Airline check-in question?

[GoofyFairie]

My flight and travel experience is very limited so please forgive me for my lack of knowledge. I know that I can check in on line from home 24 hrs before we leave home and pay my baggage fees. What do I do when I am at Disney? Is it okay to check in at the airport? I have paid for seat assignment if that makes a difference and I won't have a computer at Disney. What if my bags are over 50 lbs.? Thank you for all help in advance!

 

[Tozzie]

My flight and travel experience is very limited so please forgive me for my lack of knowledge. I know that I can check in on line from home 24 hrs before we leave home and pay my baggage fees. What do I do when I am at Disney? Is it okay to check in at the airport? I have paid for seat assignment if that makes a difference and I won't have a computer at Disney. What if my bags are over 50 lbs.? Thank you for all help in advance!

If you are staying on property and are flying on a participating airline, you can use RAC (resort airline checkin) and check your bags at the resort, it is like curbside check in only it is at the resort. The luggage must be completely checked in 3 hours before the flight. The night before you leave you can call BAGS and pay your luggage charges, they will give you a confirmation number and you will give that number to the RAC desk when you check your bags. They have scales and will weigh your bag when you check it.

If you prefer you can check in at the airport and pay the fees there, some airlines have a surcharge if you check pay at the airport but you can do it.

 

[justplaingoofy]

These are the participating airlines where you can do the resort airline check in:

Resort Airline Check-In Service is available with the following airline carriers:

•Alaska Airlines
•Continental
•JetBlue
•United
•American Airlines
•Delta Air Lines
•Northwest
•AirTran
•US AIR

 

[GoofyFairie]

Thanks Tozzie and justplaingoofy! We are staying on property and flying Airtran. Our flight home leaves Orlando airport at 8:30 a.m. so I think we will be at the airport by 6:30 a.m. I am hoping to save enough money that I can surprise DH with car service to and from the airport. If not it will be ME which we have never done before either!

 

[Jestocost]

You can use RAC whether or not you are using DME to take you to the airport, as they are separate services. Based on your flight time, you would need to have the check-in process at the resort completed by 5:30 a.m., which basically means you'd have to be at the RAC desk when it opens at 5:00 a.m. or very shortly thereafter. Your town car likely would be picking you up at around 6:00 a.m.

The benefit of doing it that way would be that once at the airport, you could go straight to the gate or even stop for some breakfast before heading to the gate. No waiting in lines to check in and check bags. Unfortunately, you still have to wait in the security line.

As noted previously, if using RAC you will need to pay any baggage fees in advance by calling BAGS, the company that provides the service for Disney. Information on how to do that should be in your room (you won't get a package the day before your departure if you're not using DME, however) or you can get it from the RAC desk or the front desk at your resort.

 

[GoofyFairie]

If I used RAC to check the bags that morning would they have enough time to get the bags to the airport in time to meet my flight? I live 2 hours away fromt he sirport so I really don't want to miss them. How bad would the wait be at 6:30 a.m. on a Monday morning at Orlando? I take it that the RAC desk is also where you go to get your boarding passes printed?

 

[Tozzie]

If I used RAC to check the bags that morning would they have enough time to get the bags to the airport in time to meet my flight? I live 2 hours away fromt he sirport so I really don't want to miss them. How bad would the wait be at 6:30 a.m. on a Monday morning at Orlando? I take it that the RAC desk is also where you go to get your boarding passes printed?

Yes they have enough time that is why they have a strict 3 hour cut off, if you are even one minute past the 3 hours the computer locks and they can't check your bags.

 

[GoofyFairie]

Good to know. Thak you!

 

[goofy4tink]

You get your boarding passes issued at the RAC counter IF you are checking your bags as well.
Have no fear...if you get your bags there and checked in before that 3 hr mark, you will have no worries about them getting the bags to the airport for you.

 

[GoofyFairie]

What if we don't check bags? Do we just check in at the airport?

 

[Jestocost]

What if we don't check bags? Do we just check in at the airport?

Yes.