So, we are 16 days from our trip to Disney World and I just picked up the final trip documents from my AAA travel agent. The Magical Express luggage tags were not in the packet. When I asked the TA, she said we didn't really need them. I also should add that I have been less than impressed with this travel agent, but I kept on top of everything and I felt that as long as I checked everything thoroughly, there was no way she could mess this up. Now...I'm slightly panicked.

Do I need those Magical Express luggage tags?

Any suggestions on what to do next if I do really need them?

Thanks in advance! :)

The Magical Express tags come from Disney, not AAA.
We just went through this ourselves (actually, still going through this) and this is what you can do, according to DME:
- Call DME and make sure that your name is in your system. If it is not, get signed up for the service. Make sure your name and address is correct.
- If they have your info and you do not get your DME packet within the next few days, call and have them expedite a set to you.
- If you still dont have them by the time you leave, and you are confirmed that you have made DME arrangements, you can do one of two things:
---- Pick up your checked luggage with you to the DME counter and then check in. You can then carry your luggage with you on ths bus.
or
---- Bring your the tags the airline gave you when you checked your luggage to the DME counter. DME will still pick up your bags and deliver them for you. It just may take a little longer for them to do so.

But relax :) ... you should still have enough time to get this worked out.

Thats so unforutnate! We used AAA and had a great experience. Our Magical Express Tickets were right in the packet.

Our Magical Express Tickets were right in the packet.
Interesting, since they do things somewhat separately from the room reservation itself.

As for AAA experiences, that's almost another thread in of itself. :)

Thanks for the advice, Gus Man! Do you know the best way to contact DME directly?

As far as AAA goes...never again. Everytime a discount code came up, I had to call the TA and "talk her into" trying to apply it. I couldn't call Disney because AAA pretty much owned my reservation. I could go on and on...:rolleyes:

I tried to see if there was a DME number available and from what I saw, all things pointed to the standard 407-W-DISNEY number.

Unless someone else has a different number or method, I would give that a shot. Have your reservation number and flight info handy.

I am sorry to hear what should be smooth sailing is causing you concern!

Like GusMan said, it is important to verify that DME is indeed attached to your reservation, without being a part of your reservation a couple of weeks prior to arrival you will not be able to take advantage of the services of Disney's Magical Express. Your flight info must be added to the DME manifest ahead of time. So calling to double check that your info is indeed attached to the reservation should be your first step!

If calling the general number has not given your the results and peace of mind you need, then I would advise, first calling your agent and insisting they verify that DME is attached to your reservation!

As long as you are confident of this, here is what you could expect on travel day:

At check-in at your home airport, be sure you are given luggage claim tickets for all of your checked bags. Upon arrival in Orlando head straight to the DME Welcome Center. At the counter, give the cast member your WDW travel documents and let them know you do not have vouchers for boarding. They will be able to retrieve your reservation using your WDW travel documents and see that you indeed have DME attached and they will print your boarding vouchers for you. Then give them your luggage claim tickets and a Disney Cast Member will claim your luggage for you and it will be delivered to your resort.

Best of luck and have fun!! We leave in just 19 days, will you be heading to Mickey's Verry Merry Christmas Party?

Well, I called Disney directly and the CM on the phone said that I do need the Magical Express luggage tags and I need the voucher for the bus ride from the airport to our hotel. She said this should have been given to me by my AAA Travel Agent. I asked her if I could just reserve it myself directly and she said nope, my travel agent has to do it. :(

I will now call the travel agent and ask her to do it. I dread that call because she is not very "savvy" (I'm trying to be nice with my choice of words;)) and earlier this week she insisted that I don't really need the Magical Express stuff!!!

Best of luck and have fun!! We leave in just 19 days, will you be heading to Mickey's Verry Merry Christmas Party?

Thank you for your help! We are not doing the Christmas Party. We struggled with that decision, but we have 3 small children and they go to bed by 7 p.m. at home. We realized it would be rather costly to either leave early due to exhausted children...or miss a day at the parks trying to "rest up" in hopes of staying out much later than normal. I guess we'll just have to go back this time of year when they are all older! :)

Interesting....
Well, if it helps... we are heading to WDW this coming Wednesday. As of this past Tuesday we did not get our tags. Called them to have them resent and they arrived today via UPS 2-day. So, if your TA did not get them, she should be able to re-request them and have them expedited with time to spare.

Sorry to hear that you are having problems, though. Sometimes, the extra savings is not worth the hassle. It's kinda why we used to call Disney directly for our ressies. (Actually, still do as DVC members...)

Well, I called Disney directly and the CM on the phone said that I do need the Magical Express luggage tags and I need the voucher for the bus ride from the airport to our hotel. She said this should have been given to me by my AAA Travel Agent. I asked her if I could just reserve it myself directly and she said nope, my travel agent has to do it. :(

I will now call the travel agent and ask her to do it. I dread that call because she is not very "savvy" (I'm trying to be nice with my choice of words;)) and earlier this week she insisted that I don't really need the Magical Express stuff!!!

I have had folks who arrived without their DME vouchers and they were okay. As long as you have your travel documents, the helpful cast members at the DME Welcome Center will be able to verify your DME arrangements AND reprint new vouchers, it will just add additional time to your wait As long as you are sure the DME is attached to your reservation you should be good to go!

