Flying Southwest Airlines

[RitaFaye94]

Just wondering if anyone has had problems with Magic Express when flying in on Southwest. I've found an amazing price ($178 round trip nonstop!) but I'm worried about having our luggage lost or having to run across that airport again trying to drag a toddler, stroller, carryons, and two teenagers keeping up with me while trying to make a flight (or get to the resort.)

I know there was some talk of Southwest doing test runs recently - any word if they will become a permanent fixture?

 

[Hibernians]

My family and I have flown SW twice now and have never had any difficulty using ME and coordinating our luggage. Remember, flying into Orlando, your luggage will go directly to your Disney resort. The only time you really have to deal with your luggage is during your return flight home.
You will need to load the luggage on the ME bus departing your resort (bell services will help you with this).
Once we arrived at MCO, we had plenty of time (2 hours or so) to check our luggage, go through security and have a small meal. No stress at all; ME gets you there to the airport so early that you don't stress out worrying about missing your flight
If you can find a great fare on SW I say go for it.

 

[jamstew]

I always fly Southwest and have never had a problem. SW works like any other airline on the inbound segment. On the return, you're responsible for getting your luggage to the DME bus at the scheduled time.

 

[msvlg]

We usually fly SW when we go to Disney, usually once a year ,and when we go as a group we have had infants, toddlers, twins, strollers and the whole nine yards-not to mention a lot of luggage and we have never had any problems at all with ME. Actually it's pretty convenient and yoou can't beat the price. Good Luck !!

 

[dburg30]

Just wondering if anyone has had problems with Magic Express when flying in on Southwest. I've found an amazing price ($178 round trip nonstop!) but I'm worried about having our luggage lost or having to run across that airport again trying to drag a toddler, stroller, carryons, and two teenagers keeping up with me while trying to make a flight (or get to the resort.)

I know there was some talk of Southwest doing test runs recently - any word if they will become a permanent fixture?

The test run you are talking about is for RAC or resort airline checkin. That is being tested right now at POP. RAC is for checking your bags at your resort and having them transfer your bags from your resort to MCO. That really the only thing different. Other then that, when you fly INTO MCO if you want Disney to transport your bags for you to your resort (which they've been doing 'forever') you make sure you put the yellow DME tags on your checked bags before you check them in at your home airport. On the return flight home, using SW unless you are staying at POP you will need to take your own bags back to MCO and check them in at the SW counter or outside at curbside checkin. Read the sticky at the top of this forum about 'what a participating airline means' to understand how RAC works. I've used SW to MCO / Disney 4 or 5 times in the last 2 years and have never had any problems at all.

 

[prncess674]

having our luggage lost

SWA has a comparable lost luggage rates as any other airline. Your chances of lost luggage are the same whether on SWA or any other US domestic carrier.

($178 round trip nonstop!)

you are on a non-stop flight which greatly reduces the risk of lost/delayed lugage.

(or having to run across that airport again trying to drag a toddler, stroller, carryons, and two teenagers keeping up with me while trying to make a flight (or get to the resort.)

There is really no need to run to catch a ME bus to the resort. The buses run continuously. Take your time! Limit your carryons to what your family absolutely needs and can carry. Let Disney handle the rest with their luggage service on your outbound.

make a flight

as others have said ME gets you to the airport at a ridicuously early time to make flights that there is absolutely NO reason to run.

 

[dburg30]

as others have said ME gets you to the airport at a ridicuously early time to make flights that there is absolutely NO reason to run.

I wouldnt call it ridicuously early, by the time you actually get to MCO if you happen to be on the 'other' side from where they make their 1st stop it's usually right at 2 hours before, sometimes actually a little less then 2 hours. And while USUALLY 2 hours really is plenty of time, if there is a line checking bags or if something screwy is happening with security you NEED that time to get to your gate for initial boarding which happens usually around 20 minutes before the flight. On carriers that you have assigned seating, not so much of an issue, but for SW you want to be there ready to board about 20 before flight time, so 2 hours early really equals about 1:40 to get everything done and to the gate. Still the majority of the time plenty of time, but it's for that 'just in case' deal.

That's one usually good thing about SW, of the number of trips to WDW, the west coast and to NC a number of times in the last couple of years, I cant think of one trip that we had to wait on a late boarder. We were close once or twice waiting on people that had a connecting flight land late and they had to run to get to the gate, but it wasnt like they were just dilly-dallying around. With assigned seats I feel people dont get to the gates as early sometimes. And sitting around waiting to board I've heard very few 'SW is paging customer Bob Smith to the gate for boarding' it's always legacy carriers with assigned seats. And ask my wife, I've never been one to push the time on getting to the airport, we are always there plenty early and just take our time getting thru security, grabbing a bite to eat etc.. I HATE being rushed, and I hate to be late.

 

[prncess674]

I wouldnt call it ridicuously early, by the time you actually get to MCO if you happen to be on the 'other' side from where they make their 1st stop it's usually right at 2 hours before, sometimes actually a little less then 2 hours. And while USUALLY 2 hours really is plenty of time, if there is a line checking bags or if something screwy is happening with security you NEED that time to get to your gate for initial boarding which happens usually around 20 minutes before the flight. On carriers that you have assigned seating, not so much of an issue, but for SW you want to be there ready to board about 20 before flight time, so 2 hours early really equals about 1:40 to get everything done and to the gate. Still the majority of the time plenty of time, but it's for that 'just in case' deal.

