Sorry---Yet Another Magical Express Question

[laginog001]

We have several family members in our group staying at the Coronado. One group of 3 (nephew, spouse & baby) will be flying in "late" in the evening, on the 2nd day of our trip. My husband has a Convention early the next morning....and I'm not real thrilled about driving back & forth to the airport by myself at night. DH said he would stay up and go get them, but I was thinking about having them just use the Magical Express. We will already have their room taken care of, so they'd just need to come right to the room and wait for their luggage. Is this feasible....or will it be easier to pick them up? Also, on the way home, they'll be flying home before we are. We haven't used the Magical Express before and we won't need it ourselves because of the van! Thanks for any help or suggestions!!!

 

[CleveRocks]

Anyone who is named on the reservation can use DME. It doesn't matter if some of the party arrives at a different time or even a different day than the rest of the party. The only thing that matters is that each person is a registered guest. I'd call DME and tell them your exact situation just to make sure nothing gets messed up (they need to know the flight info, anyhow).

If they're arriving late at night, they have 2 luggage choices: pack for the night in carry-ons (which is smart, anyway, in case the AIRLINE delays the luggage) and ask the resort's Bell Services to hold off on the checked luggage delivery until a sane hour in the morning; or they can get their luggage at baggage claim and have the driver stow it in the cargo bay of the bus, then they'll have it with them when they check in. The latter choice will slow them down some, but some people just need to have their luggage ASAP. If they want to claim their own bags, MAKE SURE THEY DON'T PUT THE YELLOW DME TAGS ON THEIR CHECKED LUGGAGE! If their bags are DME-tagged, the bags won't show up at baggage claim, and they won't be able to get them themselves.

 

[Windy City Heather]

Sometimes when you come in late at night you don't have the busses. You have vans or lincoln town cars. I am saying this because you mentioned they have a baby. You can't use a car seat on the busses but I believe it is the law to have a car seat in a van or car. We arrived at 12:30 am and no busess. They tried to put us in a car and I pointed out that I did not have a car seat. After a lot more wait I finally agreed to the van. Also we had our luggage delivered the next morning. We just carried an over night bag with anything we would need for that night or for the next morning so we could get to the park.

 

[laginog001]

They will have a car seat because we are getting a seat for the baby on the plane, so that won't be a problem. I don't think they'll like the idea of not getting their luggage until the next day though!!

 

[Windy City Heather]

They don't have to wait until the next morning. They can either pick it up or let it arrive a few hours after they do. I just did not want to have them knocking on my door 3:30 in the morning to give us our luggage.

 

[Hopefully]

I think I have read that even if you have a car seat, it can not be used on the DME bus.
We used DME in October and we loved it. Very convenient and pretty fast. We did not come in late in the evening though. Packing overnight in your carry on is a good idea, so you are not waiting up for your main suitcase to arrive.
You may get more infomation if you post this question on the Transportation Board.

 

[goofy4tink]

I would have said that it will be no problem if you had asked this last week. However, I am in the middle of trying to book DME for my dd and dh who are arriving the day after I am and it's turning into a nightmare!!! I fly in on a Monday, using DME. Then they arrive on Tuesday, around 10 pm, using DME. You would think it would be an easy thing to accomplish. NOT. I was told by one CM that it wasn't possible...everyone had to arrive together. So, I called DME..they just laughed and said that of course it was possible. That if a CM had an issue to just call DME directly and they would walk them through the booking process. So, the next CM I talked to couldn't get the mixed reservation into the system so he said he talked to DME directly while I was on hold. After hanging up, I had a niggling feeling that it just wasn't right. So, I called back the next day...and sure enough, the reservation showed us all coming in on Monday. The CM was extremely helpful. She couldn't get her system to take it either...so she put me on hold and called DME. Came back on and said that it did finally take. I'm still not sure though. I guess I'll have to wait until I get my packet in May...then call DME directly if there is an issue. Bags are not an issue since I will have taken them with me the previous day...but I sure as heck don't need my dh (who has the patience of Attila the Hun) getting to DME and being told he has no ride to WDW and will have to pay for it via Mears!!!! That would not be pretty.
Not trying to scare anyone, just want people to be aware of the possibilities of incorrect info since it seems hard or impossible for CRO to book different arrival dates.

