Travel Agent warns cleint about ME

[TwirlerGirl]

Now I'm worried again. A Travel Agent is warning their cleints to reconsider using ME. They warn that clients using Magic Express during the start up period may experience significant issues with both luggage and inconvenience when using Magical Express. They go on to say that the Luggage Tags have not arrived and are worried that the first few weeks will be a rough ride so to speak. It has been estimated that over 5,000 people have signed up for ME for May 5th. With so many using ME the first day, you can expect delays. Of course the main issue is the Luggage Tags. They feel the bus situation is under control but the luggage another issue.

Has anyone else received information from their Travel Agent along this line.

No flames,please. Can we share information?

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

These are my thoughts:

This whole process is NOT a new process. It's an existing process that's been done on Disney Cruise Line for years, as well as a bunch of other existing Orlando hotels. DME predicts to have 6,000+ on an average day, so while 5,000 sounds like a lot, when you think about how many folks come through OIA, it's just a small percentage.

I'm sure (as with EVERYTHING) there might be a random glitch once in a long while, but for the most part, everything will run smoothly.

 

[Lewisc]

Disney is using Fedx so the luggage tags go out in time. If you book through a TA the tags GET SENT TO THE TA. If you have a local TA you can just go pick them up if not the TA might not want the expense of having to express the luggage tags to you.

 

[CarolA]

Now I'm worried again. A Travel Agent is warning their cleints to reconsider using ME. They warn that clients using Magic Express during the start up period may experience significant issues with both luggage and inconvenience when using Magical Express. They go on to say that the Luggage Tags have not arrived and are worried that the first few weeks will be a rough ride so to speak. It has been estimated that over 5,000 people have signed up for ME for May 5th. With so many using ME the first day, you can expect delays. Of course the main issue is the Luggage Tags. They feel the bus situation is under control but the luggage another issue.

Has anyone else received information from their Travel Agent along this line.

No fames,please. Can we share information?

Are you going May 5th? If not, I suggest just hanging around and waiting to see what happends.

Yes, there will probably be some issues, but...

Keep in mind that TAs sometimes receive compensation from transport companies. I am pretty sure Mears must do some type of rebate/compensation program for example! So... using free transport might not be to thier advantage.

There have been issues reported on here with the baggage tags, but it sounds like Disney is trying to address the proble.

As to the 5,000.... wonder where that number came from. Disney has not released it has it? Plus a number on it's on is useless.....You need context and we just don't have that.

 

[TwirlerGirl]

Thanks Chip N Dale. I feel better about the whole thing.

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

My TA just emailed us to verify that we still wanted ME and said she thought it was going to be a great service. This is one thing that Im not worried about....not yet at least

 

[JuneCleaver]

I received a similiar email from my TA and promptly emailed her to more information. I received an instant response! Given the wording of the email, I suspect Twirler Girl and I use the same agency!

The issue with my TA sending the tags out is in NO WAY the expense the agency will incur, but the fact that they may not arrive in time by Fed Ex for my agent to FED EX them to me so that I have them. Being that I am naturally skeptical by nature, I actually asked her that! From reading here and on other message boards, it sounds like many Travel Agents are highly frustrated with both Disney and Magic Express at the moment and are doing the best they can for their clients.

Personally, I am glad that my TA was so proactive in alerting me to the potential problem. One of the advantages of working with such a reputatable agency as I feel I am is that I am sure they are looking out for my best interests and not their wallets! I was given an extensive list of alternative options when I asked for them...everything from Mears to a long list of towncar services to car rental options.

Now...all I have to do is figure out what is in the best interest of my family for my trip! The thought of having to drag luggage through the airport and have it tagged at the Welcome Desk is not appealing at all...

Off to research renting a car!

June

 

[seashoreCM]

I was given an extensive list of alternative options when I asked for them...everything from Mears to a long list of towncar services to car rental options.

The thought of having to drag luggage through the airport and have it tagged at the Welcome Desk is not appealing at all...

Off to research renting a car!

Please do not pass up the free transportation from airport to Disney just because of lack of luggage tags.

Hand carrying the luggage from the carousel to the ME bus is not that much more a hassle than carrying the luggage to the Mears shuttle or to a rental car or to a town car. It is no more a hassle if your airline delivers baggage on (I think) the A side where the ME buses load.

Of course if you want a grocery stop, go with a town car. If you need to drive about or off site, go rent a car.

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

6000 signups on a day.
Assuming 3 people per party equals 18000 people
Assuming 50 people per bus equals 360 bus loads
From 9 AM to 10 PM (13 hours) equals 28 buses departing each hour
With four resort zones, 7 groups of 4 buses depart each hour or a group leaves every 8 minutes.

 

[spiceycat]

Okay I am a DVC member and I used MS to make the ME reservations. there a post this morning on DVC board that make me call MS.

MS got an email yesterday from ME services.

there was a problem with the printing of the ME tags.

if you have not received one before you leave - then just check your luggage in as usually and kept the receipts - then once you arrive in Orlando go the Disney CRUISE LINE counter - there will a ME person - check in here and give her your luggage receipts WDW will then take care of everything.

if you have any problems or concerns - there is a phone number to call
1-866-599-0951.

Now don't call them unless you don't receive your tags and can't follow these instructions.

- or you have some problems - I am flying Delta to Atlanta and yes I might get cancelled - only if this happen will I call this phone number.

I am still using ME at this time.

 

[TwirlerGirl]

SpiceCat, thanks for the additional info. It all sounds reasonable, I'm staying with my ME.

