disney4life2008
Well-Known Member
This is a silly question - but can Southwest Airlines customers use DME from the airport to their resort hotels?
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Southwest Airlines: DME?
- Thread starter disney4life2008
- Start date
Monty
Brilliant...and Canadian
- In the Parks
- No
Two different services:
- DME transports passengers to and from MCO regardless of what airline they are using and will transfer luggage of incoming passengers to their resort room if the luggage is tagged with the yellow DME tags or DME is provided with descriptions of the bags and the baggage claim tags when you check in at DME in the MCO airport.
- Resort Airline Check-In [RAC] will check bags at your resort and provide boarding passes for domestic [including Puerto Rico] flights on "participating airlines": AirTran, Alaska Airlines, American, Continental, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest (as of 6/1/09 testing at Pop Century), Northwest, United (including TED) AND USAirways.
- DME transports passengers to and from MCO regardless of what airline they are using and will transfer luggage of incoming passengers to their resort room if the luggage is tagged with the yellow DME tags or DME is provided with descriptions of the bags and the baggage claim tags when you check in at DME in the MCO airport.
- Resort Airline Check-In [RAC] will check bags at your resort and provide boarding passes for domestic [including Puerto Rico] flights on "participating airlines": AirTran, Alaska Airlines, American, Continental, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest (as of 6/1/09 testing at Pop Century), Northwest, United (including TED) AND USAirways.
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sweetpee_1993
Well-Known Member
Hey Monty! I saw that Southwest was "testing" with the RAC at Pop in June. I wonder if they passed? They'd be a huge addition to the RAC line-up!
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Monty
Brilliant...and Canadian
- In the Parks
- No
You thought right. Anyone arriving at MCO by any airline can tag their luggage with the yellow DME tags and their luggage will be delivered to their resort room. If you don't get the tags, you can describe your luggage at the DME counter and show them your baggage claim stubs and they'll still retrieve your luggage for you.
Luggage check-in on departure can only be done with participating airlines and only for domestic [including Puerto Rico] flights.
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mousefan1972
Well-Known Member
I just returned home tonight from WDW and we flew Southwest. It is a mild pain in the rear end to have to take your luggage on the ME bus with you back to the airport, but it really isn't that big of a deal. If you have very young kids and have a ton of stuff to check, it could be a bigger pain, but there are porters and carts right where the ME bus drops you off at the terminal that can help you take your stuff to check in. Also, the curbside check in lines are much shorter than going to the counter inside, so go up one level and then go back outside to use that service. There were no lines today and we were done in about 2 minutes.
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CleveRocks
Active Member
Not true. Everyone on every airline gets the automatic luggage delivery. On your arrival, when you are going from the airport to your Disney resort, there is no such thing as an airline where you CAN'T use the full service, including the automatic luggage handling/delivery.
For the way home, it's a different story. Only certain airlines participate in Resort Airline Check-in, which is the "luggage from resort back to airport" service that you use on your check-out day.
But again, on check-IN day, EVERYONE gets the full DME treatment, everyone is treated totally equally.
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Thanks for the replies. I am flying in on Southwest from FLL. But flying out on AirTran back to Illinois.
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sweetpee_1993
Well-Known Member
But they fly to Ontario, Canada (ONT) and Buffalo, New York!
I don't know where in Canada you are, tho. My brother-in-law lives in Niagara & his wife's family are in Niagara On the Lake. I think they fly out of Buffalo & Toronto pretty equally. Of course they never go to WDW (weirdos) so I'm guessing whoever has direct flights to Orlando is the big priority. :animwink:
To the OP, yes, inbound on Southwest you use the yellow DME tags & your luggage magically appears in your room. Outbound on Southwest and your luggage is your problem. It's not that big a deal. We did it in January this year and it was fine...other than bell services at the Contemporary not giving us our 2 big suitcases when we left and us not catching this until we were at the airport. By then it was too late to get them to us in time for our flight so the manager shipped them overnight priority via FedEx. It all worked out.
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Buried20KLeague
Well-Known Member
I have a question...
We always rent a car. Never use DME. But this trip, we've got one more family member with us for the first time (new little one) than we're used to.
What I'm wondering is... Can we use the DME basically just for our luggage? I mean, put the tags on our bags at our home airport, then when we get to MCO, just get our rental car and leave, and let them bring the bags to our rooms?
And if you think that would work, what about the reverse? We're coming in on Southwest... Can we use the service to take our bags to MCO if we're not on the bus?
It probably sounds REALLY lazy... But I'm just trying to think outside the box, knowing I'm going to have an extra little person, plus car seat, plus stroller to drag around on this trip!! :lol:
We always rent a car. Never use DME. But this trip, we've got one more family member with us for the first time (new little one) than we're used to.
What I'm wondering is... Can we use the DME basically just for our luggage? I mean, put the tags on our bags at our home airport, then when we get to MCO, just get our rental car and leave, and let them bring the bags to our rooms?
And if you think that would work, what about the reverse? We're coming in on Southwest... Can we use the service to take our bags to MCO if we're not on the bus?
It probably sounds REALLY lazy... But I'm just trying to think outside the box, knowing I'm going to have an extra little person, plus car seat, plus stroller to drag around on this trip!! :lol:
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Monty
Brilliant...and Canadian
- In the Parks
- No
You have to have at least one member of your party ride the bus or DME are not allowed to transfer your luggage to the resort.
Southwest was doing a test-run for Resort Airline Check-In at Pop Century. In theory, if it is available at your resort when you're there, yes you could do the RAC on the way out, as it is not part of DME anyway. It is a separate service and if the airline you're flying out with is a participating airline you can use it regardless of how you intend to get yourself to the airport.
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EaglesfanNJ
Active Member
Great to know Monty! I'm flying AirTran for the first time, i actually get to take advantage of the RAC! That will be convenient! I won't have to touch my luggage again until i'm back in Philly!
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