Magical Express - Luggage problems?

[goofy4tink]

A few experiences I've had regarding times it takes from MCO to WDW.

As best as I can remember....gate to resort....
DME....50-85 mins. Most times in the 70-75 range lately.
Car service....with checked bags...usually around 60 mins.
With carry on bag only.....45 mins.
Mears shuttle......90 mins
Car rental....with someone else.....60 mins


My DME times included....
Walk from gate to tram to DME area....10-15 mins. Usually 10
From MB scan to bus line....30 seconds
In line....from 1-25 mins...usually around 13ish
On bus.....1-23 mins...usually about 15
Ride to resort...30-45 mins, depending on which stop you are.

Luggage delivery using DME.....I've had my bags arrive in my room 15 mins after I checked in and got to my room. That was when my room was ready upon checkin....infot very lucky. I've also had it take 5 hrs. I don't hang around waiting...usually head to a park.

All I can do is report what I have experienced.

 

[kaytieeldr]

A few experiences I've had regarding times it takes from MCO to WDW.

As best as I can remember....gate to resort....
DME....50-85 mins. Most times in the 70-75 range lately.
Car service....with checked bags...usually around 60 mins.
With carry on bag only.....45 mins.
Mears shuttle......90 mins
Car rental....with someone else.....60 mins

Every time goofy4tink mentions this, I'm compelled to point out that she could have been driven straight to her resort instead - but as Transportation Board Moderator, she chose to sacrifice that personal service so she could provide well-rounded information on the DIS. I'm positive that's the only reason. She's never seen me drive

 

[goofy4tink]

Every time goofy4tink mentions this, I'm compelled to point out that she could have been driven straight to her resort instead - but as Transportation Board Moderator, she chose to sacrifice that personal service so she could provide well-rounded information on the DIS. I'm positive that's the only reason. She's never seen me drive

Ok now...I'm sure you're a fine driver. I've seen you move an ecv thru a nasty crowded park very efficiently. I'm sure you're driving is as good. I just needed to see how Mears worked. Oohhhh, the things I do for my board!!!

 

[hsmamato2]

I have been reading, and my DH needs a ride to the Dolphin by himself.... is the MEars shuttle the simple/cheap option? (he likes those 2 things) I am gussing he will be doing a few stops, but it works ok in general,right? He is traveling by plane with family, who are taking the ME, but he's not eligible. Would he be in a separate shuttle,seeing as it's all Mears buses? Just curious, and is it better to book ahead,or just show up at airport and grab a ride? Where does one do this?

 

[kaytieeldr]

I have been reading, and my DH needs a ride to the Dolphin by himself.... is the MEars shuttle the simple/cheap option? (he likes those 2 things) I am gussing he will be doing a few stops, but it works ok in general,right? He is traveling by plane with family, who are taking the ME, but he's not eligible. Would he be in a separate shuttle,seeing as it's all Mears buses? Just curious, and is it better to book ahead,or just show up at airport and grab a ride? Where does one do this?

Every question about Mears that hasn't already been answered by goofy4tink in this thread, has been asked and answered on the appropriately named Transportation Board.

 

[maxiesmom]

I have been reading, and my DH needs a ride to the Dolphin by himself.... is the MEars shuttle the simple/cheap option? (he likes those 2 things) I am gussing he will be doing a few stops, but it works ok in general,right? He is traveling by plane with family, who are taking the ME, but he's not eligible. Would he be in a separate shuttle,seeing as it's all Mears buses? Just curious, and is it better to book ahead,or just show up at airport and grab a ride? Where does one do this?

He should book ahead. And he will be on a separate shuttle from the rest of the family.

I haven't used Mears in years, but from what I remember it is simple to use and fairly quick.

 

[disneyfantotheend]

We have used DME since they started running it. Our last trip, we had a slight delay with one piece of luggage. We had 12 people and a total of about 10 checked bags. Everything but one bag came very quickly. The other did not arrive until hours later, but it just wasn't a big deal to us. We know to take what we need for the first day in a carry on. That way delays don't stress you out as much.

