After launching the pilot program earlier this 12 months, Walt Disney World is increasing Airport Baggage Switch for arrivals between Orlando Worldwide Airport and WDW on-site resort resorts, permitting visitors to skip baggage declare at MCO. This covers the newest official particulars of the check, solutions to widespread questions, and our commentary concerning the free visitor perk for on-site resorts.

As fundamental background for many who missed the unique protection, the Return of Resort Airline Verify-In Service at Walt Disney World as a Pilot Program occurred again this spring. Inside literal days of launching, the service expanded the check.

Walt Disney World made it official shortly after that, dubbing the brand new program Airport Baggage Switch. An identical service was beforehand often known as Resort Airline Verify-In previous to being discontinued in 2020. That was beforehand related to Disney’s Magical Specific, though the 2 interconnected choices had been run by two completely different third get together companions. (Complicated and convoluted, I do know.)

With the present outbound service, visitors staying at choose Walt Disney World Resort resorts can drop checked baggage off with Baggage Help to be delivered on to your flight. A brand new third-party service, often known as BagCheck, will take your baggage on to the airport to your Southwest Airways flight.

Presently, this pilot service is accessible in any respect Worth Resort resorts for Company with Southwest Airways flights departing from Orlando Worldwide Airport (MCO). The pilot program gentle launched at Pop Century in late March, earlier than increasing to the All Stars and Artwork of Animation and being formally introduced by Walt Disney World a couple of week later.

It was our understanding on the time that the pilot program can be expanded primarily based partially on optimistic visitor suggestions, utilization charges, satisfaction, and different metrics. Given its fast progress and the third get together concerned, we had been extremely optimistic that Airport Baggage Switch would solely proceed to develop over the approaching months.

To my shock and disappointment, that also has not occurred. It had been radio silence since, with no additional growth to the Airport Baggage Switch service. No further airways or resorts at Walt Disney World are eligible. Nevermind ’spherical journey’ service for baggage transfers upon arrival, which was beginning to appear to be a pipe dream. Till as we speak. 

Listed below are particulars from the official announcement made by Walt Disney World…

Starting November 18, 2025, visitors arriving on home Southwest Airways flights at Orlando Worldwide Airport (MCO) and staying at choose Walt Disney World Resort resorts can have the choice to skip baggage declare. They’ll have the option to take action by checking their baggage on the Southwest bag drop space or ticket counter at their residence airport for direct supply to their resort.

BagCheck — a third-party supplier — will facilitate transportation of the bags from the airport, with supply to the resort inside roughly 4 hours of arrival.

Company will start to obtain the next electronic mail about this service this week:

Expensive Visitor,
We’re excited to share a brand new pilot program for visitors flying Southwest Airways into Orlando Worldwide Airport (MCO) and staying at choose Disney Resorts Assortment resorts. This handy service enables you to skip baggage declare and have your checked baggage delivered on to your Disney Resort lodge.

The service will start working for flights arriving November 18, 2025 or later. In case you’d wish to benefit from the service, your registration window opens 30 days previous to departure and closes 5 days previous to departure.

For extra data and to register, click on right here.

Sincerely,

Walt Disney World Resort

Walt Disney World has not offered a hyperlink to the web site the place visitors will pre-register for inbound Airport Baggage Switch, however we consider it’ll be right here. Our expectation is that’ll replace in a single day, as registration ought to open on November 13, 2025.

Airport Baggage Switch for arriving flights isn’t a brand new or unprecedented service.

Old fashioned Walt Disney World followers in all probability keep in mind these magical yellow baggage tags that arrived within the mail. You’d connect these to your baggage, test it at your house airport, and it will magically discover its solution to your room at Walt Disney World. This was a giant a part of the beloved “Disney Bubble” that the corporate voluntarily punctured with the notorious finish of Disney’s Magical Specific.

This seamless service was actually magical. That’s a phrase we’ve already used thrice on this put up, and it’s not one this weblog throws round frivolously. You’ve by no means heard us describe a cupcake as magical, for instance.

However in a world the place airport and transportation logistics have turn out to be nightmarish, Walt Disney World had one thing particular with this–which is a giant purpose why followers nonetheless bemoan the demise of Disney’s Magical Specific. You had been on trip the second you landed in Orlando, and Disney took care of the main points.

We converse for many Walt Disney World followers after we say the true countdown to trip began even earlier: when that envelope arrived with the Disney’s Magical Specific booklet and people yellow baggage tags. If that envelope confirmed up within the mail as we speak, I might nonetheless establish it simply by really feel with out even opening it. And we haven’t used the service since ~2017. It’s foolish, however there was one thing particular about getting these yellow tags.

