southwest airlines

[mhd]

My family is flying southwest to disney the last week in august and plan to use magical express. It is my understanding that disney will deliver our bags to our romm but when we leave, we cannot check in at our resort but must accarry our bags to the bus when we laeve to the airport. Do I have it right?

 

[disneynutz]

My family is flying southwest to Disney the last week in august and plan to use magical express. It is my understanding that disney will deliver our bags to our romm but when we leave, we cannot check in at our resort but must accarry our bags to the bus when we laeve to the airport. Do I have it right?

The Concierge desk can check you in and print your SWA boarding passes. You are correct that you can not check in your bags at the resort because SWA is not a DME participant. You will take your bags with you and check them in at the airport.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Just to clarify. The concierge or guest services at the parks can check you in 24 hours in advance of your flight. They can print boarding passes or you can print them at the airport when you check your bags.

DME does not check bags for any airline. They are merely a transportation system. Yes, you will need to carry your own bags to the DME bus and then retrieve them when you arrive at MCO.

 

[brenda1966]

DME does not check bags for any airline. They are merely a transportation system. Yes, you will need to carry your own bags to the DME bus and then retrieve them when you arrive at MCO.

Have they recently changed things?? Seems to me, DME did check our backs in for our flight home on United. I feared I would never see them again, but they were on our flight. We just checked them in near bell services and later in the day boarded our DME bus. We did not have to load our bags onto that bus.

Now, for SW, since they are not a member of DME, you *do* have to take your own bags on the DME bus and check them in at the airport.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Okay, to set things straight. Things have not changed. DME and RAC (the company that checks in your baggage for you at the resort) are two separate entitites. So DME does not check in your bags. Please see the sticky on top of the Transportation forum, which discusses participating airlines and RAC.

 

[happymommy]

Since Southwest Airlines isn't a DME partner, don't you have to pay for the bus transportation?

I understood that to be the case, but may be mistaken. I've never used DME myself, and if you do have to pay, a private towncar may be cheaper (or a rental car).

 

[klwdisney]

We used DME on our last trip in 2005. We flew with Jet Blue. Upon leaving Disney World to go home, we left our luggage with the Magic Express people and got on the bus. The next time we saw our luggage was on the carousel at Logan Airport. All of this was a FREE service provided by Disney.
Since on this trip, we are using Southwest, we will need to load our luggage underneath the bus and check it in ourselves at the airport when we head home. Again, this service will be a FREE service provided by Disney.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Since Southwest Airlines isn't a DME partner, don't you have to pay for the bus transportation?

I understood that to be the case, but may be mistaken. I've never used DME myself, and if you do have to pay, a private towncar may be cheaper (or a rental car).

DME service is free to and from the airport for any guest staying at a WDW resort. Being able to use DME has nothing to do with what airline you are flying. It is merely bus transportation to and from WDW.

SWA is not a RCA partner, so you cannot check your bags for SW at the resort, but you can put them on the DME bus and enjoy a free ride back to the airport to check in there.

 

[brenda1966]

Anyone can use DME, doesn't matter which airline you are flying, if you're flying in and out of MCO and staying *on* Disney Property, you can use DME for free. (Last I heard Swan/Dolphin were not included in this, only the Disney owned property.)

Okay, I know someone seemed to check our bags for us. I thought it was DME, but I guess not? Mostly I prefer to handle my own bags. After DME took over 4 hours to bring them to my room, I usually just bring them myself.

 

[disneyag]

ANY airline can use DME. When you arrive at MCO, just go to the DME desk and check in to get on the bus. Your luggage will be delivered to your resort.

If you fly Southwest, the only difference is in LEAVING WDW. You must take your luggage with you on the bus, instead of checking it at the hotel. That has nothing to do with the DME program, it's the baggage check in program (RAC) that some people confuse with DME.

 

[tjmw2727]

Since Southwest Airlines isn't a DME partner, don't you have to pay for the bus transportation?

I understood that to be the case, but may be mistaken. I've never used DME myself, and if you do have to pay, a private towncar may be cheaper (or a rental car).

Check the sticky at the top of the board "what participating airline really means" or something like that for all the q & a and excellent info.

In short though...ANYONE staying at ANY WDW Resort and arrving via ANY airline is eligible to use Disney's Magical Express both ways and have the luggage delivered direcly to the room upon arrival at MCO.

Upon departure again ANYONE can use DME for the trip to the airport. However, only those flying with a "participating airline" can check in and check their bags at the resort for the return flight. Those not flying a particpating airline just bring the luggage onboard the bus and arrive at the airport to check in and check bags as you normally would.

I have used DME with SWA 3 times (not a partipating airline) and have had excellent experience and it is indeed free to everyone staying at a WDW Resort.

TJ