Please help explain DME to me....

[la79al]

DSis and I are flying SW in September. I really don't have any clue on how DME works though. We should get luggage tags sometime before we leave right? And then our luggage will get put on the bus and taken to ASMu right? How do we then get our luggage when we get there and what do we do with it when we head to the park and our room is not ready? What do we do with our carryon luggage when we head to the park? How do we use DME when we are ready to leave? TIA

 

[cdrn1]

I have used DME 7 or 8 times and love it.
Prior to your trip (I just got mine Friday for my upcoming Sept 3 trip) you will receive a packet with yellow luggage tags to put on your bags, and some vouchers in a little booklet for your bus ride. When you get to the airport, you will check your bags as always. When you get to Orlando, you will go the ME check-in counter and they will check you in and then you will be shown where to board your bus. Your bags will be picked up and taken to your resort on a truck. You will take your bus to the resort, and your bags will show up magically in your room later in the day. I have had it take anywhere from 2 to 8 hours; we usually just go to a park and the bags are there when we get back. When you go home, you can check your bags and get your boarding pass right at the resort. Then you will pick up your bags at your home airport, just like always.
Be sure and pack whatever you will need for your first day in your carryon bag as it could be a while before your luggage shows up in your room. You can leave stuff with the resort bell services when you go to the park if your room isn't ready yet.

 

[CleveRocks]

DSis and I are flying SW in September. I really don't have any clue on how DME works though. We should get luggage tags sometime before we leave right? And then our luggage will get put on the bus and taken to ASMu right? How do we then get our luggage when we get there and what do we do with it when we head to the park and our room is not ready? What do we do with our carryon luggage when we head to the park? How do we use DME when we are ready to leave? TIA

• make DME reservations.

• About 4-6 weeks before yur trip, receive DME packet in the mail (if you booked through a travel agent, the travel agent will receive them in the mail). Included in the packet are bus vouchers and special sticky paper luggage tags that have all sort of info printed on them.

• Put one DME tag on each bag you will check with your airline. Check your bags with your airline like you always do. They know nothing about DME and they don't have to -- no one at your home airport has anything to do with DME.

• Make sure you have a carry-on for your immediate needs, as you won;t have immediate access to your checked bags when you get to Orlando.

• After you land at MCO, resist the reflex to go to baggage claim. Skip it. Go to the Disney Welcome Center. When you check-in, they will ask how many bags you checked with your airline.

• Your bus queue will be pointed out to you, and when ready you'll be shown to your bus. You can take your carry-ons inside the bus with you if they are small enough to fit under your seat or on the overhead shelf. If not, the driver will load them under the bus for you (even if it is small enough, you can still have the driver stow it for you).

• Meanwhile, your luggage never got to baggage claim. Before that, it was scooped up and transported to a Disney baggage sorting facility at the airport. It will find its way to a DME luggage delivery truck and then be brought to your resort. After that, the Cast Members at the resort take over. A Bell Services CM will deliver it to the inside of your room whether you are in there or not. Disney even pre-tips that CM, to cover for the fact that you probably won't be in the room to tip him/her when your bags arrive. Therefore, you don't need to sit around and wait for your bags ... go out and play!

• Your bus will have others also going to your resort (maybe) and those from up to 3 other resorts. WHen you get to your resort, the driver will unload any items he/she stowed under the bus for you. If so, a tip is customary.

• Check-in at the front desk. If your room isn't ready, you can have Bell Services store your carry-ons, and you can go and play somewhere.

• Expect your checked bags to make it to your room within about 3 hours of when you arrive at your resort. The DME luggage tags ahve barcodes, and those barcodes are scanned 5 separate times on the bags' route, and their whereabouts can be tracked by CMs by computer.

I'm outta time right now. I'll write about the return trip later if no one else does ....

 

[JoelNYC]

What about tipping? Is it customary or expected to tip the bus driver?

 

[Tink's Pixieduster]

What about tipping? Is it customary or expected to tip the bus driver?

