I Added A Bag

These rolling carry-on bags will not be going with us!

With many flier miles under our belts, we’re used to taking the following luggage:

--one checked piece of luggage for each of us

--one rolling carry-on bag for each of us

--and one person item—tote, backpack, etc.

When we booked our flights in December for our July trip on a discount carrier, in addition to paying extra for seat selection, it was beneficial at the time to also pay for luggage.  And, while most airlines charge guests for checked luggage, this airline charges for both checked luggage and carry-on luggage other than the one personal item/bag per guest.

Paying $25 for checked luggage is considered a reasonable amount—similar to most other airlines (except Southwest which does not charge for luggage), but to pay $18 one-way for a rolling carry-on bag blew my mind!  And, there was a weight limit of 25 pound for the bag along with dimension limitations.  No thank you.  I reframed this as not having to tote luggage around the airport as all of our luggage would be checked!

At the time we booked our flights, I opted out of the carry-on bag and pre-paid the $25 per bag per leg of trip luggage fee for checked bags for a total of $150.  The website indicated that there was a discount for paying the luggage fees prior to arriving at the airport AND there was an additional discount for paying with a debit card.  This particular airline also has a 40 pound limit on checked bags while other airlines have a 50 pound limit.  The lower weight limit made me nervous.

The other day, I logged into our flight reservation and added an additional checked bag.  My choice was $36 round trip for a 25 pound carry-on rolling bag or $50 round trip for a 40 pound checked bag.  Knowing that we would most likely be bringing home some Legos, I opted for the bigger bag.  We’ll pack food and snacks and then have room for the trip home.

 I was also surprised that what was considered a “2^nd bag” was still the same price as the first checked bag as typically airlines charge more for the “2^nd bag.”

I still like the idea of not having to keep track of the rolling bags while at the airports!

Random Thoughts As We Get Closer To Our Summer 2015 Disneyland/Legoland Vacation

I sort of have this running check-list in my head along with other random thoughts and questions leading up to our summer Disneyland/Legoland vacation.  In addition, I’m keeping an eye out for anything we might need for our next Disney Cruise in December.

While our vacation is booked (and even some portions paid for) I have yet to figure out transportation.  I logged into Super Shuttle’s website to inquire about costs—it’s going to be expensive—only to have my e-mail inbox ding with a 5% discount message from Super Shuttle.  That’s a start!

Good thing that Disneyland has a 60 day window to make Advanced Dining Reservations as we are not ready.  Oh, I’m sure we could be ready.  I remember pulling together a twelve day Disney World vacation right at the 180 day mark and very quickly compiling a list of restaurants.  So far, we’ve printed the list of restaurants from the Disneyland website and have selected ones we would like to try.  Interestingly, some of the restaurants we want are part of special dining packages such as World of Color and Fantasmic.  And, we’ve added character dining to our reservation—prepaying for vouchers that include the meal, tax, and gratuity. 

Packing is another random thought.  I know, we’ve got PLENTY of time.  First, we needed a new suitcase—one with wheels!  Each year, we’ve added a new suitcase/duffle to our arsenal and I just ordered and received a new rolling duffle to complete the checked luggage.  Our luggage takes a beating and the wheels are the first to go—though the suitcase we acquired two years ago is still going strong!

Another packing issue is that we are flying with a new-to-us airline this trip and there checked baggage weight limit is 40 pounds.  Every other airline we have flown with has a 50 pound limit.  And, I’m pretty good at estimating when we are close to or have hit the 50 pound limit (to .8 of a pound!) so I’m going to have to readjust my “scale”.  And, I may also employ the same type of packing we did last summer which was a bag for all of us for each “leg” or portion of our trip.  That way, the other bags can remain closed until the contents are needed for their portion of the vacation.

