Newbie DME Question

[RGirl]

Hello! My daughter and I are heading to WDW for the second time ever next month. This will be our first on-property stay and, therefore, our first DME experience. We are flying from the West Coast and won't arrive until about 5:30 p.m. As I understand it, we can go straight to DME, and leave our luggage to be magically collected and delivered to our room. But I think that it can take several hours for the luggage to get to the room, right?

Based on your personal experiences, would you recommend that I collect our luggage and transport it to DME myself given that I will have a tired 4-year-old who will probably need to get to bed pretty early without being interrupted by luggage delivery and unpacking? We have a lot of luggage, so it would be nice not to have to worry about it, but it seems like it could be quite late before we see it in the room. What do you think??? TIA!

 

[RMAMom]

I believe the luggage can take up to 4 hours which would be 9:30 at the latest which will be 6:30 west coast time. I would leave the luggage and pack jammies and bathing suits in my carry on. You can expect to arrive at your resort about 90 minutes from when you land by the time you check in, grab a bite and maybe swim or explore the resort your luggage will probably arrive before your excited 4 yr old is ready for bed.

 

[Lumiere Lover]

I would leave the luggage to Disney, and pack any day clothes/swim suits in your carry on, so you can change if needed when arriving at WDW.

It will definitely take a couple of hours if not more for your luggage to arrive. Make sure you attach the special luggage tags/UPC colored strips they will send you. This helps the airport identify luggage for WDW.

 

[RGirl]

Thanks! You are probably both right. I guess I'm just hoping to get my kiddo onto East Coast time as fast as possible since we have to be at the BBB at 8:15 the next morning. I think I am delusional.

 

[LJSquishy]

Personally, I would suggest picking up your own bags and carrying them with you on DME. Your room will be ready by the time you arrive, so you will be free to freshen up, nap, or go to bed early after a quick bite to eat if you'd like. Your daughter will surely be tired after flying across the US and shouldn't have a problem going to bed on Eastern time. She may even wake up a little early in the morning which would be perfect for your breakfast!

I live in WA state so I know what you're dealing with on flights. We're going in February and actually decided to take a redeye flight the night before our reservations leaving at 8pm, so we will be arriving at MCO at 7am (4am our "normal" time) on reservation day! It will make for a long day, but it will just be my husband and I so we will be fine and that way we won't feel like we've wasted most of the day traveling.

 

[goofy4tink]

If your flight arrives, ontime, at 5:30, you will be at your resort by 7ish...latest. So, that means your luggage could arrive at any time from 6-11. You should always, no matter where you are traveling to, pack anything you may need for the first day/night of your stay. That way, if a bag goes missing, you will still have what you need for that day, or evening.
So..pack a carryon (you both get a carryon in addition to a personal item) with pj's, small toiletries for the night, and a change of clothes. That way, your child can go to bed.
If you decide to allow DME to handle the luggage (which I always recommend) you can either wait for it to be delivered that night, or leave word with Bell Services that you want the bags held until first thing in the morning. Then, leave out the 'privacy please' hanger on your door when you go to bed. You can call down first thing in the morning and they will bring your bags to you.