 

[laginog001]

Hmmmmm....that is scary!!!! Well...the first half of our party won't need DME, so that might help a little. But...we have another problem to settle in the meantime. We booked our rooms through the Convention and all 3 rooms are in our name. One room, we'll need to change to our Sister-in-Law's name. The other one, we'll be paying for, but we'll probably need to change to our nephew's name so that when they arrive, hopefully by DME, they will have a room in their name so the luggage can find it's way!!! This is supposed to be a "Happy Family Reunion" since we raised our nephew but haven't seen him for 4 years...and have yet to meet his fiance' and baby!! I'm beginning to wonder if it will be easier for my DH just to stay up and pick them up at the airport, even though he'll have an early morning Convention the next day. He'll stay up to greet them anyway but we thought it would be easier this way. Maybe not! Plus, we were thinking it would be easier on departure day since they're leaving a day earlier too. Thank you for your help....and any more suggestions!!!

 

[seashoreCM]

If worse comes to worst, don't spend hours on the phone long distance.

No car seat for the little'un? Show up at the welcoming area anyway. It's the driver's choice to produce a car seat, produce a bus, or he takes the chance of being cited for carrying a child without.

(Buses have no seat belts for guests and car seats, if brought, have to go underneath.)

Everyone arriving at different times? Show up at the welcoming area anyway. If someone told you over the phone you were not eligible for ME, don't simply take his word and book some other transportation.

Try putting all the correct names as all the rooms' occupants as soon as you check in as opposed to split second timing as others arrive at the airport. (Everyone needs to be properly booked into rooms, no six people into one All Star for example.)

You can expect to give a ME style tip, not a limo style tip, even if the vehicle is a Lincoln.

>>> not pretty

Since Mears operates the ME vehicles, it should be quite easy to get reimbursed upon arrival at the resort if someone at the welcoming area mistakenly tells you you have no ME ride and you choose Mears. In fact you will probably be riding the same ME bus.

 

[clkelley]

Here is how I would do it, book everyone on DME arriving the first day, and returning on the last day. Then have the folks that need to use DME, just use DME when they get there. Even if their times don't match, they still have a DME ticket and can get on the bus. Since there is no charge for DME, having extra tickets for DME is no bother either.

Their arrival time is not real critical as buses are at the airport all the time. Sure it helps ME with their planning, but a few incorrect times here and there isn't going to mess things up.

If they want to get their bags, fine, they need to go to luggage claim and get their bags. DO NOT put the yellow tags on their luggage.

On their return home, a couple of days before go to the front desk of your resort and correct their departure time so that ME can properly schedule for their pickup to go back to the airport.

Also, you mentioned something about changing the names on the room reservations. Even if YOU booked the rooms, you should have had to give them everybody's name. The reservations don't have to be in their name, their name just has to be listed as a member of the reservation. (I hope that's clear).

Carol

 

[dischick4778]

Sometimes when you come in late at night you don't have the busses. You have vans or lincoln town cars. I am saying this because you mentioned they have a baby. You can't use a car seat on the busses but I believe it is the law to have a car seat in a van or car. We arrived at 12:30 am and no busess. They tried to put us in a car and I pointed out that I did not have a car seat. After a lot more wait I finally agreed to the van. Also we had our luggage delivered the next morning. We just carried an over night bag with anything we would need for that night or for the next morning so we could get to the park.

I will be arriving around 12:30-1:00 am during my Nov. trip and didn't know if the buses would still be available. So even if the buses aren't running, there is some form of transportation available during the late hours? Just confirming, thanks!

 

[Windy City Heather]

Just make sure they have all your flight information. You can confirm it on your ME paperwork. If they don't have it call. CM will stay as long as they know you are coming.

As we were checking in I saw a bus but that was the only bus I saw. Mostly Lincoln town cars and a couple of vans. Also, I have used ME 3 times and the mid of the night arrive had the longest wait by far.