait in the line and assured us we had plenty of time. We dragged our 11 bags and puking child to the bus and the driver felt bad and gave us the last seats on his bus. The people who were supposed to have those seats were not happy but we were late at this point.
We had to wait in the SW line with our bags, check us and everything else in and bring DD5 to the bathroom a few times. We finally made it home.
Sorry to vent BUT I want everyone to be aware that ME does not care if they mess up or you miss a bus or a flight. DO NOT depend on them!!! I may have been a little more attentive to the schedule if I had not been sick as a dog but I really thought they would take care of us. They were not appologetic or helpful in any way. I am going to submit my complaint but I am sure they will not care!

 

[drew64]

The complaint won't help much as they are not Disney employees. You are actually working with 2 different groups here.

RAC checks the bags which must be at least 3 hours before your departure.

ME- handled by Mears drives the buses. You must be ready to board the bus 15 min prior to its departure - meaning any bags long since checked in, etc and just you and your carry-ons ready to board.

I think something got mixed up or misunderstood as you can't get in line to check your bags 15 min beofre your bus departs.
Sorry you had the issues and hope you all feel better.

 

[vicki_c]

I'm glad you answered Drew - we never use ME, but I knew just from reading here that something didn't sound right. I was going to say "I thought you checked in your bags long before you got on the bus" but then was unsure since we don't use it.

 

[drew64]

Honestly, it has always worked well for us.

We schedule evening flights home, so check the bags in the morning before heading to parks and leave carry-on bags with Bell Services.

Come back later, pick-up the carry-on bags and jump on the bus and straight to security lines at the airport.

 

[dudspizza]

First off, OP, I am sorry you were sick. But, it sounds like you were the one mixed up here. It is your responsibility to have your bags checked in with RAC well in advance of your pickup time. RAC rules state that it has to be more than 3 hours before your planes departure... you missed that time. It isn't RAC's fault there were other people in line in front of you. It is up to you to give yourself enough time and plan for a line. Because you were in line so long, you missed your bus and honestly, ME did take care of you by getting you on the bus that was there. This is from the stickie on the top of this forum

Bags may be checked starting at 12 hours prior to flight, up until no later than 3 hours prior to flight departure time. (Bag check process must be COMPLETE by the 3hr mark, regardless of what time the guest gets in line)

It is up to you to give yourself enough time and if you realize you don't have enough time to wait, you take your bags with you to the bus stop to ensure you are there 15 mintues early for pickup... you then check them at MCO.


You state, "The people who were supposed to have those seats were not happy but we were late at this point." Honestly, it was your being there late that caused this and you now caused other people to be late. ME buses run on schedules and many times are at capacity, if you miss your bus, you can't simply take a later one as there are people reserved for that bus.

Again, I am sorry you were sick and it really made it tough on you. I guess this is a lesson learned. 15 minutes early means 15 minutes early to the bus stop with everything else already taken care of......

I hope you are feeling better... I didn't mean to come off harsh but the only thing the ME could have done better was maybe show a little more compassion, but they were following the rules set forth for ME passengers.... and you did get on a bus to MCO and it appears you did get home...

Duds

 

[Tara]

Dudspizza pretty much said it all. But I would add to the OP, I'm sorry you and your family were ill, and perhaps being sick contributed to your handling and experiencing of the situation. That said, I'm puzzled by the thread title "Magical express did not get us home." Despite you missing your bus (which is your responsibility), they got you on another bus and unless you left out a big part of the story, you made your flight and got home. So how did ME NOT get you home?

 

[goofy4tink]

You were sadly misinformed and I'm not sure by whom. You need to have your bags completely checked no less than 3 hrs before flight departure time. This has nothing whatsoever to do with the DME bus. You do have to be at the DME bus stop no less than 15 mins before your bus departure.
So...lets use these times...you have a flight departing at 11:00am. You need to have your bags all checked no later than 8:00am. I usually take my bags down to the RAC counter first thing in the morning. Last week I had a flight at 10am, I had my bags down and checked by 6am. In order to be able to use RAC, you would have to be in line by 7:30ish.
Then, your whole party gets to the DME bus line by 7:45ish, maybe a bit earlier.

It looks like you didn't realize that the RAC line and the DME time are two different entities. I'm not sure where the RAC counter is at the GF. Usually the counters are located outside, where you can see the DME bus stop.
But...DME and RAC are two different things. Due to regulations, RAC could not take your bags at that time. They are not allowed to do that. Nothing they can do. They would have had to accept your bags well past the 3 hr limit, by the time they got them all checked in and boarding passes issued.

