Magical Express twist?

[JERSEYGIRLINSI]

Going on vacation Feb 28-Mar 7, me-dw,dh,ds22mos. I have the DE reserved for arrival and departure-but we also have a car reserved. Can I have the DE take my luggage to the resort? And can I have them bring my luggage back to the airport for me? I know it's asking alot, but hey-we are going to be traveling for the first time with a 22 month old on a plane. Thanks guys!

 

[safetymom]

If you aren't on the bus they will not take your luggage. It is a service to transport folks to the resorts along with their luggage.

Some airlines are participating airlines meaning you can check your luggage and your resort and then take your car to the airport but nothing for your arrival.

What airline are you flying?

 

[CleveRocks]

Disney SPECIFICALLY will not allow DME to be a luggage-only service for arrivals.

From a business perspective, DME has two purposes: get more people to stay on-site; and get people to spend less money at off-site shops and restaurants AND get them to spend less money on rentals and car services. The more money spent at non-Disney businesses is money that Disney can't earn. If you rent a car, you've not only spent a bunch of money for the car, you also have access to restaurants and shops and other theme parks off-property, so again that means less potential money for Disney to earn. So before DME launched they thought through the process and realized if they allowed people to send their luggage to their resorts but could then rent a car or take a car service, it defeated the BUSINESS reasons for offering DME in the first place. That's why they strictly enforce that policy.

So the long answer to your short question was you can't ride your rental car from the airport AND have your luggage delivered to your resort by DME. I LOVED using DME in May, the first time we flew with our 2 year old and 5 year old. Then again, we had no need to rent a car -- we were happy to ride DME and DIsney Transport and never had any desire to leave Disney property.

OK, all this being said, your return trip MAY be a different story. There are a handful of airlines that are known as "participating" airlines. If you fly one of these airlines, you CAN check your bags AT YOUR RESORT the day you depart and they will then "magically" appear at your home airport's baggage claim carousel. You can do this no matter how you get back to the airport. At the end of your trip, Disney really has no way to make money from you whether you take a DME bus or a rental car or a taxi, so they really don't care how you get back to the airport and are fine with transporting your luggage IF you're flying one of those select airlines. If you're not flying one of those airlines, you can take the DME bus back the airport and have your luggage in the cargo bay of that bus (you get it back when you arrive at the airport and then it's your job to deal with it to get it checked in with your airline). But if you're driving back to the airport in your car and you're NOT flying a participating airline, you'll have to take your luggage in your car with you.

I hope this all makes sense. It's not as complicated as it sounds. DME in review:

ARRIVAL: you get on a bus and your specially-tagged luggage is transported to your resort separately from you (if you don't get on a DME bus, your luggage will stay at the airport). The luggage gets delivered to your room whether you're in your room or now (hence it "magically" appears).

DEPARTURE: Participating airline: You check in at your resort's Resort Airline Check-in desk, get your boarding pass, check your luggage, go about your merry way until it's time to go the airport, and then get to the airport yourself OR take the free DME bus from your resort. When you get to the airport, you have no bags to check, and you skip the ticket counter because you already have your boarding pass. Just go to the gate!

DEPARTURE: Non-participating airline: Show up with your luggage at the front of your resort with your luggage about 10-15 minutes prior to your scheduled bus time (if there's a long time between check-out time and bus time, Bell Services can store your luggage for you, but be aware that they can get backed up and you will need to request your luggage to be retrieved in plenty of time before your bus leaves). The driver will load your luggage in the cargo hold, you ride back to the airport, you get your luggage back, and then you're on your own to check in with your airline just like every other air passenger in America.

ENJOY YOUR TRIP!

-- Eric

 

[Lewisc]

I agree with you 100% BUT the reason Disney gives the public for DME is to help celebrate the anniversary. Disney has never said the reason for DME is to make it less convenient for guests to spend money offsite.

There has to be some guests, who don't frequent interent sites and don't read all the fine print, who tried luggage only. I haven't read what happened. Did Disney make the guests find their own way back to MCO to claim their luggage? Did they charge the guests for delivery? It would be interesting to hear Disney explain why they're charging a guest who only uses part of a free service when the stated reason is to help celebrate.

There was a recent poster who didn't use DME tags, the luggage made it to MCO on an earlier flight and DME took the bags from unclaimed luggage office. Not sure how Disney could do anything but delivery that luggage even if the guest found their own way to their resort.

I know the rules, wouldn't waste my time trying to "work the system" but I wonder what Disney does to those (few) guests who call looking for their luggage.

