To Magical Express ..To Not to Magicial Express

[Rikkikika]

Ok, I'll be heading to Pop Century later this month - looking forward to it!! So here's the dilemma :confused:- one of my friends is coming into Pop later than I. She's arriving at MCO around 11PM which means she's probably not going to get to Pop until around Midnight. Now I personally have never used Magical Express . . .but believe it is similar to Mears - except you do not board the bus with your luggage in tow!

So here's my question, with Magical Express does your luggage really come up to 3 hours after your arrival to your resort? That would be really hard for her . .getting your stuff finally at 3 am in the morning! Would you all recommend that she goes ahead and uses Magical Express as planned or should she just schedule a Mears/Towncar for herself?

[beckylovestink]

When I used magical express last (thanksgiving) we got our luggage within an hour of our arrival at the hotel. This was the busiest time. I am heading to POP in Feb as well and I am hoping it will go just as easy.
I think she has 2 choices:
get on magical express, but pick up her luggage herself (do not use the tags). She can take it on the bus with her.

or use magical express and ask them to deliver it in the morning. I had a friend with a late arrival and they requested their luggage at 6 am and it arrived then.

[mickeytravel]

we landed once at 11:00 pm also , what we did was not put the yellow luggage tags on our luggage and picked it up ourselves. We then took the Magical express because it was included in our package(why pay mears when this is free) and it ended up perfect. the driver loads your luggage under the bus and everything is fine.

[PetefromRI]

We've also picked up our own luggage before.It's not even an issue as far as the ME service is concerned.They just pack it under the bus like Mears used to do.We like to tip the driver 1.00-2.00 per bag for the service.

[LudwigVonDrake]

You don't need to check your bags through DME. Just don't put the tags on the bags and you go to baggage claim and get your own bags. They'll load them on the bus for you and off you go :mickey:

Have a magical trip :tink:

[MonoMan]

On our last trip my brother used magical express (we rented a car) and it did take almost three hours for his luggage to arrive at his room. If you are concerned and spending the extra money isn't a problem, I would take other transportation...we are using Quicksilver for our upcoming trip...

[Not2Loud]

It took ours 3-4 hrs last October after a mid-day flight. I usually have a small carry-on with me with a change of clothes if needed.

The bus is nice, and has a little movie to entertain you on the way. Its part of the experience for me.

[BigRedDad]

Mears is Magical Express. Disney contracted them to operate DME. As others have said, do not use the yellow luggage tags. You can pick your bags up yourself and carry them on DME with you.

[Speedy1998]

Just an FYI Magical express is MEARs. WDW contracted the service out to MEARS, they do not actually operate it themselves.

After my experience with ME I would recomend that you carry on anything that you may need for several hours. If there is a thunderstorm in the area, they can not move the luggage as it is kept in metal containers. In other words you might have to wait alot longer than they say if the weather is bad.

[Rikkikika]

You don't need to check your bags through DME. Just don't put the tags on the bags and you go to baggage claim and get your own bags. They'll load them on the bus for you and off you go :mickey:

Have a magical trip :tink:

Ok I think this will be the plan! :thumbsup: Now do you need to let ME know you haven't checked baggage . . .and that you plan to go to the baggage carousel to claim it on your own?

[dolphinmickey9170]

I would just pick up my own bags and then go to the ME counter. This way you/she will have the bags when needed!! Have a safe trip.

[Bri]

they should pick up their bags before they go to ME. then when they get to ME they can do what they need to do and get on the bus. that will be the easiest thing to do.

[JCDarzi]

I had no idea that you could check your own bags and not use the yellow tags. Thanks for the tip!

Our last two WDW trips were in September of 06 & 07. Both times, we waited for our luggage well over 3 hours. Both years, I planned a princess dinner to kick off the trip and both years we had to go sans princess dress because the luggage hadn't arrived. I meant to tuck the princess dress in the carryon luggage but forgot on year 2.

After our experience, I would definitely check my own luggage and carry it to the magical express. If you travel with toddlers like us, our carryon is usually filled to the max with videos, games, snacks and anything else to keep the kids occupied on the plane trip. There's not much room for spare clothes and tolietries.

