Disney's Magical Express - Tipping

[TinksPixieDust]

Two questions regarding tipping on the Magical Express service. First, for the actual motor coach operator, looking to see how others base their tips - on number of people in the party, number of bags that you take with you on board, or both. And what do folks typically do here. Second, for the cast members who help at resort airline check in when you are leaving, looking to see what people do in the way of tipping here as well. Just doing a sanity check.

[disneycouple2004]

We normally
tip 2-3 dollars per bag..anywhere we travel..and at the resort.....

ps. the folks at the airline check in at the resort work for the airline, not Disney.
just fyi..

[FiggyFan]

the folks at the airline check in at the resort work for the airline, not Disney.
just fyi..

Which airline? What kind of "sharing" arrangement do the participating airlines have to staff this?

[CleveRocks]

For the DME driver, I tip $1-$2 per bag handled. If the driver doesn't handle my bags, I generally won't tip unless the driver does something else really cool or memorable.

As for the Resort Airline Check-in employees ... while it's correct that they are not Disney CMs, it's incorrect that they're employed by the airlines. They are employees of BAGS Inc., a Disney subcontractor. Just like the DME drivers aren't Disney CMs, but rather are employees of another Disney subcontractor, Mears.

In my mind, Resort Airline Check-in the exact same thing as curbside check-in at the airport ... you check your bags through to your final destination and you get your boarding passes. So, IMHO, if you tip the curbside check-in guy at the airport, then you should tip the RAC guy in your resort lobby. Same thing.

[Maleficent's Dad]

We usually travel as a party of four - and we usually have four small suitcases. In both cases you mention, we give between $5-10.

[playdead88]

there are always 6 in our party and we all have 1 carry on plus the stroller - we always give the DME driver 20$

[Piglet822]

there are always 6 in our party and we all have 1 carry on plus the stroller - we always give the DME driver 20$

I'm a DME driver and we do rely on tips. On behalf of all of us, I just wanted to say thank you

[JPL]

I travel alone on DME and usually tip the Driver about $5 I handle my own carry-on bag bringing it on the bus with me. Afterall the driver got me to my destination safely and brought me to my Happy Place

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

Thanks for the reminder. I have to make sure I have smaller bills with me next month. We usually rent a car so I might have forgotten to tip.

[Here we go again...]

We tip anywhere from $1-$2 per bag.
It all depends on the driver.
I had one rude driver that was down right mean then make an announcement that tips are appreciated at the end of the ride. She had her hand out as she was pulling bags off the bus. (NO, it was not Piglet822)

Other drivers have gone out of their way for us and almost seem surprised when we give them a nice tip. It makes me realize how many people forget that we should always tip anyone who handles our bags. That is pretty hard work...

[mainemajor]

$1 -$2 per bag is what is what i usually give to both the driver and the ticket/bag people at the resort. Again I give a bit more to the driver if he/she has been helpful and friendly.

[Piglet822]

We tip anywhere from $1-$2 per bag.
It all depends on the driver.
I had one rude driver that was down right mean then make an announcement that tips are appreciated at the end of the ride. She had her hand out as she was pulling bags off the bus. (NO, it was not Piglet822)

NO, never me!!! Soliciting is against our company policy, drivers can get suspended for it. As aggravating as it is to not get tipped, especially when there's a lot of luggage involved, it's not worth a suspension either.

Other drivers have gone out of their way for us and almost seem surprised when we give them a nice tip. It makes me realize how many people forget that we should always tip anyone who handles our bags. That is pretty hard work...

To be fair, just from reading posts on these boards, many people don't even think about tipping bus drivers. It's not something that's normally done. But we deal in tourism and many businesses will rely on their customers to tip the workers and pay a lower hourly wage. That's the situation here, much like servers, bellman, and skycaps.

[SBETigg]

My first DME driver had attached signs to the back of every seat that said "please tip the driver" and he repeated his "tip the driver" spiel at start of ride and every stop. I'm surprised to hear that it's a suspendable offense, and I'm guessing that man is no longer with DME. He was a lot of fun otherwise and we always tip, so the reminders seemed a bit tacky but we tipped.

And we absolutely tip anyone that we come in contact with who handles our baggage at any time. It seems foolish not to, considering you are trusting these people with your personal items. The driver, you are trusting with your life and a safe arrival is worth a tip from me, too.

[Lizzie]

We haven't used ME yet. Thanks for the reminders to have some cash out to tip the driver.

[CleveRocks]

One of our DME drivers did a pretty sly thing ... I admired him for being clever. He is not permitted to solicit tips, but he stood just outside the door as we left the bus, and he was holding some folded bills in his hand, plainly visible to us.

I'm calling this especially clever because I was the first one off the bus!!! [In other words, he could not have been holding tips he just got from other riders].

I was going to tip him regardless. His name was Hugo. He spoke in very heavily accented English, tough to understand at times, but he was very very friendly and helpful, someone who truly belongs in a service industry because he makes people feel good.

[Princess Maggie]

I have yet to use ME, however I will be this Oct. I hope someone can clarify...I thought that once you land you immediately get on the bus while someone else retrieves your luggage and brings it to your resort a few hours later. So my question is why would you tip the driver per bag?? I would definitely tip for the ride, just like if you took a taxi/limo...
thanks for the info.

[CleveRocks]

I have yet to use ME, however I will be this Oct. I hope someone can clarify...I thought that once you land you immediately get on the bus while someone else retrieves your luggage and brings it to your resort a few hours later. So my question is why would you tip the driver per bag?? I would definitely tip for the ride, just like if you took a taxi/limo...
thanks for the info.

If you put the special DME luggage tags on your checked bags, you can totally skip baggage claim and go right to the Disney Welcome Center. You check in, get shown to your bus queue, and then the driver escorts you to your bus (if it's ready). You're cprrect, your checked lugagge will be automatically delivered to your room about 3 hours after you arrive at your resort.

Some people choose to give up that great DME perk of the automatic luggage delivery ... they will have all their bags with them for the driver to handle.

Others of us still have carry-ons. If your carry-on is small enough to fit under your own seat or on the overhead shelf, you may take it into the bus with you. If it's too large for that or if you prefer not to take it into the bus with you, the driver will stow it under the bus for you, and you'll get it right back when you arrive at your resort.

I hope that clears it up for you!

[Here we go again...]

I have yet to use ME, however I will be this Oct. I hope someone can clarify...I thought that once you land you immediately get on the bus while someone else retrieves your luggage and brings it to your resort a few hours later. So my question is why would you tip the driver per bag?? I would definitely tip for the ride, just like if you took a taxi/limo...
thanks for the info.

One more thing to keep in mind. You can use any airline and take advantage of the luggage delivery to your room. However, returning to the airport is a different story. You may end up hauling your luggage to the airport yourself if you are not on a participating airline. That is when the tip price per bag will come in.

[prttynpnk]

We usually tip $5 a person- with 3 bags total. But hey, it's not a job I'd want to do all day, so I add a few dollars sympathy tip.

[TheRustyScupper]

The way we tip ME:

1) For driving without handling luggage
. . . no tip
. . . they are paid for transporting and safe driving
2) For loading luggage to/from bus
. . . this is moving to/from bus from near/next to the bus
. . . between $1-$2 total
3) For actual luggage handling
. . . this is moving it to/from an area not just next to the bus
. . . about $1 per bag
4) As for airline check-in
. . . normally I tip $1-$2 total
. . . all they did was put on a tag and shuffle the bags