Magical Express...What if my luggage lands BEFORE I do??

[kristenrice]

Ok, weird question...

My parents and sister's family are flying on SWA on a flight that departs at 6am. They are staying the first night at Port Orleans. I am flying out later that same night with my daughters, also on SWA, but we don't arrive until 11:35pm and we are staying that night at Pop Century. We are all moving to a 2BR at AKV the next day.

Since we arrive so late, I want to fly with only our carry-ons so that we do not have to worry about dealing with retrieving a single checked bag. It's not a big deal since we very rarely check a bag anyways. I am considering checking a bag, though, so that we can have things like our laundry pods, spray sunscreen and some other items that cannot go through in our carry-on bags. So, since the others in our extended travel party will have plenty of "baggage allowance", what would happen if I gave them one of my bags for them to bring with them and just placed one of my Pop Century DME tags on it?? It would land at 9:30am even though *I* wouldn't land (or even arrive) until well after midnight. Would the bag make it to the resort and get delivered to my room? Oh, and to be "official" and comply with FAA and security regulations, my sister would help me pack it so nothing would be packed without her knowledge.

 

[tjmw2727]

It probably would be fine since you are a resort guest that day but personally I wouldn't chance it.

To be safe I would call DME and ask for extra luggage tags for the POR reservation and have your sister check your bag to be delivered to her resort. Since your all moving to the same place the next day you can get your stuff when you meet at AKV.

Third idea is to just do a grocery delivery so you have food snacks and drinks for the villa and include the sunscreen and laundry items in the delivery. Have it sent directly to AKL the first day of that reservation.

 

[AngiTN]

So, it's going to be your bag and it's going to your room at Pop? It's just going to arrive before you?
That's fine.
That can happen even without you intending it to actually.
We've had times where the airlines put our bags on earlier flights, for whatever reason they don't disclose.
As long as it's your bag and your resort stay and you are going to check in to the room, no problem. The bag will be in the room waiting on you.

Second choice is to have the bag go to your sister's room and let her bring it to AKL, if she's willing. Since she's got the bag allowance anyway.

 

[bumbershoot]

I was totally behind this, and then I thought of your name being big and bold on the DME luggage tag, and not being the name of your sister or parents.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Ok, weird question...

My parents and sister's family are flying on SWA on a flight that departs at 6am. They are staying the first night at Port Orleans. I am flying out later that same night with my daughters, also on SWA, but we don't arrive until 11:35pm and we are staying that night at Pop Century. We are all moving to a 2BR at AKV the next day.

Since we arrive so late, I want to fly with only our carry-ons so that we do not have to worry about dealing with retrieving a single checked bag. It's not a big deal since we very rarely check a bag anyways. I am considering checking a bag, though, so that we can have things like our laundry pods, spray sunscreen and some other items that cannot go through in our carry-on bags. So, since the others in our extended travel party will have plenty of "baggage allowance", what would happen if I gave them one of my bags for them to bring with them and just placed one of my Pop Century DME tags on it?? It would land at 9:30am even though *I* wouldn't land (or even arrive) until well after midnight. Would the bag make it to the resort and get delivered to my room? Oh, and to be "official" and comply with FAA and security regulations, my sister would help me pack it so nothing would be packed without her knowledge.

Do you truly need any of the items that will will be packed in the checked bag overnight? If not just leave it w/ your Port Orleans family to be moved to AKV. Much simpler from a logistic POV. I would also leave it in their name, again to make it simple.

 

[LadyBeBop]

Being on the safe side, I'd probably put the Port Orleans tags on the bag and have it delivered to your sister's room.

Are you two moving to AKL before or after you hit the parks the second day? I'm assuming you're hitting the parks first. What do you need in the parks? I'm assuming you'll need the sunscreen. You won't need the pods. What else will you pack that you need? I'd make sure your sister brings the sunscreen to the park. You don't want your vacation ruined just because you got sunburn on the second day.

 

[sam_gordon]

I was totally behind this, and then I thought of your name being big and bold on the DME luggage tag, and not being the name of your sister or parents.

Why would that matter?

 

[AngiTN]

I was totally behind this, and then I thought of your name being big and bold on the DME luggage tag, and not being the name of your sister or parents.

They aren't big or bold and so what? The names on ours are almost always wrong. I don't even bother to match the name on the yellow tag to the owner of that bag

 

[Allison]

There is no issue with this. Go ahead and do it. People's flights change all the time due to issues the day they are flying. They don't keep track of when a bag comes in as compared to when the flight comes in. I have had a bag arrive before I did because they will put items on the first flight they can to get it on when there are delays. I had a Southwest agent even mention this to me when I last flew to Orlando and it was a debacle getting there. My luggage was at the resort long before I was.

 

[Kae]

Or have them ask for extra tags.