[LudwigVonDrake]

Ok I think this will be the plan! :thumbsup: Now do you need to let ME know you haven't checked baggage . . .and that you plan to go to the baggage carousel to claim it on your own?

You do not need to let them know. Just don't put the yellow tags on your bags and get 'em yourself! From there you go to the DME counter and you'll check in and get on the bus. They'll load your bags under the bus and off you go!! :mickey:

[CleveRocks]

I disagree with almost everyone here. I have a very different view of DME and luggage and such. Thinking about anything Disney is fun, so even though I disagree, it's just an opinion ... I'm not angry or anything, just a dissenting view ....

No matter where I fly, I always pack a carry-on with my needs for the first 24 hours, just in case the airline delays or loses my luggage. I always did this anyway, but once I had kids I made sure I did it even better. So when DME rolled out, the waiting 3 hours for my luggage didn't phase me -- I can go more than 24 hours without my luggage and be quite comfy.

And yes, I've done this since the AUgust 2006 restrictions on carry-on liquids, yes, I've done this with at least one of my two kids in diapers, and NO, it doesn't take up nearly as much room as you might think it does. Try it!

I never considered picking up my own luggage. Why would I want to delay getting to Disney World??? Why would I want to hang around baggage claim and wait and schlep my stuff if I don't have to. I have to do that at every other airport, so NOT having to do it on my way to Disney is just very special.

If your flight arrives late, you can ask (at your resort) for your bags to be held 'til morning. That way, you won't be awakened by a knock at the door at 3:00 a.m.

Really, especially arriving at night, it would give me the willies to not have my carry-on fully stocked with PJs, kids' nighttime necessities (sleep-time buddy, etc.), allowable toiletries, and a full change of clothes for the next morning. If your airline delays your luggage, you are a very unhappy and inconvenienced camper!

I loved going right from the plane to the bus area. Again, I had no desire to delay myself by taking an unnecessary detour to baggage claim.

And not that anyone asked, but Disney has a very high-tech luggage system. The luggage tags have barcodes, and the barcodes are scanned 5 separate times between airplane and resort room. The delivery trucks are even tracked by GPS. Disney knows where your bags are at all times.

While we're at it, Mears is NOT DME. Disney subcontracts the drivers and buses from Mears, yes that is true. But the service is run following Disney's procedures, not Mears' old procedures. It is run more efficiently than the old Mears shuttle. With DME, Mears may be the muscle but Disney is the brains.

Also, Mears no longer offers bus transportation to WDW resorts, since the May 5, 2005 inception of DME. You can't take a Mears shuttle from MCO to your WDW resort ... such a service no longer exists. You can pay for a Mears Yellow Cab or a Mears car service, but there's no more Mears bus service to WDW resorts from MCO.

[robemcdo]

Advice..Use the express, but don't have them look after your bags...They are not really good at that...you may get them several days later.

Orlando has crazy fast baggage claim. By the time you ride the tram to the baggage area, your bags will be there. Take them with you to the Magical Express.

At most it will cost you 15 minutes, but you will have all your stuff.

[CleveRocks]

Advice..Use the express, but don't have them look after your bags...They are not really good at that...you may get them several days later.
This is just absolute <snip>

I'm on this and several other message boards every day. In the over 2.5 years since DME launched, I've been reading internet Disney-themed boards on a daily basis, I've NEVER ONCE read a first-hand account of someone who had their bags missing for several days. Can anyone here recall ever reading a first-hand account of DME baggage being delayed for days??? EVER???

So this rumor-mongering is just that ... a false rumor.

What the poster ISN'T saying is that there is another luggage benefit of DME. Let's say YOUR AIRLINE misdirects your bag. Let's say from your home airport your airline flies your bag to MCI (Kansas City) instead of MCO. If you are claiming your own bags, your bags never show up at Baggage Claim. You then get to be lucky and wait in line with other unhappy people at your airline's baggage office, fill out forms, then eventually get to your room.

