SW Carryon Help - first time flying ?'s

[tripletots]

My daughter is flying to Disney with a college roommate for spring break. We have always driven since we are a family of 7 and it's only a 12 hour drive. She has never flown before and same for her roommate.
My questions are....

1. I bought a 21" Embark brand rolling luggage. I assume that is an appropriate size for carry on?

2. Is her purse considered her second item or can she have a backpack and her purse?

3. Do all bottles like shampoo have to be in a quart size bag individually or can she put several bottles in the baggie?

4. Can she take a Venus razor?

5. Her roommate has never flown before either. Is there anyway for them to be seated together? I guess it's not the end of the world if they aren't together.

6. What does checking in 24 hours before mean? Can I do it for them when they are in Disney? Do they need paper tickets or just license for ID or both?

7. How do I connect them to DME? They are staying at POP. And if they aren't checking their luggage do I let Disney know this?

I really apologize for all the questions, but while my daughter is busy studying (I hope) I get the fun job of researching this part of her trip. Thanks for all your help! BTW...her trip is in early March.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

. I bought a 21" Embark brand rolling luggage. I assume that is an appropriate size for carry on? Yes that is the correct size for carry on

2. Is her purse considered her second item or can she have a backpack and her purse? I would suggest she take a backpack and put the purse inside of it. Once she get through security she will have a lot of things to collect- her 21" bag, backpack, shoes. Oh and tell her to take everything out of her pockets before going through security. and put it in the backpack

3. Do all bottles like shampoo have to be in a quart size bag individually or can she put several bottles in the baggie?Bottles of any liquid must be a bottle that is no bigger that 3.4 oz and all the bottles have to fit in just 1 of the 1 quart ziplock bag. She only allow 1 baggie otherwise they will make her throw the rest out. And keep in mind if the bottle is 5 oz and only has a little bit left she can not take it through security. they will make her through it out.

4. Can she take a Venus razor?Yes you can take one

5. Her roommate has never flown before either. Is there anyway for them to be seated together? I guess it's not the end of the world if they aren't together. At 24 hrs before the flight have both girls do the online check in together. That way they might get a boarding number pretty close together. With SWA its open seating you just pick any open seat.

6. What does checking in 24 hours before mean? Can I do it for them when they are in Disney? Do they need paper tickets or just license for ID or both?You can do this online at SWA web site. And yes they will need a printed boardig pass. Which they must should to the security as well as a government ID http://www.southwest.com/flight/retrieveCheckinDoc.html?forceNewSession=yes


7. How do I connect them to DME? They are staying at POP. And if they aren't checking their luggage do I let Disney know this?No you don't have to tell Disney they are not checking luggage. For DME call Disney to arrange for the DME bus ride. Tell the girls they can catch the DME on the B side of the airport. Just tell to remember B for Bus

 

[tripletots]

Thank you so much Shelly!

Another question re: #6....

If they aren't taking laptops with them how do they check in 24 hours prior to coming home? Is this something that can be done at one of the desks at POP? Like concierge? And can they print out the boarding passes?

 

[mumto2]

You could check them in at the 24 hour mark you would need both confirmation numbers if they purchased their tickets separately.

They can print boarding passes at the airport.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

You can check them in for their return flight and have them stop at the front desk of their resort and ask them to print their passes for them. Both of them will have to show ID to have a cast member print their passes. Or the girls can stop by the front desk at the 24hr mark and the CM can check them in and print the passes

 

[Sandi]

Thank you so much Shelly!

Another question re: #6....

If they aren't taking laptops with them how do they check in 24 hours prior to coming home? Is this something that can be done at one of the desks at POP? Like concierge? And can they print out the boarding passes?

If the girls have smartphones, they can download the SWA app and check in with their phones at the 24 hour mark. They can print their boarding passes at the airport no matter how they check in for their flight.

Also, you might want to consider purchasing Early Bird check-in for the return portion of her flight. Then no one needs to be concerned about checking in at all -- SWA takes care of it before the 24 hour mark. There is no guaranty that she'll get an A boarding position, but we've had great success with it. For Spring Break last year, my DD flew SWA to meet her girlfriend's family in West Palm Beach. She had EB check in for the return portion of her trip just so no one would need to think about it. At that time it was $10, now it is $12.50. Worth it to me.

Also, I just wanted to add that on SWA, you get 2 checked bags at no additional cost. Unless they are very light packers and not going for long, there is no reason to not have a checked bag. Of course, she should pack everything she NEEDS (medications, nightclothes, and clothing for the next day) in case a bag is mis-directed. But it's nice to have a lighter carry on if it costs no more to check a bag.

 

[kaytieeldr]

1. That's not the only measurement that matters: "Southwest Airlines limits carryon bag dimensions to 10 x 16 x 24 inches." Also, the personal item needs to fit completely under the seat in front of her.

 

[leebee]

1. I bought a 21" Embark brand rolling luggage. I assume that is an appropriate size for carry on?

2. Is her purse considered her second item or can she have a backpack and her purse?

3. Do all bottles like shampoo have to be in a quart size bag individually or can she put several bottles in the baggie?

4. Can she take a Venus razor?

The rolling suitcase is a fine size for a carry-on. However, on Southwest you can check your luggage for FREE. If she checked this bag, you wouldn't have to worry about her liquids like shampoo or skin cream, OR her razor, because they'd be in her checked bag. Then there'd also be no question about her backpack and purse, as she'll be fine taking both of these on board with her.


5. Her roommate has never flown before either. Is there anyway for them to be seated together? I guess it's not the end of the world if they aren't together.

6. What does checking in 24 hours before mean? Can I do it for them when they are in Disney? Do they need paper tickets or just license for ID or both?

ANYONE can do online check-in for any passenger, if you have the appropriate information. 24 hours before the first leg of their flight departs, go to southwest.com and do on-line check-in. You will need both of their names and their confirmation numbers. Since they have 2 different confirmation numbers, I would open two windows, one for each traveler. The directions for online check-in are pretty clear; if you hit the "check in" button within a minute or so of each other's reservation, they will very likely get sequential or very close boarding assignments. Boarding passes can either be printed out at the end of online check-in, at the airport from a Southwest kiosk, or at the Southwest ticket counter at the airport. They will each need a valid photo ID (driver's license, state ID card, or passport… school ID or credit card won't qualify) to get their boarding passes at the airport AND to pass through TSA security.

FOR COMING HOME: You can check them in 24 hours prior to flight time as described above, and they can get their boarding passes at the airport. HOWEVER, I strongly suggest you sign them up for Early Bird Check In through Southwest for their return trip. For $12.50 each, SW will check them in 36 hours prior to boarding. They will get GREAT boarding assignments, you don't have to worry about forgetting to do the online check in, they won't have to worry about remembering to do it, or not having smart phones or being near their resort when it's time to check in. We ALWAYS do EBCI for our return flight, just for the convenience!

7. How do I connect them to DME? They are staying at POP. And if they aren't checking their luggage do I let Disney know this?

Sign them up for DME by contacting Disney. Disney should send you a travel packet which will have yellow luggage tags included. If they aren't checking luggage, everything's fine as is. If they ARE checking luggage, use the yellow tags in the packet so Disney can identify their bags and load them on the bus. ALSO… if they are checking luggage and you have to tell Disney their flight number, Disney wants the number of the flight that arrives in Orlando, NOT the flight they take from their "home" airport (unless, of course, it's a direct flight meaning they are only on ONE plane, no change-overs)

I put my responses to your questions within the quoted text, in purple!