Also, this trip, no rolling carry-on bags.  Again, this new-to-us airline charges for carry-on bags!  $15 per bag per way--$30 round trip!  That would make it $90 for each of us to take a carry-on rolling bag with us and there is a weight limit for those, too!  Historically, I have packed at least one rolling bag full of shoes.  So with a reduced weight limit on checked luggage and no carry-on bags, I told the husband that each of us would be carrying a pair of shoes in our “personal” carry-ons, which are still allowed free of charge.  I’m actually looking forward to navigating the airports without the rolling carry-on bags—just not the packing challenge.

As far as the December cruise goes, I’ve got alerts set for Kayak to notify us of flight price changes.  Since our sailing includes a formal night and is over New Year’s I’m looking at dresses and have added several to my Amazon “save for later” cart.  My goal is to get the dress for FREE using gift cards earned through Swagbucks.  Speaking of free and wardrobe for our winter Disney vacation—I snagged a new denim jacket for the boy on Amazon for free.  I had the jacket in my “cart” and noticed that the price was reduced dramatically—over half—so I used gift cards already in my account and it is on its way along with a new rash guard.  I told the husband that I was already working on the wardrobe for our December trip.  He just smiled, knowingly.  He’s well aware of the running check-list!

A New Bag

If you read yesterday’s post about our saving $88 on our summer 2014 Walt Disney World vacation—click here to read more—then you might be interested in knowing what we are doing with that savings!  We are purchasing new luggage.  Well, not a complete set of luggage nor a suitcase really, but a new piece of luggage—a rolling duffel bag.

After almost 30 trips in and out of Orlando International airport, along with other flights to Houston to visit family and LA to sail with Disney, our luggage has logged lots of miles.  And, has lost some wheels or has broken down sides.  Yes, they are still usable, and trust me, we still use them.  But having luggage that rolls just makes things easier.  We bought a new suitcase two summers ago, so it was time to add to our collection.

Why not a suitcase then?  Well, the boy is getting older and as he goes into middle school he will have opportunities to participate in various travel programs.  My thinking was that he would use and appreciate a large duffel bag more than a suitcase. 

Other reasons for our selection included the color—the red bag will go nicely with the rest of our luggage collection and will be easily visible at baggage claim.  Another reason, the “legs” opposite the wheels.  I had read reviews of other large, rolling duffel bags, that tip over when standing upright due to not having the additional “legs” or kickstand.  The wheel placement—embedded into the bag—was another wanted feature.  Also, this bag is 60 linear inches, just one inch short of the checked baggage allowance for most airlines. 

There were many large duffel bags featuring 65 inches or larger linear measurements.  I felt that the website needed to issue a warning on those bags that they would be over the checked bag limits and require customers to pay an additional fee.  I told the husband this and it reminded us of the time we were browsing, and eventually buying, a suitcase in TJMaxx and had looked at various suitcase features including wheels and linear measurements.  We drew other customers into our conversation and ended up helping them with their purchases.   Click here to read more.

So, our large, rolling duffel met our selection criteria and is on its way to us.  We purchased through eBags.com online as the bag was on sale and featured free shipping, but I clicked on Ebates.com first and earned 10% of our purchase back in cash!  Even more savings!  Can’t wait for our new bag to arrive as we have a new, free, Mickey shaped luggage tag to attach (how we got that is a story for another time.)

Bell Services at Walt Disney World Resorts

Have you ever arrived at your Disney resort and wished you could be magically transported to your resort room just like your luggage?  Well, Disney is great at granting wishes.  Voila!  Bell Services.

At Disney Resorts, guests can find Bell Services and Luggage Services.  While they may seem similar, each is poised to handle various tasks that guests may need.  Luggage services handles storing, airport check-in, and delivery of luggage to your resort room after it arrives from the airport via Magical Express.  Bell Services caters to you, the guest.

We have used Bell Services to come to our resort room on check-out days to retrieve us and our luggage prior to boarding Disney’s Magical Express back to the elevator.  Not having to navigate our luggage and ourselves across the resort, even though we have seen other guests do just that, is much appreciated.  The service is free though Bell Services does appreciate a tip of $1-2 per bag.

