Baggage Check at resorts

[icarus]

. . . I'm looking for information regarding checking our bags at the resort for our flight out.

I know there was a thread on this, or even a link, regarding participating airlines, resorts, etc. in the help area but I can't seem to find it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[bradk]

there's a sticky in the transportation forum

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=944813

 

[goofy4tink]

Current participating airlines are: AirTran, Alaska, American, Continental, Delta, JetBlue, Northwest, United (Ted).
If you are flying home on one of these airlines, you will be able to check your bags at your resort and get your boarding pass. Be sure to have everyone in your group there to be checked in. It is the exact same thing as the checkin counter at the airport! I've seen people wait in line only to get to the counter and be turned away because everyone is not there.
The counter opens around 5 am, and close at around 1 pm. You can check your bags up to 12 hrs in advance, but not less than 3 hrs before your flight. So...if you have a 6 am flight, you won't be able to use this service.

 

[icarus]

CRAP, I could have sworn that I saw Southwest listed on there a while back.

Oh, well, I guess we'll be lugging our bags around with us on the last day.

Thanks again for the link.

 

[CleveRocks]

You don't have to lug your bags around with you. Bell Services at your resort can store your stuff for you, it's just that you have to get it back in time so you can give it to the DME driver to load it under your DME bus.

Just because you can't use Resort Airline Check-in doesn't mean you have to have your bags with you every minute after you check-out of your room.

 

[bradk]

despite many rumors to the contrary, SWA has never participated in RAC. the source of that confusion is people combine RAC with DME (which is Disney's fault) when they're two completely separate services and Participating Airline is an RAC term, not a DME term. So initially people think they can't use the yellow DME tags when they fly with SWA. Then they learn they can, so they make the connection and believe SWA is a Participating Airline, which it never was.

 

[icarus]

You don't have to lug your bags around with you. Bell Services at your resort can store your stuff for you, it's just that you have to get it back in time so you can give it to the DME driver to load it under your DME bus.

Just because you can't use Resort Airline Check-in doesn't mean you have to have your bags with you every minute after you check-out of your room.

We're not planning on leaving from our resort to get to the airport. We were looking to spend as much time in down town disney that day and go to the airport from there. To catch the express from the resort really requires being there much earlier than we were planning on leaving, as they want you there 3 hours or so prior to the flight, which would require another hour or so before that to make sure we left down town disney to make it to the bus.

 

[Lewisc]

I'm not even sure you're allowed to bring luggage on the Disney bus from DTD to your resort.

The confusion regarding SW comes from several rumors that said SW had signed a contract to participate in the resort check in service but there were computer issues that have to be taken care of.

 

[icarus]

I'm not even sure you're allowed to bring luggage on the Disney bus from DTD to your resort.

The hope was that we would have been able to check in our bags at the resort and then went on our way to DTD, and from there go on to the airport.

 

[Lewisc]

The hope was that we would have been able to check in our bags at the resort and then went on our way to DTD, and from there go on to the airport.

I know, but you indicated your plan "B" was to

Oh, well, I guess we'll be lugging our bags around with us on the last day.

 

[CleveRocks]

Yeh, icarus, sorry to say, but unless there's something I'm missing here, your plan just won't work.

You can't check your bags in with your airline using RAC at your resort, since you're flying Southwest, which doesn't participate in RAC.

Unless you are packing only in small carry-ons, you can't take your luggage on Disney Transport buses to get to DTD.

You want to go straight from DTD to the airport.

I think your only way of doing this would be to take a taxi from your resort to DTD and lug your luggage around with you, and from DTD take a taxi or car service to the airport.

IDEA: I guess you could also rent a car on your last day somewhere at/near WDW, load it up with the luggage, drive to DTD, shop unencumbered, then drive you and your luggage from DTD to the airport and drop the car off there. You just have to ask yourself this ... think about how much time it will take to get the car, and then return the car. Deduct that total from how much more time at DTD you think you'd get by skipping the DME bus ride. Then ask yourself if that amount of time is worth the cost of the rental car.

 

[Lewisc]

It's too late but this is been one of the few circumstances in which a passenger could justify paying a little extra in order to fly with a participating airline.

DME picks you up 3 hours before your flight. You'd have to allow at least hour to get from DTD to your resort. You could have a car service pick you up at DTD 2 hours before your flight. You'd get at least an extra 2 hours in DTD.

A work around might be to store your luggage at your resort and take a cab to DTD and a cab back to your resort. Between waiting for the DTD bus, the possible stop at TL and traffic you could spend an hour.

Ask at the RAC desk the day before you check out. Someone is going to be the first passenger to use SW for RAC.

 

[icarus]

. . . A work around might be to store your luggage at your resort and take a cab to DTD and a cab back to your resort. Between waiting for the DTD bus, the possible stop at TL and traffic you could spend an hour.

This is what we did last time, and will have to do again.

. . . Ask at the RAC desk the day before you check out. Someone is going to be the first passenger to use SW for RAC.

This is a good theory. I may check into this when I'm there.

 

[VLee]

It's too late but this is been one of the few circumstances in which a passenger could justify paying a little extra in order to fly with a participating airline.

Well, that is what I thought too in May when I chose Delta over SW to have the advantage of a participating airline with two small grandkids and LOTS of luggage.

Boy, was I in for a surprise when I tried to check my bags at the hotel that morning before our afternoon flight and was told that the computer would not let me check in --for some reason. The clerk told me that I would have to check in at the airport and that they could NOT even take my luggage for me. I would have to take (7 bags myself).

When we made it to the airport, I found out that Delta had ALL three of us pre-selected for security checks, pat downs, etc. before ever walking through the "buzzer." So I, along with my 4 and 7 year old grandkids got the royal treatment, plus them hand checking our carryons. Why they could not have at least taken our checked baggage from the hotel, I still have not figured out.

Next trip for me-------Southwest!

 

[icarus]

. . . Boy, was I in for a surprise when I tried to check my bags at the hotel that morning before our afternoon flight and was told that the computer would not let me check in --for some reason. The clerk told me that I would have to check in at the airport and that they could NOT even take my luggage for me. I would have to take (7 bags myself).

Wow, that's really bad (along with the security check in). I wonder how much of what you experienced is normal.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Just for the record - I'm relatively certain that NO airline, including Delta, chooses passengers for security checks. That would be something done by the TSA (waiting for Carol's input... ), which then notifies the airline. The airline is the blameless middleman in this situation. It really doesn't make sense to boycott an airline for something over which they have zero control.