Disney SPECIFICALLY will not allow DME to be a luggage-only service for arrivals.

From a business perspective, DME has two purposes: get more people to stay on-site; and get people to spend less money at off-site shops and restaurants AND get them to spend less money on rentals and car services. The more money spent at non-Disney businesses is money that Disney can't earn.

 

[CleveRocks]

I agree with you 100% BUT the reason Disney gives the public for DME is to help celebrate the anniversary. Disney has never said the reason for DME is to make it less convenient for guests to spend money offsite.

I never said that Disney has ever stated that DME is for anything other than the 50th anniversary celebration, but if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it just may answer to the name Donald (or Daisy, Huey, Dewey, Louie, or Uncle Scrooge McDuck). The REAL reasons for DME are pretty obvious, though. Disney is a superb capitalistic entity. We wouldn't have these wonderful theme parks to visit and resorts to stay at if Disney weren't an incredibly skilled money-making machine.

And for the record, it is stated (and has been since DME started) on the official WDW website that DME is not permitted to be a luggage-only service for arrivals.

-- Eric

 

[JERSEYGIRLINSI]

Safety,
I will be flying with Jetblue
-thanks for your help

 

[JERSEYGIRLINSI]

Hey-(cleve)
Wow, thanks for your explaination. My motivation is simplicity, and trust me I understand the whole money machine cycle. I want to be a part of that whole deal, but I also want to get out to Gatorland, SeaWorld, and check out the area. Maybe we (myslef, & ds) will take the express and meet my dh at the resort. We'll have to find a way to do this that doesn't upset the masses. I love Disney, Mickey and the Magial feel of the Magic Kingdom (I had a Disney themed wedding, my house is a shrine to Disney, and my car), so it's not personal. I just find it important with the baby to be able to do what we need to do, when we need to do it. And that's the bottom line. But i think your great, funny even! You had me smiling like a baby reading your post..priceless.

 

[Lewisc]

Many people don't read all the fine print. How many posts have there been from people looking for a return DME voucher when the voucher in the packet clearly says it will be collected by the driver on the way back to MCO?

My point is Disney certainly can't tell a guest, your rental car is costing us money. Pay us or go back to MCO to get your luggage. It'll be very hard to justify charging for a guest who uses part of a free service.

I'm curious what Disney tells the guests who bypass DME and arrive at their resort and call looking for their luggage. Particularly a guest who says something like their flight was delayed, they saw a long line at the DME desk and they took a taxi to avoid being late for a dinner reservation.

I see on the DVC board another guest without DME tags got their luggage pulled by DME employees.

I know the rules. We all know (or at least strongly suspect) the real reason Disney is paying for DME. I'm just wondering what happens to guest who actually try luggage only.

I never said that Disney has ever stated that DME is for anything other than the 50th anniversary celebration, but if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it just may answer to the name Donald (or Daisy, Huey, Dewey, Louie, or Uncle Scrooge McDuck). The REAL reasons for DME are pretty obvious, though. Disney is a superb capitalistic entity. We wouldn't have these wonderful theme parks to visit and resorts to stay at if Disney weren't an incredibly skilled money-making machine.

And for the record, it is stated (and has been since DME started) on the official WDW website that DME is not permitted to be a luggage-only service for arrivals.

-- Eric

 

[TnTsParty]

I don't know if this would work or not as I haven't looked too much into Magical Express because we would never need it since we live 2 hours south. But depending on the amount of luggage couldn't you tag the luggage as 1 adults luggage and a childs luggage and then have either you or your DH take ME with your son and the luggage and the other get the rental car and drive it to WDW?

 

[safetymom]

Jet Blue is one of the particpating airlines for resort check in. You will be able to check in and have them take your luggage to the airport for you. You only have to worry about getting your luggage to your resort when you arrive.

 

[dcgrumpy]

I don't know if this would work or not as I haven't looked too much into Magical Express because we would never need it since we live 2 hours south. But depending on the amount of luggage couldn't you tag the luggage as 1 adults luggage and a childs luggage and then have either you or your DH take ME with your son and the luggage and the other get the rental car and drive it to WDW?