Walt Disney World has not indicated whether or not the yellow tags will make a return, however we assume there’ll have to be a way of signaling to BagCheck that the bags checked at your house airport must be diverted from MCO’s baggage carousels to Walt Disney World. With fashionable expertise, there’s presumably a solution to sign this with electronically, however for that to work, they’d (presumably?) want Southwest to share knowledge from its methods. So maybe the low-tech yellow tags will make a return. We will see!

Walt Disney World additionally has not indicated which resorts shall be eligible for the Airport Baggage Switch deliveries from the airport to their resort lodge. Right here’s the present checklist of eligible resorts for the present outbound model of the service:

• Disney’s All-Star Motion pictures Resort
• Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
• Disney’s All-Star Sports activities Resort
• Disney’s Artwork of Animation Resort
• Disney’s Pop Century Resort

It’s secure to imagine that, at minimal, the identical resorts will supply Airport Baggage Switch for arrivals, thus making a roundtrip model of the service for the primary time in years. It stays to be seen whether or not the inbound (or outbound, for that matter) Airport Baggage Switch can have an expanded eligibility roster of resorts.

Anecdotally, I’ve stayed at a couple of completely different Worth Resorts since Airport Baggage Switch returned. Whereas I haven’t but used the service (resulting from not utilizing SWA or departing from the Worth Resort…or each), it has appeared fairly standard. Each time I’ve dropped off luggage for transferring (to different resorts), there’s at all times been a modest crowd. Our reader responses to the service’s return had been resoundingly optimistic, too.

It’s thus unsurprising that the Airport Baggage Switch pilot program is increasing…even when it’s occurring months later than anticipated and in a barely completely different method than we anticipated it’d unfold. Walt Disney World seldom does something this shortly, even with the help of third get together individuals.

This nonetheless has us extra optimistic that Airport Baggage Switch will solely proceed to develop over the approaching months. It’s like that they’re determining logistics on the Worth Resorts as a result of this tier is simpler.

As for why Walt Disney World began the Airport Baggage Switch pilot program on the Worth Resorts, the very best clarification is that it’s best. These 5 resorts are situated in solely two distinct areas, with over 10,000 rooms. That’s over one-third of all Disney-owned lodge stock and in comparatively condensed areas of Walt Disney World.

There’s nowhere else at Walt Disney World that provides this many rooms on this shut of proximity–particularly if Walt Disney World desires to pilot this system at a complete tier of resorts, versus a hodgepodge of them in a resort district.

As for why it’s beginning with Southwest Airways, it’s the identical clarification. SWA is the biggest airline flying out of MCO and it’s secure to say that it has the very best proportion of checked luggage by quantity due to its “luggage fly free” coverage. That coverage is now defunct, nevertheless it utilized to bookings made by means of late Might.

These are simply guesses on our half, however these are the seemingly explanations for why BagCheck selected these Walt Disney World Resort resorts and Southwest Airways.

It’s the simplest start line for the service whereas testing logistics and iterating earlier than scaling up. It permits Airport Baggage Switch to make a comparatively huge affect with fewer assets because it onboards new staff and refines the service.

So it might not really feel “honest” to visitors paying huge bucks to remain Membership Stage on the Grand Floridian and fly Delta One, nevertheless it seemingly comes right down to scale and logistics versus which visitors are most “deserving” (air quotes) of Airport Baggage Switch. That is extra impactful than another resort complicated, tier, and airline mixture.

The excellent news is that Airport Baggage Switch will virtually assuredly increase additional. It’ll simply take time. Admittedly, extra time has handed than we hoped between the official launch and the primary huge growth, nevertheless it’s not stunning.

This can be a difficult service and the infrastructure for it has been dormant for over 5 years. It includes not simply Walt Disney World Solid Members, but additionally BagCheck staff and distributors at MCO. There are lots of transferring components, and it can’t go from zero to 100 in a single day.

Past that, we’ll double-down on our perspective that this makes Disney’s Magical Specific extra more likely to return. Orlando Worldwide Airport wants to enhance its effectivity in a number of regards, and having passengers arrive and depart by way of higher-capacity buses is one such approach. This looks like the celebrities aligning, as there’s a mutually-beneficial resolution for each Disney’s and MCO’s woes.

The return of Airport Baggage Switch/Resort Airline Verify-In strikes me as Walt Disney World laying the groundwork for bringing again Disney’s Magical Specific. The bags dealing with is the extra difficult piece of the puzzle that would want to roll out first.