I think this trip we might try carry on only, being it is just DH and I. I never knew there was solid shampoo either. That's what I love about the dis still learning new things many years later. I think we might try getting toiletries delivered from one of the nearby grocers.

 

[goofy4tink]

I have been reading, and my DH needs a ride to the Dolphin by himself.... is the MEars shuttle the simple/cheap option? (he likes those 2 things) I am gussing he will be doing a few stops, but it works ok in general,right? He is traveling by plane with family, who are taking the ME, but he's not eligible. Would he be in a separate shuttle,seeing as it's all Mears buses? Just curious, and is it better to book ahead,or just show up at airport and grab a ride? Where does one do this?

You can do it either way. I booked ahead of time, but had an issue with the kiosk. So had to go to the counter anyway. Yes, he will be on a different shuttle. The DME buses don't go to the S/D. And the regular Mears shuttles don't go to WDW resorts....if you tried to book a ride to a WDW resort, you would pay the charge and then, most likely, be put on the appropriate DME bus.

So, he can just go down to level 1, head to the Mears counter.....very close to the DME area. He will be sent outside to the Mears podium, and will, probably, wait for the appropriate shuttle. It won't be direct, or particularly quick. But I actually enjoyed my ride. I chatted with some nice people and saw areas that I had never seen before.

 

[LegalEze]

Every question about Mears that hasn't already been answered by goofy4tink in this thread, has been asked and answered on the appropriately named Transportation Board.

What's up with the nastiness? Wow.

 

[goofy4tink]

What's up with the nastiness? Wow.

Awww, not nasty. She's just trying to direct the poster to an area that has more transportation info than any one person needs! It seems a lot of posters don't know about the Transportation board. It always amazes me when someone says 'I never knew that was there'. No one bothers to just 'keep on scrolling, keep on scrolling'!

 

[hsmamato2]

Awww, not nasty. She's just trying to direct the poster to an area that has more transportation info than any one person needs! It seems a lot of posters don't know about the Transportation board. It always amazes me when someone says 'I never knew that was there'. No one bothers to just 'keep on scrolling, keep on scrolling'!

That's ok.... I knew I was asking something that might have been answered elsewhere, and I got some great advice! I did a search but sometimes it just doesn't provide the specific info I am looking for, then I ask. and since the transportation board is full of excellent info,it's all good!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Awww, not nasty. She's just trying to direct the poster to an area that has more transportation info than any one person needs! It seems a lot of posters don't know about the Transportation board. It always amazes me when someone says 'I never knew that was there'. No one bothers to just 'keep on scrolling, keep on scrolling'!

Yep, that's all it was. There are sooooo many transportation-related questions on tge resorts board, the theme parks board, even the budget and community boards.

There's an amazing Transportation fotum here on the DIS - one where the Moderator voluntarily sacrifices her own time and comfort to check out all forms of transport, to be able to provide well-rounded, unbiased information based on personal experience

Not enough posters seem aware of it.

 

[ZenDaisy]

I didn't read all the replies, just wanted to chime in. Once we used ME and had our luggage out in our room insanely soon - like, before we even got there.

Another time we were the last bags off, and it took until after their guaranteed time to arrive. The guy bringing it looked exhausted, and although he wasn't overly apologetic or anything, we didn't feel the need to complain to Guest Services or anything because it was clear they were really busy that day. (We did call for a couple of status updates earlier that day, only to be told they were doing the best they could.) We didn't sweat it, personally, because we just plan relaxed arrival days and dinner at Downtown Disney, so we weren't in any rush to go anywhere, but it would have been a bummer if we needed something in our suitcases. Always pack a bit of extra stuff in your carryon for times like that. I had an extra swimsuit in my backpack so I went for a swi before we got our stuff.

