PSA - Please label your luggage!!

[dreiwhit]

Thanks OP!

 

[AngiTN]

People don't label their bags with their names? Really? I guess I'll never cease to be surprised by what people don't think of

 

[AngiTN]

I'll answer this - we like them...WHEN they're used correctly. In other words, don't just wrap it around the bag. Use the side handle to thread the belt through. Otherwise, you're going to probably be missing the belt, as it can easily slide off your bag.

I work for TSA

Something else that I can't quite grasp. People use these and don't put it through the handle? What is happening to common sense these days?

 

[joelkfla]

Something else that I can't quite grasp. People use these and don't put it through the handle? What is happening to common sense these days?

I've given up on these. Since the hardside is slightly larger around the middle, the belt usually slides over and comes out just hanging from the handle.

 

[AngiTN]

I've given up on these. Since the hardside is slightly larger around the middle, the belt usually slides over and comes out just hanging from the handle.

Ah, I can see that. I thought I would love hard side luggage and got myself a wonderful piece. Hate it. HATE! it. Turns out, when you are like me and live out of your suitecase they are awful choices. You can't sit it on the luggage rack and prop the top against the wall, gotta open it out flat on the bed or something. Found that out the hard way

 

[dreiwhit]

Years ago, I was given a tip to "uglify" my luggage by a fella who sprayed blaze orange spray paint on his. He never had someone accidentally pick up his bag!

What I do is to make "rings" of yellow electrical tape around the handle straps of my bag. I also put yellow strips around the "wheel wells", use a lime green florescent luggage belt (used correctly!) and have two light blue luggage tags with my name and cell phone number in them. I also DO NOT buy a black piece of luggage. Look at the carousel the next time you're in baggage claim - most of the luggage is black.

I also put a piece of paper with my name, home address, cellphone number, email address and flight itinerary in each outside pocket and in the locked main compartment. Technically, you're not supposed to put down your home address, but I don't worry too much about it, since I have a unique name - there are only three of us with this name in the country, and two of them are my Dad and my son. If someone saw my name, they'd be able to find my address easily.

 

[Disneybuckeye]

We also do fluorescent yellow electric tape on the handles. Works great. We have had luggage tags get ripped off in transit and in the past also.

 

[delilah]

I have another good PSA. If you check your bags at the resort, be sure to check your boarding pass and luggage receipts before you leave the resort. This last trip, in January, we checked our bags at Saratoga Springs. We were traveling on Southwest, and I had already checked in online and had boarding passes for all of us before we checked our bags. Our flight wasn't until 8 pm, so, we went to a park and then lunch. I then looked at our boarding passes that had been printed at the resort, and noticed that my son and I had TSA precheck, but, my husband didn't. Then I inspected his boarding pass, and noticed that it wasn't even for the same flight as ours. We had a total of 4 checked bags between the three of us, and those checked to my husband weren't even to the correct airport. It was a very stressful trip to the airport, but, fortunately, we arrived about 3 hours before our flight. The gate agent was very helpful, but, he was very much of the opinion that Disney shouldn't be checking bags at the resorts.

What was amazing to me was that the name on my husband's boarding pass was his name, but, it was evidently for a different person with the same name. I guess he has a very common Hispanic name. Fortunately, it ended up that he was checked onto our flight. We had corrected boarding passes printed at the airport. The other person was actually flying into MCO, so, the person checking us in at the resort had noticed the error and retagged our bags (there were actually 4 bags checked in for me when we arrived home). But, it was a nerve-racking experience.

 

[Dax]

Nothing should EVER dangle from your luggage. Its how bag tags get ripped off to begin with. Remember the baggage system is 14miles of conveyor system with multiple points to pinch, get caught, jammed and other such mishaps. Luggage tags look cute....but they break off. We have TONS of them littering our floor. Luggage locks...they do as well..To be honest...I think locks are a waste anyway. TSA can open them, and they they get broken off so easily, they ruin luggage easily. Also...If your luggage is beginning to show signs of wear...Please replace it!!! Do not use ripped luggage...That's asking for trouble.

Yes, people do not label their bags. Or if they do, its in a handwriting we cannot read. When we cannot figure out where it belongs, we send it to MCO Lost and Found...where it can take DAYS to get back to you. If you do not have a front pocket, put the paper somewhere...Tape something to the bag outside with name or put the paper inside. ANYTHING is better than nothing. Be the ugly bag in the sea of black bags. Also do not spend thousands on a piece of luggage....It takes a beating and will just make you angry.

