Magical Express luggage delivery - disappointing experience.

[maxiesmom]

Always, always, always pack for the first 24 hours in your carry-on bag. Then there is no need to stress or wait up, you can get ready and hit the bed!

And again, the delivery window is 3-4 hours after you arrive at the resort. And if the OP landed at 7:45 and was at the hotel by 8:30, that was super fast! Not normal by any means. It takes a good 5-10 minutes to get to DME, and then only if you get lucky and get right on a bus right before it leaves to start the route, and then your resort is the first stop, is that timing at all possible. I've never been that lucky.

 

[bumbershoot]

We got in around 630 pm in October and the bags didn't show up til almost midnight. We had 7 sleepy people that wanted toothbrushes and clean clothes after 12 hours of travel. I've only used DME a few times and it was fast so didn't think to bring some overnight stuff. Now we know!

Not just at Disney, but for *any* flight, you want to have stuff for your first 24 hours. Any airline can lose track of checked bags, and you want to be prepared and not miserable.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Always take carryon! Medication should never be in a checked bag!

 

[Boardwalk III]

Always, always, always pack for the first 24 hours in your carry-on bag. Then there is no need to stress or wait up, you can get ready and hit the bed!

And again, the delivery window is 3-4 hours after you arrive at the resort. And if the OP landed at 7:45 and was at the hotel by 8:30, that was super fast! Not normal by any means. It takes a good 5-10 minutes to get to DME, and then only if you get lucky and get right on a bus right before it leaves to start the route, and then your resort is the first stop, is that timing at all possible. I've never been that lucky.

Agree with the carry on! And yes, we did get lucky with the DME bus leaving as soon as we got on it.

 

[Boardwalk III]

OP here. Just to clarify, I had plenty packed in my carry on but our guests did not And as an update, I did speak with the floor manager at our resort today. He agreed that bell services should have made it clear that they could hold our luggage upon arrival and deliver it in the morning. They just kept asking us to wait up for it.

In any case, he also confirmed average delivery time is now around 5 hours and provided us with a small room credit for our aggravation which we appreciated.

 

[nkereina]

The DME estimate has always been that luggage will be delivered 3-4 hours after you arrive at the resort. 5 hours is new to me, unless that's the standard now for later arrivals? But even based on the typical 3-4 hour estimate, if you arrived at 8:30, that means you should have reasonably expected it between 11:30-12:30. If it arrived at 1:15, I get that its annoying but its not egregious. You have to remember that "3-4 hours" is an estimate, and I'd also imagine staffing is less at that time of the evening.

Regardless, glad it worked out ok and you got it eventually!

 

[MrsHammer]

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?).

 

[sponica]

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?).

There's no issue if you choose to get your own luggage, but I would tip the driver for loading/unloading your luggage.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yeah, what @sponica said. It's customary to tip anyone who handles your luggage, and guests aren't allowed to directly access the luggage bays on the bus.

 

[Orionreplay]

Just chiming in, but I find it funny how WDW can give you just about everything under the sun in the Disney World app, except the ability to know where our bags are after you land.

If the scanned yellow tag is tied to my account, which then tells DME where to take the bag on resort, I should think that information could be provided to the guest as well in the Hotel section of the App. Similar to tracking your box shipped by UPS. I don't need to know nitty-gritty details to the minute, but it would be nice to see "enroute", "at [resort name]", and finally "delivered to room".

 

[sndral]

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?).

IME the drivers always seem happy to load/unload - I only have carryon for them to load since I use the yellow tag for my main suitcase, but I sit on the luggage bay door side of the bus & watch as the driver loads/unloads from under the bus since I don’t want the driver to accidentally hand my carry on to another party. Most people tip as the driver unloads their bags at their destination resort. The driver retrieves the bags from under the bus & hands them to you, then you wheel them to your resort lobby. Most of the DME stops are a short distance from the lobby.

 

[cobright]

And I agree that bell services shouldn’t be held responsible for any of this! Disney uses a third party company for MDE luggage which apparently has no customer service number for bell services to reach in the evening. Just don’t think that makes good sense.

This is one of the things I would definitely hold Disney to account for. But doing anything at Disney over the phone or online gets pushed through call centers. On the other hand. Showing up at the desk with a frown on your face tends to get things done. The people behind the desk have the phone numbers for everyone.

We got in around 630 pm in October and the bags didn't show up til almost midnight. We had 7 sleepy people that wanted toothbrushes and clean clothes after 12 hours of travel.

Again, roll up to the front desk and explain your situation. Then ask for a set of toiletries kits so you guys can at least brush your teeth.

 

[Boardwalk III]

This is one of the things I would definitely hold Disney to account for. But doing anything at Disney over the phone or online gets pushed through call centers. On the other hand. Showing up at the desk with a frown on your face tends to get things done. The people behind the desk have the phone numbers for everyone.


Again, roll up to the front desk and explain your situation. Then ask for a set of toiletries kits so you guys can at least brush your teeth.

All good, front desk management was very understanding.

 

[kaytieeldr]

since I don’t want the driver to accidentally hand my carry on to another party.

I think that wouldn't happen, but I could be wrong. As far as I know, they use a separate bay for each resort.

 

[dansdad]

Just chiming in, but I find it funny how WDW can give you just about everything under the sun in the Disney World app, except the ability to know where our bags are after you land.

If the scanned yellow tag is tied to my account, which then tells DME where to take the bag on resort, I should think that information could be provided to the guest as well in the Hotel section of the App. Similar to tracking your box shipped by UPS. I don't need to know nitty-gritty details to the minute, but it would be nice to see "enroute", "at [resort name]", and finally "delivered to room".

That would be nice. Luggage delivery from MCO is not handled by Magical Express (Mears) or WDW CM's. It's another outside company, BAGS Inc, that does not have access to your MDE account.

 

[sndral]

I think that wouldn't happen, but I could be wrong. As far as I know, they use a separate bay for each resort.

That’s good to know, although it does keep me entertained when my resort is the last stop

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

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?).

Unless International visitors can go through customs before leaving their originating country (we can when we fly out of Toronto) the only way for them to bring their bags to WDW is on ME.

I’d say on average at least one third+ of the people using ME have their bags with them whether it be because they are international or people who simply want their bags with them.

Definitely not an issue.

 

[cedricandsophie]

This is exactly why I always pick up bags before getting on the bus even though we usually arrive in the morning Those few extra minutes of waiting for and picking up bags makes a huge difference to me. I have the bags under my control, I drop them off at resort and head off to do whatever we have planned. And we have been lucky a few times to get a room very early so I can get them to the room.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

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.

 

[Sue M]

Thanks, I am one of those people that packs the biggest carry on I can with at least a days worth of clothes and all essentials. Airlines have lost my luggage a few times in my life and learned the hard way.

And yes, I told people to bring anything they really need in a carry on , but they liked being “hands free” at the airport LOL.

I guess they learned now. Unfortunate that it’s not a good time to learn the lesson.
It only took me once having my luggage arrive later than me to pack what I need for 24-48 hrs in a carry on. The last time it took the airlines 48 hrs to get my luggage to me.