To get your own luggage or not when using ME?

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Our flight lands at nearly 8 p.m. Would it be advisable for us to go ahead and get our own luggage since we'll be checking in late. Is it still correct that your luggage is delivered to your room within 3 hours? Is this 3 hours from when your flight lands or 3 hours from when you check-in?

Also how's the availablity of ME buses for these later flights? When we traveled this Spring we arrived about 11 am and the buses came one after the other. Is this also true for the later flights?

Thanks for the information-

 

[goofy4tink]

Luggage is delivered up to three hours after resort checkin. So, if you arrive at MCO, ontime, at 8pm, you can expect to get to your resort around 9-9:30.
We are finding that the buses in the evening aren't quite as frequent as the daytime buses...they run less frequently.
It is completely up to you as to whether or not to grab your own bags. If you arrive at your resort at 9:15, your bags could be there by 10 or they could take a few more hours.

It is always advisable to pack anything you will need for the night and first thing in the morning, in a carryon bag. This is something you should do no matter where you are flying to. For instance...last NYE, my family was returning home to Mass from Ft. Lauderdale on SW. We weren't able to land in Providence but had to go to Philidelphia. Our options were to stay overnight in Philly, without our checked bags and get a flight out first thing in the morning, or return to Ft. Lauderdale, get our bags and stay overnight and fly up to Providence in the morning. We had to fly all the way back to Ft.L simply because I had nothing for the night in a hotel..no toiletries, no clothes, no toothbrush..nothing. Figured I wouldn't need that stuff...I was flying home!!

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Thank you for the good advice! I'm somewhat of a paranoid traveler so I always pack a change of clothes and essentials for everyone in the carry-on bag so I think we could manage until our luggage arrived. Oddly my biggest concern is someone knocking on our door with our luggage at midnight when I'm hoping the kids will be sleeping.

That sounds like some kind of flight you had. Thanks again for the information.

 

[prncess674]

Thank you for the good advice! I'm somewhat of a paranoid traveler so I always pack a change of clothes and essentials for everyone in the carry-on bag so I think we could manage until our luggage arrived. Oddly my biggest concern is someone knocking on our door with our luggage at midnight when I'm hoping the kids will be sleeping.

That sounds like some kind of flight you had. Thanks again for the information.

Your other option is to call down to bell services and ask them to hold your luggage till the morning. When you wake up, call down and ask that your ME bags be delivered to the room in the morning. Since you will have your carryon packed you will have PJs, toiletries, etc for the first night.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Your other option is to call down to bell services and ask them to hold your luggage till the morning. When you wake up, call down and ask that your ME bags be delivered to the room in the morning. Since you will have your carryon packed you will have PJs, toiletries, etc for the first night.

Thank you! This is a brillant idea that never occurred to me. I think we will wait until close to bedtime and if the luggage hasn't appeared do just this. I liked using the option of having ME pick up our checked bags last trip. It was very convienent.

Thanks again for the great idea.

 

[helenk]

Thank you for the good advice! I'm somewhat of a paranoid traveler so I always pack a change of clothes and essentials for everyone in the carry-on bag so I think we could manage until our luggage arrived. Oddly my biggest concern is someone knocking on our door with our luggage at midnight when I'm hoping the kids will be sleeping.

That sounds like some kind of flight you had. Thanks again for the information.

I'm in the same boat. For my solo trip in December my flight does not get in until 8:50 p.m. Even though I always pack essentials in my carry on I am going to get my luggage and take it with me on the bus. I do not want someone knocking on the door late at night either. I know you can request bell services to hold your luggage but I want to be able to get up early in the morning and head out to the parks.

 

[clkelley]

I'm in the same boat. For my solo trip in December my flight does not get in until 8:50 p.m. Even though I always pack essentials in my carry on I am going to get my luggage and take it with me on the bus. I do not want someone knocking on the door late at night either. I know you can request bell services to hold your luggage but I want to be able to get up early in the morning and head out to the parks.

We had what we needed to go to bed AND get out the door the next morning in our carryon. We've always had Luggage Service deliver the next day. We got out the door whether the luggage had arrived or not. We came back about 2pmish and finished unpacking.

Of course, now our travel plans have totally changed since they no longer pick up luggage after 10pm. We only fly in after 10pm if it's a weekend only trip, and then we can do without checked baggage because everything we need for a weekend is waiting for us in our Owner's Locker!! We just have a carryon with the netbook, CPAP, cameras, and medicines.

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

I guess another option for us would be to split up and have DH and DS go get our checked luggage while I check in with ME. It's been a several years since we rented a car at MCO and had to get our own bags. Is the baggage claim area very far from the ME check-in station? I'm wondering also about the timing. It took quite a while the last time we used ME to get checked in and get in line, but this was the middle of the day on a Sunday so I'm thinking there will be less people at 8:00 at night during the middle of the week. So I'm wondering if DH would even have time to get the luggage before DD and I head to the bus line? If not the idea of leaving the luggage with bell services would definitely work for us.

Thanks again for the help,