A couple of weeks ago we reserved a minivan and DME. I took DME with DS and DD#1 and DH picked up the minivan and drove with DD#2. We used online check in with Alamo, we arrived at CSR just about the same time. We didn't use DME back to the airport because we were flying with Spirit and you can't check your luggage so there was no advantage. Since you're on a participating airline you can check it at the resort without using DME back to the airport

 

[pumpkinboy]

...My motivation is simplicity, and trust me I understand the whole money machine cycle. I want to be a part of that whole deal, but I also want to get out to Gatorland, SeaWorld, and check out the area. Maybe we (myslef, & ds) will take the express and meet my dh at the resort. We'll have to find a way to do this that doesn't upset the masses. I love Disney, Mickey and the Magical feel of the Magic Kingdom (I had a Disney themed wedding, my house is a shrine to Disney, and my car), so it's not personal. I just find it important with the baby to be able to do what we need to do, when we need to do it. And that's the bottom line...

We did this also. DW and the kids rode DME, while I got the rental car, went grocery shopping and arrived at the resort later, with food. Notably, my family and luggage was all there by the time I arrived, and I was less than an hour at the Publix.

Another option might be to get the car on-site, either at the Dolphin or at the Disney Car Care Centre. For the latter, they will come pick you up at the resort.

Have fun!

 

[JERSEYGIRLINSI]

Jet Blue is one of the particpating airlines for resort check in. You will be able to check in and have them take your luggage to the airport for you. You only have to worry about getting your luggage to your resort when you arrive.

Jet Blue totally has no idea what in the world im telling them, or maybe its just the rep. im dealing with. I was so happy for a minute, now just taken totally off my high horse. Wow, I hope that if I call and speak to someone else they will know what I'm confirming.

 

[safetymom]

Jet Blue doesn't do the paperwork for this. Disney has contracted with a company that works the resort desk that will check you and your luggage in for the flight.

You can get the details when you check into your Disney resort.

 

[CarnotaurDad]

There are two seperate items here that need some explanation:

(1) If NOBODY from your party goes to DME upon arrival at MCO, then you will not get your bags. Any of them. Period. That is why you need to check in at the desk and THEN you get scanned a second time as you board the bus. If nobody from your party goes on the bus, then those bags won't make it to WDW.

(2) As mentioned above, if there are multiple people from your party, and at least one of them gets on the bus, then all bags will arrive at the resort. The bar coding and numbers are the same and they don't care whether one gets on or all gets on. As long as at least one member in the party checks in at the desk and goes on the bus, then the bags will arrive.

Hope that helps.

 

[JERSEYGIRLINSI]

Safety,
Wow..the way things just fall into place
I really appreciate your knowledge, this is such a big help! Again, Thanks!
Cant,
I get the whole story now, thanks. We will probably split...me & my DS will do the DE (since my husband says that he can take or leave the whole DE-I know what a sin!! Forgive him board, he is just a New York City Police Officer in need of a vacation)And just meet up at the resort.

 

[CleveRocks]

Jet Blue totally has no idea what in the world im telling them, or maybe its just the rep. im dealing with. I was so happy for a minute, now just taken totally off my high horse. Wow, I hope that if I call and speak to someone else they will know what I'm confirming.

No one at JetBlue will have any idea what you're talking about. Don't worry -- they don't have to!

As someone above just said, a third party contractor is handling the luggage and stuff on BOTH legs of your trip. All JetBlue did was agree to have passengers check in at Disney rather than at the airport; all the rest is Disney and its subcontractors. For your arrival, the airlines have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with DME, which is why it doesn;t matter which airline you use to GET TO MCO.

A while ago I posted an illustration of how UNINVOLVED the airlines are. I can't find it, so I'll paraphrase. Let's say you're flying to Tulsa to visit Aunt Lulu. Aunt Lulu arranges for her gardener, Stevie, to pick up your luggage for you at the Tulsa airport and deliver it to the hotel where you'll be staying in Tulsa. Since Stevie will be busy with the luggage, he asks his assistant Davey to pick you up and drive you from the airport to your hotel in Tulsa. So go ahead, call JetBlue and ask them about Aunt Lulu and Stevie and Davey, and they'll look at you like you have an arm growing out of your forehead. They don't know about all those people and they don't care! Once they fly you where you paid to go, and off-load your luggage and release it to the airport's control, they don't care what happens.

For the return trip, pretend that gardener Stevie made arrangements with the Transportation Security Agency to have luggage checked in outside the airport, and although he had to arrange with JetBlue to print out the boarding passes and check you in, that's a local Tulsa affair that a JetBlue call center in Atlanta or New Delhi would have no idea about.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Don't ask your airline ANYTHING about DME. Leave them alone to fly, and let Disney do the rest.

ENJOY YOUR TRIP!

-- Eric

 

[JERSEYGIRLINSI]

Your so right, it seems that once I ok'd the charge to my cc-it was business as usual. I'm straight now-Thanks