That's one usually good thing about SW, of the number of trips to WDW, the west coast and to NC a number of times in the last couple of years, I cant think of one trip that we had to wait on a late boarder. We were close once or twice waiting on people that had a connecting flight land late and they had to run to get to the gate, but it wasnt like they were just dilly-dallying around. With assigned seats I feel people dont get to the gates as early sometimes. And sitting around waiting to board I've heard very few 'SW is paging customer Bob Smith to the gate for boarding' it's always legacy carriers with assigned seats. And ask my wife, I've never been one to push the time on getting to the airport, we are always there plenty early and just take our time getting thru security, grabbing a bite to eat etc.. I HATE being rushed, and I hate to be late.

ME should get you to the airport with plenty of time to check luggage, clear security and be in line on time. If the ME time doesn't make one feel comfortable then taking a taxi/car service at an earlier time is an option, but frankly I wouldn't pay more for a connecting flight just so I could check my return bags at the hotel. Thousands of people take ME every day and even on the DIS which is full of over planning worry warts you really don't hear horror stories of SWA customers missing planes due to issues with ME.

 

[RitaFaye94]

On our trip last year, our flight was scheduled to leave at 5:45. We arrived for ME (waiting on the curb after checking, etc.) at 2:45 - a full hour ahead of the suggested 2 hours. We waited on the curb for 1 1/2 hours and finally loaded a bus at 4:15. We barely made it through security and to the plane before departure - they were making the final boarding call when we came running to the gate. That's where my stress level on getting through the airport comes from.

If the luggage is taken at MCO no matter what carrier you are on, that portion will be fine. We are staying at POP Century also, so I'll check for departure and hop that they are still working with SW. If not, I may just ship everything back home .

Thanks everyone!

 

[prncess674]

On our trip last year, our flight was scheduled to leave at 5:45. We arrived for ME (waiting on the curb after checking, etc.) at 2:45 - a full hour ahead of the suggested 2 hours. We waited on the curb for 1 1/2 hours and finally loaded a bus at 4:15. We barely made it through security and to the plane before departure - they were making the final boarding call when we came running to the gate. That's where my stress level on getting through the airport comes from.

If the luggage is taken at MCO no matter what carrier you are on, that portion will be fine. We are staying at POP Century also, so I'll check for departure and hop that they are still working with SW. If not, I may just ship everything back home .

Thanks everyone!

If your scheduled pick up time based on your ME itin were 2:45 then you probably missed your original bus. Your ME time was 2:45 and pulled out of your hotel at 2:45. You should have been at the curb a few minutes prior to scheduled departure. ME airport returns are different than park busses. You will have a reservation, you aren't just sitting there hoping an ME bus comes by. Assuming your reservation was at 2:45 and you were out there at 2:35 and it still hadn't come at 2:55 I would have high tailed it to bell services to inquire about my ride. Waiting for 1.5 without inquiry is just crazy.

 

[jamstew]

On our trip last year, our flight was scheduled to leave at 5:45. We arrived for ME (waiting on the curb after checking, etc.) at 2:45 - a full hour ahead of the suggested 2 hours. We waited on the curb for 1 1/2 hours and finally loaded a bus at 4:15. We barely made it through security and to the plane before departure - they were making the final boarding call when we came running to the gate. That's where my stress level on getting through the airport comes from.

If the luggage is taken at MCO no matter what carrier you are on, that portion will be fine. We are staying at POP Century also, so I'll check for departure and hop that they are still working with SW. If not, I may just ship everything back home .

Thanks everyone!

Did you get an instruction letter about ME pick-up on your door the night before? I ask because it tells you to be at the ME pick-up 15-20 minutes before your scheduled time. Therefore, if you arrived exactly at the pick-up time, it's possible you missed your bus. I'm not saying that was the case, but it's just an observation.

 

[RitaFaye94]

If your scheduled pick up time based on your ME itin were 2:45 then you probably missed your original bus. Your ME time was 2:45 and pulled out of your hotel at 2:45. You should have been at the curb a few minutes prior to scheduled departure. ME airport returns are different than park busses. You will have a reservation, you aren't just sitting there hoping an ME bus comes by. Assuming your reservation was at 2:45 and you were out there at 2:35 and it still hadn't come at 2:55 I would have high tailed it to bell services to inquire about my ride. Waiting for 1.5 without inquiry is just crazy.

The ME time we were given was 3:45, so we were there and checked in a full hour before. We were told that we would be on an earlier bus than our 3:45 as soon as one came in. Well, as soon as a bus pulled up, people started piling on without regard to who was checked in. (May not have been supposed to be this way, but it was.) It was then 45 minutes before another bus came (almost 4:00) and it took almost 30 minutes for them to load. I loved the service, don't get me wrong, but I just want to make sure we don't have to rush so much this time in airports. (We almost missed connecting flights to & from Orlando due to late start times & having less than 30 minutes to travel between flights in Atlanta.)

Can ya see why I want a direct flight this time?

 

[jamstew]

How long ago was this? I know that ME pickup has been three hours before domestic flight time for the last several years (rather than two hours prior, which your 3:45 pickup would have been for a 5:45 flight), and three hours isn't a "suggested" time. I think on my last trip on ME in June, our flight was leaving at 1:30, and our scheduled DME pickup was 10:20, 3 hours & 10 minutes before the flight. We checked in at 10:00 to be on the safe side. I'm not saying that you're mistaken, but something way out of the ordinary obviously happened.

That said, I don't find the three hours to be too much time. If there's no traffic, wrecks, detours or security chaos, I have a few minutes to shop or eat before boarding time. I don't like to be rushed when I get to the airport either!

 

[dburg30]

Yea, something was amiss of you got the wrong packet or they had the wrong flight info and had your flight time as maybe 645? Something happened that's for sure. 99.9% of the time people are complaining about DME being too EARLY a pick up, not too late. If that happens next time, you should let DME know ASAP and they should be able to fix it, since you get the packet the day before your flight..