Starting today, a very limited pilot is underway as Walt Disney World explores bringing back the popular Resort Airline Check-In offering. As you may remember, Resort Airline Check-In is where guests were able to check in their bags at their Disney resort, and the bags would magically appear when they arrived at their destination airport back home. Resort Airline Check-In was one of the offerings that kept guests in the “Disney Bubble” while on vacation.

The Resort Airline Check-In offering was discontinued in the post-COVID era at Walt Disney World along with a number of other offerings, but now it looks like it could very well return!

Resort Airline Check-In Returns to Walt Disney World

Starting today, a very limited pilot of the Resort Airline Check-In offering is taking place at Disney’s Pop Century Resort. The pilot is only at Pop Century for now, but it will be rolling out to more Value Resorts in April.

The Resort Airline Check-In service is extremely limited during the pilot, with Southwest Airlines being the only supported airline at this time. If there is more interest in the service in the future, it will be expanded to other airlines.

In terms of the logistics of the service, it is only being communicated to guests via word of mouth to keep it manageable during the limited pilot. Guests who qualify to use the service can head to the Luggage Assistance desk in front of the resort. From there, Cast Members will be able to help guests with the process.

In order to qualify to utilize the service, guests must be staying at a qualifying resort, and be checked-in with Southwest Airlines. That means that guests will have to have checked into their flight and (soon) have paid for their bags. As long as there is a green light from Southwest, guests can utilize the Resort Airline Check-In process.

Right now, we’re using the term Resort Airline Check-In simply because it’s familiar, but there is no signage or marketing collateral naming the service. A third-party company called Bag Check is handling the process. From our research, Bag Check is a new company that has roots in the former Resort Airline Check-In process. Bag Check owner Craig Mateer is the former owner of Bags, Inc., which previously handled Resort Airline Check-In and more guest services at Walt Disney World.

Currently, the service is only rolling out to Value Resorts at Walt Disney World. That said, guests only need to be staying at a Value Resort on the day that they plan to utilize the service, which means that you could spend the majority of your vacation at a Deluxe or Moderate Resort, and then switch to a qualifying Value Resort on the day of your departure.

Once guests check their bags in with the service, they will no longer be able to access their bags. This means that guests should be sure not to pack anything that they would need to access after checking in their bags.

In terms of the check-in process, guests with flights before 1pm will need to check their bags the night before they depart. For flights after 1pm, guests can check in their bags on the morning of their flight at least 4 hours before the flight.

Finally, and this is the big one, the service is complimentary!

The return of the Resort Airline Check-In service will be a welcome one to guests who are looking to enjoy the “Disney Bubble”. Other offerings that were discontinued that would be a big hit with Walt Disney World guests would be the return of the Magical Express offering and a more substantial Extra Magic Hours benefit, among others. That said, we haven’t heard anything definitive on the return of those offerings.

As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!