 

[Lzylitnin]

This past September, my mom and I had to wait over 8 hours on our luggage to arrive. Our flight arrived at MCO around 2pm. Great flight, no weather delays. By 9pm, our luggage had not arrived. We were staying CL at CR. The CL cast member called ME for us to check and was told that the airline didn't release our luggage for 6 hours. I'm not sure that I believe ME's story, but that is what we were told. It arrived about an hour after we checked.

 

[siskaren]

It seems a lot of posters don't know about the Transportation board. It always amazes me when someone says 'I never knew that was there'. No one bothers to just 'keep on scrolling, keep on scrolling'!

Seriously. I think some people think the only board is the Theme Park Attractions and Strategies board, what with all the threads there about resorts, transportation, dining plans, ADRs, etc.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Our luggage always arrived in a timely manner. HOWEVER, for our trip last spring we landed in Orlando around 6PM right before a big rainstorm hit. Apparently the storage area for DME luggage is outside/uncovered (at least that's my understanding from what the folks at the hotel said) because when our luggage arrived a few hours after us it was completely soaked through -- every single clothing item was dripping wet, meaning the suitcase had to be sitting in the rain for a bit. We were staying at Yacht Club and they agreed to send all our clothes to dry cleaning and we had them back late the next day. They did add that charge to our bill (over $150) but agreed to remove it when we explained what happened. Talking to the folks at the resort it sounds like this wasn't the first time luggage arrived soaking wet. Luckily we had a carry on with some extra clothes so it wasn't much of a problem, other than having wet clothes, having to call someone about it, and then having to drop off the next morning for cleaning.

 

[maxiesmom]

Our luggage always arrived in a timely manner. HOWEVER, for our trip last spring we landed in Orlando around 6PM right before a big rainstorm hit. Apparently the storage area for DME luggage is outside/uncovered (at least that's my understanding from what the folks at the hotel said) because when our luggage arrived a few hours after us it was completely soaked through -- every single clothing item was dripping wet, meaning the suitcase had to be sitting in the rain for a bit. We were staying at Yacht Club and they agreed to send all our clothes to dry cleaning and we had them back late the next day. They did add that charge to our bill (over $150) but agreed to remove it when we explained what happened. Talking to the folks at the resort it sounds like this wasn't the first time luggage arrived soaking wet. Luckily we had a carry on with some extra clothes so it wasn't much of a problem, other than having wet clothes, having to call someone about it, and then having to drop off the next morning for cleaning.

That can happen from the airline being a bit negligent too. So they may have took the blame for something that was not Disney's fault. It is great that they paid for your dry cleaning!


Over on the Transportation Board many posters pack everything in zip lock bags. Just in case a suitcase gets left out in the rain, or in case another bag has some water or pop in it that leaks out. That way, all of your stuff stays dry.

 

[goofy4tink]

After grabbing a soaked checked bag, in Dec, I'll be packing more carefully in the future. We flew from San Diego to Boston....there was water dripping off my bag!! The contents were wet as well! Odd thing is that my dh's bag was dry! I think my bag fell off the belt and sat out in the rain at Boston!
I'll be using baggies from now on!!

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

That can happen from the airline being a bit negligent too. So they may have took the blame for something that was not Disney's fault. It is great that they paid for your dry cleaning!


Over on the Transportation Board many posters pack everything in zip lock bags. Just in case a suitcase gets left out in the rain, or in case another bag has some water or pop in it that leaks out. That way, all of your stuff stays dry.

Oh, certainly. I don't KNOW that Disney messed it up but that was the impression I got. In any event, they took care of the cleaning (had some very nice folded underwear) and I have no complaints about the way it was handled. Very much the good service you'd expect from Disney.

 

[brksmith]

Tried DME for the first time last week, with yellow luggage tags. Flight landed at 3:20pm. Bags arrived at resort at 01:10am. I know there is a lot of opinion on this from reading the forums, including people feeling that it is inconveniencing others by using bringing your own bag to the bus. I say let people do what ever is within the parameters Disney allows. For me, 10 hours after landing is way too late to get access to my bags, but maybe for others its great!