After launching the pilot program earlier this year, Walt Disney World is expanding Airport Luggage Transfer for arrivals between Orlando International Airport and WDW on-site resort hotels, allowing guests to skip baggage claim at MCO. This covers the latest official details of the test, answers to common questions, and our commentary about the free guest perk for on-site resorts.
As basic background for those who missed the original coverage, the Return of Resort Airline Check-In Service at Walt Disney World as a Pilot Program occurred back this spring. Within literal days of launching, the service expanded the test.
Walt Disney World made it official shortly after that, dubbing the new program Airport Luggage Transfer. A similar service was previously known as Resort Airline Check-In prior to being discontinued in 2020. That was previously associated with Disney’s Magical Express, although the two interconnected offerings were run by two different third party partners. (Confusing and convoluted, I know.)
With the existing outbound service, guests staying at select Walt Disney World Resort hotels can drop checked baggage off with Luggage Assistance to be delivered directly to your flight. A new third-party service, known as BagCheck, will take your luggage directly to the airport for your Southwest Airlines flight.
Currently, this pilot service is available at all Value Resort hotels for Guests with Southwest Airlines flights departing from Orlando International Airport (MCO). The pilot program soft launched at Pop Century in late March, before expanding to the All Stars and Art of Animation and being officially announced by Walt Disney World about a week later.
It was our understanding at the time that the pilot program would be expanded based in part on positive guest feedback, utilization rates, satisfaction, and other metrics. Given its quick growth and the third party involved, we were incredibly optimistic that Airport Luggage Transfer would only continue to grow over the coming months.
To my surprise and disappointment, that still has not happened. It had been radio silence since, with no further expansion to the Airport Luggage Transfer service. No additional airlines or resorts at Walt Disney World are eligible. Nevermind ’round trip’ service for luggage transfers upon arrival, which was starting to seem like a pipe dream. Until today.
Here are details from the official announcement made by Walt Disney World…
Beginning November 18, 2025, guests arriving on domestic Southwest Airlines flights at Orlando International Airport (MCO) and staying at select Walt Disney World Resort hotels will have the option to skip baggage claim. They’ll be able to do so by checking their luggage at the Southwest bag drop area or ticket counter at their home airport for direct delivery to their resort.
BagCheck — a third-party provider — will facilitate transportation of the luggage from the airport, with delivery to the resort within approximately four hours of arrival.
Guests will begin to receive the following email about this service this week:
Dear Guest,
We’re excited to share a new pilot program for guests flying Southwest Airlines into Orlando International Airport (MCO) and staying at select Disney Resorts Collection hotels. This convenient service lets you skip baggage claim and have your checked luggage delivered directly to your Disney Resort hotel.The service will begin operating for flights arriving November 18, 2025 or later. If you’d like to take advantage of the service, your registration window opens 30 days prior to departure and closes 5 days prior to departure.
For more information and to register, click here.
Sincerely,
Walt Disney World Resort
Walt Disney World has not provided a link to the website where guests will pre-register for inbound Airport Luggage Transfer, but we believe it’ll be here. Our expectation is that’ll update overnight, as registration should open on November 13, 2025.
Airport Luggage Transfer for arriving flights is not a new or unprecedented service.
Old school Walt Disney World fans probably remember those magical yellow luggage tags that arrived in the mail. You’d attach those to your luggage, check it at your home airport, and it would magically find its way to your room at Walt Disney World. This was a big part of the beloved “Disney Bubble” that the company voluntarily punctured with the infamous end of Disney’s Magical Express.
This seamless service was truly magical. That’s a word we’ve already used three times in this post, and it’s not one this blog throws around lightly. You’ve never heard us describe a cupcake as magical, for example.
But in a world where airport and transportation logistics have become nightmarish, Walt Disney World had something special with this–which is a big reason why fans still bemoan the demise of Disney’s Magical Express. You were on vacation the moment you landed in Orlando, and Disney took care of the details.
We speak for most Walt Disney World fans when we say the true countdown to vacation started even earlier: when that envelope arrived with the Disney’s Magical Express booklet and those yellow luggage tags. If that envelope showed up in the mail today, I could still identify it just by feel without even opening it. And we haven’t used the service since ~2017. It’s silly, but there was something special about getting those yellow tags.