If your airline misdirects your bag and you have DME tags on them, DME goes to work for you. When you check in at the DIsney Welcome Center, the CM will ask how many bags you checked with your airline. As I said in an eariler post, DME tags have barcodes. If your bags don't show up in the computer system in a reasonable amount of time, DME goes to work for you, as your agent. You don't even know that your bags didn't show up ... you're on your way to your resort (probably, you're at yur resort already!), but if you didn't DME-tag your bags you're heading for the baggage office.

Anyway, DME CMs will go to your airline's baggage office to see if they are there for some reason. If your bags aren't in the airport, DME will work with your airline to get your airline to track them down no matter where in the world your airline mistakenly flew them to. When your bags eventually arrive at MCO on another plane, the bags still have the DME tags, so they will join current DME luggage and be delivered to your resort and then your room. If your bags don't have DME tags, your airline will eventually find them, fly them to MCO, and then have a subcontractor deliver them to your hotel when they get some others to deliver, also. THAT could take a day or 2.

I just have no patience for people spreading false rumors.

[CleveRocks]

At most it will cost you 15 minutes, but you will have all your stuff.Obviously, you've never landed at MCO during a thunderstorm.

The rampers at MCO won't off-load luggage when there is lightning in the area (and for a certain time after the lightning stops), for safety reasons and per rules spelled out in the union's contract with the GOAA.

So if you've ever landed at MCO when there's lightning around, you know the special joy of waiting at baggage claim for an hour or more, waiting for the lightning to stop so the rampers can route your luggage to the baggage claim carousel. And of course by then they are crazy backed up with lots of luggage, so it takes even longer.

Since central Florida gets its good share of electrical storms, I'm sure there are people here (like me!!!) who have had baggage claim wait times at MCO substantially more than your "at most 15 minutes" opinion.

[robemcdo]

This is just absolute <snip>

I'm on this and several other message boards every day. In the over 2.5 years since DME launched, I've been reading internet Disney-themed boards on a daily basis, I've NEVER ONCE read a first-hand account of someone who had their bags missing for several days. Can anyone here recall ever reading a first-hand account of DME baggage being delayed for days??? EVER???

So this rumor-mongering is just that ... a false rumor.

Here is your FIRST...ME

We got there on Sunday and 2 bags did not arrive until Tuesday. When that is 20&#37; of your trip, that is significant. My wife and daughter had NOTHING. Poor packing on our part, but a problem nonetheless. Granted Disney gave us $100 credit to buy a few things at the store, and that got us through until the cloths arrived but it DID happen. My agent also warned me about this.

Granted, this could have happened with Delta or any airline, not just DME, but I was advised to take the free ride but get your bags.

I don't make up things and I don't appreciate my FACTS being considered lies.

[CleveRocks]

Given that you are giving a first-hand account, I do apologize ... deeply.

I am quite accustommed to people doing an uninformed hit-and-run just because they've heard rumors. So again, please accept my apology.

But I have a question for you ... did your bags arrive at MCO on your flight, and then DME messed up? Or did you airline mess up and misdirect your bags? This is an important distinction -- if your airline screwed up, then it's not like going to baggage claim to get your bags would have helped you get your bags any quicker. If that's the case, then advising people to get their own bags has a zero percent chance of helping them avoid the problem you experienced.

So just curious ... did the airline mess up (bags weren't flown to MCO on your flight) or did DME mess up (bags arrived at MCO just fine, mess up occurred after DME took custody)???

[robemcdo]

All I found out was that the bags were found at the airport...in a corner somewhere...At that point I didn't care who put them there, I was just glad that my family had there clothes.

[Hull-onian]

We used ME and it worked out nicely. We never got our luggage tags, so when we got off the plane, we went to the luggage pick up area, got our luggage and took it to the bus. It worked out fine. However, we have a day trip planned for Sea World and we are using Quicksilver.