Tipping is optional, but we and most others do tip, especially if the driver handles any of your carry-on luggage by storing it on the bus for the trip.

Something that has not been mentioned yet is that DME limits you 2 pieces of checked luggage per person under this program, so when your yellow luggage tags arrive each person in your party will have two tags in their name. The tags are like the sticky tags put on your luggage at the airport by airline personnel to identify your flight number and airport destination

Here's a link to the AllEars page describing DME. http://allearsnet.com/acc/mexpress.htm

 

[JoelNYC]

Tipping is optional, but we and most others do tip, especially if the driver handles any of your carry-on luggage by storing it on the bus for the trip.

Thanks!

 

[CleveRocks]

Something that has not been mentioned yet is that DME limits you 2 pieces of checked luggage per person under this program, so when your yellow luggage tags arrive each person in your party will have two tags in their name.

I can understand why you make that assumption, but it's incorrect. True, you are sent 2 DME tags per person. However, DME will transport anything and everyting that you have checked with your airline. If you need additional DME tags, you'd just call DME and request them. And there is no extra charge from DME for this.

SO if you've paid extra to your airline to check more than 2 bags per person, OR if you fly with an airline such as SWA that allows for 3 checked bags per person (last I checked), you can still have ALL your luggage transported and delivered by DME.

It's also not strictly divvied up on a "per person" basis. In other words, if you have 3 checked bags and your spouse has 1 checked bag, you would simply put one of your spouse's unused DME tags on one of your bags. You wouldn't be cheating the system or getting away with anything. Like I said, DME will handle anything and everything you check with your airline.

 

[CleveRocks]

What about tipping? Is it customary or expected to tip the bus driver?

Tipping is optional, but we and most others do tip, especially if the driver handles any of your carry-on luggage by storing it on the bus for the trip.

I absolutely 100% agree with Tink's Pixieduster. A tip truly is customary if the driver handles any of your bags.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

When you go home, you can check your bags and get your boarding pass right at the resort. Then you will pick up your bags at your home airport, just like always.

Just so you know, you will not be able to check your bags at the resort when flying SW. You can check-in at 24 hours and get a boarding pass if you want, but you cannot check your bags at the resort. You will need to load them on the DME bus with you back to the airport and check them in there.

 

[Pigsty333]

DME has a truck that is used to load the DME suitcases into them. As soon as the baggage handlers for the airlines see those yellow tags, they are put onto a separate cart and DME workers take them from there. That truck will not leave that airport with those bags, until it is FULL!!!!!!!! That is why carry your meds, essentials, in a carry on bag.

If for some reason you did not get your tags or have extra bags, all you need to do is let them know when you check in at DME at the airport (in MCO) and they track your suitcases for you and deliver them.

 

[TDC Nala]

Just so you know, you will not be able to check your bags at the resort when flying SW. You can check-in at 24 hours and get a boarding pass if you want, but you cannot check your bags at the resort. You will need to load them on the DME bus with you back to the airport and check them in there.

It should be pointed out for newcomers that this is for the RETURN TRIP ONLY. The trip to WDW has been covered in detail by Cleve Rocks.

There are "participating airlines" that have a deal where you can actually check your bags with the airline and get your boarding pass while you are still at your resort. Then you don't need to carry the bags with you on your return bus trip.

Southwest is NOT a participating airline.

When you're not on a participating airline, and you want to spend time in a park or away from the resort after you check out, ask the luggage services at the resort to store your bags for you. They'll give you a claim check.

When you are ready to catch the bus, get your luggage back. The driver will stow the luggage under the bus. You'll then ride the bus to the airport. When you get to your terminal, the driver will unload your luggage, you pick it up, take it inside the airport and check it in as usual at your airline's counter (I think you can do curbside if you want to).

 

[cdrn1]

Southwest is NOT a participating airline.

Rats. I totally forgot that. I went with Southwest for my next trip because I am getting close to a rewards ticket. Airtran was the same price with better times.
Rats.