Resort Airline Check-In

[disney1077]

I was hoping anyone can give me any info about resort airline check-in? Like how does it work? Do they take the bags to the airport or do I bring them with me and they just give me my boarding pass? And for anyone who has used it did you have any problems? Is it worth doing?
Thanks!

 

[raven]

I was hoping anyone can give me any info about resort airline check-in? Like how does it work? Do they take the bags to the airport or do I bring them with me and they just give me my boarding pass? And for anyone who has used it did you have any problems? Is it worth doing?
Thanks!

Are you doing Magical Express? There is a check-in counter either in the resort or out front. They will load your bags if you are doing the Magical Express. We did it in September at Pop and the line was long and it took forever due to their computers being down. Each person trying to check in took at least 5 minutes, ours took 10 minutes to check in. Just in case, be sure to do it early! :wave:

 

[Monty]

From AllEarsNet.com:

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Resort Airline Check-In Service[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] * Resort Airline Check-In Service at your Disney resort is only available if you are flying domestically (includes Puerto Rico) on the following airlines: Alaska Airlines, American, Continental, Delta, JetBlue, Northwest, and United (including TED). It is a complimentary (free) service.
[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* This service allows you to check your luggage and receive your airline boarding passes right at your resort on the day of your departure.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* This service is separate from Magical Express. You do not have to participate in Magical Express to utilize the Resort Airline Check-in Service.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* Each Disney resort has a dedicated Check-In Desk located in or near the Lobby or near the outside entrance to the resort. If you can't locate the Resort Airline Check-in Desk, ask at the Front Desk. Some examples:[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Polynesian's check-in desk is outside just pass the valet stand on the right as you exit the hotel.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] The Port Orleans Riverside check-in desk.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] The Port Orleans French Quarter check-in desk. [/FONT]
​

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* The desks are open every day from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. You can check in no more than 12 hours and no less than 3 hours prior to your scheduled flight departure time.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* To check in, your entire party must be present with your government issued photo I.D. (e.g., driver's license, passport, Military ID) and your Key to the World card to verify that you are a guest of a Disney hotel[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* The Resort Airline Check-In desks can provide some of the same services and information as the airline ticket counters at the airport, including checking seat assignments, and verifying flight information and status. The Resort Airline Check-In Desks cannot make any changes to flight arrangements or make new flight reservations.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* This service is not provided by Disney. A third-party company approved by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) operates the Resort Airline Check-In on behalf of the participating airlines.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* Some persons have reported a wait of over 30 minutes at the Resort Airline check-in desk during peak times. If you are within 3 hours of your departure time, you should bypass this service and get your boarding passes at the airport.[/FONT]
​

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Exceptions: [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* This service is also not offered for the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin, Shades of Green, or Downtown Disney Area resorts. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* It is not valid for Disney's Vero Beach Resort and Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort. [/FONT]
​

 

[Rob562]

Also note that AirTran will be joining the above list of participating airlines sometime this month (according to an April news item from AllEars).

-Rob

 

[KnK]

We have used it the past couple of years.....it's wonderful!

You dnon't have to use Magical Express to use the service. It was great just dropping off the rental car and going to straight to the gate without haveing to tow luggage.

 

[Nansafan]

Resort check-in worked great the times we were able to use it. (Sometimes we fly with non-participating airlines.) Go early and you should be fine. We like to maximize our last day so we try and be out of the room by 9:00 AM. If you wait until right at hotel check-out time, of course it will be swamped.

 

[shoppingnut]

I've used this service for every trip since they started it and have had no problems. It's so great not to have to drag your luggage with you.

 

[tigsmom]

We used the one at the WL to print our boarding passes for JetBlue on our return trip this past March, they were very nice.

 

[Figment4Ever]

Also note that AirTran will be joining the above list of participating airlines sometime this month (according to an April news item from AllEars).

-Rob

Air Tran started participating on May 5th...which conveniently enough was the airline and date we were coming home from Disney. We were staying at Port Orleans and had *no* problems checking our bags and having them sent through Airtran, and they actually beat us back to Philadelphia.

 

[CleveRocks]

Think of it this way, and all the confusion will melt away ....

RESORT AIRLINE CHECK-IN = CURBSIDE CHECK-IN

When you do curbside check-in at the airport, they tag your bags with the official airline tags, the ones with the 3-letter airport code. They also check you in for your flight and give you your boarding passes. Resort Airline Check-in is EXACTLY the same thing, only it's in your WDW resort and not a the smelly curbside of the airport.

As mentioned earlier, Resort Airline Check-in is completely separate from Disney's Magical Express. And RAC doesn't take your luggage and load it onto a DME bus -- it goes by truck to the airport.

 

[justducky78]

We don't use Disney's Magical express, but we did use the airline check-in service at the Wilderness Lodge on our last trip. We only wanted our tickets, we didn't check our bags because we always rent a car and we were going to be doing some shopping and we wanted our bags with us until we got to the airport, so we showed them our ID, they gave us our boarding passes, and we were on our way.

