Understanding ME

[mastermind307]

Not first time going to Disney, but first time flying. I want to make sure I understand how this all works. We will be flying on Southwest. Arriving at MCO at 12:05pm on October 10 and departing MCO at 10:30am on October 17.

For the flight there
1. I will receive yellow tags to put on our luggage.
2. By putting these yellow tags on our luggage, we can bypass luggage claim and go directly to the ME bus.
3. The bags will then be delivered to our room at Wilderness Lodge 3-4 hours after we check in.
4. The bags will be delivered even if we are not in the room.
5. No tipping is necessary because it has already been taking care of
6. If we choose to claim our own luggage, I will not put the yellow tags on it.
7. We would claim our luggage and then go to the ME bus where our luggage would be stored underneath.
8.We would need to tip the driver for handling our bags.
9. At the resort, we would take our own bags to our room or bell services if room is not ready.
10. If bell services brings our bags to our room, we would tip that person.

For coming home
1. We need to check are luggage at the resort check in at least 3 hours prior to departure.
2. We would have our boarding passes printed at this time.
3. The ME bus will pick us up 3 hours before our flight time.
4. So we would need to by at the bus stop around 7:15 for a 7:40 pick up for our 10:40 departure time.
5. At the airport we can go straight to security check because our bags were checked at the resort.

Do I understand how the process works?

 

[tjmw2727]

Yes - well done!

On the return leg you will get a notice slid under the door - or hung on the door handle with your exact pick up time for DME the next day. Unlike the inbound you are assigned to a bus for the trip back to the airport so be sure to be at the stop and ready prior to that pick up time.

 

[siskaren]

Just a little clarification on the return trip. You'll need to have your luggage checked in more than 3 hours before your flight time because the DME bus pick-up time will be 3 hours before your flight time plus or minus 15 minutes, plus, the time they give you is the time the bus is supposed to leave, not the time it arrives. Being there about 30 minutes before the pick-up time is a good amount of time to give yourself, though.

 

[Alesia]

Just a little clarification on the return trip. You'll need to have your luggage checked in more than 3 hours before your flight time because the DME bus pick-up time will be 3 hours before your flight time plus or minus 15 minutes, plus, the time they give you is the time the bus is supposed to leave, not the time it arrives. Being there about 30 minutes before the pick-up time is a good amount of time to give yourself, though.

Just a little clarification on this: Your luggage needs to be completely checked in at least 3 hours before your flight because RAC requires it. They cannot check your luggage in after that regardless of how you're getting to the airport. It has absolutely nothing to do with DME

 

[siskaren]

Just a little clarification on this: Your luggage needs to be completely checked in at least 3 hours before your flight because RAC requires it. They cannot check your luggage in after that regardless of how you're getting to the airport. It has absolutely nothing to do with DME

Yep, I forgot about that. I was just thinking in terms of DME picking you up about 3 hours before your flight and that you have to have your luggage checked in before your bus arrives.

 

[mastermind307]

Ok thanks everybody. I just wanted to make sure I understand everything correctly.

 

[trainingupmy4princes]

Just a little clarification on this: Your luggage needs to be completely checked in at least 3 hours before your flight because RAC requires it. They cannot check your luggage in after that regardless of how you're getting to the airport. It has absolutely nothing to do with DME

But how early can you check your luggage in? Say your flight is at 5:30 PM and you want to go to MK for the morning. Can you check in your luggage at 8AM before heading off or do you have to come back early to check it in at the 3.5 hour mark?

 

[siskaren]

But how early can you check your luggage in? Say your flight is at 5:30 PM and you want to go to MK for the morning. Can you check in your luggage at 8AM before heading off or do you have to come back early to check it in at the 3.5 hour mark?

You have to check your luggage at least 3 hours before your flight; you can definitely check your luggage in the morning for an evening flight.

 

[mastermind307]

I have a couple more questions.
My inlaws are traveling with us, but are thinking about renting a car. If they sign up for ME, and then decide to rent a car, and don't get on the ME bus, would that cause problems?
If they rent a car, can they still check their luggage at the resort even though they wouldn't be riding the bus to the airport?

 

[goofy4tink]

I have a couple more questions.
My inlaws are traveling with us, but are thinking about renting a car. If they sign up for ME, and then decide to rent a car, and don't get on the ME bus, would that cause problems?
If they rent a car, can they still check their luggage at the resort even though they wouldn't be riding the bus to the airport?

Yes, to the all of the above. It's best if someone in the party actually rides the bus...but some can take a rental car. It makes it a bit safer tagging the bags. As far as leaving the resort and checking the bags with RAC? Absolutely fine. You do not need to ride the DME bus back to MCO in order to check your bags at the resort.....they are different entities!

 

[seashoreCM]

On your last day, shoot to be back at your resort an hour before your Magical Express bus time back to the airport.

It's surprising how easily something goes wrong and you are anxious up until your DME bus time if you are cutting things closer.

The DME bus does not wait for you to check bags at the Resort Airline Check-in stand. If your bus time comes up and you are waiting to check bags, abandon that activity and bring all your stuff to the bus platform. (Actually anyone and everyone is permitted to bring their stuff to the DME bus both going to Disney and going home.)

 

[nkereina]

For coming home
1. We need to check are luggage at the resort check in at least 3 hours prior to departure.
The Resort Airline Check-In desk closes at 1pm, so if your flight is at 10pm, you'll want to check-in your bags before 1pm and after 10am. You have to do it at least 3 hours before your depature, no earlier than 12 hours before your departure, and before 1pm when they close.
2. We would have our boarding passes printed at this time.
As PPs have mentioned, they will likely do this for you and hang them on your door the night before with your DME pick-up time and information.
3. The ME bus will pick us up 3 hours before our flight time.
4. So we would need to by at the bus stop around 7:15 for a 7:40 pick up for our 10:40 departure time.
If you have a 10:40 departure time, the bus will pick you up around 7:40 - but it could be give or take 15 minutes. It's not a guaranteed 7:40, you'll find out for certain the night before you leave. You should arrive at the DME stop around 15 minutes before your scheduled pick-up time. Give yourself time to claim your carry-on luggage from bell services if you are storing anything with them.
5. At the airport we can go straight to security check because our bags were checked at the resort.