Yellow DME tags on only 1 bag=Problem?

[CraftyMommy]

We will be taking advantage of our 2 checked bags per passenger on Southwest. There will be 6 checked bags for the 3 of us.

We want to send our bag full of food/drinks/snacks for the room through Magical Express luggage, so we will only put the yellow tag on that 1 suitcase. The other 5 suitcases will not have the yellow tag.

We do not trust them not to lose our luggage. I've had a bag lost 2 out of the last 3 times I have flown. Once was Southwest in Baltimore, and another bag was lost in Pittsburgh with US Airways. We always get our bags from the luggage carousel and take them with us on the Magical Express bus so we know right away if there is a missing piece of luggage.

If a suitcase with our clothes were lost, that would be a bigger deal than losing the suitcase with water, juice boxes, and room snacks.

If we sent all of our bags through ME luggage handling we wouldn't know until a day later if a bag was missing, and then we would have to figure out if the airline/airport lost it or if Disney lost it. (I want as few hands handling the bags as possible, I don't trust others with my luggage)

Ok, getting to the question. If the people handing our luggage see a matching set of luggage (unique multi-colored stripes) and one of them has a yellow tag, will they assume they are all going on to ME luggage services and not put our 5 non-yellow-tagged suitcases out on the luggage carousel for us to pick up at the airport?

I've considered just not yellow tagging our food/drinks suitcase but its very heavy (49.3 pounds) and hard to maneuver along with the other 5 bags.

Am I worrying too much? What would you do? Send the heavy suitcase through DME or just leave the yellow tag off and collect it with the rest of the luggage?

I know I'm over analyzing, but I can't stop worrying about the details.

 

[EMAW_KSU]

What would you do? .

Let DME take care of all six bags.

 

[sam_gordon]

We will be taking advantage of our 2 checked bags per passenger on Southwest. There will be 6 checked bags for the 3 of us.

We want to send our bag full of food/drinks/snacks for the room through Magical Express luggage, so we will only put the yellow tag on that 1 suitcase. The other 5 suitcases will not have the yellow tag.

We do not trust them not to lose our luggage. I've had a bag lost 2 out of the last 3 times I have flown. Once was Southwest in Baltimore, and another bag was lost in Pittsburgh with US Airways. We always get our bags from the luggage carousel and take them with us on the Magical Express bus so we know right away if there is a missing piece of luggage.

If a suitcase with our clothes were lost, that would be a bigger deal than losing the suitcase with water, juice boxes, and room snacks.

If we sent all of our bags through ME luggage handling we wouldn't know until a day later if a bag was missing, and then we would have to figure out if the airline/airport lost it or if Disney lost it. (I want as few hands handling the bags as possible, I don't trust others with my luggage)

Ok, getting to the question. If the people handing our luggage see a matching set of luggage (unique multi-colored stripes) and one of them has a yellow tag, will they assume they are all going on to ME luggage services and not put our 5 non-yellow-tagged suitcases out on the luggage carousel for us to pick up at the airport?

I've considered just not yellow tagging our food/drinks suitcase but its very heavy (49.3 pounds) and hard to maneuver along with the other 5 bags.

Am I worrying too much? What would you do? Send the heavy suitcase through DME or just leave the yellow tag off and collect it with the rest of the luggage?

I know I'm over analyzing, but I can't stop worrying about the details.

You've got a lot of things here.
1) You would know the SAME DAY whether you were missing a bag. If you tell DME you have 5 checked bags and they only scan in 4, DME will contact your airline and start the "lost baggage" procedure.
2) I would be EXTREMELY surprised if DME luggage personnel see matching luggage, only one with a yellow tag, and grab all of them.
3) What *I* would do is let DME handle ALL checked bags. You of course can do what you want.
4) I would also pack some of everyone's clothes in all bags. Don't have one bag for you & DH, one for your oldest child, one for your middle child, etc. This way, if one bag is delayed, you'd still have clothes. Also pack enough necessities for 24 hours in your carryon. This has nothing to do with DME, but is good practice whenever you are flying.

