Magical Express, evening landing..what the heck?

[mouseketeer mom]

I don't know what I'm doing right now. We usually leave early in the am and arrive in Disney with a day bag, go DME, check in, and await our Magical arrival of luggage by passing time at the resort or parks. Now..in 15 days we are arriving on our first ever evening flight. We will arrive at 7pm if all goes well, and take the DME bus to our resort. I will have my DH and my 3 kids in tow. So, I'm guessing, if all goes well, we will be at our resort about 8:30-9:00pm ish...then check in, etc.. Right to bed I'm sure, for us on that first day. (my kids are not night owls at all!) What in the world to do about luggage???? Do they put it in our room while we are asleep????? I'm really confused. I don't know what to pack in our carry on..PJ's, contact lens stuff, nighttime stuff, or will I get those things before we are off to sleep. Is it better to get our own luggage and bring it to the busses ourselves?? I'd rather have DME bring the luggage, that has always worked well for us, but as I said, this is our first nighttime arrival. Any advice?

[Piglet822]

You can claim your own luggage and bring it to the bus if you want but why not just pack a carry on bag with all your nightime necessities and let DME handle the bags for you?
I *think* they can hold the bags for you for a morning delivery but I have heard of cases where the bags were delivered late evening.
CleveRocks knows more about the luggage delivery than I do - I'm sure he'll be along shortly to add to what I've already posted.

[lovenmickey]

This is such a great question. I have the same question/problem. We land at 8:30 and am worried about when our luggage will arrive.
i hope someone comes along soon with a great answer!!

[c&d]

Our flight landed around 8:30ish and I had read to allow 3 hours for luggage delivery and that they don't deliver after 11:00pm. So we had packed the overnight bag for our first night assuming we wouldn't get our luggage. We checked in around 9:30 and around 10:30 they called and said they had our luggage could they deliver it. Since DS was asleep already we told them to deliver it in the morning. I don't know if the luggage got there quicker because our flight landed at night or if it was just a fluke but I'd pack the overnight bag and be safe.

[ILoveLegos]

A couple of week ago we arrived via DME at our hotel by 7:00 pm and our luggage was delivered to our room about 10:00 pm that same night. There was simply a soft knock on the door, we opened it and voila! One of the Mouse's employees handed our luggage to us. It was great!
To be on the safe side though, we had packed one night and one day's worth of clothing and essentials in a carry-on bag just in case the checked luggage arrived too late for delivery.
The best part was that we took the time to unpack that first night, we were in bed by 11:00 pm and we were ready all the faster in the morning for our first day in the parks!

[CleveRocks]

I don't know what I'm doing right now. We usually leave early in the am and arrive in Disney with a day bag, go DME, check in, and await our Magical arrival of luggage by passing time at the resort or parks. Now..in 15 days we are arriving on our first ever evening flight. We will arrive at 7pm if all goes well, and take the DME bus to our resort. I will have my DH and my 3 kids in tow. So, I'm guessing, if all goes well, we will be at our resort about 8:30-9:00pm ish...then check in, etc.. Right to bed I'm sure, for us on that first day. (my kids are not night owls at all!) What in the world to do about luggage???? Do they put it in our room while we are asleep????? I'm really confused. I don't know what to pack in our carry on..PJ's, contact lens stuff, nighttime stuff, or will I get those things before we are off to sleep. Is it better to get our own luggage and bring it to the busses ourselves?? I'd rather have DME bring the luggage, that has always worked well for us, but as I said, this is our first nighttime arrival. Any advice?
Piglet calls, I arrive ....:thumbsup:

Pack carry-ons with your necessities for the night and next morning. Every ticketed passenger is entitled to a carry-on. Even when my kids were 5 and 2.5 they took pride in wearing their own backpacks to the plane!

Your luggage MIGHT come to your room around 11:30 or 12, or it might not. It really depends upon the CM at the resort whose job it is. Some will call first, some will just bring it, some will hold it 'til morning.

