New….. Resort airline check in returns!

[focusondisney]

I wonder why Pop and why SW.

Just a guess, the value resorts seem to have limited luggage space from what I’ve seen & read. I would imagine not having to hold luggage for a lot of guests who aren’t leaving til the end of the day will help free up some space for them. And I would bet a good percentage of guests fly SW. They may have had a good relationship with the owner when he had Bags so were willing to work with the new company.

 

[DisnEElove]

That's also not a service they are offering with this trial. Nor was it part of DME. That portion of the luggage service would need huge buy in from MCO or the airlines themselves to have happen. I don't see that happening ever again. Taking the bags from the resort and just dropping them into the pipeline for the carrier at MCO, that's feasible.

I believe MCO had a dedicated WDW belt that they'd throw the tagged bags onto for CMs to pick up and have delivered to our hotels.I found out some of the backend workings after a few times of waiting to 1am to get our 'lost' or 'delayed' bags to our room. But they wouldn't need to do a lot of convincing MCO employees to handle less bags.

 

[Simba's Mom]

But not having to go to the Luggage Carousel and then having my Luggage appear in my room saved so much time and hassle!!!!

Who was it that provided us with that service? I remember when it first began, I was so afraid of them not getting my luggage that I still went to the carousel to get it myself. But once I heard enough positive reports, so "trusted" them to do it, I quickly loved it and would love to see it return. So who did that for Disney and us?

 

[Lewisc]

Didn't Bags Inc lay off a whole bunch of people during covid? If they didn't go under they were in really dire straits.

Bags was sold to a parking garage operator SP+ November 2018. They had to lay off people when they lost Disney. AFAIK they were never in dire straits.

 

[Lewisc]

I believe MCO had a dedicated WDW belt that they'd throw the tagged bags onto for CMs to pick up and have delivered to our hotels.I found out some of the backend workings after a few times of waiting to 1am to get our 'lost' or 'delayed' bags to our room. But they wouldn't need to do a lot of convincing MCO employees to handle less bags.

Yellow tagged bags were put in a separate truck or rack as they were taken off the plan. They were pulled on the tarmac. They were trucked directly to a building where they were sorted then trucked to the resorts.

 

[reddog21]

In order for DME to come back, the number that Disney is willing to pay has to be at least close to what Mears is charging now, $34/person, how much will Disney raise rates to cover that cost?
I would expect that a service like is Bags, Inc could flourish, but it would have to be a service paid for by guests. I would pay $10 per bag to not have to haul it through the airport, wait in line to check. If you get 50 bags per truck, that could be pretty lucrative.

Disney doesn't have to pay for anything. How much is someone willing to pay for the convenience of not having to handle there lugguge from there home airport until they check into there hotel. My guess is a lot more than $34, I would pay more that $34.

I never used DME but I absolutely loved airline checkin at the resorts. I would pay probably more than I should to have that convience again.

Bags was sold to a parking garage operator SP+ November 2018. They had to lay off people when they lost Disney. AFAIK they were never in dire straits.

Exact save situation that's happening now with the change in valet company. I think that last I saw was around 230 people getting laid off however those that getting laid off will porbably be offered a job with the new company.

 

[EACarlson]

I wonder why Pop and why SW.

I gave my belief as to why SW earlier. As to why Pop? Pop is the largest resort and being a value will probably have a higher percentage of guests flying SW. That will give them a statistically significant sample for the trial. One stop on each end is a good way to limit the costs but still have a realistic trial.

I believe MCO had a dedicated WDW belt that they'd throw the tagged bags onto for CMs to pick up and have delivered to our hotels.I found out some of the backend workings after a few times of waiting to 1am to get our 'lost' or 'delayed' bags to our room. But they wouldn't need to do a lot of convincing MCO employees to handle less bags.

This would be asking baggage handlers at MCO to look at the tags and then move some of them to another line. You would need some buy in from the airport to allow the secondary employees and the airlines baggage handlers to do the extra work.
If they were CM, then Disney was paying them, which they certainly aren't going to do again if they were before.

Who was it that provided us with that service? I remember when it first began, I was so afraid of them not getting my luggage that I still went to the carousel to get it myself. But once I heard enough positive reports, so "trusted" them to do it, I quickly loved it and would love to see it return. So who did that for Disney and us?

Bags, Inc was the company that handled the baggage.

Disney doesn't have to pay for anything. How much is someone willing to pay for the convenience of not having to handle there lugguge from there home airport until they check into there hotel. My guess is a lot more than $34, I would pay more that $34.

I never used DME but I absolutely loved airline checkin at the resorts. I would pay probably more than I should to have that convenience again.

Two different services, bags from the home airport to the hotel, you'd have to have a critical mass of people willing to pay for the service and all of the associated costs. Additional employees, credentialed by MCO to be in back areas, or airline employees willing to do that portion of it. Buy in from Disney to either allow the Bag employees access to the rooms or paying CM to do so.

RAC is the easiest and simplest to implement. I'm interested in the funding model, who's paying the bag company to take the bags from Pop to MCO? I would have paid a small amount to not have to deal with it on my last trip, but getting the number of guests necessary to make it profitable at a relatively small cost is the challenge.

 

[SheSingsAlong]

Does anybody think Disney has been keeping some of these pre-COVID benefits in their back pocket as a "lever" to pull if an economic downturn were to start impacting travel? It seems an interesting time to re-introduce this perk.

 

[Mle8308]

Does anybody think Disney has been keeping some of these pre-COVID benefits in their back pocket as a "lever" to pull if an economic downturn were to start impacting travel? It seems an interesting time to re-introduce this perk.