While their may have been 1-2 reports of DME actually "losing" a bag, when you look at how many successfully get to the resort, the odds are LONG against that happening.

 

[figment_jii]

I also doubt that DME would grab non-tagged bags. After all, there is always the possibility that more than one person has the same type/style of luggage (even if it's pretty unique looking). So my feeling is that they go by tags and not by how the luggage looks.

On an unrelated note, you might want to be careful with a suitcase that close to the weight limit (assuming it's 50 lbs). Sometimes the airport scales are not that accurate and you wouldn't want to pay the overweight fee! I'd drop down by a couple of pounds to be safe.

 

[bumbershoot]

A different thing that came to mind....what would you do if you got all of your bags, but all of your clothing bags were soaked because someone else's suitcase containing water and juice boxes was smashed in proximity to your bags?

If you would not enjoy that, maybe you could either reconsider sending that along, OR make sure you have it in a hard-sided case, and all encapsulated by plastic to minimize spills?

 

[KrazeeK120]

I don't think they'll grab untagged bags, but I would let DME handle the bags. I would trust DME more than I would trust the airlines not to lose my bags. Ha.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I've considered just not yellow tagging our food/drinks suitcase but its very heavy (49.3 pounds) and hard to maneuver along with the other 5 bags.

Am I worrying too much? What would you do? Send the heavy suitcase through DME or just leave the yellow tag off and collect it with the rest of the luggage?

I know I'm over analyzing, but I can't stop worrying about the details.

It's never a good idea to pack/bring luggage that's difficult to handle with or without other bags. You never know when or how far you'll need to maneuver it yourself.

Can you clarify how the airlines lost your luggage? Was it permanently lost, or was it misdirected?

What will you do if the airline "loses" your food suitcase?

And the other suggestions you've gotten here - split packing, prepare your carry-on, consider the strong possibility your drinks could damage others' belongings - are great.

 

[stitchlovestink]

A different thing that came to mind....what would you do if you got all of your bags, but all of your clothing bags were soaked because someone else's suitcase containing water and juice boxes was smashed in proximity to your bags?

If you would not enjoy that, maybe you could either reconsider sending that along, OR make sure you have it in a hard-sided case, and all encapsulated by plastic to minimize spills?

people have liquids in their luggage more than you think! If you buy alcohol on your cruise and you are flying, it MUST go in your checked luggage. and the worse part is those bottles are glass so they are much more likely to get broken than platic bottles filled with water or cardboard juice boxes.
I have packed diet Dew bottles countless times and have never had a problem. I really think they will be just fine!!

Honestly you are much more likely to have your clothes get wet by heavy rain because your suitcase got left sitting in a downpour on the tarmac than by liquids from someone else's suitcase.


Posted from Disney Forums Reader for Android

 

[seashoreCM]

If we sent all of our bags through ME luggage handling we wouldn't know until a day later if a bag was missing, and then we would have to figure out if the airline/airport lost it or if Disney lost it. (I want as few hands handling the bags as possible, I don't trust others with my luggage)

Ok, getting to the question. If the people handing our luggage see a matching set of luggage (unique multi-colored stripes) and one of them has a yellow tag, will they assume they are all going on to ME luggage services and not put our 5 non-yellow-tagged suitcases out on the luggage carousel for us to pick up at the airport? .

When you take Magical Express, you file baggage claims at your resort and Disney figures it out. However DME is so reliable that I have heard of zero instances where a DME guest had to go back to the airport to figure it out (which would be via DME which does not count as your regular DME trip back to the airport).

 

[Alesia]

We're magnets for misdirected luggage, too, which is exactly why I will always let DME handle my bags.

I've spent too much time at the airport reporting missing luggage and it is not a great way to start a trip. Why do it yourself when DME will do it for you? And they'll probably get it to your room before you get back from the parks and you will never know there was a problem.

 

[Brian Noble]

Let DME take care of all six bags.

Yep, this is what I'd do too. I also would not pack liquids in my checked luggage, personally, though I know people do. I'd be inclined to just order from Garden Grocer or We Go Shop instead. I'd rather not deal with it.