where does magic express pick up the luggage?

[GSLand]

Do the ME staff just wait at the luggage carosel for all the bags with the special tag ... or do they pick it up before it hits the carosel?

I saw the hint about picking up my own bag - then going to the bus. Is that really doable?

 

[outlander]

They get it off of the carousel. Yes, it's doable if that is the route you want to take. I would just make sure to tell them your intentions of doing so when you check in, so that they people picking up your bags are waiting around for them.

 

[Donald is #1]

If you want to pick up the bag yourself, wouldn't it be easier to not put the ME tag on it? I haven't used ME yet (I will in October) but from what I have read, I thought that they pick out the ME luggage before it hits the baggage carousel. I think that the ME people watching the carousel are just for the bags that are missed.

 

[safetymom]

They pull the luggage behind the scenes if they have the yellow tag on it.

 

[seashoreCM]

Someone posted a long description here about how the ME staff pull most of the yellow tagged luggage long before it could reach the carousels.

Occasionally something might slip through to the carousels but the ME staff will usually beat you to it and pull it aside also, and usually on the other side of the wall for carousels that look more like Winnie the Pooh or Buzz Lightyear as opposed to Cinderella's Golden or Dumbo.

There was at least one Disboards thread suggesting that on rare occasions really late at night, things change from self pickup of yellow tagged luggage impossible to self pickup of yellow tagged luggage mandatory. Here I suppose that (if true) no luggage is pulled and instead it all goes to and goes 'round and 'round on the carousel until airport staff take it off, and the next day ME staff come in and dispatch items not picked up to the resorts.

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

 

[corinascot]

They told us to not use the ME tags if we picked up our own luggage. We decided to let them pick up and deliver our luggage and it worked very well. We got off the plane, got on the bus, arrived at CSR and checked in (no line), went up to buy mugs and get a beverage, came back to our room and the luggage was there.

We flew to Grand Canyon/Zion area last month and rented a car and it just seemed like it was so much more of a hassle compared to ME.

 

[outlander]

Why do I not get yellow tags? I've used me twice now and have not recieved yellow tags either time. Both trips were booked through Disney travel.
I guess that's why my bags get picked up off the carousel. It seems like it might be quicker if I had yellow tags because I know there is some unwritten law of nature that my bags ALWAYS come onto the carousel last!

 

[seashoreCM]

An interesting experiment for someone who never got yellow tags: Construct facsimiles but include correct name, date, and resort information.

Would the baggage get delivered OK?

 

[tmt martins]

They need the barcode. I know this sounds simple but you have to sign-up for ME it's not automatic and I think you have to have flights with numbers registered to recieve the tags. You can call up to about 3 weeks before you leave if you didn't get your ME package ( coupon book and tags).

They can pick them for you if no tags . Me will copy your airline tags and ask for a description of the bags and pull them.

Make sure after you let CRO know that you want ME then call ME direct for any other changes in flights or questions of where the tags are.

Remember it's Disney but a different department staffed in a different area and computer system.

 

[outlander]

They need the barcode. I know this sounds simple but you have to sign-up for ME it's not automatic and I think you have to have flights with numbers registered to recieve the tags. You can call up to about 3 weeks before you leave if you didn't get your ME package ( coupon book and tags).

They can pick them for you if no tags . Me will copy your airline tags and ask for a description of the bags and pull them.

Make sure after you let CRO know that you want ME then call ME direct for any other changes in flights or questions of where the tags are.

Remember it's Disney but a different department staffed in a different area and computer system.

I had no idea it was a different department and that they needed to be contacted separately. Fortunately, right after I posted, I called Disney and it all taken care of. Hopefully the tags will arrive before we leave. Now i know.

I took the 'long way around' the first two times, which is what you described above. They took my flight information and descriptions of all of my bags. Surprisingly enough, they arrived within a very reasonable amount of time. Kudos to 'ME' for that!

 

[tmt martins]

I had no idea it was a different department and that they needed to be contacted separately. Fortunately, right after I posted, I called Disney and it all taken care of. Hopefully the tags will arrive before we leave. Now i know.

I took the 'long way around' the first two times, which is what you described above. They took my flight information and descriptions of all of my bags. Surprisingly enough, they arrived within a very reasonable amount of time. Kudos to 'ME' for that!

Yes ME does a great job even if things don't go as planned . They can make adjustments on the fly very quickly as everything is off the barcode your assigned.Normally they don't need to be contacted but when things are not right I go right to them and cut out the middle man.As long as they have you listed as a ressie they can make all the changes for you.

It's one of the many numbers I keep in my cell for our trips. DME 1-866-559-0951

I called last trip to make sure to add my neice only to find out I never made the ressie as I was waiting for her to let me know if she was going .A quick E-mail to MS and a call the next day and we were all set tags arrived on time.

We did a split some took ME and 2 of us went to the rental. We all arrived within a few minutes of each other. I will not (unless it's way less money) rent from the airport anymore.I will take ME and rent from the CCC or a DTD hotel location. It's just so much easier that way.

 

[CleveRocks]

Do the ME staff just wait at the luggage carosel for all the bags with the special tag ... or do they pick it up before it hits the carosel?

I saw the hint about picking up my own bag - then going to the bus. Is that really doable?

Here's info posted by someone else some months ago about the DME luggage procedure. The poster had a lot of details and appeared to know them first-hand. I changed some of the wording for the sake of grammar and "flow," but ALL of the info below comes from that person and not from me:

Unless a mistake has been made, all of the DME luggage handling is done "behind the scenes," so we never see it.

Most of the major airlines drop off yellow tagged luggage at designated drop off points where they are then picked up by a different contractor and taken to a sorting facility. These drop off points are supervised by Disney CM's.

Not all airlines use the drop off points. Many of the smaller ones don't. There are Disney CM's working behind the carousels pulling the yellow tagged bags off before they make it out onto the public baggage claim carousel and setting them aside to be picked up and taken to the sorting facility.

There are Disney CM's assigned to every airline to catch the bags that the airlines missed taking to the drop off point. They also check every unclaimed bag against a manifest to insure that the bags are found even if by chance the guest forgot to put on the tag or it fell off (highly unlikely).

DME luggage tags have barcodes. All of the bags are scanned when they get to the sorting facility, again after they are put in a locked cage and again when the cage is put in a truck. That's 3 barcode scans so far.

The DME luggage delivery trucks all have GPS devices and their location can be pinpointed at any time.

The bags are scanned again when they arrive at the resort and again when taken to a guest's room. That's now 5 separate scans.

Disney is well aware of where the bags are at all times.

If a bag is delayed the resort will call a central DME office at the airport and the first thing they check is to see if the guests checked in through the Welcome Center and rode the motor coach. If they did not, the bags will not be sent to the resorts. I know for a fact that this happens and the guest is required to contact the airline to see about getting their bags.