Southwest Airlines?

[Twizzles]

My husband wants to fly SW for our WDW trip in May 2012 and I'm a little concerned as it states on the "Magical Express" that SW has limited resorts; not quite sure as to what it means by limited resorts though.

•Southwest (limited resorts)

Has anyone had problems using the Magical Express when arriving and departing for their WD trip while flying with SW?

 

[goofy4tink]

Back, when DME first started, you had to be flying home on a participating airline in order to check your bags and get your boarding passes issued at the resort (RAC). And SW was not a participating airline at that time. THat has now changed.
You have Always been able to fly into MCO on SW and have your bags transferred by DME and then ride the DME bus to your resort. Now, that is still the same and SW now participates in the RAC (resort airline checkin) program at all resorts. For one reason or another, DME has lumped itself in with RAC. You don't have to take DME back to the airport to use RAC. YOu can have your own car, a rental car, or a car service...doesn't matter.
But, in any case....now that SW has become a participating airline, their passengers are able to use all the perks of DME and RAC. No problems whatsoever.
I'm not sure where you found the 'Southwest-limited resorts' at, but everyone is able to fly with SW and use all aspects of DME now.

 

[tjmw2727]

On the inbound, DME services all WDW resorts regardless of how you got to WDW, you don't even have to fly. You do need an advance reservation and you can use DME anytime during your resort reservation.

On the outbound the same is true, a trip to the airport from any resort as long as you have advance reservations. Again it doesn't matter what you do after you get to the airport. Most fly home, some rent a car and go elsewhere.

I think the misunderstanding comes with the RAC - Resort Access Checkin - avaiable on the day you fly out. This allows you to check your bags and get your boarding passes at the resort instead of at the airport. Although SWA used to only participate in a limited amount of resorts IIRC this is now available at all resort.

Bottom line is that you have always been able to use DME both ways when flying SWA but you may want to get more info on the RAC with regard to SWA.

Here is a link to the sticky at the top of the page with more info on RAC:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=944813

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

We flew Southwest both into and out of Orlando for our recent WDW trip and had zero problems. We used the Magical Express service both ways and our checked luggage was delivered to our resort room within an hour of us checking into the hotel. We had a great experience with Southwest. I really liked their prices and their baggage policies. We definitely plan on booking with them for our next WDW trip.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

On the inbound, DME services all WDW resorts regardless of how you got to WDW, you don't even have to fly. You do need an advance reservation and you can use DME anytime during your resort reservation.

On the outbound the same is true, a trip to the airport from any resort as long as you have advance reservations. Again it doesn't matter what you do after you get to the airport. Most fly home, some rent a car and go elsewhere.

I think the misunderstanding comes with the RAC - Resort Access Checkin - avaiable on the day you fly out. This allows you to check your bags and get your boarding passes at the resort instead of at the airport. Although SWA used to only participate in a limited amount of resorts IIRC this is now available at all resort.

Bottom line is that you have always been able to use DME both ways when flying SWA but you may want to get more info on the RAC with regard to SWA.
Here is a link to the sticky at the top of the page with more info on RAC:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=944813

We were able to use this service also. On our checkout day we checked our luggage at our resort's (AS Music) Magical Express counter and they also printed our boarding passes for us. The only thing is you have to confirm with your resort's Magical Express counter the time you need to do this by. We had a late flight out (6pm) so our Magical Express pick up wasn't until 3pm, but we had to have our luggage checked and boarding passes printed by 1pm because that is when our resort's Magical Express counter closed for the day.

 

[Twizzles]

Thank you for your posts to clarify.

I read the information on (www . wdwinfo . com / Transportation / magical-express) this site and got worried in regards to finding another airline carrier.

Again thank you all, I now can start looking at flight times on SW!!!