Does anyone know if you can have your bags picked up at the airport and delivered to the hotel if you don't take the bus? We want to rent a car!
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- Thread starter disneyfan20ny
- Start date
Monty
Brilliant...and Canadian
- In the Parks
- No
Nope.
The regulations for baggage handling require that they only transport bags for passengers who are riding the buses. When you board the bus they scan the bar code on your ticket and that clears the bags to be transported. If they haven't scanned your bar-code, they will not transfer your bags to the resort.
The regulations for baggage handling require that they only transport bags for passengers who are riding the buses. When you board the bus they scan the bar code on your ticket and that clears the bags to be transported. If they haven't scanned your bar-code, they will not transfer your bags to the resort.
teebin
Member
Meaning, this is why DME is soooo successful for Disney... you are totally locked into the world.. can't go anywhere outside of it easily. Universal is dying because of DME. DME guests are basically in prison... it is a HAPPY prison... but it is prison nontheless. It is clever and ruthless in hinesight.
shelbysmom
Member
Can you rent a car once you are on property?:shrug: I have family in the area I would like to visit once or twice while we are there.
monorailguy01
New Member
Why don't you just take your bags with you in the car? your going to the hotel anyway to check in. Just drop off your bags at check in if your rooms not ready. as far as renting in the resort i havent a clue..
If your family is in the area why don't you have them meet you in one of the parks instead of you renting a car and having to go see them that way you can all have fun together.
If your family is in the area why don't you have them meet you in one of the parks instead of you renting a car and having to go see them that way you can all have fun together.
Dwarful
Well-Known Member
We have taken ME once when it first started and I mean first started. I think we were arrived on the second day. You can rent onsite, which we have done, only paying to rent for the days we need the car not the whole vacation. When we are at WDW we use WDW transportation, but we do take those side trips to the beach or one of the other parks. We rent right from the car center, they send the shuttle to pick you up at the resort, take you to get the rental (takes about 10 mins) and off you go. When you drop off the rental they run you back to your resort. We have done this twice with no problems. Sorry, I don't know which rental company is currently running the rental at WDW.
disneykid23
Member
Alamo and National Car rental are at the Car Care Center
Monty
Brilliant...and Canadian
- In the Parks
- No
Respectfully, this has nothing to do with DME or Disney in general at all. It has to do with the TSA and the company that has the contract to do the baggage handling. In order to meet the security requirements laid down by the TSA, the company had to guarantee that they would only handle bags belonging to DME passengers. In a post-9/11 world, the TSA wanted security controls in place similar to those imposed on airlines handling baggage.
Trying to suggest that it had anything to do with undermining Universal is cynical at best.
Unplugged
Well-Known Member
This is the most absurd thing I've ever heard. You're not trapped. Taking the DME is absolutely no different then paying a Taxi from the airport or the original bus trip by Meers. The only thing different is that you don't have to deal with your bags. It's a convenience feature many folks with kids can use to start relaxing early. We traveled with our little one (1 yr) last September and rented a car only for on WDW convenience as we were unsure of his reaction and sleep schedule due to heat and being a 1st tie traveler. So, we had the option to leave and didn't. In our hindsight, DME was a good option.
Also, as far as being "locked in", depending on which resort you're at, you can grab taxis at the front of the resort (which CMs have always been happy to help us with) and as disneykid23 pointed out, rent a car. It's no big deal. Many years we've taxi'ed into WDW and rented a car for 2-3 days in the midst of long vacations.
Prison....ruthless...locked in...... Oh please.
:brick:
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
DME isn't meant to "lock" you in. It's meant to be an added perk at the resorts to convince people to stay on property (and not, say, at one of Universal's hotels or in the cheaper hotels in Kissimmee). Same purpose as Extra Magic Hours, and both have been very successful. The beauty of DME for Disney is that they can streamline service (allowing us to get to our resorts so quickly) and ensure that every bus is full(cost-effective). Plus, they have a very captive audience to show the video of what they will see at WDW (to perhaps further convince them to stay on property).
CleveRocks
Active Member
Respectfully, this is terrbly incorrect.
