Magical Express luggage delivery - disappointing experience.

[Sue M]

So, if you elect to pick up your bags at baggage claim and then get on DME do they typically give you a hard time or act like you are creating unnecessary work? Are you expected to tip whoever loads and unloads your baggage from the bus (or do you have to do this yourself?).

Yes, a tip is customary. I tip $2/bag. The driver loads and unloads your luggage. They are happy to do it for you, it’s part of their job.
And if you use Bell Service at your resort to bring your luggage to your room, or pick up luggage at the end of your stay, it’s customary to tip them too.

 

[Disneypro1]

We always just take our luggage with us on the MDE bus. Then it’s right there with us at the resort when we get there.
Now if the airlines lose it... then that’s a different issue.

 

[Disneypro1]

So, if you elect to pick up your bags at baggage claim and then get on DME do they typically give you a hard time or act like you are creating unnecessary work? Are you expected to tip whoever loads and unloads your baggage from the bus (or do you have to do this yourself?).

A lot of folks do this. It’s their job to unload luggage at the resort and drive the bus. If you want. Tip. But we notice more and more folks don’t use the luggage tags Disney gives you and just does it this way. You have your bags as soon as you get to your resort. For us. Much better.

 

[kaytieeldr]

And, again, it is customary to tip anyone who handles your luggage in your presence. A bus driver's job is, by definition, to drive a bus. Especially where there is a convenient and included me that of transporting luggage, travelers should be aware of what is customary.

An individual or single party choosing to not tip for this additional work directly caused by their own conscious choice, fine. Even citing a perceived observation, okay. But please do not blatantly discourage or advise others from doing what's right.

 

[AngiTN]

A lot of folks do this. It’s their job to unload luggage at the resort and drive the bus. If you want. Tip. But we notice more and more folks don’t use the luggage tags Disney gives you and just does it this way. You have your bags as soon as you get to your resort. For us. Much better.

In the US, where Disney is located tipping is customary anytime a service is performed directly for you. It’s got nothing whatsoever to do with a person’s normal job duties. It’s got everything to do with services performed.

 

[kylenne]

I always utilize the luggage delivery service, because I fly in during the AM hours, but I also have a carry on with me that I take on DME. I tip $2/bag when we arrive at the resort and the drivers are always very appreciative. Funny enough I actually had the same DME driver going to BC a couple weekends ago that I had going to POFQ in August. He had a unique name which is how I remembered him. He remembered me too! I like to think it’s because I’ve got purple hair, but I think I just go too much...

 

[Disneypro1]

I said. Tip of you want. That’s not telling anyone not to....after all tipping anywhere is one choice. High to low. Or not to. And luggage retrieval is part of their job as is driving the bus. Either way. When we use DME. At least half the people getting off of the bus retrieve their luggage. Whatever works best for you is what I’d do.
We love DME. Wouldn’t use any thing else.

 

[VandVsmama]

Just wanted to chime in and say thanks to the OP for posting about your awful experience with luggage delivery. On our next trip, I think we'll collect our bags ourselves from baggage claim at the airport.

 

[Boardwalk III]

Just wanted to chime in and say thanks to the OP for posting about your awful experience with luggage delivery. On our next trip, I think we'll collect our bags ourselves from baggage claim at the airport.

Most welcome! Not sure why it took me 2 experiences like this to realize it’s just not worth it… But I’m only here once every 1-2 years so I guess my brain gets foggy

 

[Orionreplay]

Most welcome! Not sure why it took me 2 experiences like this to realize it’s just not worth it… But I’m only here once every 1-2 years so I guess my brain gets foggy

After my last trip, I'm getting tired of the fogginess, so made a list of dos and don'ts for next time! My wife thought I was nuts doing it, but I think it will come in handy in a year or so when this last trip are just pleasant memories and smiling photos. We always seem to suppress the bad or frustrating memories.

 

[Mousemommy1]

As a previous poster noted, the best way to avoid this is to have a carry-on bag with 24 hours worth of stuff in it. If we arrive at night, we just have bell services hold our bags until morning. The only issue we've ever had was when Southwest actually lost our luggage, but that's a whole other story.

 

[Farro]

We always grab our own luggage and bring it to DME.

We always tip the driver because I'm not plowing through everyone else's luggage to find my bags! He does it for me and I tip for it.