Engaging their services is easy.  Just call from your resort room phone the evening prior to your departure and arrange a time for pick-up, usually 15 to 30 minutes prior to your Disney’s Magical Express boarding time—click here to read more.  A capable Bell Services Cast Member will knock on your door with a large two wheel cart, load up your luggage, escort you to the waiting motorized cart (a golf cart built for 6 plus luggage), and load your luggage onto the cart.  Then you take a seat and enjoy the ride to the Magical Express pick-up location at your resort.  You can even arrange for Bell Services to come for you earlier than your Magical Express departure if you would then like luggage services to store your bags or use Resort Airline Check-in while you enjoy the parks or the resorts on your check-out day.

So, that is how to use Bell Services at the end of your vacation, but what about the beginning?  Some Disney Resorts are spread out and the maze of room numbers can be confusing.  Have you circled an entire resort building to find the exact location of your room even after consulting the resort map?  As I told the husband, this was my least favorite part of a Disney vacation.  Here we were either tired from travel or anxious to get the vacation started, still toting carry-on bags, and have to find our room, sometimes in the dark!  Well, no more!  Now, we retain the services of Bell Services upon our arrival at the resort.

After we check-in at our resort, have room number and Key to the World Cards ready, we find Bell Services and ask for assistance.  Sometimes the husband is sitting near their location with our bags just to make it easier while I head to Guest Registration and take care of check-in details—which go quickly as we have already checked in on-line prior to our stay.

The carry-on bags and possibly groceries, if we used GardenGrocer.com for a grocery delivery (click here to read more), are then placed in the cart, we tell the Bell Services are resort room number, take a seat, and off we go.  The tip is well worth this service to easily locate our resort room and be magically transported, just like our luggage!

On our last trip, after being safely delivered to our resort room via Bell Services, we walked back to the main building to enjoy lunch, explore the resort, refill our mugs, etc.  We came upon a couple, older in years, slowly traversing a bridge, commenting that they didn’t know how far it was to their room.  Though they were going the opposite direction, I stopped to ask if they needed assistance.  Our conversation ended with them following us back to the main building and eliciting the help of Bell Services to find their room.  Too bad the Cast Member at Guest Registration didn’t recognize that walking the distance to their resort room across the sprawling resort was going to be a hardship and suggest the use of Bell Services for these guests; possibly even calling for Bell Services’ assistance for the guests.

American Airlines Offers Baggage Delivery Service

American Airlines is now charging for what Disney’s Magical Express does for free!  Just yesterday, American Airlines began offering a baggage delivery service for customers who checked bags at some 200 airports.  For an additional fee, beyond the cost of checking luggage, American Airlines will transport your luggage to your destination beginning with $29.95 for one bag and an additional $10 per bag up to 3 bags.  The price was $49.95 to deliver 3-5 bags at a destination.

While American Airlines may be trying to set themselves apart from other airline carriers, keeping Enterprise delivery drivers busy is another incentive for the service.  So, is American Airlines in bed with Enterprise?  Car rental, delivery service, and now luggage deliver service!

Would you pay for this service?  Say you were flying to Pebble Beach and checked your golf clubs with a checked luggage fee of course.  And, you didn’t want the hassle of toting your golf clubs to your hotel or wherever you are staying while you are in town, so you pay to have the golf clubs delivered to your favorite golf course.  So, you get to bypass baggage claim, if all of your other belongings were packed in a carry-on bag, and your golf clubs would be waiting for you at your designated course.  Not bad.

I would also say the value gets better with more bags.  Let’s pretend you are a family of five headed to a ski resort.  You’ve been able to secure a transfer from the airport to your resort, but don’t want the hassle of making sure your bags get to your lovely ski lodge.  For a mere $49.95 all of your bags could be delivered directly to the resort.  That, I might take advantage of.