It is always easier when it's all nice and tidy and done - but like GusMan said, the good news is you should have time to get it done right - if not, then it CAN still be done! This time of year is such a great time to visit, with three little ones as the crowds should be fairly light. How old are the kids?

I have had folks who arrived without their DME vouchers and they were okay. As long as you have your travel documents, the helpful cast members at the DME Welcome Center will be able to verify your DME arrangements AND reprint new vouchers, it will just add additional time to your wait As long as you are sure the DME is attached to your reservation you should be good to go!

It is always easier when it's all nice and tidy and done - but like GusMan said, the good news is you should have time to get it done right - if not, then it CAN still be done! This time of year is such a great time to visit, with three little ones as the crowds should be fairly light. How old are the kids?

O.K. I called my TA and she just seems like she doesn't get it. I'm not totally confident that I even have a DME reservation. She told me I was "all set" and I don't need anything else. IF I don't have the yellow tags and I just go to the DME desk with my luggage claim tickets hopefully I'll be all set? If we have to retreive our own luggage that is fine with me. Not having a ride to our hotel or having lost luggage is what I'm really afraid of here!:eek:

Thanks again Audie and GusMan for your help! Audie, the kids are 3,5,7...we're all VERY excited! It will be here before we know it:)

Yes, as long as it is attached to your reservation you are going to be okay. When you called Disney today were they able to verify for you that you have DME? If you're not 100% sure you have it attached, I'd be sure to have a back-up plan in place.

Folks loose their vouchers and luggage tags all the time. So the AAA agent was correct in saying 'you'll be okay' without them, it just adds a few steps to the process and now that you know what you need & what to expect you're good to go!

Awwwww, what fun you're going to have with the kids, they are the perfect age to really absorb the magic and wonder of the parks!! Did you get one of the Magical Beginnings - Every Little Detail brochures from your agent? This is a great piece of info which highlights all of the areas in the 4 parks which are geared for kids that are 5 and under!

When I called Disney today, the CM was not able to verify that I have DME attached to my reservation. She said that my travel agent had to do that. This is why I'm thinking it's not there. Oh well, it sounds like we'll be able to get our luggage (if need be) and get a ride. That is all that really matters, I suppose.

We did not receive the Magical Beginnings brochure that you mentioned, Audie (if we didn't receive our DME tags...you can bet we didn't receive any other goodies! LOL!). We do plan on spending the majority of our time at Magic Kingdom (staying at Wilderness Lodge). :)

Thanks again for making me feel better about this little glitch in our plans!

Disney's Magical Express: 1-866-599-0951.

Call and give them your Disney package confirmation number. It should be printed as "res. no." on the top right of any of the vouchers in your packet if the documents come from Disney Travel Co. They can verify if you are in the system, confirm your flights, and can send new docs but those might go to the AAA too. If you are not listed, your agent will have to add it before the 10 day window.

You can also go to www.disneysmagicalexpress.com and input your information, but you need the hotel res number for that. It's not the same as your vacation package res number. Travel agents can use this site when we book a Disney resort with a vendor other than Disney, or when ME is not attached to the reservation yet.

Disney will only give information to the agent/agency that booked the trip. The ME voucher booklet and bag tags come in a week or two before the actual documents from Disney, so either your agent did not set up ME for you (no excuse for that!) or the ME docs got misplaced before your Disney docs came in. Some individual agents are just not too familiar with Disney World bookings, and may assume since ME is a free service no other docs or action is needed. But there are lots of agents like me who love all things Disney and DO provide great service for our clients.

I'm sorry you're going through all of this, but MAN, this TA sounds just awful. I'd be asking for a manager by now. Seriously. She must be messing up trips right and left and someone should stop her before she screws up something really important like a room reservation. Hang in there and let us know what happens.....

From talking to the TA I use for Disney trips (Small World, Disney specialists), DME is like a 4 letter word with them! She requested that the DME paperwork be sent directly to me and my sister - it went to her and she had to forward it. They actually 'sort of' had our stuff right for the return, enough that we didn't have to call. But since we were leaving on two different airlines, two different flights, two different days - we've found their system isn't the best for dealing with that sort of thing and were just happy we didn't have to call when we got the second set of 'pickup time' stuff on our door.

The key is 'being in the system'. As long as you have that, you should be ok, but your luggage might take a little longer to get to you. But if you change resorts, do NOT attach the 'wrong' resorts tags to your bag. The guy in line next to us did that (when he'd been told to on the phone) and the CM checking him in just said that 'people get told a lot of wrong stuff over the phone'!

Disney's Magical Express: 1-866-599-0951.

Call and give them your Disney package confirmation number. It should be printed as "res. no." on the top right of any of the vouchers in your packet if the documents come from Disney Travel Co. They can verify if you are in the system, confirm your flights, and can send new docs but those might go to the AAA too. If you are not listed, your agent will have to add it before the 10 day window.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I called the Magical Express number and we ARE in the system! I explained that we had not received the yellow tags and the helpful woman on the phone said they were mailed on 10/27 (TODAY!) to the AAA Travel Agency address. I really don't know what happened, but problem solved.

Thanks again for all of the help everyone! :)

Glad to be of help. Have fun!

Now it's off to see the world with peace of mind! Have fun and enjoy those precious days with your family!