Our DME experience...? (re: luggage drop-off)

[MommyBryn]

We were pretty satisfied with the DME service, except for one part. When we got back to our room that first day, our luggage was there, but literally thrown into the corner of our room by the door. Two suitcases was tossed upside down, one laying sideways and another thrown on top of it (half on the ground). Only 2 of our 6 suitcases were standing up nicely like we expected them to be...the rest were thrown in a pile- literally.

It's not a big deal to us, but it wasn't "Disney" either (Disney usually sets their own standards pretty high and always live up to them, at least in our experience). If I'm not mistaken, it's actually the hotel that takes the luggage from your room, and not DME, right? Because we did call the front desk (although weren't able to speak with anyone in a higher position...they said they'd relay the message) just to inform them. We were surprised at it, but not upset...although I do know some people who'd have gone through the roof to receive service like that from Disney.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

We always take our own luggage and instead of having DME take it. We just don't use the tags and we get our luggage ourself and then bring it to the bus. This way we don't have to wait all day for it to arrive.

 

[wrighter]

I can speak from experience: it is the resort that brings the bags to your room, and not anyone from DME. The reason I know this is because we had our very own "non-Disney" experience just two weeks ago. Our flight landed at 2:00, we were checked in by 3:15, and guess what time our bags arrived? 8:00 p.m. Yep. I was NOT pleased - considering we had planned to lay low that evening and get everything unpacked for the week. We have two young children, so you can imagine the amount of stuff we had to unpack!

Pardon me, I digress.

Anyway, when I called DME to inquire about the bags, I was (rudely) told that they'd dropped the bags at the resort and that it "wasn't their problem." Nice, yes? And when I called bell services to ask about the bags, I was told they were working on it - that it sometimes takes up to 5 hours after check-in to get your bags.

I was pleased with the shuttle service itself - getting people there was flawless. But in the future we'll be getting our own bags off the belt as well - no matter how much stuff we have! Heck - if someone would have given me a heads up - I would have picked them up from bell services myself! Not a problem! Perhaps I might try that next time.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I forgot to add that we have 3 kids so we have alot of stuff but you can usually find a skycap with a cart to bring your luggage to DME check in at MCO.

 

[seashoreCM]

When we got back to our room that first day, our luggage was there, but literally thrown into the corner of our room by the door. Two suitcases was tossed upside down, one laying sideways and another thrown on top of it (half on the ground). Only 2 of our 6 suitcases were standing up nicely like we expected them to be...the rest were thrown in a pile- literally. .

Seems like some bellhops wanted to play football. Were you at All Star Sports?

Reporting it is a heads-up as opposed to a gripe.

You might add something like "The guest cannot assume responsibility if this kind of rough treatment leaves a broken mirror or a hole in the wall". This last part is better in writing.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

You know what road rage is. This is an example of work rage that was reported in a travel forum some months ago regarding airline baggage handlers. "The duffel was mean to me so I decided to be mean back to it."

 

[Daytona99]

We have used ME twice. The first time, we beat the luggage to the room by about 10 minutes. The second time, the luggage beat us - and it was stacked nicely in the room. We can't say enough good things about ME - we'll use it again when we go in August.

 

[MommyBryn]

Seems like some bellhops wanted to play football. Were you at All Star Sports?

Reporting it is a heads-up as opposed to a gripe.

You might add something like "The guest cannot assume responsibility if this kind of rough treatment leaves a broken mirror or a hole in the wall". This last part is better in writing.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

You know what road rage is. This is an example of work rage that was reported in a travel forum some months ago regarding airline baggage handlers. "The duffel was mean to me so I decided to be mean back to it."

LOL...that's too funny!

We were actually at POR (our favorite resort). So it was kinda disappointing.

 

[Desnik]

I'm pretty sure awhile ago it was reported on one of these boards that Disney has contracted bell services out to the company that originally handled the airline check in at the resorts. They are called BAGS inc or something like that. We had a major problem with them that we ended up having to have their manager come down along with the manager at SSR, it was a nightmare. Anyway, some on the boards were worried that the Disney type of service with Bell services was going to change in a bad way. Maybe this could explain your bags being thrown into your room. We do love DME, but we keep our bags with us.

 

[CocozMom]

I hope this is not a stupid question, so bear with me.

I am very uncomfortable with the idea of DME collecting our bags and MCO and delivering them to our room. Maybe it is the control freak in me but I don't see it going smoothly.

So, DH is planning to collect all of our bags and meet us at the bus. What do we do from there? How can we ensure that our bags get off of the bus when we do? I am assuming these are large busses and luggage is stored under the passenger compartment.

AND - if we do put the DME tags on the luggage (thinking about other families we are traveling with) would we have the opportunity to get the bags off of the carousel, or are they pulled by DME before they hit the carousel.

Obviously we have not used DME before, but I couldn't pass up free transportation while I am planning for 12 people.

Thanks for explaining this to me, I would much rather be responsible for our own luggage.

