Magical Express - Luggage problems?

[Poohsmommi]

Anyone ever have their luggage lost? Or other issues using Magical Express where you are not picking up your own luggage from the airplane carousel?

 

[DISNEYD14]

We never had issues before but our last visit in October, all our luggage arrived excepy my husbands whose arrived the next morning, luckily before we left for the parks.

We were shocked because we arrived rather early in the day like 1sh

 

[msmama]

The only issues I've ever had were of my own making - like forgetting to pack our pajamas in our carry on so my son had to go to bed in his clothes.

Remember, it can take 3 hours FROM WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT YOUR RESORT to get your luggage.

 

[Dis703]

Not lost, but after always reading how people got their bags in 2 to 3 hours I hadn't figured on an evening flight that also ran late because the airport was closed down for storms. We got to our resort around 8pm and by 11:30 they bags still hadn't arrived. They asked if we wanted to be woken to have them delivered and I said yes because there were a few things we packed that we needed (contact solution/case mainly and cold stuff in a cooler). I woke at 3:30am and no bags had come yet so I went down to the desk and they found them and brought them up around 4am.

They told me normal timeframe to expect them is 5 to 6 hours and when there is an airport closure like there was that night it always runs longer.

 

[wdwrich]

We never had issues before but our last visit in October, all our luggage arrived excepy my husbands whose arrived the next morning, luckily before we left for the parks.

We were shocked because we arrived rather early in the day like 1sh

This may have been due to an airline snafu- not necessarily a problem with DME.
There's really no way to know where the problem occurred.

 

[DebbieB]

I stayed at BWV in October. I landed around 11:30, arrived at BWV at 12:45, never got a text that the room was ready, went to the front desk at 3:45 and found my room was ready. Luggage was not delivered when I left for dinner around 5:30. Was there when I returned at 9:00.

 

[goofyintoronto]

On my last TWO TRIPS to disney, our luggage arrived 6-8 hours LATER! Yep, you read that right. We always go in August and there werent any flight delays or weather issues either. Honestly, I will never use DME EVER AGAIN. From now on I will gladly drag my own luggage.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

In December 2013 DME delivered my suitcase to not one, but two incorrect resorts (despite the fact that a tag designating the correct resort was attached to the suitcase). Did not receive it until the next morning. Because I was calling trying to track it, I do know that it was misdelivered to the wrong resorts and not mishandled by the airline.

If there is anything you can't do without on your first day, pack it in a carry-on. Unless it can't be taken aboard a plane, and then you may want to consider picking up your own luggage.

 

[jo-jo]

We've used ME at least 10 times and never had a problem. I know a few times we had our luggage really fast. Most times we've had to call, but we always head out to a park first, so don't know how quick we could have gotten it. A couple of times the luggage was in our room when came back. Never had we had to wait 6 or 7 hours.

 

[Poohsmommi]

I will get our luggage from the carousel prior to getting on the bus. Thanks for the responses!

 

[maxiesmom]

I will get our luggage from the carousel prior to getting on the bus. Thanks for the responses!

Keep in mind that depending on where your flight lands you may have to go down and up quite a few stairs/escalators/elevators. So pack as lightly as you can! Also, it is expected that you will tip the DME bus driver for stowing your bags on the bus, usually a dollar or two per bag.

Honestly, to me the best part of DME is them handling your bags. You can spend a little money and get to your resort quicker and with less hassle. Why waste more time at the airport getting your bags when you don't have to? If you trust the airlines enough to check your bags, then trusting DME shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Poohsmommi]

Keep in mind that depending on where your flight lands you may have to go down and up quite a few stairs/escalators/elevators. So pack as lightly as you can! Also, it is expected that you will tip the DME bus driver for stowing your bags on the bus, usually a dollar or two per bag.

Honestly, to me the best part of DME is them handling your bags. You can spend a little money and get to your resort quicker and with less hassle. Why waste more time at the airport getting your bags when you don't have to? If you trust the airlines enough to check your bags, then trusting DME shouldn't be a problem.

It's quite easy to get the luggage and go to the bus. As for tipping, never really understood why people think it's necessary to tell others how to handle things

 

[smbowtie]

It's quite easy to get the luggage and go to the bus. As for tipping, never really understood why people think it's necessary to tell others how to handle things

Maybe it's because some people just don't know.

 

[sssgrandma]

Last trip I decided to pick up our luggage and take it to the ME bus ourselves. Not because I was worried about any issues with WDW luggage handling, but because I wanted to make sure the airline had not lost our luggage. We usually fly SW and you must report lost luggage within 4 hours of landing.

If we had gone on to the resort without our bags, then to the parks and did not arrive back to the room until late to find no luggage because of airline error, it would have been a huge hassle to deal with the airlines that many hours later, late at night. I don't mind spending the time at the airport to collect our bags and tip the ME driver for handling the bags just for my peace of mind. I am such a worry wort about these things since I travel alone with my 3 granddaughters. I would not have been able to enjoy the afternoon at the park not knowing if my bags got to Orlando! So we'll do it this way again when we leave in 143 days!!

