Is it possible to check an ECV and have it delivered to room with the other luggage using MDE?

[ruthies12]

I've booked a Disney resort and let them know our flight info and booked magical express, I'm assuming I'll get the special luggage tags closer to the trip. We want to take dh's personal ECV but he doesn't want to use it through the airport, he wants to check it at the luggage counter before we go through security.

I know the airline is fine with this, already checked, but wondering what we do when we land? If I use one of the luggage tags on the ECV will Disney automatically transfer it with our luggage to our room or will we need to pick it up ourselves at baggage claim? Or is there some way to let Disney know that there will be an ECV in with our luggage?

 

[Hoodie]

I know they will take strollers and car seats, but not sure of ECVs. I would be concerned about damage as it would be likely traveling unsecured surrounded by pretty heavy suitcases.

Also, as a reminder, it can take 3-4 hours or more to have luggage from Magical Express arrive at the resort. Some people have reported longer. The rule of thumb is don't send anything through magical express that you may need for the rest of the day.

 

[Bete]

Can't answer your question, sorry. I have to say I've never heard of someone doing this yet.

I wouldn't do it. If he has his own personal scooter he'll be better off at the airport having it all the way to the plane. The commute at Orlando to Magical Express is a long trek. Even if he could survive the outgoing airport the incoming airport is a real long trek including doing a tram.

Why take a chance that the scooter could be damaged? Why take a chance that it could even get lost? Not that it happens often but we had one trip where our luggage was lost for 2 days with DME. We finally got our stuff, but the luggage itself was damaged. We were given a new piece of luggage to replace it.

 

[arminnie]

I flew with my ECV for the first time last fall. My DH jokingly said he wished that we’d been doing that all along.

DH did not have to carry my carryon bag. We were first on the plane and did not have to queue up with the masses.

I loved the freedom to wander around, visit the restroom, and to check out various food places before deciding what to eat.

Our trip was to San Francisco where the rental car location is very far away. I could not have made it there without my ECV.

 

[mamabunny]

I'm going to agree with everyone else here: I have my own personal ECV, and I would *NEVER* send it through as checked luggage - even if I knew that DME would deliver it to the Resort.

In addition to that long walk down to transportation at MCO, there's another thing to consider:

My DH works for a major airline. He would never let me - even if I wanted to - do anything but gate check my personal mobility device. Here's why: When the baggage handlers load the underbelly of the aircraft with checked luggage (and freight) they are instructed to pack that luggage in as tightly as possible. This means that anything that goes under the aircraft is, by default, going to be "squashed" in with everything else. Not only will his scooter be thrown in with luggage - both hard sided and soft sided - but it could potentially have thousands of pounds of force applied during takeoff and landing depending on where it is placed in the hold. Meaning that plastic parts could get scratched or cracked, and anything that sticks out could get broken off.

When you gate check your personal medical device, you hand it off to the ground crew at the door of the plane. They will take it down to the tarmac, and load it into a special hold for gate-checked bulk items, like wheelchairs, scooters, walkers and strollers. (There is typically a second hold for gate checked luggage, depending on the configuration of the aircraft and the particular airline)

Where does your husband want his scooter to ride? Under of ton of luggage, potentially crushed, scratched and broken? Or placed into the gate-check hold, where it will ride sitting upright, and tied down?

When he gets to the DME bus, he will have two options: Put the scooter under the bus, with the luggage, or he can ride it up the lift, and into the bus. The DME driver will tie it down inside the bus, and he can sit in a regular seat for the trip to the Resort. I always ride up the lift, and store my scooter inside the DME bus; I don't want it sliding around in the hold under the bus.

 

[SueM in MN]

Besides the things that other posters mentioned, I would want it delivered to me at the airport so I can inspect it for any damage or missing pieces. If anything is wrong, you want to be able to report it and fill out a damage report before leaving the airport.
I’m not sure if Magical Express would deliver it, but let’s say they do and you find some damage after it is delivered to you at the resort. I’m afraid you would get caught in an endless round of ‘not our fault’ between the airline and the luggage delivery service.

 

[tinka-belle]

While not an ECV or as large as one, we do travel with medical equipment that fits snugly in a carry on duffle bag and take it on the plane with us as a carryon medical bag. ME drivers have repeated told us to take it with us on the bus too and not have them store it under the bus, just too much risk for damage with all the luggage in there. I second the opinion to drive the ECV onto the bus itself and have it tied down.

Call ME directly about a week before your trip and ask for a lift bus for the ECV as not all are equipped with those. Often just a short wait at MCO to get one if a bus with that equipment is not already there, but more importantly for your return trip home they will make sure to dispatch the proper bus to your resort. Doesn't hurt to call again the day before coming home to reconfirm.

And Sue M is absolutely correct - inspect your ECV before leaving the airport in case of any damage however minor. It's Florida, there are a lot of repair places the airlines work with for damaged transport equipment.

 

[fabfemmeboy]

A friend of mine uses a wheelchair at all times, and after all the horror stories from him just about gate-checking, I would never check a chair through. For one thing, if the chair doesn't arrive at the resort, trying to track it down is going to be a nightmare; it's hard enough when it doesn't arrive at the airport and you can make a report right then and there. If the airline can possibly blame Disney, they probably would. If it's damaged in transit, it's harder to determine who's to blame and who has to pay for it. Keep in mind that ECVs weigh significantly more than 50 pounds, which is usually the most that an airline will handle without charging an arm and a leg, unlike gate-checking (which they have to do for free for mobility devices).

 

[kaytieeldr]

Interestingly, when I was searching various airline websites for baggage information, I read that American will allow passengers to check mobility devices (unfolding wheelchairs, scooters, and some thing else, at either the gate or the ticket counter.

But the advice in this thread is better. Just don't do it.

 

[mamabunny]

Interestingly, when I was searching various airline websites for baggage information, I read that American will allow passengers to check mobility devices (unfolding wheelchairs, scooters, and some thing else, at either the gate or the ticket counter.

But the advice in this thread is better. Just don't do it.

Boy do I agree! Especially since our family has a very special connection - and lots of experience with that airline! That would be why the hubs encourages me to always gate check my scooter, and never check my scooter through to my destination as luggage.

 

[arminnie]

On my last flight I gate checked my ECV, but checked my walker at the ticket counter. I needed both for the trip.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

It is a looong walk to the ME bus. It is at the end of the airport past all the rental car kiosks. He is going to want his ECV for that.