Disney’s Magical Express

One of the new things we tried on our Disney trip last week was Disney’s free airport transportation, better known as Disney’s Magical Express. If you are staying at a Disney World resort (any of the hotels in our room block count), you can add this once you know your flights. You don’t have to know your flight information when you book your room. You just call (407) WDW-MAGIC with your confirmation number and flight info.

Then, a bit before your trip, you get mail from Disney which includes tags for your luggage and your boarding pass for the bus. Each of us got one long tag that could be cut in half to go on each of our bags. They listed our names and our hotel.

One of our luggage tags and the booklet about our trip. You need the booklet to get on the bus.
It also has a map of the airport and other useful info.

If you put these tags on your bags before getting to the airport, Disney will pick them up for you at the Orlando airport and deliver them to your room that evening. (As long as your flight gets in between 5 AM and 10 PM). We definitely beat our bags to the room, so pack anything you need right away in your carry on. But it was great to not have to worry about our bags from the time we left Columbus. =)

If your flight gets in at a time outside of the 5 AM to 10 PM window, collect your luggage and take it to the welcome center with you, the buses will still be running.

Once we landed in Orlando, there was a sign for Disney’s Magical Express on our way out of the plane. It reminded us that we needed to go to the first floor of terminal B. You need to ride the tram across from your gate to the main terminal first. Then the best plan is to go to an elevator on the B side of the airport and ride it down to the first floor. We rode down two escalators, and saw this sign to point us there.

Sign at the bottom of the escalator. 

There were literally signs everywhere to the welcome center.

We saw a lot of these signs.

It was at the far end from where we arrived (Southwest is on the opposite side in terminal A), but the walk wasn’t bad without luggage. Then we showed our boarding pass at the Welcome Center.

We were so excited to get there! =)

They then directed us to the line for our hotel.  After a little wait, we were put on the bus (which has room for bags underneath if you have a big carry on, or brought your luggage with you). It was a big comfy bus, with AC and a movie about Disney World to watch on the way to the hotel. They dropped us off right at the lobby of Port Orleans.

Going home was a bit confusing, but with a few tips, I think it could be the best thing to do.

Some of the airlines let your check-in for domestic flights at the hotel (and check your bags there). The airlines that do so are currently:

-- AirTran Airways

-- Alaska Airlines

-- American Airlines

-- Continental Airlines

-- Delta Air Lines

-- JetBlue Airways

-- Northwest Airlines

-- Southwest Airlines

-- United Air Lines

-- US Airways

If you are flying on one of these and not internationally, check out my tips below. International guests, please see my note at the end of the post.

TIP 1 – Make sure you sign up for Express Check Out when you check in. This means you won’t have to go to the lobby when it’s time to check out. This is a big time saver.

TIP 2 – They hang your return bus information and boarding passes on your door the night before. Make sure you check what time you are scheduled to take the bus.

TIP 3 – Remove the yellow tags from your bags. You don’t need those on the way back.

TIP 4 – Your bag must weigh less than 50lbs. They have scales and they do use them.

TIP 5 - If you need to check baggage, call for a bellman to help you with it about 30 minutes before you need to go. One actually came with a golf cart to take us at Port Orleans Riverside, and it made things so much easier.

TIP 6 – Luggage check-in ends at 1 pm, so keep that in mind. You also have to call to pay baggage fees if you are on an airline other than Southwest. If you need to pay baggage fees, call 407-284-1231 between 7 am and 11 pm. Give yourself plenty of time for that, it took mum forever to get her confirmation number to show the luggage guys.

The bus stop at Port Orleans Riverside is right outside the lobby.
Look for these signs at your resort.

TIP 7 – Be at the bus stop a few minutes early, and ask the cast members if you are confused. They are really helpful.

And then you don’t have to deal with your bags again until you get back to your home airport, yay! Once we figured out how to check out and check our bags, it was a great process. I highly recommend Disney’s Magical Express if you are staying on property.

CANADIAN GUESTS READ THIS!

The process is slightly different for international guests who are going through customs in Orlando. You will need to collect your bags to take them through customs. According to the Disney website:

“International Guests flying into Orlando International Airport from another country must follow the U.S. Customs and Border Protection process and claim luggage after disembarking the plane. After completing the process, proceed to the Disney's Magical Express Welcome Center in the Main Terminal Building, B side, Level 1. Disney's Magical Express service will recollect your luggage and deliver it directly to your Walt Disney World hotel room within 4 hours after you check in at the resort. Luggage delivery service provided by Disney's Magical Express is available for flights arriving between 5:00 am and 10:00 pm daily. For airport arrivals after 10:00 pm, Guests may collect their luggage at Baggage Claim and transport it with them on the motorcoach.”

Based on the information I found, you will also need to check-in at the airport if you are traveling back to an international destination. I recommend asking the people at Disney’s Magical Express for more information.

I hope this post is helpful. Feel free to post any questions about the service and I’ll do my best to find the answers. =)