 

[Sparkly]

Nothing should EVER dangle from your luggage. Its how bag tags get ripped off to begin with. Remember the baggage system is 14miles of conveyor system with multiple points to pinch, get caught, jammed and other such mishaps. Luggage tags look cute....but they break off. We have TONS of them littering our floor. Luggage locks...they do as well..To be honest...I think locks are a waste anyway. TSA can open them, and they they get broken off so easily, they ruin luggage easily. Also...If your luggage is beginning to show signs of wear...Please replace it!!! Do not use ripped luggage...That's asking for trouble.

Yes, people do not label their bags. Or if they do, its in a handwriting we cannot read. When we cannot figure out where it belongs, we send it to MCO Lost and Found...where it can take DAYS to get back to you. If you do not have a front pocket, put the paper somewhere...Tape something to the bag outside with name or put the paper inside. ANYTHING is better than nothing. Be the ugly bag in the sea of black bags. Also do not spend thousands on a piece of luggage....It takes a beating and will just make you angry.

Especially if you fly Virgin Atlantic..they're very rough on luggage, the number of times we've got our stuff back at Gatwick to find it bashed up, ripped, bits come off..terrible!

 

[Timothy02359]

If you want an identifier...use decoractive tape...wrap the handles...and a couple extra pieces on the luggage itself. Straps are OK...but they can get caught too..

That`s what we do also. We wrap the handle in bright colored tape.

 

[goofy4tink]

I have another good PSA. If you check your bags at the resort, be sure to check your boarding pass and luggage receipts before you leave the resort. This last trip, in January, we checked our bags at Saratoga Springs. We were traveling on Southwest, and I had already checked in online and had boarding passes for all of us before we checked our bags. Our flight wasn't until 8 pm, so, we went to a park and then lunch. I then looked at our boarding passes that had been printed at the resort, and noticed that my son and I had TSA precheck, but, my husband didn't. Then I inspected his boarding pass, and noticed that it wasn't even for the same flight as ours. We had a total of 4 checked bags between the three of us, and those checked to my husband weren't even to the correct airport. It was a very stressful trip to the airport, but, fortunately, we arrived about 3 hours before our flight. The gate agent was very helpful, but, he was very much of the opinion that Disney shouldn't be checking bags at the resorts.

What was amazing to me was that the name on my husband's boarding pass was his name, but, it was evidently for a different person with the same name. I guess he has a very common Hispanic name. Fortunately, it ended up that he was checked onto our flight. We had corrected boarding passes printed at the airport. The other person was actually flying into MCO, so, the person checking us in at the resort had noticed the error and retagged our bags (there were actually 4 bags checked in for me when we arrived home). But, it was a nerve-racking experience.

I have to ask...were you all on the same itinerary with SW? Or did you have to book your dh on a different one? Perhaps the person at RAC just keyed in the name and grabbed the first one he saw.
As for those at MCO saying 'Disney' shouldn't be checking bags? They aren't. These aren't Disney employees. Not to mention, I've had my bags incorrectly tagged at the airport! That's why I check those destination tags...every single time. When checking in for my flight out of Boston's Logan, to MCO, the destination tag on my bag was for Ft Lauderdale!!! Good thing I noticed.
Always, always, always double check both your boarding pass and luggage tag!!!

 

[Dax]

I have to ask...were you all on the same itinerary with SW? Or did you have to book your dh on a different one? Perhaps the person at RAC just keyed in the name and grabbed the first one he saw.
As for those at MCO saying 'Disney' shouldn't be checking bags? They aren't. These aren't Disney employees. Not to mention, I've had my bags incorrectly tagged at the airport! That's why I check those destination tags...every single time. When checking in for my flight out of Boston's Logan, to MCO, the destination tag on my bag was for Ft Lauderdale!!! Good thing I noticed.
Always, always, always double check both your boarding pass and luggage tag!!!

The ones who check the bags at Disney are NOT Disney people...they are a 3rd party company called BAGS Inc...They also are the onces who process the bags when they get screened before being put on the plane in a remote screening facility. 9 times out of 10 if you check bags in early at the airport, it gets trcuked to the offsite screening place then moved to the planes. They are not the most reliable company and I agree, check you tags ALL the time...no matter where you check your bags.

 

[pooh2001]

I place our info inside the bag - resort name, dates, our name, address, cell #
Then on the way back, I put our home address inside our bags

On the outside of our bags I place colorful duck tape
Seems to identify our bags easily.

No pockets on the outside of our bags - unless I get a bag tag for the handle.

