luggage to resort

[noahdove]

Hi friends, I just heard that Disney doesn't pick our luggage up at the airport up anymore. Is this true? If so, how do you handle this with everything else you have, especially with small children, strollers and carry on? Thank you for your help.

 

[maltdizzy]

That is true. You have to retrive your own luggage and take it to the DME bus. And take it from the DME to check-in on your return.

Bell service is available at the resort for getting your luggage to/from the room.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Hi friends, I just heard that Disney doesn't pick our luggage up at the airport up anymore. Is this true? If so, how do you handle this with everything else you have, especially with small children, strollers and carry on? Thank you for your help.

That is correct. Per Disney’s “Know Before You Go” information:

Luggage delivery for those arriving to and departing from the airport and Resort Airline Check-In Service are no longer available. Guests who choose to use Disney’s Magical Express service will be responsible for picking up any of their checked luggage from the airport’s baggage claim area, so that it can be loaded onto the motorcoach to their Disney Resort hotel. Please know that your luggage will travel with you to your Disney Resort hotel.

Luggage assistance will be available at the front of your Disney Resort hotel, including luggage storage and/or transport to the room.

Upon your departure, please ensure your luggage is with you and is loaded onto the motorcoach, so you can check it in with your airline once you reach the airport. The resort airline check-in service is no longer available.

As to how to handle - I hate saying this since it sounds condescending but of course that isn’t how I mean it - but you’ll just need to figure out how to handle it. Packing differently, lighter, etc - I know, easier said than done.

While not cheap, we really enjoyed using airport car services when mine were younger. Having the driver meet you at baggage claim and there to assist with luggage really helped out during that multiple bag/stroller stage. We have used companies like Tiffany Town car and FL Tours. Tony Hinds is another that gets mentioned around the boards frequently.

 

[Dug720]

As to how to handle - I hate saying this since it sounds condescending but of course that isn’t how I mean it - but you’ll just need to figure out how to handle it. Packing differently, lighter, etc - I know, easier said than done.

Agreed. This is the time to learn what is 100% necessary to take and what is luxury that you don't 100% have to have. Get small backpacks for your kids and have them carry those themselves (one of my biggest pet peeves while flying is people who think that their carry-on is one item (usually a rolling suitcase) and one personal item for them AND the same for their kids, yet their kids aren't carrying anything and no one says boo to them about it so you've got one or two adults pulling enough luggage for a small army but say "These are the kids'!!!") - put their tablets, books, and/or toys in there. You take only what you need in your carry-on - not the entire kitchen pantry. Ditto when packing the luggage. I think you'll find you don't NEED everything you've been carting around with you.

I'm realizing how weird my parents were in how they raised my sister and me, but we learned from a very early age "If you can't carry it, don't pack it in your bag." But as a result, I've learned how to pack minimally - and even did a 10 night trip to Alaska for a running cruise and post-cruise stay for a night in Vancouver and a night in Seattle in carry-on only.

 

[Best Aunt]

how do you handle this with everything else you have, especially with small children, strollers and carry on?

The answer to this will depend on how you are planning to get from airport to hotel.

If you are planning to use Magical Express, then yes, you are responsible for getting your own luggage. (And keep in mind that the Magical Express service itself ends after arrivals of 01/01/2022.)

As PP said, you can hire a car service and the driver will meet you near baggage claim - but if your kids still need car seats, you need to make sure that appropriate car seats will be available.

 

[noahdove]

Agreed. This is the time to learn what is 100% necessary to take and what is luxury that you don't 100% have to have. Get small backpacks for your kids and have them carry those themselves (one of my biggest pet peeves while flying is people who think that their carry-on is one item (usually a rolling suitcase) and one personal item for them AND the same for their kids, yet their kids aren't carrying anything and no one says boo to them about it so you've got one or two adults pulling enough luggage for a small army but say "These are the kids'!!!") - put their tablets, books, and/or toys in there. You take only what you need in your carry-on - not the entire kitchen pantry. Ditto when packing the luggage. I think you'll find you don't NEED everything you've been carting around with you.

I'm realizing how weird my parents were in how they raised my sister and me, but we learned from a very early age "If you can't carry it, don't pack it in your bag." But as a result, I've learned how to pack minimally - and even did a 10 night trip to Alaska for a running cruise and post-cruise stay for a night in Vancouver and a night in Seattle in carry-on only.

When we went to Alaska, my husband and I only had one suitcase a piece for our cruise and 1 night stay before and after the cruise while our friends had 2 and then the one friend had to rearrange her luggage as it was over weight..

 

[noahdove]

Thank you everyone for your answers. I don't pack heavy so that is a plus for me. My grandson is old enough (12) to help with the luggage, so that will be great. One good thing, we won't have to wait to have our luggage to arrive at the room for it. Again, thank you for your answers. I knew where to come for help. Bless you all.

 

[MomOTwins]

Pro tip: we have two kinds of bags that we pack: vertical roller suitcases and duffel bags. The duffel bag straps go over the suitcase handle and sit on top of the suitcase, so we can roll two bags one handed while we push a stroller with the other hand. If you bring a full size stroller, the duffels can also in the under-stroller storage or pull out the canopy and sit the bag on top.