 

[MommyBryn]

I hope this is not a stupid question, so bear with me.

I am very uncomfortable with the idea of DME collecting our bags and MCO and delivering them to our room. Maybe it is the control freak in me but I don't see it going smoothly.

So, DH is planning to collect all of our bags and meet us at the bus. What do we do from there? How can we ensure that our bags get off of the bus when we do? I am assuming these are large busses and luggage is stored under the passenger compartment.

AND - if we do put the DME tags on the luggage (thinking about other families we are traveling with) would we have the opportunity to get the bags off of the carousel, or are they pulled by DME before they hit the carousel.

Obviously we have not used DME before, but I couldn't pass up free transportation while I am planning for 12 people.

Thanks for explaining this to me, I would much rather be responsible for our own luggage.

LOL...I felt the same way. But we used DME because we were traveling as a party of 8 people, 2 being kids and 1 infant (that meant 9 suitcases, but only 4 of us *really* able to tote them around), so it was difficult enough to just get all the PEOPLE to the room. LOL

I'm not sure about doing it yourself, but someone told me that if you put the tags on, you don't have the option of picking them up yourself (because they take them straight from the plane). However, if you leave the tags off you CAN get them yourself, then they'll just put them under the bus for the ride there.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Do not put the DME tags on your luggage. Put a ribbon or something on it if you want help identifying them. After you land go pick up your luggage. You can usually find a skycap with a cart. Then go to DME check in. Keep your luggage with you and when you board the bus they put it right unerneath the bus. When you get off at your resort they take the luggage off and you can proceed to check in and/or get bell services to help you. We do this all the time as I too like my luggage with us especially with 3 kids I need my stuff as soon as we land! HTH!

 

[CocozMom]

Thanks for the advice. DH will definitely be handling the luggage for us. With two little ones I don't think I can wait several hours for our luggage to arrive.
Thanks again!

 

[CleveRocks]

I can understand your aprehension about the DME luggage delivery, but you truly have nothing to worry about, and if you get your own luggage you'll unnecessarily delay yourself at the airport.

DME has been around for over 21 months. There are no widepsread problems with luggage delivery. Disney uses a very sophisticated system. DME tags have barcodes. These barcodes are scanned 5 separate times between airplane and inside of resort room. In addition, the DME luggage delivery trucks are tracked by GPS. Disney knows where your bags are at all times.

In case there is an airline-based problem with your luggage, Disney will track your luggage down for you and deliver it to you no matter when it eventually arrives at MCO. But if you don't have the DME tags on your bags and your bags don't show up at baggage claim, you'll have to deal with your airline's baggage claim office yourself.

If you decide to pass up one of the great perks of DME, make sure you DON'T PUT THE DME TAGS ON YOUR BAGS. You were correct in your statement that if your bags are DME-tagged then they will NOT be at the baggage claim carousel for you to get yourself. ALL of the DME luggage handling is done behind-the-scenes.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I can understand your aprehension about the DME luggage delivery, but you truly have nothing to worry about, and if you get your own luggage you'll unnecessarily delay yourself at the airport.

DME has been around for over 21 months. There are no widepsread problems with luggage delivery. Disney uses a very sophisticated system. DME tags have barcodes. These barcodes are scanned 5 separate times between airplane and inside of resort room. In addition, the DME luggage delivery trucks are tracked by GPS. Disney knows where your bags are at all times.

In case there is an airline-based problem with your luggage, Disney will track your luggage down for you and deliver it to you no matter when it eventually arrives at MCO. But if you don't have the DME tags on your bags and your bags don't show up at baggage claim, you'll have to deal with your airline's baggage claim office yourself.

If you decide to pass up one of the great perks of DME, make sure you DON'T PUT THE DME TAGS ON YOUR BAGS. You were correct in your statement that if your bags are DME-tagged then they will NOT be at the baggage claim carousel for you to get yourself. ALL of the DME luggage handling is done behind-the-scenes.

I am sure that they system is great and I don't really worry about them losing our bags, I just cannot wait for hours for them to arrive in our room. We have 3 small children so I cannot pack tons of stuff in our bags for the plane. It is too much to carry. So for us the extra 15 minutes it takes to get our bags is worth it. We've always done it that way and it really hasn't been a problem. If our kids were older we might be tempted to try it the other way but for now at least we just need those bags asap.

 

[CleveRocks]

I guess it's that third child that makes the difference, especially with the third one being a one year old.

We've done it twice with two, the first time when they were 5 and 2.5 (the younger one still in diapers) and the more recent time when they were 6.5 and 4.

Each time, they each had their backpack as a carry-on, which were lightly packed with on-board activities, change of clothes, bathing suit and beach shoes, and PJs. My wife and I each had a carry-on, as well, and it all worked perfectly both times. We were easily able to pack for our immediate needs in our carry-ons, without them being overstuffed or too heavy.

Glad things worked out for you!