ME to POP

[KKB]

I asked this on the transportation thread, but little activity over there...

We have ME to POP 2 weeks from today. Arriving 1PM.

I have heard stories of luggage not arriving until the middle of the night. Does this only happen with later flights?

I thought about not tagging the luggage and collecting it ourselves, but I am under the impression that if we do that we will have to lug it onto the bus and cannot put it under the bus...

I would prefer to have our luggage by bedtime, so just trying to plan accordingly.

Also...any idea what time we might arrive at POP with a 1PM arrival?

THANKS!

 

[MOmousefan]

I can only tell you of our experience with ME to POP. On June 6 of this year we flew into MCO in the early afternoon on Southwest. There was a lady in the concourse with big white hands that directed us to the DME counter. We checked in and I went down to the buses. They line you up by resort and POP has it's own bus. The bus must have just left as I waited 20 minutes for the next one. We then loaded and drove directly to the resort and checked in with no problems.

We went to the Magic Kingdom and upon our return the bags were waiting for us.
You can read my TR below for more details, but DME worked exactly as advertised and we will use it again.
Have a wonderful trip.

 

[goofy4tink]

If you arrive at deplane at 1:00, and you have tagged your bags with the yellow tags, you will be at POP no later than 2:30...at the latest. You may even be there by 2:00. It depends on which resort they stop at first. I have taken DME to POP three times now....twice it was the first stop, once it was third of three. I think I may have posted this on your transportation thread, but it bears repeating. If you do not tag your luggage with those yellow tags, and you choose to lug them to the DME counter, and they they are stowed underneath the bus (yes, they are stowed under the bus, you may not bring them onto the bus with you!!), the bus will take longer to get to each of the resorts. The one time we were third of three stops, it took longer to get going, at MCO, because the driver had to stow a ton of luggage. Then, at AKL there were about 20 people that had to have their luggage unstowed, which added time to our trip. Same thing at CSR...between those two stops, what should have taken about 70-75 mins took 90!!!
Your luggage will get to the resort up to 3 hrs after you checkin. So...if you checkin at POP at 2:00, your luggage should be in your room by 5:00. It's only those flights that come in later in the evening that have any issues at all with time of delivery. If your flight comes in after 9:00 pm, then you may be better off not tagging it and lugging it yourself.
In any case...always, always pack your carryon bags with supplies for your first 6-10 hrs of vacation. You stand a much better chance of baggage issues due to airline misdirection than you do with DME misdirection. Always have a change of clothes, meds, travel documents in your carryon.

So...long story short...arrive at MCO at 1:00, be at POP by 2:5ish, bags should be there by 5:00 latest.

 

[Disney87]

delete

 

[BuzzandAriel'smom]

We had a little delay getting our bags in August at CBR but it wasn't DME's fault. The bags were there they just were understaffed at CBR to get them to us.

 

[rkmassa]

I hate to wait for my luggage. Now that the airlines have so many restrictions about carry on items, I needed some things in my checked luggage. I chose to pick up my own luggage and take it with me on the ME. Very easy. I just wheeled it with me. Went up to the ME counter at the airport. Walked over to the line for POP, and within 20 minutes the bus was ready to load. I wheeled my luggage out to the curb. The driver loaded it under the bus. Very easy. I had all my luggage when arriving at POP. For me, it was a better choice to take my luggage with me.

 

[CleveRocks]

I have heard stories of luggage not arriving until the middle of the night.

The problem is, for every post that reports on an actual delay, there are 50 posts that say "I've heard stories of delays ...." It becomes a huge rumor that it's a huge problem because of all the questioning about a fairly rare occurrence.

I don't mean this in any negative way towards you, KKB ... I know that you're just asking a simple question in trying to do the best possible travel planning for you and your family. I'm just explaining why there seem to be so many questions. Stories about stories about stories turn into urban legends with only a grain of truth in them.

Anything's possible. Luggage delays happen, but they are the exception and not the rule. The best defense against being affected by a luggage delay is packing for your immediate needs in your carry-ons. Disney specifically recommends doing so in the list of instructions in the DME booklet, and it also happens to be the way I fly anywhere (just in case the AIRLINE delays my luggage).

 

[KKB]

To help me take the other stories w/ a grain of salt!

I am a "half full" person, and realize that problems do occur, and that "half empty" people can skew the perceptions!

We did ME for DCL & LOVED it...some wait, but still reasonable in the sceme of things. I think it was about 1.5 hours from deplaning to embarkation. Not bad.

We did a similar transfer on Princess...TO the ship was a dream; FROM the ship was a nightmare. It was somewhat situational...spring break, big storm in NE bogging air travel. But there were other reasons to simply take a cab from the ship next time.

We arrive in Orlando at 1PM. We have 5PM reservations at O'hana, which means we need to leave by 4PM to make those. 3 hours from arrival to POP would make this difficult. I would probably have rented us a limo rather than mess around for 3 hours. But I think we will be OK; sounds similar to our first experience.

It is a Sunday when we arrive...will that slow us down?

Thanks, everyone, for your input!

 

[insoin]

When I went to POP Sept 13, I did not get my flight info intime for the yellow tags. I simply got a cart and picked them up myself. It didn't add any time what so ever to my trip. The bus was not there when I got there, it arrived shortly after, the drivers are quick to load, they know what they are doing. And we were on the road and didn't wait more than 20 mins total.

Pop was the first of 3 stops for us, and it took about 45 seconds to unload the 6 itmes we had under the bus. If you are more comfortable with getting it, then do. But with that said, I cant wait till my trip next year, where I dont have to check it.

We were going to drive, cause my friend hates to fly, and when planning she refused to fly. About 3 weeks prior, I got a SW Ding rate, and I told her, she could drive by herself if she wanted, otherwise we were flying. Got two round trip tickets for only $300. What a deal. And of course my horrible AAA tavel agent, "forgot" to change my reservations to show I was flying and to get the DME tags intime.

 

[mjh8955]

I just got back from POP and used ME for the first time. We arrived at the airport at 4:30 and were at POP within 45 minutes. We went to DTD that evening and our bags were in our room when we got back. No problem on the return trip. We were at the airport in exactly 30 minutes but this trip was very early in the moring. We were the only stop both times. When they say the bus leaves at 6:15 AM, they mean exactly 6:15 AM. think most of the time the whole process goes smoothly. HOWEVER, as with anything involving airlines, busses and other people handling your luggage, things can go wrong. While I was there I witnessed two different families who had been there 7 and a half hours plus and were still waiting for their bags. Both had kids, no diapers, pajamas, etc. It didn't appear that either of them had packed essentials for the night or next day in their carry ons. If they had, it might not have been such a disaster. I had both kids carry back packs, I had a backpack and we also brought one carry on and were prepared with everything we would need for a day at the parks,in the event our bags had a Magical Journey to someplace else for a day or so. My advice is to be prepared. And if a delay would truly cause you to become unhinged, then skip having ME pick up and deliver your bags for you. It worked fine for me, it didn't for some others.

 

[Luvchefmic]

I used them last Oct and had no problems, in fact I was pool side waiting to call the front desk for my room assignment & found out which room I had because I saw my luggage go by and followed it I do have a question though & if this has been asked somewhere else I apologize that I can't find it. I will be involved in a fridge swap at POP, the person before me knows that & will have to leave it for me she has all my info name, reservation number & the fact that I am using DME. Will the fridge also be delivered with my luggage or will I have to go claim it myself?

Also any suggestions for amount of tips to give, I will have one med size suitcase, one small enough to be allowed to carry on (I can't be bothered ) and maybe the fridge. Anyone care to make suggestions? Thanks, Ruthie