No. And I say that because the owner of this new company was the owner/founder of the old company. Once the old company closed (or whatever happened to it), he tweaked and updated his IP that he still owned and created a new product/service - and it was recently. Tom Bricker has yet another great article about it, the founder also served on the board at the board that replaced RCID. Here is a link to the article:
https://www.disneytouristblog.com/resort-airline-checkin-returning-disney-world-test/

 

[beccasmom]

We greatly miss DME and this is a step in the right direction. Here’s hoping it expands. We’d be more than willing to pay if “people transport” were offered again as well.

 

[_19disnA]

Since it is only being reported on blogs, have to 'assume' at this point it is true but will wait to see it actually mentioned on the official Disney website. Not sure why they wouldn't have started by offering this for Deluxe resorts as a perk for those who pay more, but so it goes. Part of the luggage screening process still needs to conform to TSA security regulations much like they did in the past. Luggage gets screened and stored in some secure facility then transported to the airport.

Even though DME and the luggage thing were run by different companies in the past, to most guests that aspect was transparent and to them it didn't matter since the service was fairly seamless.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I got really excited by this and then remembered - I don't fly down anymore. Oh well, excited for the people who can use it!

 

[focusondisney]

Disney doesn't have to pay for anything.

Nope they sure won’t. They’ll raise the resort prices to cover the cost.

those that getting laid off will porbably be offered a job with the new company.

And at a lower pay scale. And maybe less benefits.

 

[Lesverts]

I am sure if Disney really wanted to they could:
A) Come up with a contract and a price that would make both them, the operator and the guest happy.
B) Offer a paid service that was like DME and the baggage service at a price point that would get uptake from guests to a level that would make the venture worthwhile.

I would guess Disney would hide some of the cost in the resort price and you pay some of the costs. So like Family of 4 with 2 bags would be 80 dollars say. Idk a price just spitballing here.

MCO has strong baggage claim service. Best of the airports I have been to in the USA. But I still would rather pay and not have to collect my luggage.

 

[DebbieB]

Does anybody think Disney has been keeping some of these pre-COVID benefits in their back pocket as a "lever" to pull if an economic downturn were to start impacting travel? It seems an interesting time to re-introduce this perk.

It’s like Minnie Vans. After Covid, people claiming to been “in the know” said they were sold, never to come back. Meanwhile, a bunch were parked in the back of the Epcot parking lot. And they came back.

 

[Beachmom0317]

This is going to be such a big perk if it comes back! Especially when traveling with kids. It was such a huge perk to drop suitcases off and then just head to the airport without having to lug everything with us.

 

[hopemax]

RAC is the easiest and simplest to implement. I'm interested in the funding model, who's paying the bag company to take the bags from Pop to MCO? I would have paid a small amount to not have to deal with it on my last trip, but getting the number of guests necessary to make it profitable at a relatively small cost is the challenge.

There was news several months back that baggage volumes at MCO have skyrocketed. The airport itself was lamenting the end of Magical Express because it utilized off-site scanning. They were looking for something like that again, because the costs of upgrading screening at the airport was going to be cost and time prohibitive. MCO may be paying for it directly as the cheapest option to deal with bags. And if they can get some buy in from the airlines, all the better.

This may be the rare instance where the costs of business align with something that helps customers.

I think I saw an Orlando Sentinel article, but this is the one that popped up while searching. From November.

https://www.aviationpros.com/airpor...ational-airport-hopes-to-solve-baggage-delays

"For critically needed temporary relief at A and B, the airport authority in September authorized a new solution that would mimic an old one called the Disney Magical Express.

The Disney Magical Express was a fleet of buses employed by Disney and operated by the local Mears Transportation, shuttling guests and bags between the airport, resorts and Port Canaveral cruise terminals.

The service, at no extra cost to guests, ran from 2005 to 2022, when Disney pulled the plug.

What was magical for the airport about the operation was the relief from passenger and baggage congestion it provided: millions of travelers never arrived by car at the busy third-level drop off lanes and millions of their bags were never lugged into ticket lobbies.

Instead, distinctively styled “DME” buses stopped on the terminals’ less congested first levels to disgorge passengers, while their bags – at a rate of 10,000 daily, according to an airport executive – were ferried to a facility outside of terminals A and B for TSA security screening.

Unfortunately for the airport, say senior staffers, Disney Magical Express folded during the COVID years and the nation’s post-pandemic yearning for adventure erupted soon after."

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Does anybody think Disney has been keeping some of these pre-COVID benefits in their back pocket as a "lever" to pull if an economic downturn were to start impacting travel? It seems an interesting time to re-introduce this perk.

Or a nearby competitor getting lots of warm and fuzzy press / attention with one of the largest new theme park openings in decades opening soon.

 

[japanese maple]

Or a nearby competitor getting lots of warm and fuzzy press / attention with one of the largest new theme park openings in decades opening soon.

Whatever works!

 

[disneygolfer1985]

Not necessarily. Bags and transportation were handled by two different vendors contrary to popular misconception; bags were handled by Bags, Inc, transportation by Mears. This is why during the re-opening period DME operated without RAC or bag delivery, it's because Bags, Inc. went under during the travel pause. And unless Disney can guarantee Mears more money via contracting out vs. what Mears makes with their own paid replacement service or they can find a new vendor for a shuttle service that can operate at Mears' scale, I would not hold my breath waiting for DME to come back.

PM EMH were objectively terrible though and I don't understand why people are clamoring for them to come back besides FOMO and rose colored glasses making them forget how bad they were towards the end. EEH works so well precisely because of the limited scope. Disney isn't giving up monetizing AH tickets either.

I loved the PM EMH. You could get everything done as the waits were so low. I doubt Disney would ever bring back the 3 hrs EMH as that would make less people buy LLs.