Walt Disney World has not indicated whether the yellow tags will make a return, but we assume there will need to be some way of signaling to BagCheck that the luggage checked at your home airport needs to be diverted from MCO’s baggage carousels to Walt Disney World. With modern technology, there’s presumably a way to signal this with electronically, but for that to work, they’d (presumably?) need Southwest to share data from its systems. So perhaps the low-tech yellow tags will make a return. We shall see!
Walt Disney World also has not indicated which resorts will be eligible for the Airport Luggage Transfer deliveries from the airport to their resort hotel. Here’s the current list of eligible resorts for the existing outbound version of the service:
- Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
- Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
- Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
- Disney’s Pop Century Resort
It’s safe to assume that, at minimum, the same resorts will offer Airport Luggage Transfer for arrivals, thus creating a roundtrip version of the service for the first time in years. It remains to be seen whether the inbound (or outbound, for that matter) Airport Luggage Transfer will have an expanded eligibility roster of resorts.
Anecdotally, I’ve stayed at a few different Value Resorts since Airport Luggage Transfer returned. While I haven’t yet used the service (due to not using SWA or departing from the Value Resort…or both), it has seemed pretty popular. Whenever I’ve dropped off bags for transferring (to other resorts), there’s always been a modest crowd. Our reader responses to the service’s return were resoundingly positive, too.
It’s thus unsurprising that the Airport Luggage Transfer pilot program is expanding…even if it’s happening months later than anticipated and in a slightly different manner than we expected it’d unfold. Walt Disney World seldom does anything this quickly, even with the assistance of third party participants.
This nevertheless has us more optimistic that Airport Luggage Transfer will only continue to grow over the coming months. It’s like that they’re figuring out logistics at the Value Resorts because this tier is easier.
As for why Walt Disney World started the Airport Luggage Transfer pilot program at the Value Resorts, the best explanation is that it’s easiest. These five resorts are located in only two distinct areas, with over 10,000 rooms. That’s over one-third of all Disney-owned hotel inventory and in relatively condensed regions of Walt Disney World.
There’s nowhere else at Walt Disney World that offers this many rooms in this close of proximity–especially if Walt Disney World wants to pilot the program at an entire tier of resorts, as opposed to a hodgepodge of them in a resort district.
As for why it’s starting with Southwest Airlines, it’s the same explanation. SWA is the largest airline flying out of MCO and it’s safe to say that it has the highest percentage of checked bags by volume thanks to its “bags fly free” policy. That policy is now defunct, but it applied to bookings made through late May.
These are just guesses on our part, but those are the likely explanations for why BagCheck chose those Walt Disney World Resort hotels and Southwest Airlines.
It’s the easiest starting point for the service while testing logistics and iterating before scaling up. It allows Airport Luggage Transfer to make a relatively big impact with fewer resources as it onboards new employees and refines the service.
So it may not feel “fair” to guests paying big bucks to stay Club Level at the Grand Floridian and fly Delta One, but it likely comes down to scale and logistics as opposed to which guests are most “deserving” (air quotes) of Airport Luggage Transfer. This is more impactful than any other resort complex, tier, and airline combination.
The good news is that Airport Luggage Transfer will almost assuredly expand further. It’ll just take time. Admittedly, more time has passed than we hoped between the official launch and the first big expansion, but it’s not surprising.
This is a complicated service and the infrastructure for it has been dormant for over 5 years. It involves not just Walt Disney World Cast Members, but also BagCheck employees and vendors at MCO. There are a lot of moving parts, and it cannot go from zero to 100 overnight.
Beyond that, we’ll double-down on our perspective that this makes Disney’s Magical Express more likely to return. Orlando International Airport needs to improve its efficiency in multiple regards, and having passengers arrive and depart via higher-capacity buses is one such way. This feels like the stars aligning, as there’s a mutually-beneficial solution for both Disney’s and MCO’s woes.
