Disney’s Magical Express was one of the best ideas Disney had a few years ago when they decided to partner with MCO (Orlando International Airport) to make the airline check in process easier and take care of your luggage. If you are not renting a car, this is a GREAT service to use to get to and from your resort if it is a Disney resort.
We almost always rent a car when visiting Walt Disney World because there are six of us and it makes it easier to eat at other resort restaurants and go to the parks whenever you want instead of waiting for a bus. But, I used Disney’s Magical Express two summers ago in August when two of my best friends came along for the trip and we all could not fit in the car!
We found the service to be very easy to figure out. A few months before the trip, I called Disney and told them our flight information and told them that only part of the room reservation would be taking the Magical Express. They sent us luggage tags and tickets in the mail right before our trip. We ended up opting not to put the luggage tags on and just collected our luggage from baggage claim and brought it to the bus. This was better for us because it meant we could head to sleep as soon as we got back to the room instead of having to wait for our luggage to arrive in the room. If you do put the luggage tags on your luggage, Disney will pick up the bags from baggage claim and then deliver them to your room within a couple of hours. It usually is not super speedy so if you need luggage for something before 3 or 4 hours, then just collect it yourself and have them put it under the bus.
The Magical Express is located on the opposite side of the airport from most of the car rentals so my two friends and I left the rest of my family to get the bus. We checked in and were on the bus within 10 minutes. We waited about 15 minutes on the bus for it to fill up and then were off to Old Key West! I watched the video that they played but the best moment ever was still going under the “Welcome to Walt Disney World” sign and getting a nice photo of it. That moment always makes me super happy because I know I am back on Disney property. Thankfully Old Key West was the first stop so we got there fairly quickly. We actually arrived at the exact same time that the rest of my family who had rented a car did. They also stopped for gas on the way to OKW but it was still great timing.
We did not end up taking the Magical Express on the way back because we had different leaving flights. But, even if you don’t take the Magical Express, you can still check your luggage usually at the Disney resorts hours before your flight. There is a time window where you can do so, but I am not sure of the details. It is nice not having to check luggage at MCO. If you use the Magical Express service, then I believe you leave your luggage outside your door with the tags and then take the bus to the airport.
Since I have only taken the service one way and only one time, I am not an expert on the service. If you would like more information on it, then you can call Disney or look on their website for exact details.
I participated in the Mickey Monday link up again this week run by Adventures by Kate and run. geek. run(disney) (even though I posted a little late into Monday night due to having some homework to finish!) and here are the links to the other blog posts:
http://www.adventuresbykatie.com/disneyland/
http://www.rungeekrundisney.com/2014/09/hidden-mickeys-introduction-mickey.html
Thanks for reading!
Travel on my Mind 
I love Disney’s Magical Express. Great service. I like tagging the luggage, because it’s perfect if you’re going to just check in and head to the parks. In your case it would be easier to have your luggage right away, but if you don’t need it, it’s great because it will just show up by the time you come back with a sprinkle of Pixie dust.
Coming back isn’t bad, it all depends on how early of a pick up time they give you. If you do your own transport back, you can get a little extra time, because they’ll do multiple pickups all X hours before so your time can be a good chunk ahead of your flight, but thats the price of convenience sometimes.
Thanks for linking up!
Glad to hear you have had great experience with the Magical Express! I have heard that the luggage service is convenient but I am so used to picking it up myself and having it right away. I think I might use the service when I go down and we don’t rent a car though.
I’ve had a good experience with the Magical Express. I think it definitely adds to the magic…you are at the airport and then you board the Magical Express and watch Disney videos, and all of a sudden you are at Disney World!
We use it every time we fly 🙂
Thanks for the link-up 🙂
Katie
http://www.adventuresbykatie.com
Yes, I did like watching the video! And the bus window is so much bigger than the car window so I liked seeing the entire property sign when we pulled onto Disney property.
Found your blog through the link-up. Love it!
Thank you! Thanks for stopping by!