New: Air Tran Resort Check-In

[smep013]

Hello,

I just read this on the front page, and I'm not sure what it means.
We are fllying Air Tran in August. How will this affect our trip?

Thank you!

 

[bettydau]

Subscribing.

 

[REL1203]

Um, Front Page of what?

 

[smep013]

From page of this website.
I read it, but am not sure if I understand it right.
Does it mean that when I check-in at the airport, I can "check-in" to the resort too?

If you’re visiting Walt Disney World and staying at a Disney owned resort, you’ll be able to take advantage of complimentary airport shuttle service, luggage delivery and airline check-in.

Disney's Magical Express service allows guests to check their luggage at their hometown airport and have it taken directly from the Orlando International Airport to their Disney Resort. (This service is patterned after the luggage system used by Disney Cruise Line guests who use DCL transfers.)

At the Magical Express Welcome Center, guests can pre-register for the Resort Airline Check-In Service (You must be using one of the participating airlines as noted below.)

While the inbound domestic airlines are not restricted, outbound pre domestic flight check in at the resort is limited to guests flying on:

**AirTran Airways (Official carrier on 5/5/07 - see below)
Alaska Airline
American
Delta
Continental
Jet Blue
Northwest
United/Ted
** A pilot program began on December 19th. Guests flying on Air Tran are able to check in with the airline at the following resorts:

Animal Kingdom Lodge
Beach Club Resort
Boardwalk Inn
Contemporary Resort
Coronado Springs Resort
Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
Grand Floridian
Polynesian Resort
Wilderness Lodge
Yacht Club
In order to pre-register, you must do so at least two calendar days prior to your departure. If the length of your stay prevents you from doing this, you can still go to the desk to use this service.

When pre-registering, you still need to go to the Resort Airline Check-in desk with your bags and to get your boarding pass.

Guests can check-in at any time on their day of departure as long as it is not less than 3 hours prior to their flight departure time.



The operating hours are 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. daily. Below is the full set of policies for using the Resort Airline Check-In Service:



Flying domestically (includes Puerto Rico an the US Virgin Islands)
On their day of departure, Guests must check-in no less than 3 hours prior to their flight departure time
Guests with a flight departure time before 8:00 a.m. must check-in at the airport
For families traveling together, a parent or guardian may check-in for their spouse and minor children
Some Guests may be selected to check-in at the airport and may not be able to use the service
Luggage must be 50 pounds or less to use the service
A valid government issued photo ID and Key to the World Card are required

 

[REL1203]

From page of this website.
I read it, but am not sure if I understand it right.
Does it mean that when I check-in at the airport, I can "check-in" to the resort too?

If you’re visiting Walt Disney World and staying at a Disney owned resort, you’ll be able to take advantage of complimentary airport shuttle service, luggage delivery and airline check-in.

Disney's Magical Express service allows guests to check their luggage at their hometown airport and have it taken directly from the Orlando International Airport to their Disney Resort. (This service is patterned after the luggage system used by Disney Cruise Line guests who use DCL transfers.)

At the Magical Express Welcome Center, guests can pre-register for the Resort Airline Check-In Service (You must be using one of the participating airlines as noted below.)

While the inbound domestic airlines are not restricted, outbound pre domestic flight check in at the resort is limited to guests flying on:

**AirTran Airways (Official carrier on 5/5/07 - see below)
Alaska Airline
American
Delta
Continental
Jet Blue
Northwest
United/Ted
** A pilot program began on December 19th. Guests flying on Air Tran are able to check in with the airline at the following resorts:

Animal Kingdom Lodge
Beach Club Resort
Boardwalk Inn
Contemporary Resort
Coronado Springs Resort
Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
Grand Floridian
Polynesian Resort
Wilderness Lodge
Yacht Club
In order to pre-register, you must do so at least two calendar days prior to your departure. If the length of your stay prevents you from doing this, you can still go to the desk to use this service.

When pre-registering, you still need to go to the Resort Airline Check-in desk with your bags and to get your boarding pass.

Guests can check-in at any time on their day of departure as long as it is not less than 3 hours prior to their flight departure time.



The operating hours are 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. daily. Below is the full set of policies for using the Resort Airline Check-In Service:



Flying domestically (includes Puerto Rico an the US Virgin Islands)
On their day of departure, Guests must check-in no less than 3 hours prior to their flight departure time
Guests with a flight departure time before 8:00 a.m. must check-in at the airport
For families traveling together, a parent or guardian may check-in for their spouse and minor children
Some Guests may be selected to check-in at the airport and may not be able to use the service
Luggage must be 50 pounds or less to use the service
A valid government issued photo ID and Key to the World Card are required

Its been rumored that AirTran would become official for RAC starting May 5th, but nothing official from Disney nor AirTran has come out. Just some unofficial official news leaks

 

[Mousema]

It means you can check your baggage at your Disney resort to go home. No need to check-in at MCO, if using ME.

 

[CleveRocks]

From page of this website.
I read it, but am not sure if I understand it right.
Does it mean that when I check-in at the airport, I can "check-in" to the resort too?

No.

On the way back home, some people can check their luggage at their resort at a desk called Resort Airline Check-in. This is EXACTLY like using curbside check-in at the airport. You present them with I.D. and give them your luggage. They give you baggage claim receiptsand your actual airline boarding pass. They also take your luggage (NOT carry-ons) and you won't see it again until it's on your home airport's baggage claim carousel. Like I said, EXACTLY like using curbside check-in at the airport, only instead of being at the airport, you're in your WDW resort's lobby.

Only people flying certain airlines are eligible to use this service. As of May 5, AirTran will come online as one of those airlines.

So the short answer to the OP's question ... the only way this affects your trip has to do with the way home, and has to do with whether you have someone else handle your luggage for you.

Just as a reminder, Disney offers a complimentary service called Disney's Magical Express, which is free wound-trip bus transportation between the airport and your WDW resort, and also includes free luggage delivery TO the inside of your resort room -- you make a reservation, they send you special luggage tags, you check in your suitcases at your home airport, and the next time you see them is on the inside of your WDW resort room. Again, THIS part of the luggage handling is for everyone on every airline.

For luggage handling on the way home, you have to be flying one of the "participating" airlines.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

It means you can check your baggage at your Disney resort to go home. No need to check-in at MCO, if using ME.

Actually, you're allowed to use Resort Airline Check-in (RAC) even if you're not using Disney's Magical Express (DME) transportation to return to the airport. It's perfectly okay according to the FAQ. (In contrast, you're not allowed to use DME for baggage transfers on your arrival day unless you're also using DME for transportation.)

Eric (CleveRocks) gave an excellent summary of RAC and DME.

I'll only add that anyone thinking of using RAC should familiarize themselves with the RAC desk hours and cut-off times.

 

[smep013]

Thank you for clearing this up for me.
Sometimes I am a bit dense!

 

[goofy4tink]

Thank you for clearing this up for me.
Sometimes I am a bit dense!

Not dense at all! There are always questions regarding DME, even from those experienced WDW travelers.
As HH said, be sure to familiarize yourself with the hours of operation of the RAC desk. They open around 5 am, and then close after lunch. So, there will be folks who will not be able to use it..no matter what airline they are flying out on. If you have a 7 am flight out, you won't have enough time to checkin with RAC. They have a mandatory minimum time of 3 hrs before departure time.