The return of Airport Luggage Transfer/Resort Airline Check-In strikes me as Walt Disney World laying the groundwork for bringing back Disney’s Magical Express. The luggage handling is the more complicated piece of the puzzle that would need to roll out first.
The airport shuttle infrastructure already exists, just with different stickers on the buses. Unlike this, that changeover could be like flipping a switch. This is all great news, and seems like a perfect confluence of circumstances: Disney finally realizing the error of their ways in deflating the Disney Bubble and MCO needing relief from its high passenger volume.
What follows is details about how Airport Luggage Transfer currently works for departures. Obviously, it’ll be different for arrivals. We’ll share more details once they’ve been released!
How Airport Luggage Transfer Works
Save time at the airport by sending your bags ahead to the airline. Simply follow these steps:
- At the beginning of your stay, check in at your Value Resort hotel and call or visit Luggage Assistance to take advantage of this service. For a smoother experience, leave your inbound Southwest Airlines tags on your bags.
- The day before your departure, check in for your Southwest Airlines flight online.
- Drop off your bags at Luggage Assistance in the Resort hotel lobby area by the required drop off time (see below). Please be aware that you will need to provide a valid form of photo identification in order to drop off your bags. You can also call Luggage Assistance from your in-room telephone to ask for help with your bags.
- Head to the airport, skip the check-in line, enjoy your flight and pick up your bags at baggage claim when you arrive at your destination.
When to Drop Off Your Bags
It is strongly encouraged that you drop off your checked bags the night before your scheduled departure. However, if you need some extra time, you can do the following:
- When Flying Before 1:00 PM: Drop your bags off by 1:00 AM the night before your flight.
- When Flying After 1:00 PM: Drop your bags off at least 4 hours before departure or no later than 1:00 PM—whichever comes first.
Luggage Assistance is available to receive luggage any time from 7am-1pm and 4pm-1am daily.
Airport Luggage Transfer FAQ
What do I need to do before dropping off my luggage?
You must complete your Southwest Airlines check-in online or through the Southwest Airlines mobile app. Check-in begins 24 hours before your scheduled departure. A boarding pass and valid ID are required when dropping off luggage. All relevant baggage fees, if any, will need to be paid before taking advantage of Airport Luggage Transfer at Walt Disney World.
Can I print my boarding passes when I drop off my bags?
No. Walt Disney World does not provide boarding pass printing as part of the Airport Luggage Transfer service. You should have your boarding passes ready before dropping off your bags.
Am I still eligible for the service if I removed the inbound tags from my bag?
Yes, you are still eligible for the service. While we recommend keeping your inbound Southwest Airlines tags on your bag for a smoother experience, it is not a requirement.
Can I see the location of my bags or get assistance?
You can track your bags using the Southwest Airlines app. For additional support with your bags, please contact Southwest Airlines customer service.
What happens to the bag if a flight is cancelled?
If your Southwest Airlines flight is cancelled, your bag will be automatically redirected to your new flight. For assistance, please contact Southwest Airlines customer service.
Where do I pick up my luggage after my flight?
You can pick up your luggage in baggage claim at your flight’s final destination.
Who should I contact if I have issues or questions about my luggage after drop-off?
You can contact or visit Luggage Assistance for any questions about your luggage after drop-off. Once the bag departs the Resort hotel, you can get information via the Baggage webpage for Southwest Airlines. You can also see a Southwest Agent at the airport for assistance.
Is this service available for all airlines?
This pilot program is only available for flights on Southwest Airlines.
Will this pilot program expand to other resorts or airlines?
At this time (operative words), Walt Disney World has only committed to this being a free perk for guests staying at the Value Resorts and flying Southwest Airlines.
Are there any size or weight restrictions for baggage?
Yes. Standard size and weight restrictions apply. Check with Southwest Airlines for details on specific checked baggage policies.
What happens if my luggage is missing, delayed or damaged?
If your luggage is missing, delayed or damaged, you can submit a report to Southwest Airlines.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
What do you think about the return of Airport Luggage Transfer/Resort Airline Check-In for arriving flights? Will you use this service from your home airport to Walt Disney World resort hotels? Think this paves the way for a comeback of Disney’s Magical Express, or is that still unlikely? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!