One of my favorite perks of staying on property at a Walt Disney World Resort, is the free round trip airport transportation, known as Disney’s Magical Express, for guests flying into Orlando International Airport. With this service, your vacation begins literally immediately.
BEFORE YOU GO
About 6-8 weeks before you travel, you will receive some Mickey Magic in the mail. Inside the envelope, you’ll see your official voucher for your resort transportation as well as yellow luggage tags. It’s always a good idea to read over your voucher to make sure there are no errors. It will indicate the name of your resort, your reservation number and your arrival date as well as the names of all of the guests in your travel party and your flight information for both your arrival and your departure from Orlando International Airport. In all my years of using this service, I’ve never had an issue, but if you do notice an error on your voucher, simply phone Disney’s Magical Express directly and they will fix it for you.
Also good to know- on one of my recent trips, our airline cancelled our flight the night before departure and re-routed us. I was able to phone Disney’s Magical Express directly and they made a note of our change in their computer system and I was still able to use our yellow luggage tags without issue or delay. Speaking of your yellow luggage tags, these are so wonderful! You simply follow the directions to stick them to your luggage when you check in at your airport for your flight to Orlando. As long as these tags are on your luggage, you will not have to visit baggage claim in Orlando. Instead, you will proceed immediately to the Magical Express buses and your luggage will magically appear at your resort later in the day.
Luggage delivery service is available for guests arriving in Orlando between 5am and 10pm. It is important to note that guests on flights arriving outside of these times must retrieve their baggage themselves before heading to the bus. In this case, or if you would prefer to retrieve your luggage yourself for any other reason, you should not use the yellow luggage tags. Also important to note, if you are utilizing the luggage delivery service, it could take up to three hours for delivery. For this reason, it is suggested that you pack any medications, valuables and other essential items that you’ll need in a separate carry-on bag. This includes your MagicBands!!
ARRIVAL IN ORLANDO
When your plane arrives in Orlando, you will take the train from your gate to the main terminal, which will be on level 3. Most guests will take advantage of the luggage delivery service and, therefore, will be able to proceed immediately to Disney’s Magical Express located on Side B, Level 1. There is very clearly marked signage throughout the airport and airport staff is readily available should you have difficulty finding your way. Once you arrive at the Magical Express center, a Cast Member will ask to scan your MagicBands and check your voucher so make sure you have these readily available.
Photo credit: passporter.com
They will direct you to the motor coach that will take you to your resort. You will be able to store larger carry-on items such as small suitcases and strollers underneath the motor coach and, of course, if you choose to retrieve your luggage yourself, that will go underneath the bus as well. Please be aware that your motor coach will likely make several resort stops before arriving at your designated hotel. Travel times vary but typically take between 45 to 75 minutes door to door.
DEPARTURE FROM WALT DISNEY WORLD
The day prior to check out, you will receive your Disney’s Magical Express transportation notice which will give you your departure time and location. Typically, for domestic flights, departure time will be approximately 3 hours prior to your flight time. You must be at the indicated location on time to make use of the service. Some select airlines will allow you to check-in to your flight at the resort. For guests flying Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue, United, Delta (domestic only) and Southwest, you have the option of checking your backs and getting your boarding passes at the resort. Guests wanting to use this service must be at the pick up location about 45 minutes prior to your Magical Express pick up time in order to have time to take care of flight check in before the bus arrives. Guests with departure times earlier than 8am must check in at the airport.
Disney’s Magical Express is just one more way that Disney helps make your vacation as seamless and magical as possible!
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