MCO - Southwest area to DME ?

[Claudia Kellenberger]

Hello Everyone.

This past December we flew in to MCO using Southwest. Although we were using Magical Express, I personally wanted to handle my own luggage.
This was no problem at all - we just didn't use the yellow luggage tags.
We picked up our luggage with no problems.

Because I was doing a split stay, and the second half of my stay was the Swan, I first went to The Mears counter to arrange my trip back to the airport, and pay for it. ( no problems.... yet )

So here we were ...... standing near the counter for Mears ground transportation ..... and we were not sure how to find Magical Express. We asked people who worked at the airport. We were directed to go up another elevator, and across another hallway, and down another floor, and into another hallway ....... all that walking took us another 20-25 minutes. When we finally arrived at DME ..... it looked just like the area we were at in the first place !!!! I could almost swear I could even see the Mears counter in the distance !!

My Husband insisted that we really were in a different section, and that could not possibly be The Mears counter in the distance.

My dear DIS people ....... If I was wrong, please let me know.

And .... I have a WDW trip coming up on May 1st. This trip is solo, and I will be using DME - both ways. So please tell me the best way to get from the Southwest area over to DME.

 

[DebbieB]

Hello Everyone.

This past December we flew in to MCO using Southwest. Although we were using Magical Express, I personally wanted to handle my own luggage.
This was no problem at all - we just didn't use the yellow luggage tags.
We picked up our luggage with no problems.

Because I was doing a split stay, and the second half of my stay was the Swan, I first went to The Mears counter to arrange my trip back to the airport, and pay for it. ( no problems.... yet )

So here we were ...... standing near the counter for Mears ground transportation ..... and we were not sure how to find Magical Express. We asked people who worked at the airport. We were directed to go up another elevator, and across another hallway, and down another floor, and into another hallway ....... all that walking took us another 20-25 minutes. When we finally arrived at DME ..... it looked just like the area we were at in the first place !!!! I could almost swear I could even see the Mears counter in the distance !!

My Husband insisted that we really were in a different section, and that could not possibly be The Mears counter in the distance.

My dear DIS people ....... If I was wrong, please let me know.

And .... I have a WDW trip coming up on May 1st. This trip is solo, and I will be using DME - both ways. So please tell me the best way to get from the Southwest area over to DME.

Southwest is on the A side of the terminal, DME is on B side. So it could not have been the same area where you picked up your luggage. There maybe Mears counters on both sides, the car rental companies have counters on both sides. Both sides look the same but don't connect unless you go up to level 3.

 

[goofy4tink]

There is a Mears counter on both sides...same with rental car counters. Side A pretty much duplicates Side B, with the exception of DME.

 

[seashoreCM]

Pick up your bags from the Southwest carousel (A side), stay on the same level to get to a Mears counter (still on the A side). Then you have to go up and over, one route is through the food court, following yonder star, er, 3 foot neon B on the wall, to get down the B side to the DME area.

Like going from halfway up the grandstand on one side of a football field to the top of the grandstand on the other side, except that "up" and "down" are inverted. The tram stations correspond to the goal posts.

OT: "Many Mears counters look alike" ... Except if you walk up and buy a Disney bound ticket at the counter near DME then you might be directed to wait for a bus in the DME queues.

 

[goofy4tink]

If you allow DME to handle your bags you won't have any issues at all. When you get off the tram, from the gate to the main terminal, you will just head to Side B. You have arrived on level 3, Side A. You just need to cross through the main terminal and then go down to level 1, Side B.
Now..if you had your bags and you wanted to collect them yourself, then yes, things are a bit more complicated. You will get off that tram, on level 3. You will then head over to Side A and go down to level 2, baggage claim. Get your bags, and return to the main terminal area (where you got off that tram and where security is), then cross over to Side B and go down, yes down again, to level 1, ground transportation.

 

[CleveRocks]

You're trusting Southwest to handle your luggage for more than 1,000 miles, so why not trust Disney to handle it for the last 20 miles?

DME has a much better track record with luggage than the airlines do. Disney also has a very high-tech system. The DME tags have barcodes, the barcodes are scanned 5 separate times between airport and resort room, and the dedicated luggage trucks are tracked by GPS. Disney knows where your bags are at all times (that is, if your airline correctly flew them to MCO).

Just a thought ... it'll save you time and hassle.

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

You're trusting Southwest to handle your luggage for more than 1,000 miles, so why not trust Disney to handle it for the last 20 miles?

DME has a much better track record with luggage than the airlines do. Disney also has a very high-tech system. The DME tags have barcodes, the barcodes are scanned 5 separate times between airport and resort room, and the dedicated luggage trucks are tracked by GPS. Disney knows where your bags are at all times (that is, if your airline correctly flew them to MCO).

Just a thought ... it'll save you time and hassle.

Thanks, Eric

This past Dec. trip, I needed the luggage with me because we needed what's in them right away. I'm glad we did it that way - I worked out well.

However - this trip coming up in MAY will be different. I won't need everything right away, and therefore will use the Magical Express the EASIER way.

Thanks

 

[goofy4tink]

And I'm going to say it yet again!!!........be sure to pack anything you are going to need right away in your carryon bag. There is always the chance that the airline may misdirect your checked bag(s). If they do that, you may not see that bag for a day or so!! Much better to pack a carryon with anything you are going to need for the first 12 hrs or so of your trip.
The one time I didn't do this, I regretted it. Flew home, from Ft Lauderdale to TF Green. Got diverted to Philly. Plane couldn't get to TFGreen, and was returning to FtL. Had two choices...get off plane, stay in Philly for the night and fly to TFGreen in the morning..but checked bags were not being removed from the plane!! They would get your bags to you in a few days!! OR...stay on the plane, return to FtL and stay overnight there, but have your checked bags with you!!
I had nothing packed in my carryon bags...I was heading home, so figured I was 'good to go'..yeah, right. If I had had what I needed for that night, we would have stayed in Philly vs flying all the way back to Florida and then back to NE the next morning!!!
Pack essentials in your carryon bag!!!