Who do I send a complaint to?

[Edd]

After a lot of talk with key officials at the airport it looks like this is Disney trying to shut down the 24 hour feature of the luggage pickup. The #2 man at the airport has told me personally there is no airport policy that has been changed or acted on.

As a matter of fact he was going to be meeting with the lady in charge of DME at the airport and discuss the fact that DME said it was due to a new airport policy. He did meet with them yesterday. I know that for a fact because I happen to walk in on the meeting.

I have no way of finding out if it is the TSA. I look at it this way, if there is luggage flowing after 2300 to the other folks landing, I personally don't think they would stop the luggage flow to Disney. Also I am sure Disney could get around it if they wanted to. I don't think Disney wants to employ the people to do the work after 2300.

Keep in mind the airport is not blaming Disney. They are saying there is no new policy that has been set up that would stop the luggage flow. Disney seems to be blaming anyone they can think of right now. Remember TSA can make policy changes in security, but they also have to confer with the airport on anything they change. The CM's can get in back of the luggage carousels anytime they need to be. They have to be scanned to go through the door and there are less doors than before to go through. Maybe Disney doesn't want to go through the trouble.

Finally Carol, the airport does not allow any transportation vendor on the third floor, nor signs for the vendors.

 

[judykay53]

We have used DME several times and never had any problems. My daughter and her family arrived last September after midnight and on the bus going to WL there was only one other family, the bus driver first took them to AKl and when no one got off he looked at his paperwork and realized he was at the wrong resort.

Picking your luggage up is a major selling point of DME. Not telling late arriving guests that they have to retrieve their own luggage is irresponsible and poor customer service. We choose to arrive late for a reason. I am now making other plans for transportation to the resort in May.

 

[maxiesmom]

Op-- I don't doubt you. Magical Express is great because it is free. There really is nothing "Express" about it. During our last trip to disney, our transportation to our hotel was fine, if a little slow. The trip back to the airport was not fun for us either. It was slow, and to top it off there was almost a riot at the CBR when the people waiting for ME realized that they would not all fit on the bus. I was suprised at how many stops the bus made on the way back to the airport. No wonder they pick you up 3 hours ahead of time. You need every minute of it!

Good luck with getting some sort of reply from Disney.

 

[clkelley]

Reply to my email to Disney Guest Services:

Dear Carol,

Thank you for contacting the Walt Disney World Resort.

I spoke with an agent from Disney's Magical Express and was explained that, the reason they were not prepared for the guest is that they weren't informed the guest was arriving after 11:00 pm.

So, to not have problem, the day before your arrival please call Disney's Magical Express at 866-599-0951 and notify them of your after 11:00 pm arrival, they will retrieve your luggage and will take it to your resort, if you do not want to be disturbed at 3:00 - 3:30 am with the delivery of your luggage, at check-in make sure you tell them to hold your luggage and the time you want it delivered by.

If you have questions or need further assistance, feel free to contact us.

Please include your full name, E-Mail address, and reservation number if applicable on all correspondence.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Maria Rine
WDW Online Communications

PLEASE NOTE: All information is subject to change without notice and should be confirmed just prior to your visit.



Original Message Follows:
-------------------------

Message:
This question is about Disney's Magical Express Luggage Delivery
Service.

On two recent occasions (within the last month) friends of mine have
reported arriving at the DME Welcome Center after 11pm and were told by
DME personnel that they had to go back upstairs and retrieve their
luggage from the carousel.

Yet Disney's Magical Express Information on the web states the
following:

Upon landing at Orlando International Airport, skip baggage claim and
proceed to the Disney Welcome Center. Disney will collect your luggage
and deliver it directly to your Disney Resort hotel room.

There is nothing that tells you that after 11pm you will have to go get
your bags.

In addition, the FAQ states the following:

The hours are 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., but we will be happy to extend
those hours if you have booked Disney's Magical Express Service and your
flight is scheduled to arrive after 11:00 p.m.

Each time one of my friends experienced this I called Disney's Magical
Express directly and was told that a guest does NOT have to retrieve
their own bags no matter what time they arrive at MCO, but that late
night flights might have to wait till the following morning to receive
their bags.

With each of these guests, they were prepared to not get their bags
until the next morning. They were NOT prepared to trek back upstairs to
retrieve their bags from the carousel.

In addition, in each of these instances, the DME desk staff told the
guests that this was a new airport rule or TSA rule.

I have received information from someone who works around MCO that there is
no new airport rule or TSA rule that would change this.

So to make a long story short, what is the policy with guest luggage
that has yellow tags on flights arriving after 11pm?? Does the guest
have to go to the carousel and retrieve their luggage, or does the guest
have the option of letting DME transport their luggage overnight and
receiving it the next morning??

This is very important to me because our preferred flight times have us
arriving well after 11pm. Our flight arrives on A side, which would
mean we would have to go to Level 2 Luggage claim on A side, go back
upstairs to move over to B side, then back down to Level 1 to get to
DME, all very late at night. I would prefer to do as the DME packet
states. Skip baggage claim and go directly to my resort and get my
baggage delivered later.

Thank you very much for your prompt reply.

 

[RangerPooh]

Thanks for writing them. That seems like a normal canned reply. They were well aware that we were arriving that night after 11:00pm...... Oh well, at least now we know to plan for picking up our own bags.

 

[BethA]

We have used ME twice--first time on Christmas day, walked right onto a bus, did not wait for anyone and got there quickly. Hated that you have to get the bus back so many hours ahead, but certainly understand it.

We used it again on President's week-end. Our flight was delayed, and we didn't get to the airport til almost 1am. The ME people were as previously posted , like chickens with their heads cut off---awful!! People stood there for over 45 minutes waiting to go to GF, Cont and WL--while people were rushed onto buses for AllStar. The CM kept coming over asking how many were in each of our parties--can't they count? They have your flight number and, they know when flights are delayed and how many to expect--they should be prepared. After 45 minutes, we were finally put in a towncar--there goes the free part--for you felt compelled to tip him--even though he took the long scenic route.

 

[goodferry]

I am sorry to read about your experience. This sort of confirms in my mind what I have been thinking all along, ME may be free, but not necessarily convenient. We travel with four young kids, so I think we will get a limo again rather than running the risk of a two hour wait to get to our resort. The fact that it's free keeps forcing me to consider it, and everytime I do I read something along the lines of the OP's story.