Disney's Magical Express - THIS could happen to YOU!

[figmentmom]

I recently used Disney's Magical Express to travel from the Orlando airport to Port Orleans Riverside, and they were extremely efficient. A little TOO efficient, actually...:lol:

I booked DME when I made our reservation, and gave Disney my flight information and arrival time. Since I will admit to being just a bit OC, I decided that I would be happier not using the yellow DME baggage tags. I figured that if I picked up my bag myself at Baggage Claim, and carried them over to the bus myself, I would be SURE they arrived at the resort when I did. Imagine my horror when my luggage failed to appear on the carousel! I trailed drearily over to the Southwest Baggage Claim office, filled out a missing luggage report, and moped my way over to the Magical Express check-in with the rest of my party, who had come in on a different flight (and had the presence of mind to use the yellow tags ).

At the counter, the very pleasant Cast Member checked my reservation, and asked me if I had a black 27" rolling bag with my name attached to the handle. Surprised, I answered that I did, and she said, "Oh, you checked in so early for your flight to Orlando" (remember how OC I am?) "that your bag arrived here on an earlier flight. We saw your name attached to it, checked our Guest reservation list, confirmed that you were on it, and sent your bag ahead on to Riverside!"

WOW!!! Now that's efficient! Greatly cheered, I gathered up the rest of my party, and off to Riverside we went.

Now, there is still a bit more to the story...remember that I DIDN'T use the yellow tags? Printed on those yellow tags is the name of your resort. My bag got on the right bus, but got OFF at the wrong resort, and it took Disney quite some time to figure out where it was actually supposed to be. It finally arrived late that night, so there was a happy ending.

Moral of the story? USE THE YELLOW TAGS, FOLKS - Disney will get your bags to your resort for you!!! :lol: :wave:

 

[Hakunamatata]

That is strange and really concerns me as:

1. I think FAA guidelines require you to fly with your luggage, and

2. What would Southwest have done if something had happened and you were not able to fly?

I think I would file a complaint with SW....

 

[figmentmom]

Actually, that's happened to me several times, and not just on Southwest. My daughter works in the airline industry, and says it's more common that you might think. The airline simply says it's being efficient.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Actually, that's happened to me several times, and not just on Southwest. My daughter works in the airline industry, and says it's more common that you might think. The airline simply says it's being efficient.

I know, and then when you try to check you bags early and go standby, they tell you, we cant check your bags until you are confirmed on the flight. Then, sometimes you can not go through security because your large bag that you want to check wont go through the xray maching. This has happened to me a couple of times at Burbank Airport (now called Bob Hope airport I think). Its irratating to say the least.

 

[stopgo]

That is strange and really concerns me as:

1. I think FAA guidelines require you to fly with your luggage, and

2. What would Southwest have done if something had happened and you were not able to fly?

I think I would file a complaint with SW....

It is strange... and just another symptom of how screwed up air-travel security is. You are required to travel with your luggage but your luggage isn't necessarily required to travel with you.

 

[mkt]

1. I think FAA guidelines require you to fly with your luggage

Not exactly. If you get bumped and bags have been checked, the bags will typically fly on the original flight and be waiting for you at your destination. This isn't always the case, but generally is. Furthermore, if bags are sent on the wrong flight, you aren't on any of the flights your bags are on (both the one(s) it was lost on, and the one(s) it was returned to you on).

2. What would Southwest have done if something had happened and you were not able to fly?

I've been in the unfortunate scenario where I've had to deboard a plane after boarding and my bags were checked. If there's enough notice, like there was in my situation, a baggage handler went into the cargo hold and got my bags out and handed them back to me at the gate. Then again, I was recalled from a business trip before Hurricane Charley was supposed to hit... once I mentioned I was recalled to ride out the Hurricane in Orlando that may have been the catalyst to convince them to get my bags out. They could have just as easily said "the bags will be on the next flight from Denver."

TI think I would file a complaint with SW....

Why? Your bags got there, no damage was done.

 

[musketeer]

If your baggage is supposed to travel with you, then it has been violated several times for me.

My most recent air travel experience went like this. We arrived at the airport 2 hours early like good travelers do.

Check our bags.

Went about our business.

Got on our plane, and went home.

All was normal. Then, at our destination, we are waiting and waiting and waiting, watching the carousel go round and round and round, with no bag.

We decide something is wrong. We go to the airline office, look at the luggage sitting in there, none of it is ours. So we go back to the carousel to check, just to make sure, and none of our bags are in sight.

We go back to the airline desk, ask this time, and they say, "Let's look in the back."

Sure enough, there was our bag, it had been there the whole time. What had happened was there was a flight to our destination earlier than the one we were on that left after we checked in. Our luggage made it on that flight.

This wasn't a case of being bumped, or de-planed, or anything like that. They just put our luggage an an earlier flight.

I wouldn't have minded except for the 30+ minutes we wasted looking for our luggage when it was behind the desk the whole time.

Really made me angry, mostly because it was 11:30pm and we had work the next day.

 

[KnK]

I know that on some of the smaller flights (planes) because of weight issues, you luggage may not be on the same plane as you. They often would rather keep people on the plane then make someone depart because they are over weight.

We TSA checking each bag, it is not as big a deal for planes and luggages not to be on the same plane.

I travel alot for my job. Sometimes 10 - 15 different plane flights a month. Nothing surprises me any more.

 

[CleveRocks]

That is strange and really concerns me as:

1. I think FAA guidelines require you to fly with your luggage

Well, the rule is that YOU can't choose to fly separately from your luggage.

This rule came about before the days of suicidal hijackers. The thought was/is that you won't pack a bomb in your suitcase and then be on the same airplane your suitcase is in and then blow up the airplane while you're on it.

But there is no real security risk if your luggage goes on an earlier flight than you, if you have no knowledge of it and you have no control over it. The thought is that you didn't prepare the suitcase to blow up at 30,000 feet JUST IN CASE that suitcase happened to be put on a different flight than you were on.

 

[lewisc]

That is strange and really concerns me as:

1. I think FAA guidelines require you to fly with your luggage, and

2. What would Southwest have done if something had happened and you were not able to fly?

I think I would file a complaint with SW....

1. That regulation was repealed now that all checked bags get screened.

2. SW would have had Disney send the bags back to the airport and SW would have sent the bags back to your home airport.

 

[isitingood]

1. That regulation was repealed now that all checked bags get screened.

2. SW would have had Disney send the bags back to the airport and SW would have sent the bags back to your home airport.

You're correct FAA guidelines have been repealed. Here are Northwest's rules on luggage

All domestic flights must be checked 35 min prior to departure except for
L.A, Denver,Atlanta, Tampa and Washington D.C. (Dulles) 45 min.
Las Vegas 60 min.
All International flights 60 min.

Customers who fail to check luggage by the applicable acceptance times risk having their luggage rerouted on the next available departure. NW retains the right,at it's sole discretion, to allow check-in after these cut-off times.NW will not liable for any expenses incurred as a result of luggage not being loaded on the same flight as the passanger. At minimum NW will not assume the expense of delivering luggage to customers who check-in late or voluntarily separate from their luggage.