But alas, Disney’s Magical Express gives me the service and for FREE!  That’s right, free!  When I check my bags at the airport prior to a flight to Walt Disney World, I place on the luggage tags mailed to me and wave good-bye to my luggage as the next time I will see them is in my Walt Disney World Resort room.  People look at me with starry eyes when I tell them this service exists and is free.  I think they have visions of by passing luggage claim—so true.  The same is true for Disney Cruise Line if you are flying and sailing the same day.

Did I mention that Disney’s Magical Express not only transports your luggage, but transports you, too!  Not always at the same time, as your luggage may arrive at your resort after you, but for the same fee, which is zero, you and your traveling companions get whisked away to your favorite Disney Resort.  It’s not a bus or motor coach, it’s Disney’s Magical Express Service.  And, they do all of the same on your return trip from your resort to the airport.  Does American Airlines offer a service to pick-up your bags and take them to the airport?  Nope!

I have nothing against American Airlines.  We have flown with then a few times and the boy would say they are his favorite airline.  And, I applaud their ingenuity to think about services for customers that other airlines haven’t considered yet.  It is just that Disney has been offering a similar, yet better service for many years now.  Disney’s Magical Express’ availability is often overlooked as the wonder that it is by guests.

The next time I am on board Disney’s Magical Express motor coach to my resort, a bit of gratitude will wash over me as I recall American Airline’s fee for what I am taking advantage of for free!

We Bought A New Suitcase

What happens when you have 5 suitcases that don’t have wheels?  You buy more luggage, that's what you do.  

We have several large bags that have lots of mileage on them and throughout our trips have lost most, if not all of their wheels.  And, what good is a suitcase with just one wheel?

So, the husband and I had been looking. . . not shopping per say, but looking for some suitcases that might replace our others.

There was a second hand charity auction that had a black suitcase up for bid and we placed a low bid.  No luck.  Not too disappointed as it the bag didn't meet all of the criteria. . . see below.

We looked on-line and at a variety of stores.

Then, on Sunday, when we were roaming around a large metropolitan area while the boy and his Uncle John took in a minor league baseball game, we came across a bag that we liked.

First criteria—the wheels had to be built into the body of the bag.  We had learned through experience that the farther out the wheels stick, the more likely they are to get broken when you check your bag. 

Interestingly, there were others that were checking out the four wheeled bags that could spin 360° so I made sure our conversation about broken wheels got a bit louder.  It worked.  A lady made her way over with a suitcase in hand and asked what we were saying about the wheels.  We explained about wheels being broken when checking bags.  I also showed her how the wheels extending from a carry-on bag could keep her bag from fitting in the overhead bin.

Second criteria—the bag had to be lightweight.  Again, our new suitcase met the criteria.  The husband did some testing with a suitcase in each hand and compared the weights.  The one we picked was lighter.  And, lightweight was in the title of the bag.  If I only get 50 pounds, I don’t want 10 of those pounds going to the bag itself. 

Third criteria—a double barred handle.  Single barred handles can break easily.  Again, the bag we picked had a double bar.  It even had a zipper compartment for the handle when it retracted back into the bag and was not in use.

Fourth criteria—it had to be any color other than black.  This is more of a personal choice due to the number of black bags that can be found on luggage carousels.  Currently, we have pink, red, and purple luggage just to give you an idea of color preference.  Our new bag is a moss green/gray/red combo.  The husband said we had to jazz it up a bit.  I’m not sure what he has in mind, but I did hear him mention ribbons.

Fifth criteria—it had to be sturdy.  We double checked the zippers, hinges, etc.  Then, we took the bag for a test drive around the store while we continued to shop to test out durability and maneuverability. 

Six criteria—it had to not be expensive.  Conde Nast Traveler’s July 2012 edition included a special report about why 26 million airline bags go missing each year.  The article also included advice about luggage, etc.  One tip was to never pay more than $150 for a bag.  Well, that would be our top end!  Our new suitcase was less than $80.

As soon as we paid for it and took it to the car I said to the husband, “You know what I want to do now don’t you?”  He replied, “Pack?”  That was exactly right!