Questions about flying on SW from TN

[Lisha1979]

I've been looking at flight prices and have heard from friends that they got these amazing deals to fly to orlando for less than $100 round trip per person. Are they just having a lapse in memory or are these deals for real?
Where's the best place to find deals on Southwest? I've looked at the travel sites like travelocity, orbitz, and other sites. but most have one or 2 stops just go to to orlando. And I'm not seeing SW as a flight option on many of those sites.
Also when I try and book flight through WDW site they also have the double stop flights as well. WTH? I don't want to spend half of a day with a 4 year old in a plane! =)

IF i choose SW can we still take the DME? We're staying at POP and I saw somewhere they did allow SW flights to take the magical express but it was just a promotional thing. Is this still going on?
If they don't "allow" SW how do you get to the resort? I don't really want to add in a rental car or taxi just to the resort.

TIA! =)
Lisha

 

[Lisha1979]

Oh I thought of another question,
When we go to WDW we will be staying on the resort for 6 days then we will be renting a car and going to Cocoa Beach. How do we handle the DME back to the airport (to get the rental car) with out an actual departure date/time? Do we tell the desk? Can we ride the DME and send our luggage with us with out it being actually put on a plane? Or would it be better for DH to ride the DME alone and just get the rental car and bring it back to the resort and pick up the luggage from there?
I know they have a check out time of 11am but can the resort store the luggage for a couple hours?

 

[brianm27]

Any person staying at a Disney owned resort is eligible for Magical Express. Airline makes no difference, either coming or going.

Only participating airlines will allow you to check your bags at the resort for your return trip, bypassing the counters at the airports. Currently Southwest is in a "test" participating at the All-Star and POP Century resorts. Used the Southwest baggage service in October and it was wonderful.

Since it was a test, this may not be the current experience, but we actually had our Southwest boarding passes and luggage tags delivered right to our room at POP Century the day of departure. When we brought or bags down to Resort Airline Check In, they took our bags without standing in line since we already had the luggage tags. I hope this becomes the "normal" procedure for Southwest at the resorts.

 

[went503]

Lisha,
These deals are for real but probably by location. I am flying out of washington dulles into orlando for $59.00 non stop each way. yes you can take DME and i highly recommend it. I did it last year and it was great and will be doing it again in april for my trip. Its perfect, easy and works at every resort. The only thing they mean with sw not participating is when you leave you will have to checkin at the airport not at the pop like you could with other airlines. If you have anymore questions let me know

Enjoy

 

[brianm27]

Your post is a little confusing, but if I undestand correctly, you are checking out of your Disney resort and spending a few days at the beach.

Sounds like DME is only needed one way, which is fine.

I would not go back to the airport to get the rental car. There are many options for car rental right on Disney property that will let you return to the airport. For example, Alamo is at Disneys Car Care Center near the Magic Kingdom lot and also at the Dolphin. They will come and get you from your disney resort and take either one or all of you to your car. There are other rental options at the downtown Disney hotels.

 

[Lisha1979]

Your post is a little confusing, but if I undestand correctly, you are checking out of your Disney resort and spending a few days at the beach.

Sounds like DME is only needed one way, which is fine.

I would not go back to the airport to get the rental car. There are many options for car rental right on Disney property that will let you return to the airport. For example, Alamo is at Disneys Car Care Center near the Magic Kingdom lot and also at the Dolphin. They will come and get you from your disney resort and take either one or all of you to your car. There are other rental options at the downtown Disney hotels.

Sorry for the confusion. We do plan to check out of the resort and head to the beach using a rental.
Thanks for the tips about the rentals on the property, i'll check into them.
Thanks so much for your help =)

 

[Bobo912]

I've been looking at flight prices and have heard from friends that they got these amazing deals to fly to orlando for less than $100 round trip per person. Are they just having a lapse in memory or are these deals for real?
Where's the best place to find deals on Southwest? I've looked at the travel sites like travelocity, orbitz, and other sites. but most have one or 2 stops just go to to orlando. And I'm not seeing SW as a flight option on many of those sites.
Also when I try and book flight through WDW site they also have the double stop flights as well. WTH? I don't want to spend half of a day with a 4 year old in a plane! =)

IF i choose SW can we still take the DME? We're staying at POP and I saw somewhere they did allow SW flights to take the magical express but it was just a promotional thing. Is this still going on?
If they don't "allow" SW how do you get to the resort? I don't really want to add in a rental car or taxi just to the resort.

TIA! =)
Lisha

If you are flying out of Nashville, SWA is the only airline that has non-stop flights to Orlando. I'm pretty sure you can't book SWA through any of the travel sites or through Disney. I've flown from Nashville to Orlando for as little as $50 roundtrip. $80 round trip fares used to be really common. In the last year or so, the deals haven't been quite as good. The best deal I've gotten in the last 12 months was $55 each way. It's also usually cheaper if you are flying on Tue, Wed, or Thur. If you haven't already, go to the SWA website and sign up for their email updates and download DING to you computer. If you book and the price goes down you can rebook at the cheaper rate with no rebooking fee. You won't get a refund, but the difference will remain on account with SWA and you can use it for future trips (within the next 12 months from the original booking date) or if you can't use the funds you can let someone else use them. As everyone has said you can use ME just like anyone else staying at a Disney resort. And since you're staying at POP you can use resort check-in for your return trip. I used it at ASMu (also a test resort with SWA) last Oct and it was very easy. They leave your airline boarding passes on your door early on the morning of your departure. You take your luggage to the airline checkin counter at the resort, which if I recall correctly is just to the left of the main entrance (if you're leaving the lobby) at POP. You won't have to handle your luggage again until you get to your home airport.

 

[Bobo912]

Oh I thought of another question,
When we go to WDW we will be staying on the resort for 6 days then we will be renting a car and going to Cocoa Beach. How do we handle the DME back to the airport (to get the rental car) with out an actual departure date/time? Do we tell the desk? Can we ride the DME and send our luggage with us with out it being actually put on a plane? Or would it be better for DH to ride the DME alone and just get the rental car and bring it back to the resort and pick up the luggage from there?
I know they have a check out time of 11am but can the resort store the luggage for a couple hours?

Oops...just read this post. So you should not use the resort airline check in at POP since you're going to the beach after WDW.

 

[Lisha1979]

thanks so much bobo912!! I'm downloading Ding right now. I guess I'll play the gamble game and wait and see if the price of the tickets will go down. We're leaving on a Friday and Returning on a Sunday. Hopefully the prices will go down at least a little. Right now Round trip tickets are about $280 each.

 

[backyardponder]

Most Southwest good fares to MCO are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. If you are willing to rent a car, you might want to see if they have anything cheaper to Tampa.

Don't forget that with Southwest if the fare goes down you can change to the lower fare and use the credit within 12 months.

Good Luck!

 

[Lisha1979]

Thanks for the help everyone! The rates went down the other day and it lowered our flight by about $100!! I went ahead and booked tonight!!! =)