We do use the DWD baggage check in at departure, but always pack our souveniers in our carry ons.

 

[Poohsmommi]

Maybe it's because some people just don't know.

Don't know to tip? Last I checked, tipping is discretionary. Oh, and we tip whether the driver is handling the bags or not. ;-)

 

[Poohsmommi]

Last trip I decided to pick up our luggage and take it to the ME bus ourselves. Not because I was worried about any issues with WDW luggage handling, but because I wanted to make sure the airline had not lost our luggage. We usually fly SW and you must report lost luggage within 4 hours of landing.

If we had gone on to the resort without our bags, then to the parks and did not arrive back to the room until late to find no luggage because of airline error, it would have been a huge hassle to deal with the airlines that many hours later, late at night. I don't mind spending the time at the airport to collect our bags and tip the ME driver for handling the bags just for my peace of mind. I am such a worry wort about these things since I travel alone with my 3 granddaughters. I would not have been able to enjoy the afternoon at the park not knowing if my bags got to Orlando! So we'll do it this way again when we leave in 143 days!!

We do use the DWD baggage check in at departure, but always pack our souveniers in our carry ons.

We are local, but we also have a home in the north. So, when we are flying in, we use magical express. I never had an issue, but read on these boards a few months ago of issues, and figured I'd ask. It's really not a big deal to get the luggage. We've done it before. The bus sits for a certain amount of time after flights land anyway ... so it's not like you are "wasting" time. I'll just pick it up. It's easier than waiting hours and wondering.

 

[goofy4tink]

It's quite easy to get the luggage and go to the bus. As for tipping, never really understood why people think it's necessary to tell others how to handle things

Because this is a discussion board and people tend to err on the side of giving too much info. Better to be told the same thing 5 times vs never hearing it and making a mistake.

It isn't always that easy to get luggage to the DME bus. If you arrive on Side A of the airport, you have to travel from the gate to the main terminal, then go down to level 2, baggage claim. Wait for your bags, then back up to level 3 (main terminal) and cross over to Side B, go down to level 1 and to DME. If you arrive on Side B, then you travel to the main terminal (same as arrival on Side A), go down a level to level 2, get your bags, then take the nearby elevator to level 1 and DME.

As far as tipping goes? Well....because Disney tells us that when we use DME all tipping is taken care of, some people don't realize that if they take their luggage to the bus with them, the driver will expect to be tipped...rightfully so. He now has to handle your bags, both at MCO and at the resort.

I have used DME probably 20+ times since it began. Most of the time, my bags have arrived in my room in a reasonable amount of time. There was one time, at Pop, that it took over 5 hrs....I arrived at the resort at 10:45am, my room was ready. But the bags didn't get there until 5:30ish. Now, of course that was the time I traveled with my eldest dd, who didn't heed my recommendation to pack her carryon bag with a change of clothes and anything she would need to start her vacation. Instead, she put all her shoes in that bag....heaven forbid she not travel with 7 pair of shoes!!! So, she had no clothes to change into and refused to leave the resort until she changed. Wasted all that time hanging around, waiting.
Normally, I just check in and then head to a park. So, I have no idea when my bags got there.

 

[OKW Lover]

Anyone ever have their luggage lost? Or other issues using Magical Express where you are not picking up your own luggage from the airplane carousel?

While I'm sure its happened to somebody its got to be the very, very rare exception. I've followed these discussions here on the DIS for several years now and can't recall anybody actually having their luggage lost by Disney. It seems to me that the greater chance for lost luggage is the airline itself.

 

[Poohsmommi]

While I'm sure its happened to somebody its got to be the very, very rare exception. I've followed these discussions here on the DIS for several years now and can't recall anybody actually having their luggage lost by Disney. It seems to me that the greater chance for lost luggage is the airline itself.

I agree. A very good point made by another poster - if you are not getting your luggage yourself, how would you even know it was missing? Just something to think about!

 

[kaytieeldr]

I will get our luggage from the carousel prior to getting on the bus. Thanks for the responses!

If even just three hundred people per day (and it has to be more, just based on there being more than five daily DME buses) used Magical Express, that'd be over ten million users.
Airlines have been misdirecting luggage for dozens of years, not just ten, evidenced by there being a store where consumers can buy "lost" luggage items, but not a corresponding facility for Magical Express.
Even if 10,000 of those guests over the years had issues, that's still just one tenth of a percent. Ninety nine point nine percent minimum have no problems. Reasonable people don't see the need for 9,990,000+ posts repeating, "DME was great!" or even, "DME worked exactly as expected!"
A few less than ideal experiences really isn't a reason to not use the full service.