Hours for POP Century ME luggage & check-in service?

[jengelbrecht]

We have an 8:20 AM flight to come home. Is the POP Century Resort Magical Express luggage and check in service available at 5:20 AM? I know they pick us up approximately 3 hours before our flight time, and I'd like to be able to use this service to check in our luggage and print our boarding passes. I've seen some reports of it opening at 5 AM, and some say 6 AM. Does anyone know for sure?

 

[catexer]

good question, I'd like to know too. DH is in a wheelchair these days, leaving all the luggage wrangling to my uncoordinated self. need all the help I can get!

 

[paulmc80]

The resort airline check-in desk I believe opens at 5:00a.m.

 

[goofy4tink]

I'm going to say 5 because when I was there in Dec, I got to the check-in desk at 6:05, thinking they opened then, but there were several people in front of me. I believe it said they opened at 5. I had had a 7 a.m. flight that I ended up changing because I wouldn't be able to use the baggage check through...much better having that 10:00 flight in the end!!

 

[ShannonN]

We just returned home yesterday and yes the check-in desk opens at 5:00am. This is a wonderful service!! Have a great time on your trip!

 

[jengelbrecht]

Wooooohooooooo, that's what I was hoping to hear!!! Thanks so much! That's one less thing to worry about.

 

[Perdita&Pongo]

We are staying at Pop and my DH is leaving us on a Sat with a 7:40am flight on AA. Do you think he can do airline check-in and ME at 5:00am considering he'd be fudging the 3 hour rule by 20 minutes? How hard and fast is that rule? Does it make a difference if it's the crack of dawn? Any help/advice is appreciated!

 

[justplaingoofy]

I am a travel agent and called to book a client that had "after hours" arrival.

I was told regular hours of operation are 6a-11pm, however if it is "after hours" let Disney know ahead of time and arrangements can be made.

When you booked the magical express they should have asked for your flight numbers.

 

[goofy4tink]

DME actually runs 24 hrs a day. Those arriving very late, after 11 or so into the wee hours of the morning may have a bit longer wait since not so many buses are running. But they will get to their resorts.
But, as far as the resort check-in for your return to MCO...the desk opens at 5:00 am and shuts down around 2 pm. You have to be there to check in no less than 3 hrs before your flight, so anything less than that is not going to get it done. That's the reason I changed my 7:15 flight to a different time, later in the morning!!

 

[seashoreCM]

Do not fudge a ME pickup back to the airport less than 3 hours before flight time. Usually the CM will catch it and disallow it but if not, you have a good chance of missing your plane if some glitch occurs.

 

[IlovePiglet]

The desks at the resorts where you check your luggage going back to MCO is 5 AM - 1 PM. You cannot check luggage if your flight is less than 3 hours away. It'll never make it to the plane.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

The desks at the resorts where you check your luggage going back to MCO is 5 AM - 1 PM. You cannot check luggage if your flight is less than 3 hours away.

Good, succinct answer! Now, allow me to provide a long, wordy answer...

When Resort Airline Check-in (RAC) was first launched last year, the hours were 6:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. You'll still find those hours listed at many websites. At some point, Disney realized that they were excluding too many people with morning flights, and that they were open well past at 11:00 a.m. check-out time at WDW resorts.

If you want to use the optional RAC service (and you're scheduled to fly out on a RAC-participating airline), you need to be at the RAC desk 3-12 hours before your flight.

Under the old hours, you would have been out-of-luck with an 8:20 a.m. flight, but with the new hours, you should be able to make it if you arrive before the desk opens.

Keep in mind that your Disney's Magical Express (DME) motorcoach pickup will be 3 hours (+ or - 15 minutes) before your scheduled flight departure, and they want you to be at the pickup spot 15 minutes early.

 

[Perdita&Pongo]

So my DH could do a 4:40am ME departure from Pop, but would just miss-out on the RAC?

 

[goofy4tink]

So my DH could do a 4:40am ME departure from Pop, but would just miss-out on the RAC?

Yes, sorry.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

The lesson from this thread is to avoid any airline departure before 8:30 a.m. or so, if you want to use DME and RAC — and to realize that, even then, you'll probably need to get up much earlier than you'd want to.

Personally, I would avoid any airline departure before 11:00 a.m. With an 11:00 a.m. departure, the scheduled DME pickup would be around 8:00 a.m., so, with a 6:00 a.m. wake-up call, there's time to get ready without being rushed, check out, perhaps have a quick breakfast, and be at the DME pickup spot 15 minutes early.

Early morning flights may seem like a good idea. You get home in time to unpack, do laundry, and take care of things before returning to work and school the next day. And airlines sometimes offer the best fares on early morning flights to fill the seats despite lower demand. However, a wake-up call around 3:00 a.m. is an awful way to end any vacation.

If an early morning flight from MCO is unavoidable, one idea would be to spend the night at a hotel near the airport (such as the Sheraton Suites or the Marriott) or, better yet, in the airport (the Hyatt). Take Magical Express the evening before, and get some more sleep in the morning. You may even save some money, depending on how your room rate at your WDW resort compares to that at the airport hotel.

 

[Perdita&Pongo]

Thank you all for your replies & insights!

Horace you are preachin to the choir here! My DH is flying home on a Sat. morning while the kids and I are staying in WDW another 4 days (yippee for us!). *HE* chose that 7:40am flight! He is an early riser anyway and he wants to get back to his business and have 2 full days before Monday to catch-up. He will have to deal with the 4:40am ME ressie as I sure ain't schleppin the kids at that hour to drive him in our rental car to MCO!! Not having RAC won't be a problem for him; would've been nice to use, but since it's just him he can check his lone bag no biggie.

Since we are still in our Pop room past Friday night it makes no sense to pay the expense to get him a room at MCO that night. Besides we are doing the Grand Gatherings Fireworks Cruise Friday night, so he would only be in the MCO hotel room for a few hours if we went that route. I think he'll be fine gettin' a few hours of shuteye at Pop before his 4:40am ME ressie.

Thanx again!

 

[CleveRocks]

I am a travel agent and called to book a client that had "after hours" arrival.

I was told regular hours of operation are 6a-11pm, however if it is "after hours" let Disney know ahead of time and arrangements can be made.

When you booked the magical express they should have asked for your flight numbers.

Since you are a travel agent, you should have realized this thread is about the Resort Airline Check-In and not about the arrival or departure "people" transportation.

DME transportation in both directions, and DME luggage delivery TO the WDW resorts, are separate and distinct from the luggage handling offered by Resort Airline Check-In.

 

[justplaingoofy]

Since you are a travel agent, you should have realized this thread is about the Resort Airline Check-In and not about the arrival or departure "people" transportation.

DME transportation in both directions, and DME luggage delivery TO the WDW resorts, are separate and distinct from the luggage handling offered by Resort Airline Check-In.

Wow! Did not expect that!
I thought this was about Magical Express transportation..guess it shows I am human huh?