Last week I discussed using Disney’s Magical Express to get you…and your luggage from the Orlando airport to your Disney resort hotel. In my opinion, this is a great perk that Disney offers, and can be a real savings: no need to arrange for car rental, or for a limo or taxi to get you from the airport to your hotel.
But, you may ask, what about on the way home? Can I take DME back to Orlando airport? What about my bags?
So glad you asked. 
That happens to be what I will talk about today.
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
Simply hand over your bags just as you would if you were checking in at the airport, and you won’t have to think about them again until you land back home.
Yes I know: Trusting them to make it home safely is another huge leap of faith for us control freaks.
A few other thing 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. (Nice money-saving perk: fly Southwest, you get two bags per person, free. ) In addition, your luggage must be under 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…)
So how did this work for us on our recent trip? Well I planned a return flight home for 6:30 p.m. Our DME bus pick up time was 3:30. We got up that morning, finished packing and grabbed a quick breakfast…and had everything down to the Resort Airline Check-In station by 7:15 a.m. We checked-in, dropped off our carry-ons with Bell Services, and then boarded a bus for Epcot….where we spent our last morning doing the Undiscovered Future World Tour. A few last rides, a nice lunch, and a couple of last-minute souvenirs later…and we were back at Saratoga Springs right before 3 p.m.
Then when we arrived at MCO, we just went straight to security. So easy and hassle-free!
Just to share though: this was our first trip where we were able to check our bags using the Resort Airline Check-In, as Southwest only recently started participating in this program. So….while I loved the convenience…..I must say that I held my breath at baggage claim back home, as I waited for our suitcases to appear.
They all did. Just like magic.
I guess that’s why they call it Disney’s Magical Express!
Note: If you have never used Disney’s Magical Express before, be sure to read the FAQs on the Disney website to help with your planning.
Related posts:
- Learning to “Let Go” With Disney’s Magical Express
- Affordable Disney Vacations Step by Step. Part Nine: Do You Want to Fly to Florida?
- Thrifty Thursday: Flying to Disney with Twitter
- Princesses With A Plan: Choosing Our Flight to Walt Disney World
- Affordable Disney Vacations Step by Step. Part Twelve: Getting Around Once You are There
Thank you for this post, Nancy. As I previously told you, I will be using this service for the first time in September. I will also be flying Southwest so it was very helpful.
I assume that the fun, happy movie you watch on your way to the parks is replaced by a sad, crying movie about having to leave again on your way to the airport – LOL?
LOL Brenda, no it’s actually more like a “Gee you had such a great time at Disney World, you need to start planning your next trip right away, what are you waiting for?” kind of movie. But it’s true there is definitely a different mood on the bus.
The “going to” bus ride is usually an all energetic, woohoo-here-we-come kind of ride. On our “leaving for home” ride on this past trip, as we started, the driver said “So did everyone have a great time?!”….and he was met with this sad, pathetic chorus of “Yeeeessssss…….” from a bus load of people who sounded like they were going to a funeral. If it wasn’t so depressing, it would have actually been funny.