The thing I don't understand is that you were told that you had missed your bus, but that you should get on the bus that was there, with your bags. The DME buses come every half hour, so there shouldn't have been a bus there, unless you are incorrect on your times. You should have had a wait of close to 30 mins before another bus came. I 'think' that you got on the right bus, but you had to take your luggage with you, rather than check it with RAC. But, I could be misreading something.

I'm really sorry you had this experience. You were given bad info by someone, just not sure who. Everyone on this board knows the timing that is needed for checking out and using DME/RAC.

 

[crashbb]

You state, "The people who were supposed to have those seats were not happy but we were late at this point." Honestly, it was your being there late that caused this and you now caused other people to be late. ME buses run on schedules and many times are at capacity, if you miss your bus, you can't simply take a later one as there are people reserved for that bus.

The people I feel most sorry for in that story are the people that got kicked off the bus that they were supposed to be on. It seems like they did everything correctly, but were now going to be late.

 

[ancestry]

Sorry that you had such a rough experience and that your little one was sick. However, I do agree with the others who offered you a good explanation as to how things work. Unfortunately this situation seems to have been caused by you not fully understanding how things work. It doesn't sound as though DME, RAC, or Disney did anything wrong but rather than your family didn't arrive early enough to check your bags at the RAC counter.

 

[Lewisc]

The tittle of this thread is a lie, the OP was able to take a DME bus to MCO in time to catch their flight. The OP didn't have to take a taxi.

I understand your family was sick. I understand how you misunderstood the instructions. You were told to be waiting for the bus 10-15 minutes before your scheduled pickup time. Not waiting in line to check your luggage at the RAC desk. Not waiting in line to get your bags from bell services 10-15 minutes before your scheduled pickup time.

PP is correct, your numbers don't work. Your DME bus is 3:15-2:44 minutes before your flight. You either took your scheduled bus or you weren't on line 15 minutes early. You claim you got their 15 minutes early, missed the check in time by 5 minutes and got right on a bus. That's 20 minutes, not 30. Buses might run late, but they won't leave a resort 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time.

Other posters think you wound up taking your scheduled bus. It's at least as likely you were scheduled for a bus 3:15 before your flight. Instead of being 15 minutes early you arrived after you bus left.

RAC is a Disney provided service. Disney has contracted out the service to an outside vendor. Complaints should be directed to Disney and not to BAGS, Inc.

At one time RAC was going to require bags be checked 4 hours before your flight, just to avoid these kinds of issues.

 

[Elvis1515]

I am so sorry your little one was sick. NOT FUN! Even if there was a misunderstanding, it would have been nice if one of the employees had shown a little concern.

Glad you made it home safe.

 

[Lewisc]

My post reads harsher then intended. I'm not going to edit it. Maybe Disney needs to do a better job making sure guests allow enough time for RAC and enough time to get their luggage from bell services.

 

[Missytara]

My post reads harsher then intended. I'm not going to edit it. Maybe Disney needs to do a better job making sure guests allow enough time for RAC and enough time to get their luggage from bell services.

I would like to add something that one of the CM's told a family, my first year, who had several issues checking in that year on the land/sea package.

After determining the fact that they never even opened up the packets that were sent to them from the travel agent, nor deemed there should be some time to sit down and review them with the travel agent - the CM suggested that perhaps their next trip would be a bit smoother if they read the documents before they embarked on their trip.

The documents left on the door the night before for RAC and ME are fairly explanatory and I do believe that it is fairly well explained that the two are different.

 

[emmabelle]

We actually had to drag one of our suitcases on the bus with us in July because we made it down 15 minutes before our bus time, but there was a line for RAC. They were able to get four bags checked in before the cutoff, but we were too late for the fifth bag. I actually blamed us for not checking our bags sooner, or the fact that my daughter had to straighten her hair. (We had to wait for the next bus too.) I think it's a pretty cool thing that Disney offers this service for free.

 

[Missytara]

We actually had to drag one of our suitcases on the bus with us in July because we made it down 15 minutes before our bus time, but there was a line for RAC. They were able to get four bags checked in before the cutoff, but we were too late for the fifth bag. I actually blamed us for not checking our bags sooner, or the fact that my daughter had to straighten her hair. (We had to wait for the next bus too.) I think it's a pretty cool thing that Disney offers this service for free.

Thank you so much for posting this; I agree that it is a good idea to remind ourselves that while we expect so much of Disney customer service (especially those of us who go frequently) that sometimes it is our fault for not making it in time to get done.