Great service if you don't have a laptop with you to print e-ticket boarding passes and if you don't want to wait in long lines at the airport. They were a little confused at first that we didn't want to check our bags, but once they realized what we were doing, they were fine with it.

 

[jjgoo]

Used it at the Beach Club this past November and were not using Magical Express. It could not have been any easier.

What a dream it was to be able to get into the car to the airport and only have to deal with our carry-on luggage.

We will definitely use it again. Now if only they could set it up at my house for going to WDW.

 

[jenbierling]

Does anyone know if you can tag your luggage w/ Magical Express tags on the way into town even if you don't want to take the bus from the airport to Disney?

Example, we'll fly down but want to rent a car (easier with a baby and pre-schooler). I understand we can check in for flight and check bags from the resort for our trip home, but can we do essentially the same and let them handle our bags on the way down, also?

 

[disney1077]

I would just like to thank everyone for their responses. I will definitely try it!
:wave:

 

[CleveRocks]

Does anyone know if you can tag your luggage w/ Magical Express tags on the way into town even if you don't want to take the bus from the airport to Disney?

Example, we'll fly down but want to rent a car (easier with a baby and pre-schooler). I understand we can check in for flight and check bags from the resort for our trip home, but can we do essentially the same and let them handle our bags on the way down, also?

Sorry, no can do.

Disney specifically states that DME can't be used as a luggage-only transfer. If your bus voucher isn't scanned as you board the bus, then your luggage won't be delivered to your resort. So says Disney.

 

[Rob562]

Sorry, no can do.

Disney specifically states that DME can't be used as a luggage-only transfer. If your bus voucher isn't scanned as you board the bus, then your luggage won't be delivered to your resort. So says Disney.

I know one or two people that have gotten around this requirement by sending *one* of their party on the DME bus, while the others went in the rental car. They said that the number of people + their luggage wouldn't have fitted in the car. (They were using the Resort Airline Check-In on the way home) So as long as one member of your party goes via DME bus, you're all set.

-Rob

 

[capellt]

From AllEarsNet.com:


[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Resort Airline Check-In Service[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] * Resort Airline Check-In Service at your Disney resort is only available if you are flying domestically (includes Puerto Rico) on the following airlines: Alaska Airlines, American, Continental, Delta, JetBlue, Northwest, and United (including TED). It is a complimentary (free) service.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* This service allows you to check your luggage and receive your airline boarding passes right at your resort on the day of your departure.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* This service is separate from Magical Express. You do not have to participate in Magical Express to utilize the Resort Airline Check-in Service.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* Each Disney resort has a dedicated Check-In Desk located in or near the Lobby or near the outside entrance to the resort. If you can't locate the Resort Airline Check-in Desk, ask at the Front Desk. Some examples:[/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Polynesian's check-in desk is outside just pass the valet stand on the right as you exit the hotel.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Port Orleans Riverside check-in desk.[/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The Port Orleans French Quarter check-in desk. [/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* The desks are open every day from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. You can check in no more than 12 hours and no less than 3 hours prior to your scheduled flight departure time.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* To check in, your entire party must be present with your government issued photo I.D. (e.g., driver's license, passport, Military ID) and your Key to the World card to verify that you are a guest of a Disney hotel[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* The Resort Airline Check-In desks can provide some of the same services and information as the airline ticket counters at the airport, including checking seat assignments, and verifying flight information and status. The Resort Airline Check-In Desks cannot make any changes to flight arrangements or make new flight reservations.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* This service is not provided by Disney. A third-party company approved by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) operates the Resort Airline Check-In on behalf of the participating airlines.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* Some persons have reported a wait of over 30 minutes at the Resort Airline check-in desk during peak times. If you are within 3 hours of your departure time, you should bypass this service and get your boarding passes at the airport.[/FONT]

​

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Exceptions: [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* This service is also not offered for the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin, Shades of Green, or Downtown Disney Area resorts. [/FONT]​

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]* It is not valid for Disney's Vero Beach Resort and Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort. [/FONT]​

Does anyone know if Midwest Express is part of this??

 

[Nemo14]

Does anyone know if Midwest Express is part of this??

It is only for the airlines listed.

On related note, even for airlines not included in the Resort Airline Check-in Service, you can still have your boarding passes printed ahead of time by just asking at the desk. We've done this with Soutwest airline every trip and have never had a problem with it.

 

[CleveRocks]

Does anyone know if Midwest Express is part of this??

I don't mean to sound sarcastic, but you really need to read the quote that you quoted. In there, there's a list of the airlines that participate in RAC.

 

[CleveRocks]

I know one or two people that have gotten around this requirement by sending *one* of their party on the DME bus, while the others went in the rental car. They said that the number of people + their luggage wouldn't have fitted in the car. (They were using the Resort Airline Check-In on the way home) So as long as one member of your party goes via DME bus, you're all set.

I'm glad you mentioned this. You're 100% correct.

I've called DME about it numerous times in the past. It's totally kosher with Disney. HOWEVER, the luggage transfer is tied in with reservation number. So, for example, if your large party has 2 separate rooms and 2 separate reservation numbers, then one person from each reservation number will have to ride the bus.