Just a note, in all the times we've taken DME, I've never seen anyone unload their own luggage when getting off the bus, as previously stated in thread. Unless they had it on their laps, the driver gets it for them.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

It was more than likely an airline baggage issue and not a ME issue.
I once had my luggage delivered home to me day after return from MCO because my suitcase was on a different flight than my sister and parents. WE all checked in at the same time in MCO. That's the excuse I was given- my suitcase went to another flight home.

granted not MCO but brother in law put his car keys in a checked bag out of fear of them falling out of pocket on a family trip. granted this was before ride shares but you know where this is headed all the cases but one made it back home. flight arrived at 11pm and they lived about 2 hours from airport and yes they hd to wake family up to come and get them. he hasn't lived that down yet

 

[AngiTN]

I reckon what baffles me is if you have what you need for the rest of travel day and the next day why does it matter how long the bags take to arrive? 2 hours or 12, makes no difference to me, in not going to need to get in them any way. So you sure save yourself waiting on bags and then waiting more if your bag was an unfortunate one that wasn’t in your flight. ME will get them to you no matter which flight they come in on

 

[sndral]

I reckon what baffles me is if you have what you need for the rest of travel day and the next day why does it matter how long the bags take to arrive? 2 hours or 12, makes no difference to me, in not going to need to get in them any way. So you sure save yourself waiting on bags and then waiting more if your bag was an unfortunate one that wasn’t in your flight. ME will get them to you no matter which flight they come in on

I love DME’s luggage delivery probably because it allows me to avoid all of those half hour waits for that beep beep beep that signals luggage is finally going to emerge onto the carousel at the airport & the tendency for my suitcase to be among the last to magically appear. When I escape the plane at MCO all I want is to be on my way to WDW and from there to a park ASAP, not fiddling around waiting for my suitcase, fighting the crowd around the carousel to reach my suitcase when it finally appears, hoisting that heavy bulky thing off that carousel, then wheeling it and my carry on across the airport to DME. But I get that others don’t head straight to a park on day 1 and like to get ‘settled’ first.

 

[nkereina]

Just wanted to chime in and say thanks to the OP for posting about your awful experience with luggage delivery. On our next trip, I think we'll collect our bags ourselves from baggage claim at the airport.

Most welcome! Not sure why it took me 2 experiences like this to realize it’s just not worth it… But I’m only here once every 1-2 years so I guess my brain gets foggy

To be fair, the biggest issue tends to be is when people are actively waiting to receive their luggage and its not received in the estimated timeframe. If you are arriving in the morning and plan to head to a park right after you arrive, chances are good your bag will be in your room when your return. There's always a small risk of a fluke situation, but those situations are not common or regular occurrences.

If you think you will need something right away or shortly after arriving, you should either pack what you need in your carry on or pick up your bags yourself. If you're just worried about the late night delivery, you can request they deliver it the next morning.

 

[maxiesmom]

To be fair, the biggest issue tends to be is when people are actively waiting to receive their luggage and its not received in the estimated timeframe. If you are arriving in the morning and plan to head to a park right after you arrive, chances are good your bag will be in your room when your return. There's always a small risk of a fluke situation, but those situations are not common or regular occurrences.

If you think you will need something right away or shortly after arriving, you should either pack what you need in your carry on or pick up your bags yourself. If you're just worried about the late night delivery, you can request they deliver it the next morning.

Not to mention, how many times have people used the luggage delivery and not had an issue??? But people tend to focus on the bad, even if it is an outlier.

 

[5kidsmommy]

I love DME’s luggage delivery probably because it allows me to avoid all of those half hour waits for that beep beep beep that signals luggage is finally going to emerge onto the carousel at the airport & the tendency for my suitcase to be among the last to magically appear. When I escape the plane at MCO all I want is to be on my way to WDW and from there to a park ASAP, not fiddling around waiting for my suitcase, fighting the crowd around the carousel to reach my suitcase when it finally appears, hoisting that heavy bulky thing off that carousel, then wheeling it and my carry on across the airport to DME. But I get that others don’t head straight to a park on day 1 and like to get ‘settled’ first.

We always make sure our carry on has everything we need for arrival day and the next day, including travel sized toiletries. I don't want to stress about getting my luggage myself, it's one of the reasons I love DME. If my luggage arrives the next day it's not a big deal.

 

[Nick6300]

We've only had an issue getting our bags late once because of ME, we've had good experiences with them, fortunately. But this Sat., one of our checked bags from airport service went to Chicago when they were supposed to go to Grand Rapids MI, and properly marked for that destination. mix ups can happen with anyone handling bags - in this case, SWA. I'm not sure my mom in law got her bag yet, she hadn't as of the day later, when it was supposed to be delivered.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

I think the best strategy is to bring anything you need in carry ons for that day and the next morning (and this goes whether or not you use the luggage delivery), and just ignore the time window. They come eventually lol. Waiting for them is going to make it feel like forever. If it's later at night I would just request they're held until the morning.