[javamama]

As a former airline employee who worked the ramp it is 100% true we cannot work in the lightening storms, so that can cause delays. MCO is an extremely busy airport, almost all pleasure between cruisers, and theme parks. I didn't opts to use the bag tag method last year on my inbound trip because I had an 8 month old, who was on a very specialized baby formula. I regretted it, it was a PITA lugged 8 bags off the American belt over to the DME area on a smart cart. This time we're on Air Tran, and I'm trying out the DME granted my dd is no longer on formula, so everyone w/have a carryon w/a days worth of clothes, plus a diaper bag w/snacks for flight and bus ride over. I did use the DME tags on the return and it was great, since we were going home I had everything I needed here already. I'm prepared to not have bags for 3-5 hours. As for the airlines losing them, in 15 years I seen alot but never a completely LOST one. Just one that got there a few days late, or damaged. I figure I'll try anything a time or two, it's all about giving it a chance.

[Janmac]

On our December 2006 trip, our son-in-law had one bag arrive a day later than the rest. As to whether it was the airline or DME we didn't ever hear.

My sister's one bag arrived about an hour after she did. My niece had about the same experience. They arrived late afternoon.

Our DD and her family's bags took a little longer - they arrived about 8:30 pm I think it was and their bags, minus the one, arrived a little after 10. I think they had 4 total.

Weather was clear.

We drove down, so did not use DME.

Jan

[wdwnomad]

I've used Magical Express three times and have always had them deliver my luggage. I always bring in my carryon everything that I would need once I get there. My experience with the luggage delivery is that it takes a few hours for it to arrive in the room. Since I have everything in the carryon (change of clothes, bathing suit, etc) there is no need to worry about when it comes when I get there. It is a fabulous service. It is really nice to get off the plane and hop on the bus. Plus, I normally travel with my two little nieces and not having to deal with the luggage is a relief!

[LudwigVonDrake]

I used DME last summer. First, they never sent me the yellow tags even if I wanted to use them. Second, the info on the itinerary was wrong so when I checked in at the counter, they "fixed" it there. When I got the envelope on my door knob the day before I left, the info WAS changed but STILL WRONG (wrong time, wrong airline). Thank God for the concierge at the Poly and they fixed it and FINALLY got the right info.

I urge EVERYONE to double check the information that is on their DME reservation and make sure the flight info is correct.

[disney323]

I have not had good expiences with the Magical Express the cople of times we have used it. If money is not a factor, use a town car or rent a car, or grab your bags and have them loaded on the bus and then she will have them.

Our issues were 1) long wait on bus before it was on its way, 2) it made a couple of stops at resorts that had no one getting on or off, 3)one new driver did not know where she was going and I had to give directions, 4) Time that we landed and made it to the resort was almost 3 hours

[pixiegoose]

We have used ME July 2006 and September 2007 and had no problems. We had early morning flights, so we didn't have to worry about our luggage being delivered in the middle of the night. We'd hop the bus, check in at our resort, drop off carryons and then head off to a park. By the time we came back later that evening, our bags were waiting for us. Even if they hadn't been, we would have been fine for a day or so because we always pack clean clothes and toiletries in our carryons, no matter where we're headed. I've never ended up needing them but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

If we were to ever have a late night arrival, I would probably just claim my own bags and take them to the bus with me. I'd like to go to bed knowing my bags are there, but that's just me.

[comicguy]

We have used DME three times so far. Each time we have never had a problem(of course, I probably just jinxed myself:secret:) But anyway, our luggage as always arrived w/o a problem and within the three hour window(I think) because we usually head either to DTD or a park.

I have to admit there is something very special about not handling your bags from the time you leave your home airport to the time you get back to the home airport:thumbsup:

[BMan62]

The last three trips DW and I made to WDW were all DME trips and we had absolutely no problem with DME. We did have a problem on our last trip once the bags made it to PC - they were taken to the wrong room. I called the front desk when we returned from the parks our first day (we had an early flight and went right to the parks after checking in) and they were found and brought to us within 30 minutes. Luckily, the room they had taken them to was empty.

[MickeyChick]

DME was wonderful for us last week. We over-packed because we didn't know what to expect from the weather. So with 2 adults, 2 preschoolers, 5 suitcases, 5 carry-ons and a stroller, it was great to not have to worry about schlepping our own baggage around! Our bags were delivered to our room about 2 hours after we arrived, 15 minutes after we were allowed into our room (my fault on the delay since I requested a fridge and a crib). The kids loved the ride and it was a great way to ease them into the trip.