In my last article, I discussed using Disney’s Magical Express service to get you…and your luggage….from Orlando International airport to your Disney World resort hotel. This free transportation service is, in my opinion, one of the best perks of staying at on Disney property if you are flying. Convenient, hassle-free, and did I mention that it’s FREE? For anyone trying to plan an affordable Disney vacation, free is a great thing. (Actually, free is probably a good thing for anyone really……   )

So how does the service work in the opposite direction? What happens when you are leaving to go home from Disney World? How do you ….and your luggage….get back to the airport?

Basically, your return trip home starts at the same time that you made your Magical Express reservations. When you give them your flight information TO Orlando, you will also give them your flight information home FROM Orlando. And when your yellow DME luggage tags and voucher booklet arrive in the mail, there will be a page that lists your flight information for your return trip.

One thing that will be noted in the booklet, is that you will receive your instructions for the bus and for your luggage about 24 hours before your checkout. You will get an envelope slipped under your door at that time with everything you need to know to get you…and your bags….to MCO in plenty of time for your flight. Basically, how this will work will depend on what airline you are flying home on.

If you are flying with one of the airlines that participate in the Resort Airline Check-In, you will have the chance to check your bags in (and receive your boarding pass) at your resort hotel. Airlines that currently participate are:

• AirTran
• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• Continental Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• JetBlue Airways
• Southwest Airlines
• United Airlines
• US Airways

This is such a nice convenience: you check in at the desk, and give them your luggage, just as you would at bag-check in the airport. They take care of the rest.

Now there are a few other things to know about Resort Airline Check-In: You will be responsible for paying for any baggage fees in advance. There will be instructions in the above mentioned envelope about where/how to call and pay the fees, so if you are flying with one of those airlines that charges for checked bags, be sure to take care of this before you bring everything to the bag check station.  In addition, your luggage must be less than 50 pounds: if it is over, you cannot use this service, and will need to check in at the airport. Lastly, this service is only available on domestic flights.

If your airline does NOT participate in the Resort Airline Check-In program, then you are responsible for bringing your bags with you, on the DME bus, and you will check them at the airport as usual.

Either way, you will be told what time to be at the DME bus station at your resort, to board the bus back to MCO. Be aware that Disney will allow LOTS of time to get you there: they don’t want to be responsible for anyone missing their flight home! So for domestic flights, expect to be picked up at the hotel about 3 hours before your flight (your instructions will tell you exactly when) and for international flights, I believe it is closer to 4 hours before.

Even so, depending on the time of your flight, you may be able to still get in a half-day at the parks or more, if you can get your bags checked in early enough. The Resort Airline Check-In hours of operation are 5 a.m. to 1 p.m., so go early and they go play until your DME bus leaves! If you have carry-on items, you can leave them with bell services, and then retrieve them when you return to board the bus. (Note that you can check in no more than 12 hours and no less than 3 hours prior to your scheduled flight departure time. In addition, be sure to allow enough time, as during peak times there may be a line at the desk…)

We generally fly Southwest Airlines, and they just started participating in the Resort Airlines check-in service, so we were able to use that part of the service on our recent trip and I have to say that it was so nice to check our bags and then literally not worry about them until we landed at our home airport. I will say that, I did kind of hold my breath until our luggage appeared at baggage claim back home….but sure enough, they all arrived just at they were supposed to, as if by “magic”.

Note: If you have never used Disney’s Magical Express before, be sure to read the FAQs on the Disney website to help in your planning.

Nancy, her husband and college-age daughter live in the Baltimore MD area, but consider Walt Disney World their second “home”. She started her site The Affordable Mouse, as a way to share ideas about how to plan affordable Disney vacations. Her favorite things at Disney World (in no particular order) are Soarin’, most of the food in World Showcase, Illuminations…and that special brand of Disney magic that you can’t find anywhere else.

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• Affordable Disney Vacations: Saving Time AND Money with Disney’s Magical Express (chipandco.com)
• Best Things I Love About Disney – Disney’s Magical Express (chipandco.com)