You can MAKE SURE it's held 'til morning by requesting that at the front desk and also at Bell Services (Luggage Assistance at the Value resorts). If you really really want it, I suppose you could specially request that at check-in time, also.

If you stop to get your own checked bags, you'll just delay yourself getting to your resort.

Even if you get your own checked bags, I still strongly suggest the well-stocked carry-ons, just in case the AIRLINE delays your luggage for a day or so.

[mouseketeer mom]

Oh Dear. I should pack for night and morning too?? I have such packing issues as it is..I have our nighttime stuff packed now to carry on, PJ's, contact lens stuff, teethcare, etc..and I didn't even consider morning!!! I just assumed we would have our stuff!!! Oh boy. Here I go again.

[Beast_fanatic]

Oh Dear. I should pack for night and morning too?? I have such packing issues as it is..I have our nighttime stuff packed now to carry on, PJ's, contact lens stuff, teethcare, etc..and I didn't even consider morning!!! I just assumed we would have our stuff!!! Oh boy. Here I go again.

Just a reminder, be sure the liquids (including contact lens solution), gels and lotions that you pack in your carry-on are all 3 ounces or less and that you pack them in a 1-quart ziploc bag (1 bag allowed per person) as you'll have to remove those for screening at security.

[mouseketeer mom]

Swell. They are all 3oz or less, however, no ziploc. I have them in a make up bag that zips, not clear tho. I don't know why I am having such packing trouble this time. I feel way overpacked, and disorganized too. This is our longest trip (10 days) so that might have something to do with it.

[CleveRocks]

Swell. They are all 3oz or less, however, no ziploc. I have them in a make up bag that zips, not clear tho. I don't know why I am having such packing trouble this time. I feel way overpacked, and disorganized too. This is our longest trip (10 days) so that might have something to do with it.Seriously, you NEED to go to the store and spend the $3 on a box of quart-sized zip-top bags. These are the only sort of bag that you can put your 3 ounce liquid/gel containers in. TSA doesn't mess around with this. If you have liquids/gels in a non-see-through cosmetic bag, TSA will not allow you to take that or its contents past security -- you'll have to throw it all out.

PLEASE take the TSA rules seriously, or you will very much regret it. You'll probably get angry at security if they won't let your stuff though as is, but the fact would be that you chose to ignore the LAW.

Each person is entitled to a carry-on. Each person can claim one "3-1-1" bag. And that bag MUST be a clear, quart-sized, zip-top bag.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE follow these instructions to the letter.

[Disney Lynn]

Mouseketeer Mom- Relax, you and your little mouseketeers will have a great 10 days. Flying down in the evening can be a real plus- you won't be tempted to "do" a park on that first day (which usually just wears out the whole family for the rest of the week). Get the kids settled in (maybe swim a little to tire them), have a snack and off to bed. If the little ones are sound sleepers, have the luggage delivered when it arrives. If they're light sleepers, ask (at the front desk and at the luggage area) that they hold your bags unless they can be delivered to your room by XXXXXO'Clock (pick your time). If they don't make it, sleep soundly- first adult awake in the AM should call the front desk to have the bags sent right up to your room. By the time the kids are up, you'll have your clothes, etc.

What to take with you? I always recommend a full set of clothes for everyone plus all necessary meds and enough toiletries to cope for the first night. This is even important if you fly early in the day- luggage does go astray! As previously posted, all liquids do have to be in containers 3 oz or smaller and in a one quart clear ziptype bag. (If you're out of bags, borrow from a neighbor). Target (and other stores) have expanded their displays of small sized toiletries. For us, the hardest item to find in small containers was sunscreen!

[cydconn3]

If you are in Target/Walmart, they each had a small box of "TSA approved" ziploc bags in the travel-sized item section. They were about $1.00 for around five bags. They also had the small bottles that were 3 oz. so you could transfer at least one night's supply of necessities into them. Each person could have three in their own ziploc bag. That would make sure that you had what you needed for the night.