BAGS Inc, is the company that is the subcontractor ONLY for Resort Airline Check-in, the service at each resort where you can check in for your flight and check your bags through to your airline (and hence through to your home airport). People who fly one of the "participating airlines" are free to use RAC whether or not they ride a DME bus back to the airport.
BAGS Inc. is NOT involved with baggage transfers from MCO to the resorts. And ironically, it 's in this direction, MCO to resort, that one MUST ride the DME bus in order to qualify for the automatical luggage transfer.
Monty
Brilliant...and Canadian
- In the Parks
- No
Did I mention BAGS Inc? I said that the company handling the baggage transfer was required to ensure that only bags belonging to passengers on the buses were transfered.
Absolutely nothing "terrbly [sic] incorrect" about it.
CleveRocks
Active Member
Actually, it is meant to "lock you in" to WDW property. [And by the way, every bus is NOT full, in fact far from it, but that's not why I replied].
Let me preface this with the fact that I am perhaps one of the loudest and proudest and happiest supporters of DME. I love the whole idea of it, and I love using it. I'm SOOOOO glad they started doing it, and I'm so glad they've extended it through 2011. I'm also one of those rare liberal Democrats who actually believes that it is good for corporations to earn lots and lots of profit.
OK, now that you know my resume, read the following as a reality check and not as a knock, because I mean absolutely none of it as a knock on Disney.
I first used DME on its 4th day of operations. I started reading about it around 4 months before that. If you sit and think about it, it's painfully obvious ALL of the advantages that DME brings to Disney.
- If you pay for transportation between MCO and Disney, the money you spent on that transportation is no longer in your wallet, and therefore can never be received by Disney. If you take DME, you have more money to potentially spend in WDW than you would if you gave that $100 or so to Mears, a car service, a taxi, or a rental car company.
- If you take a car service, taxi, or rental car to your resort, you can easily make a grocery stop along the way between MCO and your resort. If you have groceries with you, you will spend less money on snacks, meals and beverages on WDW property (not just for restaurants, but also overpriced groceries in the resort shops). This is money that Disney will never see from you if you've already spent it. With DME, you can't make a grocery stop. And I'll bet you only a teeny tiny percentage of people visiting WDW know of the existence of grocery delivery services. Therefore, DME stands to earn Disney more money in food and beverage sales.
- If you rent a car, you have easy, effortless access to other forms of entertainment, plus other dining and shopping options outside the reach of Disney Transport. If only a relatively few people elect NOT to rent a car in order to save money by using DME, most of those people aren't going to bother paying for a taxi to go to outside restaurants or for Mears to go to Universal or SeaWorld, and thus Disney gets more of your money because you're not going to spend it outside of WDW
- And yes, of course, DME is yet another perk, a marvel of marketing, to convince people to stay at a WDW resort versus stay off-site, which of course earns Disney beaucoup bucks.
Like I said, I don't think there's anything wrong with any of this. I think it's pure genius. NOT evil genius, just plain genius. They earn much more from all the above items than the cost to run the program.
After considering all of the above, to STILL NOT allow that Disney thought of ALL the above reasons (and surely many more) for starting and expanding DME is just plain naive.
CleveRocks
Active Member
But BAGS Inc. IS the company that handles luggage between the resorts and the airport. They are a TSA-approved subcontractor.Did I mention BAGS Inc? I said that the company handling the baggage transfer was required to ensure that only bags belonging to passengers on the buses were transfered.
Absolutely nothing "terrbly [sic] incorrect" about it.
The TSA has absolutely no interest in the safety and security of luggage LEAVING the airport and being driven to hotels. TSA wouldn't care, from a national security perspective, if there was a bomb in a suitcase that was UNloaded from an airplane and placed in a small delivery truck for transport to a hotel. Luggage LEAVES the airport every minute without being inspected, without the federal government giving a hoot about who has it and where it's going.
But of course they have a HUGE national security reason for ensuring the safety and security of luggage being sent to the airport separate from the owners of said luggage.
Am I misunderstanding what you wrote? It seemed to me you were writing about the company responsible for the transport of and entrusted with the secruity of the bags going from the resorts to the bellies of airplanes. That is BAGS Inc.