We definitely miss the baggage service, but it's not like we ever had a similar option at our departing airport and always had to handle our own bags from the parking lot to the luggage counter (sometimes with a parking shuttle between) so we're used to getting creative with how much luggage we can transport with each hand.

 

[heresabe]

In addition to not retrieving luggage at the airport, WDW no longer prints boarding passes before your return flight.

 

[scrappinginontario]

You will get creative. When my daughter was younger (up to even 2 years of age) I travelled with a carrier so that I had a way to carry her even if I didn't have access to the stroller but needed hands for luggage, etc. She walked when she could but often was asleep if our flights were early/late.

I also bungee corded luggage handles together to pull them through the airport. Renting a cart in the airport was also vital on some trips as I've never been one to travel light. However you get your luggage from the car to the departure airport, you'll just need to use these skills again once in Orlando.

 

[malialaine]

In addition to not retrieving luggage at the airport, WDW no longer prints boarding passes before your return flight.

You can use your phones to show your boarding passes

 

[MassJester]

Perhaps I missed it on another thread, and if so I am sorry, by why did they end resort-based baggage check-in?

 

[heresabe]

You can use your phones to show your boarding passes

True...but Disney will no longer do the work to check-in for a flight.

 

[Dug720]

True...but Disney will no longer do the work to check-in for a flight.

Tapping a few screens on an app is “work”?

 

[Blondie58]

Hi friends, I just heard that Disney doesn't pick our luggage up at the airport up anymore. Is this true? If so, how do you handle this with everything else you have, especially with small children, strollers and carry on? Thank you for your help.

We handle it like we would on a vacation that does not have luggage transfer. (But this perk is certainly missed.) We alwasy pack half the clothes we need and do laundry mid-way through our vacations too. We take an evening to sit at the pool and have cocktails while the laundry is being done. Saves on luggage costs depending on the airline you are flying.

 

[Dave006]

Perhaps I missed it on another thread, and if so I am sorry, by why did they end resort-based baggage check-in?

If you mean the Resort Airline Check-in Service (RAC). It was another victim of Covid-19. The company that handled the process had major cutbacks.

Dave

 

[VandVsmama]

Hi friends, I just heard that Disney doesn't pick our luggage up at the airport up anymore. Is this true? If so, how do you handle this with everything else you have, especially with small children, strollers and carry on? Thank you for your help.

There's a few things you can do in preparation for the whole handle-the-luggage-yourself situation:

• make a packing list & print it out.
• review the list a couple of times. For example, do you REALLY need to bring a fold-up laundry basket with you? You know what else would work instead? A kitchen grocery bag from home (i.e., if you're doing laundry midway through your trip).
• What toiletries are REALLY essential? Do you REALLY need the shampoo & conditioner from home or can you get by using the stuff the hotel provides? Does everybody REALLY need their own tube of toothpaste or can you all share 1 toothpaste? Could you use a travel toothbrush (smaller in size, takes up less room) than your regular toothbrush?
• Lay out everything on your bed that you're going to pack up in the suitcase. Look at the pile of stuff. See if anything can serve 2 purposes. For example, if you're a shoe horse, do you REALLY need a matching pair of shoes for each outfit each day?
• if the small children are still in diapers, you'll probably go through a million diapers on your trip. Consider ordering them online ahead of time and having them shipped directly to your resort. Then pick them up at Bell Services when you get there.
• Consider bringing enough clothes for, let's say, 4 days. Halfway through your trip, do laundry. Thus, you can get away with bringing a carry-on-sized wheeled suitcase instead of a bigger wheeled suitcase.

 

[noahdove]

There's a few things you can do in preparation for the whole handle-the-luggage-yourself situation:

• make a packing list & print it out.
• review the list a couple of times. For example, do you REALLY need to bring a fold-up laundry basket with you? You know what else would work instead? A kitchen grocery bag from home (i.e., if you're doing laundry midway through your trip).
• What toiletries are REALLY essential? Do you REALLY need the shampoo & conditioner from home or can you get by using the stuff the hotel provides? Does everybody REALLY need their own tube of toothpaste or can you all share 1 toothpaste? Could you use a travel toothbrush (smaller in size, takes up less room) than your regular toothbrush?
• Lay out everything on your bed that you're going to pack up in the suitcase. Look at the pile of stuff. See if anything can serve 2 purposes. For example, if you're a shoe horse, do you REALLY need a matching pair of shoes for each outfit each day?
• if the small children are still in diapers, you'll probably go through a million diapers on your trip. Consider ordering them online ahead of time and having them shipped directly to your resort. Then pick them up at Bell Services when you get there.
• Consider bringing enough clothes for, let's say, 4 days. Halfway through your trip, do laundry. Thus, you can get away with bringing a carry-on-sized wheeled suitcase instead of a bigger wheeled suitcase.

Thank you. If you could see my suitcase you would laugh. I pack it according to the day, meaning I layer my clothes by the day, meaning the top layer are for the following day in the park etc. At home, I keep a small overnight bag packed at all times just in case my friends and I need to get away for a long weekend, I haven't trained my husband to do this yet, but, maybe in our next 40 years of marriage he will learn I don't travel much, but, when I am ready I am ready..I always do laundry the day before we leave so that there isn't much to do when I get home.