The airport shuttle infrastructure already exists, simply with completely different stickers on the buses. In contrast to this, that changeover may very well be like flipping a swap. That is all nice information, and looks as if an ideal confluence of circumstances: Disney lastly realizing the error of their methods in deflating the Disney Bubble and MCO needing reduction from its excessive passenger quantity.

What follows is particulars about how Airport Baggage Switch at present works for departures. Clearly, it’ll be completely different for arrivals. We’ll share extra particulars as soon as they’ve been launched!

How Airport Baggage Switch Works

Save time on the airport by sending your luggage forward to the airline. Merely observe these steps:

1. Firstly of your keep, test in at your Worth Resort lodge and name or go to Baggage Help to benefit from this service. For a smoother expertise, depart your inbound Southwest Airways tags in your luggage.
2. The day earlier than your departure, test in to your Southwest Airways flight on-line.
3. Drop off your luggage at Baggage Help within the Resort lodge foyer space by the required drop off time (see under). Please bear in mind that you will want to offer a sound type of photograph identification with a purpose to drop off your luggage. It’s also possible to name Baggage Help out of your in-room phone to ask for assist together with your luggage.
4. Head to the airport, skip the check-in line, get pleasure from your flight and decide up your luggage at baggage declare if you arrive at your vacation spot.

When to Drop Off Your Luggage

It’s strongly inspired that you simply drop off your checked luggage the evening earlier than your scheduled departure. Nonetheless, in case you want some further time, you are able to do the next:

• When Flying Earlier than 1:00 PM: Drop your luggage off by 1:00 AM the evening earlier than your flight.
• When Flying After 1:00 PM: Drop your luggage off a minimum of 4 hours earlier than departure or no later than 1:00 PM—whichever comes first.

Baggage Help is accessible to obtain baggage any time from 7am-1pm and 4pm-1am every day.

Airport Baggage Switch FAQ

What do I must do earlier than dropping off my baggage?

You have to full your Southwest Airways check-in on-line or by means of the Southwest Airways cell app. Verify-in begins 24 hours earlier than your scheduled departure. A boarding go and legitimate ID are required when dropping off baggage. All related baggage charges, if any, will have to be paid earlier than making the most of Airport Baggage Switch at Walt Disney World.

Can I print my boarding passes once I drop off my luggage?

No. Walt Disney World doesn’t present boarding go printing as a part of the Airport Baggage Switch service. You need to have your boarding passes prepared earlier than dropping off your luggage.

Am I nonetheless eligible for the service if I eliminated the inbound tags from my bag?

Sure, you’re nonetheless eligible for the service. Whereas we advocate retaining your inbound Southwest Airways tags in your bag for a smoother expertise, it isn’t a requirement.

Can I see the placement of my luggage or get help?

You may observe your luggage utilizing the Southwest Airways app. For extra assist together with your luggage, please contact Southwest Airways customer support.

What occurs to the bag if a flight is cancelled?

In case your Southwest Airways flight is cancelled, your bag shall be mechanically redirected to your new flight. For help, please contact Southwest Airways customer support.

The place do I decide up my baggage after my flight?

You may decide up your baggage in baggage declare at your flight’s remaining vacation spot.

Who ought to I contact if I’ve points or questions on my baggage after drop-off?

You may contact or go to Baggage Help for any questions on your baggage after drop-off. As soon as the bag departs the Resort lodge, you will get data by way of the Baggage webpage for Southwest Airways. It’s also possible to see a Southwest Agent on the airport for help.

Is that this service obtainable for all airways?

This pilot program is barely obtainable for flights on Southwest Airways.

Will this pilot program increase to different resorts or airways? 

Right now (operative phrases), Walt Disney World has solely dedicated to this being a free perk for visitors staying on the Worth Resorts and flying Southwest Airways.

Are there any measurement or weight restrictions for luggage?

Sure. Customary measurement and weight restrictions apply. Verify with Southwest Airways for particulars on particular checked baggage insurance policies.

What occurs if my baggage is lacking, delayed or broken?

In case your baggage is lacking, delayed or broken, you may submit a report back to Southwest Airways.

Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Find out about resorts on our Walt Disney World Inns Evaluations web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Evaluations. To economize on tickets or decide which kind to purchase, learn our Ideas for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets put up. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys put up takes a singular take a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Experience Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the very best place to begin is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for all the pieces you must know!

Your Ideas

What do you consider the return of Airport Baggage Switch/Resort Airline Verify-In for arriving flights? Will you employ this service from your house airport to Walt Disney World resort resorts? Assume this paves the best way for a comeback of Disney’s Magical Specific, or is that also unlikely? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? Any questions we might help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even if you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!