 

[AngiTN]

There is no issue with this. Go ahead and do it. People's flights change all the time due to issues the day they are flying. They don't keep track of when a bag comes in as compared to when the flight comes in. I have had a bag arrive before I did because they will put items on the first flight they can to get it on when there are delays. I had a Southwest agent even mention this to me when I last flew to Orlando and it was a debacle getting there.

Good point too. This happened to us one trip.
Our checked bags made it but we didn't. We got delayed just enough landing and didn't make it to the next flight before the boarding door closed but they were able to get our bags loaded on the flight.
Guess it was faster to drive across the tarmac (as a crow flies, so to speak) than for us to run zig and zagging through the terminal.
We got in the next flight, our bags were already there.

 

[kristenrice]

Just to clarify a few things...

If I check a bag, I would be checking more than just sunscreen and laundry detergent. We typically fly with only carry-ons, but we also make a grocery order from Amazon PrimeNow once we arrive. We order a lot of the things that we can't or don't want to pack in the carry-ons due to limited space (full-size toiletries, feminine hygiene products for 3 women, etc) in addition to the sunscreen and laundry detergent. By sending the bag with my sister, I can pack the items and save the money on the grocery order.

As to having my sister's family keep the bag with them at POR, they are against it. They are already cramming 5 people in the room for the night, along with all of their luggage...and they do NOT pack light like we do. In fact, there is a distinct possibility that I may not be able to send my bag with them anyways. It may not even fit in their vehicle to go to the airport!

 

[Allison]

No need for it to go to POR anyway, just send it to your resort. No issues in that regard.

 

[cmwade77]

Bags can often arrive before you do, they may do it because of weight, etc., But airlines do often send bags on an earlier flight.

 

[bumbershoot]

Why would that matter?

Having someone else’s tags on the bag? The employees at SeaTac, when I’ve done the luggage part of DME, have always peered intently at the tags. They want to take them off, thinking they are another airline’s. I have to stop them. But they are looking at them, and I could see them wondering about the other name.

The OP gets to decide if she wants that question if they noticed the name.

They aren't big or bold and so what? The names on ours are almost always wrong. I don't even bother to match the name on the yellow tag to the owner of that bag

They aren’t big and bold? The bright eye searing yellow tags? With the last name in all capitalized bold font?

Within my party I don’t match it. But I try to not have airline personnel staring at my bags.

So I brought it up *as a thing to think about*. I didn’t say “don’t do it!” I didn’t say they’ll be put in a stalag if they did it.

Everyone’s threshold of what they want to deal with at an airport is different.

For a person who is thinking about things at the depth the OP is, it’s worth mentioning.

 

[cmwade77]

Around here the airport employees wouldn't bat an eye, it is very common for a travel party to have three or four different last names and for them to mix up who has which bag. And they definitely know what the yellow tags are at LGB and LAX.

Of course some airlines now have automated machines to take bags and they really wouldn't know.

 

[seashoreCM]

If your plane lands after 10 PM and you go to the carousels as required and you do not find your bags there then you should file a baggage claim with your airline before leaving the area.

Don't say anything about bags arriving early or about Magical Express. Quietly let the airline staff figure it out behind the scenes.

 

[AngiTN]

If your plane lands after 10 PM and you go to the carousels as required and you do not find your bags there then you should file a baggage claim with your airline before leaving the area.

Don't say anything about bags arriving early or about Magical Express. Quietly let the airline staff figure it out behind the scenes.

Huh? This is what's being discussed at all
They arrive at 6 AM

 

[AngiTN]

Having someone else’s tags on the bag? The employees at SeaTac, when I’ve done the luggage part of DME, have always peered intently at the tags. They want to take them off, thinking they are another airline’s. I have to stop them. But they are looking at them, and I could see them wondering about the other name.

The OP gets to decide if she wants that question if they noticed the name.



They aren’t big and bold? The bright eye searing yellow tags? With the last name in all capitalized bold font?

Within my party I don’t match it. But I try to not have airline personnel staring at my bags.

So I brought it up *as a thing to think about*. I didn’t say “don’t do it!” I didn’t say they’ll be put in a stalag if they did it.

Everyone’s threshold of what they want to deal with at an airport is different.

For a person who is thinking about things at the depth the OP is, it’s worth mentioning.

I guess we have way more yellow tags around here because they know exactly what they are, even at our little old regional airport.
As for matching, we have 3 last names in our 4 person family so there's not much matching going on anywhere
But yeah, the text is caps but nah, not big and bold, just regular sizes, but we have longer names so I suppose that makes the difference. It's smaller than the resort name.

 

[Allison]

If your plane lands after 10 PM and you go to the carousels as required and you do not find your bags there then you should file a baggage claim with your airline before leaving the area.

Don't say anything about bags arriving early or about Magical Express. Quietly let the airline staff figure it out behind the scenes.

What? Why would they go to the carousel?