 

[goofy4tink]

The ones who check the bags at Disney are NOT Disney people...they are a 3rd party company called BAGS Inc...They also are the onces who process the bags when they get screened before being put on the plane in a remote screening facility. 9 times out of 10 if you check bags in early at the airport, it gets trcuked to the offsite screening place then moved to the planes. They are not the most reliable company and I agree, check you tags ALL the time...no matter where you check your bags.

Yup...everyone seems to think that RAC is a Disney operation..it isn't! BAGS, start to finish! Even DME isn't truly a Disney operation...it's Mears.
Anyway....when you say that checked bags, at the airport, if they're checked early, get trucked to an offsite screening area, how early is early? That two hours before flight? Or, if you drop them off 4 hrs prior to flight time but then don't go to the gate? Just curious.

 

[AngiTN]

Yup...everyone seems to think that RAC is a Disney operation..it isn't! BAGS, start to finish! Even DME isn't truly a Disney operation...it's Mears.
Anyway....when you say that checked bags, at the airport, if they're checked early, get trucked to an offsite screening area, how early is early? That two hours before flight? Or, if you drop them off 4 hrs prior to flight time but then don't go to the gate? Just curious.

And Bags, Inc also handles luggage delivery from the airport to the resorts.

 

[seashoreCM]

Does your bag have any spot that is smooth? You could put one or two stick on labels there with your name, address, flight number, etc. (Labels do not stick to fabric or mottled surfaces well.)

I have included destination airport code and the date. It is of course important to remove and replace this label before the next flight.

Yellow tagged bags with the wrong date or even homebound being sent to Disney cannot be ruled out. CM's might just take note of the yellow tag with the Mickey symbol and whisk it off to the Magical Express staging area without scanning it. So it behooves you to remove the yellow tag before going home.

The preceding might explain some trip reports mentioning last minute resort change and bags going via DME to the wrong resort (and languishing there because there were no manual corrections on the yellow tags).

 

[themommy]

I have another good PSA. If you check your bags at the resort, be sure to check your boarding pass and luggage receipts before you leave the resort. This last trip, in January, we checked our bags at Saratoga Springs. We were traveling on Southwest, and I had already checked in online and had boarding passes for all of us before we checked our bags. Our flight wasn't until 8 pm, so, we went to a park and then lunch. I then looked at our boarding passes that had been printed at the resort, and noticed that my son and I had TSA precheck, but, my husband didn't. Then I inspected his boarding pass, and noticed that it wasn't even for the same flight as ours. We had a total of 4 checked bags between the three of us, and those checked to my husband weren't even to the correct airport. It was a very stressful trip to the airport, but, fortunately, we arrived about 3 hours before our flight. The gate agent was very helpful, but, he was very much of the opinion that Disney shouldn't be checking bags at the resorts.

What was amazing to me was that the name on my husband's boarding pass was his name, but, it was evidently for a different person with the same name. I guess he has a very common Hispanic name. Fortunately, it ended up that he was checked onto our flight. We had corrected boarding passes printed at the airport. The other person was actually flying into MCO, so, the person checking us in at the resort had noticed the error and retagged our bags (there were actually 4 bags checked in for me when we arrived home). But, it was a nerve-racking experience.

We had the same thing happen to my husband except for the fact that they never caught it. We caught it at the airport when we were going through security. He just happened to notice that he had a boarding pass for Texas and we live in NC. The names were correct so we didn't look further than that when we got our boarding passes and turned over our luggage at the resort and apparently the other guy did not look either. Our case however, believe it or not, the same name checking out of the same resort on the same day. Needless to say, it was a pain in the tush trying to get the correct boarding pass and find his luggage. This was the only time I was ever happy that MDE takes you to the airport 3 hours early. LOL The boarding pass was fixed but, there was not enough time for them to get his bags. His bags went to Texas and we got them 3 or 4 days later. Please check all of your info before your bags are out of your sight! Lesson learned here.

 

[sam_gordon]

Yup...everyone seems to think that RAC is a Disney operation..it isn't! BAGS, start to finish! Even DME isn't truly a Disney operation...it's Mears.

Disney markets it, promotes it, and encourages it. To me, Disney IS responsible for RAC and DME (good and bad). If I hire a contractor to build a house and the wrong carpeting is installed, am I going to contact the carpeting contractor? No. I'm going to the general contractor and expect him to fix the problem.

Sorry, it drives me crazy when people (at least seem to) deflect blame off Disney since RAC and BAGS are subcontractors.

 

[Euby]

What about luggage tags like this? It's rubberized and about 5 inches square.