magical express service and DVC members

[tjkraz]

How WILL this work if you are flying Northwest since it is not one of the listed airlines?

If your airline isn't on the list, you can't use the service. The concept is that the bags are tagged ahead of time and the airline agrees to let Disney (Mears) claim and transport the bags on your behalf.

You must be ticketed on one of the participating airlines in order to get the free transportation.

 

[BCV23]

Does anyone think there is a chance that WDW would do this for luggage only? There is no way we would go without a rental car but it sure would be nice to check the luggage in at ORD and not bother with it at MCO.

 

[tjkraz]

The FAQ indicated that they will not do luggage transfers only.

 

[dizplanner]

My understanding is that if your airline is not a participant, you can still put the tags on your bags and they will be transferred to your resort for you. What you cannot do is check your luggage at your resort on your way home. You will have to take your luggage on the bus and check it in at the airport.

It is supposed to work like the Cruise Line buses. Disney will have someone meet your flight (where?) and direct you to the correct bus. Buses are supposed to be grouped by area (Magic Kingdom resorts, Epcot resorts, etc.). I would guess that in off hours, they may group differently, but they are still supposed to limit the number of resorts they stop at to four at most.

It sounds pretty good. Whether we take it or not will depend on whether we want a car for other reasons during the trip.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

If your airline isn't on the list, you can't use the service. The concept is that the bags are tagged ahead of time and the airline agrees to let Disney (Mears) claim and transport the bags on your behalf.

You must be ticketed on one of the participating airlines in order to get the free transportation.

That's not what it says in the Magical Express FAQ for Travel Agents in the thread http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=703882. You can use Magical Express with any airline.

Regardless of which airline you're flying, you can ride on the coach from the airport to your resort. And, regardless of which airline you're flying, your bags can go from your home airport directly to your resort hotel room. You just have to put Magical Express tags (which you'll get from Disney when you reserve Magical Express) on your bags. The baggage handlers at Orlando Airport will know what to do.

When it's time to return home, you'll be able to check your luggage through from your resort back to your home airport -- but only if you're flying home on American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines (including Song), or United Airlines (including Ted). The list of airlines may grow, but I doubt it will ever include Southwest Airlines.

If you're not on one of those those airlines, you can still use Magical Express. According to the Travel Agent FAQ, "Complimentary transportation from the Disney Resort to the Orlando International Airport is available to all Disney Resort Guests." I assume this means the luggage will be carried in the belly of the motor coach. When you get to Orlando Airport, you'll have to drag your luggage to your airline's check-in counter.

 

[pumpkinboy]

I just don't like the fact that they retrieve your luggage and bring it along in a different vehicle. Too many things could go wrong.

While I understand your concern, Disney and the Cruise lines have been doing this for years for cruises, and by all accounts it has worked very well. One difference here is that instead of heading for just one or two cruise ships, they will need to sort the luggage for maybe 20 Disney resorts. But apparently, they have a sorting operation set up which will gather the checked bags off the planes, sort them by resort then deliver them to your resort room. Yes the logistics are complex, but it's not rocket science, and I have full confidence that they can do it.

I think Magical Express has great potential, and I look forward to trying it out. I only wish they were starting before our April trip. Won't it be great just getting off the plane with your carry-ons and heading straight to the bus/van that will take you to your resort? Then have your bags magically appear at your room after you are all checked in? Hey, if I want a car for grocery shopping or off-site visits, I'll just head over to the Dolphin and pick on up there; or better yet, I'll use a cab.

Now the question in my mind (after reading the various FAQs) is how wheelchair-bound passengers will be handled. I imagine for the larger resorts and resort groupings, and at busier times, they will simply use lift-equipped motorcoaches. Otherwise I expect that they will continue to use the vans that my family has been used to riding in when we have ordered Mears (DS 7 is wheelchair-bound); every time we've used Mears with DS, we've essentially had a personal chauffeur.

But this should be a great service and I look forward to early reviews. And I hope JetBlue joins the program.

 

[localdriver]

Actually, the process of collecting and sending the specially tagged luggage to the various resorts happens with DCL as well. Some guests spend the first part of their vacation at Disney World and then are transported to the ship for their cruise, all without having to carry their own luggage.

The system is already in place and being used with DCL.

Wheelchair guests using the Magical Express will be transported on lift equipped Motorcoaches. I believe guests are asked to indicate the need for lift assistance when making reservations.

21 of the 30+ coaches on order by Mears will be lift equipped, and able to accomodate two wheelchairs per coach.

 

[localdriver]

I am fairly certain that Magical Express does not start until May (to coinside with the 50th anniv. celebration). Then it lasts the entire length of the celebration (something like 16 mos? ) I don't think Disney has said if they will continue the service after that. If they do, I bet they will charge for it!

Yes, you are correct, this service starts in May. But, whether free, is really free, I'm sure Disney has built in the projected expense of this service into a variety of venues, from ticket prices to the price of a MICKEY EARS hat. Mears has ordered 30+ "state if the art" Motorcoaches to provide this exclusive service. The committment to the success of this effort is clear from both Disney AND Mears.

Will it be a benefit to Disney guests?? Yes!! Absolutely!!.

A streamlined, no hassle, way to get to/from your resort, no luggage to deal with, less time at the airport, exclusive service to/from Disney Resorts.

No, or light luggage means quick loading at the airport, and quick disembarks at the resorts, so the whole process will be much quicker, smoother, and efficient.

 

[DrTomorrow]

While I understand your concern, Disney and the Cruise lines have been doing this for years for cruises, and by all accounts it has worked very well. One difference here is that instead of heading for just one or two cruise ships, they will need to sort the luggage for maybe 20 Disney resorts. But apparently, they have a sorting operation set up which will gather the checked bags off the planes, sort them by resort then deliver them to your resort room. Yes the logistics are complex, but it's not rocket science, and I have full confidence that they can do it. [...]

I admire your confidence, but something doesn't have to be rocket science to be complex enough for error to creep in. The comparison to DCL is nice, but simplistic: how many boats a week set sail? A better example is Las Vegas; tour companies have been doing that for decades - with a fair amount of grief. We used tour packages at LV for our first few trips, and either was always some problem. Once our luggage didn't make it to our hotel, another time it didn't make it back to Detroit, once the shuttle didn't show up at our hotel and we had to take a rush cab to the airport.. And even if things went as planned, there was a lot less "convenience" than you'd expect. There was always a wait until the bus filled up at the airport, then there were the wonderful waits during the stops at the 3 other hotels that seemed to always come before ours. And we always seemed to beat our luggage to the hotel by a matter of hours.

I'm usually an optimist, but the sheer number of guests, bags, WDW resorts, buses and incoming/outbound flights is more than enough to create a system of such complexity that problems will arise - and lost / misplaced luggage is quite high on the guest annoyance list. Add in the mayhem than a few dozen delayed flights would cause, and Disney better hope that their guests are very tolerant.

As for funding, I believe that Disney figures that the additional purchases made by the newly-captive guests (remember, you can't do "luggage only", so no airport rental car) will more than compensate for the cost of this service.

IMHO - YMMV