I have checked my bags at 7:00 am and there has been a very long line at RAC, but I have plenty of time since my ME bus does not leave until 2:30 pm. Also, this year, the desk was outside, which was fine the first seven days I was there, but the day I left the temp dipped down into the 40's and the computer was a bit slow. It took about six minutes for my boarding pass and baggage tag to be printed, due to the blip in the computer. I probably spent a total of about 25 minutes total in line and getting squared away at the RAC desk.

I wouldn't go down to RAC five minutes before I had to leave and expect to get through in a matter of minutes.

 

[kwdw]

I do agree with the fact that EVERYONE needs to make sure they are clear about understanding the rules for ME and luggage.

On Thursday from All-Star Music - we left 35 minutes AFTER our scheduled departure time from the hotel. The last 20 minutes of that time - the driver was waiting for ONE family (of 7) who could not get themselves and their carry-on items to the bus. Not ONE member of the party was there at the scheduled time. Oh - they gave us on the bus some story about a sick infant - but frankly - I DID NOT care! Why so cold on my part? 1) Everyone else from the party SHOULD have been standing waiting for the bus with their items. Not everyone needed to be assisting with the sick child. 2) They continued to go back and forth from the bus to the hotel - trying to figure out what was up - making it even more chaotic. 3) I had a flight to catch, TOO, and it ate up my time to get a snack at the airport.

Honestly, I thought it was wrong for the driver to wait that long for the family. With the length of time it takes to get through security at the Orlando airport, I'm sure some folks were lucky to catch their flight.

 

[dudspizza]

or the fact that my daughter had to straighten her hair. (We had to wait for the next bus too.) I think it's a pretty cool thing that Disney offers this service for free.

Do we travel with the same type of daughter? My oldest daughter has to either curl or straighten her hair before we fly..... too funny....... the last time she spent all this time getting ready and was flagged for extra security in Tampa....... the TSA agent looked at me before even opening her carry on and said, "bringing some sand home this year?" My daughter had about 5 pounds of sand from the beach off of Long Boat Key........ the 14 year old girl with the perfectly straightened hair got her new sand swabbed for drugs..... it was hilarious.... and TSA handled it very well!

Duds

 

[Disneybuckeye]

This thread was helpful to me as DH and I are using ME for the first time this March. Normally we rent a car as I am such a control freak, but since it is just two of us with no kids we are giving it a shot. Luckily our flight home does not leave until 5PM, so we can check our luggage in in the morning, hit Epcot for a few hours and eat lunch, and then walk back to the Boardwalk and be ready to board ME at least 30 minutes ahead of our scheduled time. I also heard we can request an earlier bus which we may doe to eat at the gate. I also feel sorry for the people not allowed on the bus who were supposed to be there.

 

[goofy4tink]

I do agree with the fact that EVERYONE needs to make sure they are clear about understanding the rules for ME and luggage.

On Thursday from All-Star Music - we left 35 minutes AFTER our scheduled departure time from the hotel. The last 20 minutes of that time - the driver was waiting for ONE family (of 7) who could not get themselves and their carry-on items to the bus. Not ONE member of the party was there at the scheduled time. Oh - they gave us on the bus some story about a sick infant - but frankly - I DID NOT care! Why so cold on my part? 1) Everyone else from the party SHOULD have been standing waiting for the bus with their items. Not everyone needed to be assisting with the sick child. 2) They continued to go back and forth from the bus to the hotel - trying to figure out what was up - making it even more chaotic. 3) I had a flight to catch, TOO, and it ate up my time to get a snack at the airport.

Honestly, I thought it was wrong for the driver to wait that long for the family. With the length of time it takes to get through security at the Orlando airport, I'm sure some folks were lucky to catch their flight.

I've been in the same situation. We sat at CBR for about 25 mins, while waiting for the rest of a large group to show up. There were supposed to be about 10 in the group, but only 4 made it to the bus on-time. The driver kept asking when the rest would be there....those on the bus had no idea. Finally, after that long wait, the driver said that she really had to move on....the group on the bus cheered her, saying that it would serve the tardy 6 right for dragging their feet. Not sure how they ended up getting back to the airport but I do know that we got to MCO about 70 mins before my flight time.
If I had run into security lines like the one I had last Monday, I would have missed my flight.
I don't think the drivers should wait for anyone to show up..they wait their alloted time and then pull away. It's not fair to make others, who are on-time, wait.

 

[emmabelle]

Do we travel with the same type of daughter? My oldest daughter has to either curl or straighten her hair before we fly..... too funny.......


Duds

My husband and her fight all vacation week long about the hair!


She'll straighten it to go out in the humidity of Orlando in July and then complain when her hair starts to curl up again. It's Orlando in summer, what did you think would happen?