Using Magical Express when flying in from Canada questions

[RiversideGal]

My hubby and I are travelling to the World in January. This time we've decided to use the Magical Express service to save some money due to the crappy exchange rate. I assume one must go through Immigration and security with your luggage. If we are using ME where do we take our luggage to make sure it follows us to our resort. I really don't want to drag a big suitcase around after 10 hours of flying! And when would we receive our luggage tags? Any help that previous folks can offer would be much appreciated! TIA!

 

[hardis5]

As long as you go though US Custom's at the Canadian airport that gets you to Orlando, make sure you have your Magic Express tags along with the airlines tags applied at that time - that will be the last time you will see your bags before they appear in your resort room. If through Toronto, once you clear US Custom's they take your bags.

You'll receive a tag per person 2-4 weeks before arriving. If you will be checking more than 1 bag pp, call at least 2 weeks prior and they will send out how many additional tags you request.

 

[kiford]

If you aren't clearing customs and immigration at a Canadian airport (e.g., Pearson), you will have to pick up your bags. But, IMO, luggage pickup at MCO is by far the most efficient of any airport I've ever been to. We had to pick up our luggage once because we didn't get our luggage tags in time. By the time we got to the baggage arrival area, the bags were already coming off - no waiting. If you do have to get your own luggage, you just take them with you to the DME area and they will put the bags on your bus.

 

[minnie mum]

It depends on which airport(s) you will travel from or through.

1. If your departure airport has preclearance for US Customs and Immigration, AND YOU WILL ARRIVE AT MCO BEFORE 10:00 PM, then you attach your ME tags before checking your bags with the airline. You don't need to do anything else. Your bags will be delivered to your resort about 3 hours after you check in.

2. If you don't preclear Customs at your home airport, but have a connecting flight at another Canadian airport that does have preclearance, you still attach your ME tags as above. You will be given instructions about whether or not you have to retrieve your luggage before going through preclearance. Again, your luggage will be sent to your resort if you arrive at MCO before 10:00 pm.

3. If you don't preclear Customs at home, but have a connecting flight that lands somewhere in the US, then you collect your bags, clear customs, attach your ME tags, and recheck your bags.

4. If you don't preclear Customs at home and have a direct flight to MCO, don't attach the ME tags. You have to pick up your bags to take through Customs. Bring them to ME and they will put your bags under the bus and unload them when you get to your resort.

In all cases, if your flight arrives after 10:00 pm, don't attach the ME tags. You have to pick up your own luggage and bring it to ME.

 

[Aladora]

It depends on which airport(s) you will travel from or through.

1. If your departure airport has preclearance for US Customs and Immigration, AND YOU WILL ARRIVE AT MCO BEFORE 10:00 PM, then you attach your ME tags before ccecking your bags with the airline. You don't need to do anything else. Your bags will be delivered to your resort about 3 hours after you check in.

2. If you don't preclear Customs at your home airport, but have a connecting flight at another Canadian airport that does have preclearance, you still attach your ME tags as above. You will be given instructions about whether or not you have to retrieve your luggage before going through preclearance. Again, your luggage will be sent to your resort if you arrive at MCO before 10:00 pm.

3. If you don't preclear Customs at home, but have a connecting flight that lands somewhere in the US, then you collect your bags, clear customs, attach your ME tags, and recheck your bags.

4. If you don't preclear Customs at home and have a direct flight to MCO, don't attach the ME tags. You have to pick up your bags to take through Customs. Bring them to ME and they will put your bags under the bus and unload them when you get to your resort.

In all cases, if your flight arrives after 10:00 pm, don't attach the ME tags. You have to pick up your own luggage and bring it to ME.

That is REALLY good to know. We are flying Victoria to Seattle and then on to Orlando. While we have never done this exact route, we often fly via Seattle when we go to Disneyland and we always collect our bags in SEA and then clear customs. Glad I read this thread and found out that we should not attach the ME tags until after that!

 

[minnie mum]

That is REALLY good to know. We are flying Victoria to Seattle and then on to Orlando. While we have never done this exact route, we often fly via Seattle when we go to Disneyland and we always collect our bags in SEA and then clear customs. Glad I read this thread and found out that we should not attach the ME tags until after that!

We had a mishap one time when we had a connecting flight in Atlanta ( at least I think it was Atlanta). The agent glanced at our tags ( just checking for which flight they were headed for, I guess), didn't know what the ME tags were for, and ripped them off! Fortunately we stopped her before the bags hit the conveyor belt and had her tape them back on. I'm sure most airports have become used to the ME tags since then, but IMO better safe than sorry.

 

[seashoreCM]

If you have to clear or re-clear customs in Orlando, there is the option of putting your bags on the other conveyor belt for transport to the main terminal. If it is still before 10 PM, yellow tagged bags will be intercepted for Magical Express delivery.

This makes the process the same* as clearing customs in a city prior to reaching Orlando.

After 10 PM, all bags, yellow tagged or not, domestic or international, cleared customs in Orlando or before, go to the carousels, except for passengers clearing customs in Orlando who have the choice of carrying their bags out of the customs station.

* Oh, well, there may be minor differences such as handing the bag to someone to put on another conveyor belt as opposed to putting it on the belt yourself.

 

[suebecdan]

We leave from Montreal, once we drop off our bags at the airport in canada we don't see them again till we are at the resort. Be sure you have your WDW tags that they mail you and airlines ones.

 

[samsteele]

The caveat I would add is that if your flight arrives in Orlando after 6pm, you should decide how late you want to stay up waiting for your luggage after a long day of travel. This should be highlighted if you are traveling with young children who are likely tired and cranky by late evening. It can take upwards of 3-4 hrs and sometimes longer for your luggage to appear at your door. While other guests will ask for their luggage to be held by their resort's luggage services until the following morning (and pack jammies, basic clothes & toiletries in their carry-on), I just stick with a cut-off time. If my flight arrives at MCO after 6pm, I don't put the yellow luggage tags on my bag and know that I will pick it up from the carousel. At most, picking it up myself has added an extra 1/2 hr so not a huge issue. I then take my bag to DME and it is loaded in the bus basement. I have the piece of mind of knowing that my bag is on the bus with me and I have access to what I want that first night. ps some resort rooms on upper flrs don't have elevators so you may be lugging your bag up stairs or tipping bell services for assistance.

 

[DisneyRookie2007]

We used DME and had them deliver our bags to the room when we used to go on vacation with the kids. Now that the kids are older and don't travel with us to WDW any longer, we prefer to p/u the bags ourselves and have them on the bus when we arrive the the resort.