Monty
Brilliant...and Canadian
- In the Parks
- No
You're right on all counts. Disney no doubt thought of and in a manner of speaking exploit all of those factors. But the OP's question was can he have his bags delivered by DME without taking the bus himself. The rules that prevent him from doing so came from security concerns raised by the TSA and not from Disney.
EDIT: and yes, it appears we're talking at cross purposes... The TSA were involved not only with the contract with BAGS Inc, but as I understood it they also didn't want bags leaving the airport without similar controls.
CleveRocks
Active Member
I'm truly not trying to be argumentative. I'm not angry. I'm not pounding on the keyboard as I write this, but I do disagree with what you're saying, I disagree both respectfully AND strenuously.
Again, I ask what posible security risk there could be to the people and property of the United States of America if luggage LEAVES the airport in a truck while simultaneously the owner of said luggage is driving to WDW in a rental car as opposed to riding in a DME bus. Please explain to me why the United States is put at risk by that.
It's not.
The reason Disney won't allow DME from MCO to resort as a luggage-only transfer has to do with commerce and their business model.
If you can skip baggage claim and have your luggage delivered to the inside of your resort room for free AND still have the freedom to rent a car or take a private limo, then Disney would lose out on "locking you in." You'd be costing them money for the luggage transfer and delivery, but they'd be earning not a single extra cent in profit from you because of your easy accessibility to outside food and entertainment and merchandise. THAT'S why Disney doesn't allow DME as a luggage-only arrangement.
It is also part of the reason why they allow people to use Resort Airline Check-in whether or not they ride the DME bus back to the airport. At that point, at the bitter end of your vacation, there is no money left on the table. If you take a limo or rental car or taxi back to the airport, Disney has no reason to persuade you to do otherwise. You're leaving their property, so riding their bus won't earn them any more money. Actually, to the contrary, if NO ONE elected to take the DME bus back to the airport, Disney could save a lot of money.
It is NOT simple coincidence that when Disney has a lot to gain by keeping you captive (e.g., riding the bus), they hold the perk of the luggage delivery conditional to your riding their bus (and if you ride their bus you'll spend more money within WDW, as we'd agreed earlier), but when they have no financial interest in whether or not you ride their bus (back to the airport) they are more laid back and let you skip taking their bus while still alllowing you to use their luggage transfer system for free.
Too much of a coincidence ....
Rob562
Well-Known Member
To get things slightly back to the original question, there *is* kind-of a way around the DME requirements, and that is to have *one* person from your group ride the DME bus from the airport to the hotel while the rest go and rent the car and drive.
I've read of at least one family doing this. They were renting a van for like 8 or 9 people, and didn't have room in the van for people *and* all the luggage. (They would be using the Airline Check-In for their luggage on their return trip back to the airport) So, in order to get DME to move 9 people's luggage they sent one of the adults via DME. Just make sure you actually *book* all the people onto DME to start, otherwise you'll only get two luggage tags.
I'm sure JPVonDrake can post as to the actual "legality" of this tactic...
-Rob
I've read of at least one family doing this. They were renting a van for like 8 or 9 people, and didn't have room in the van for people *and* all the luggage. (They would be using the Airline Check-In for their luggage on their return trip back to the airport) So, in order to get DME to move 9 people's luggage they sent one of the adults via DME. Just make sure you actually *book* all the people onto DME to start, otherwise you'll only get two luggage tags.
I'm sure JPVonDrake can post as to the actual "legality" of this tactic...
-Rob
CleveRocks
Active Member
This is actually totally kosher with Disney. I called DME on several occasions (to get to talk to several different CMs) and consistently got the same answer ... DME luggage is linked to a reservation number. As long as ANYONE, even one person, with that reservation number has their voucher scanned (as they board the bus), then the luggage will be transported.
I do not agree with the first bullet point, b/c there is a cost associated with providing DME. However, everything else is correct. I would also add trhat to go to Universal or SW now you have to rent a car, take a cab, find a bus... all these things take effort and include an incremental cost. They don't want you to rent a car for thsi very reason.
It is like a casino that tries to offer you everything to have you stay and spend only at one attraction.
Its a good idea, and not really evil at all. Anyone who thinks Disney is offering this out of the goodness of their hearts is crazy. They want you to come stright from the airport to their property and not even think about Universal or SeaWorld.