Thanks everyone for being so helpful. I didn't want to start a riot, just needed to hear from my fellow "DIS' ers who I know would have more info. Starting a vacation with a bunch of problems is a killer.

 

[CarolA]

I received a similiar email from my TA and promptly emailed her to more information. I received an instant response! Given the wording of the email, I suspect Twirler Girl and I use the same agency!

The issue with my TA sending the tags out is in NO WAY the expense the agency will incur, but the fact that they may not arrive in time by Fed Ex for my agent to FED EX them to me so that I have them. Being that I am naturally skeptical by nature, I actually asked her that! From reading here and on other message boards, it sounds like many Travel Agents are highly frustrated with both Disney and Magic Express at the moment and are doing the best they can for their clients.

June

Tell you TA to call ME and change the address! They can just have these things sent to YOU! (And if they can't do that you call ME..... ) Your TA has an unrequired step in here.

 

[spiceycat]

tell me about it...when I first saw the post on the DVC - I say 'NO' then I immediately called MS myself.

I don't mean to upset anyone - but remember something else Travel agents don't get any more money for ME services - if they can talk you into a towncar or rental car that they do for you - they get a fee....

the last time I used the Orlando airport we (everyone on this flight) had to wait over an hour for the luggage to arrive....not a fun way to start a trip!

 

[ksoehrlein]

The panic may have originate with an e-mail from Disney to travel agents who are registered on their web site. They send these e-mails weekly, so it wasn't just a special alert for ME. Among many other things, this paragraph was in it:

Tip of the Week

Important Delivery Information Regarding Disney's Magical Express Documents

Documents for Disney’s Magical Express are scheduled to be sent 21 days prior to departure. However, due to the popularity of this new service that begins on May 5, the number of documents that need to be sent has exceeded expectations. Clients traveling within 21 days that do not have their documents yet will be receiving them shortly via express service. If a Client’s departure date is in less than 10 days and they have not received their Disney’s Magical Express documents, please contact 1-866-599-0951. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we launch this new and exciting Guest service.

It does sound a little scary, which is probably why the TAs were concerned. I have faith that it will work, though. The wording leads me to believe that tags for time-critical clients will go right to the client, not the TA, but I can't be sure.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Okay I am a DVC member and I used MS to make the ME reservations. there a post this morning on DVC board that make me call MS.

MS got an email yesterday from ME services.

there was a problem with the printing of the ME tags.

if you have not received one before you leave - then just check your luggage in as usually and kept the receipts - then once you arrive in Orlando go the Disney CRUISE LINE counter - there will a ME person - check in here and give her your luggage receipts WDW will then take care of everything.

if you have any problems or concerns - there is a phone number to call
1-866-599-0951.

Now don't call them unless you don't receive your tags and can't follow these instructions.

- or you have some problems - I am flying Delta to Atlanta and yes I might get cancelled - only if this happen will I call this phone number.

I am still using ME at this time.

When I spoke with someone at DME, the impression I got is that when guests check in at the welcome center, one of the questions asked is if they tagged thier luggage. If the luggage wasn't tagged, a Disney representative would go to the baggage claim for the guest, and claim thier luggage.

 

[Conkozan]

Sounds like Twirler Girl and I have the same agent as well. The tone of the letter that I recieved was that they were as frustrated with all of this as we are and wanted to make their clients aware of exactly what was going on. The fact that they are being procative rather than reactive in all this gives me great confidence.

Since they do not book the rental cars or town cars and included links to the more popular ones in Orlando, I do not think it was an issue of them making or not making money on transfers (these agents are also not that type).

 

[WDWsnooper]

...then once you arrive in Orlando go the Disney CRUISE LINE counter - there will a ME person - check in here and give her your luggage receipts WDW will then take care of everything.

Sounds like a plan and in theory it will work. The DME people seem optimistic but I'm not too sure I will just give up my receipt without receiving a receipt for my receipt, so to speak. That is my ONLY claim if my luggage is lost during transport on the airlines. I'll have no assurance it arrived at all, and if lost, will have no claim check. Call me skeptical, but without a receipt for my claimcheck, I will not just give it to them. So far they have NOT taken care of everything.
Snooper

 

[spiceycat]

I left out a big one.

you need to make sure that ME can identity your luggage (if you don't get the tags) -I am taking a picture of mind which I will have in my carry on.

my luggage doesn't look like everyone else...

so I don't think they will have a problem with mind.

If your luggage looks like everyone elses - maybe you might need to accompany the person.

 

[OKW Lover]

Perhaps I'm just the suspcious type, but my first reaction was that the TA just wanted to sell the OP on either a towncar service or a rental car.

 

[tiggerju]

Good luck on trying to get them to change your address on who to ship them to. If they've already been shipped they are probably going to tell you there is nothing that they can do about it, at least that's what they told me when I wanted to give them my home address instead of my PO Box to try to get them to me by FedEx. This was even over the 10 days to sign up for ME. They seem to be telling everyone now that if you don't receive your luggage tags in time you will either have to give your claim tickets to the ME CM at MCO or go get your bags yourselves and take them to the ME Welcome Center (it depends which CM you talk to at the ME number on what they tell you to do). I also wanted to second the post that Disney doesn't give written confirmation to anyone who is booked a room-only reservation. I have read some posts that it shows up on the confirmations of people who have packages, but I can't confirm that since I have a room-only.

 

[DisneyDreamer2]

I too have a room only ressie and no written confirmation of ME, but I've called 3x and they say I'm signed up. Leaving May 10th