Select Walt Disney World hotels began reopening to guests on June 22nd, ahead of the Resort’s theme parks which officially began reopening to guests in July, with Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom reopening on July 11th followed by EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios reopening on July 15th.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
Guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel still have Disney’s Magical Express available as a complimentary transportation option to and from the Orlando International Airport even during this initial reopening phase. However, a modification has been made to the service that we thought future guests will certainly want to know.
Under typical operations, Disney’s Magical Express offers guests the ability to have their checked luggage delivered directly from the airport to their Resort hotel room. However, according to an update on the Walt Disney World website, starting Thursday, July 16, 2020, “Disney’s Magical Express service will not be providing luggage delivery service for those arriving to and departing from the airport.”
Walt Disney World website screenshot
This means that guests who use Disney’s Magical Express service will be responsible for picking up any and all of their own checked luggage from the airport’s baggage claim area. Then guests will carry their bags to their designated motorcoach where the driver will load them onto the bus to their Resort hotel. (Luggage will travel with the guests on the same motorcoach.)
Upon arrival at the Resort, luggage assistance will be available at the entrance, including storage of luggage and/or delivery to the room.
Disney’s Magical Express
Guests will also retain their own luggage for departure, and it will likewise be loaded onto the motorcoach. Guests will check their luggage with their airline upon arrival at the airport. (Resort airline check-in will not be offered “at this time.”)
Note that, on the Walt Disney World website, this statement precedes the information: “During the initial reopening period, some benefits may be modified or unavailable.” At press time, there is no information regarding how long the luggage delivery service will be suspended, but if anything changes, we will keep you posted. In the meantime, you can catch up on the latest information regarding the reopening of Walt Disney World Resort by visiting any of the links below.
Disney Park Reopening Details and Info
Click HERE for the All Latest Updates
Click HERE To See FULL LISTS of the Rides, Attractions, Shopping, Entertainment, and Restaurants Opening in Disney World!
TUTORIAL: How To Use Disney World's NEW Park Pass Reservation System
ALL Disney World Reopening Procedures
Disney World Hotel and Ticket Booking Information
We’re Visiting ALL the Reopened Disney World Hotels and Have All the Need-to-Know Details
We’re LIVE in Disney World's Magic Kingdom For the FIRST Time Since the Closures
We’re LIVE in Disney’s Animal Kingdom For the FIRST Time Since the Closures
We Got a FIRST LOOK at Disney World’s New Character Cavalcades and Entertainment!
Everything You NEED To Know About Wearing Masks in Disney World
Join the DFB Newsletter To get all the latest Disney Park Closure News Delivered Right to Your Inbox Click here to Subscribe
Do you take Disney’s Magical Express when you visit Walt Disney World? Please let us know with a comment!
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What about the delivery of luggage to arrivals prior to July 16th? We have all our luggage tags for and arrival tomorrow. They way I read this, it sounds like they will still pick up and delivery luggage until July 16th.
Mike, that’s what it sounds like. This would affect people arriving or departing starting July 16.
It seems like Disney is cutting additional perks and benefits each day. Everything that was “Disney Magic” is now either cancelled, unavailable, suspended, or do-it-yourself. If they don’t offer a discounted price, then it won’t make financial sense to vacation at Disney. Even before the C19 panic, Disney was expensive, but all the “magic” made it palatable. Now, not so much. But hey, they have NBA money now, so all of us loyal customers who have been coming yearly (or more frequently) since 1971 don’t matter anymore.
We are coming down to WDW in October. I understand that if you live in NJ you have to self Quarantine for 14 days prior to entering Florida. That is not fair just another reason to rethink our trip after waiting a year and have everything cancelled 6 months ago.
We have used luggage delivery and resort airline checkin since they were first offered. It’s a shame this will no longer be the case.
NC-Dad, they’re canceling everything unless it pertains to the NBA.
Thus does not help families. At all. I never cared, but now for my trip shortly, I land in terminal A, have to go get my luggage downstairs & go back upstairs across the main terminal & back down to terminal B. With a toddler, stroller, suitcase, car seat, and diaper bag/carry-on & purse.
What’s the point? Already a nightmare.
I trust DFB to keep us informed. I’m guessing Disney won’t. I just made the Magical Express reservations last week for late August. The cast member said they weren’t sending out the yellow luggage tags yet. We’re to take our claim checks and give them to the cast member we check in with for the bus. And they’ll take care of the luggage. I wonder if they would have told us beforehand or waited til we got there. Just one more thing to add to the list of questions for Disney a week before we come.
I’ve always taken my own luggage with me. No problem!
We usually give a cash tip to the ME bus driver for handle our luggage, Is tipping frowned upon now?
Trips to Disney are becoming less attractive by the day. I’m tired of this erosion of “magic.”
That’s too bad, it was one of my favorite things about Magical Express. Hopefully, this will be back in service soon. I’m sure it has to do with minimizing contact. If I had to guess I would say cast members aren’t retrieving those bags, therefore Disney cannot monitor their temperatures before they start work for the day
Suzette, we’ll look into this, but I think tipping would be okay. Disney is encouraging cashless when possible; this seems like an area where that wouldn’t be possible.
Carol, I think it’s entirely possible that the Magical Express folks didn’t know much ahead of when it was made public by Disney. You’ll need to pick up your own bags and roll them to DME for your bus ride. Have a relaxing trip.
No big deal ! We are in a pandemic people. If you don’t like the rules you do not have to visit! I am frequent visitor and will go at my discretion. I know the risk .
I won’t be coming anytime soon anyways, but coming from Canada and having to go through the customs at Orlando airport I always had to do this anyways. Disney certainly can’t carry your luggage through customs now can they? So, no change for me anyways. I guess it was a nice perk for those that could use it.
More money, less service seems to be the Disney plan for the future.
Will need to rethink where I spend my vacation dollars
Oh dear… I have not always agreed with the changes happening at Disney, both before and after the pandemic. But this one makes me very disappointed, and a little angry. When I go to Disney ( and I go at least yearly) I always have some grandkids with me, ranging in age from 6 months to 9 years old. The Magical Express is how I got them all to the hotel. It was part of our ritual. Now…what? Rent a car, hoping there are the appropriate car seats? Or 2 cars, when all of us are there?? Rely on Uber, hoping they have appropriate car seats? I certainly hope they will consider offering some alternative.
It’s sad about the magical express
being cancelled in 2021. We were suppose to come in April 2020 but do to the covid everything was cancelled. It was also the fun part as you come from the airport and board onto the beautiful bus and do the trivia questions on the monitor tv. We are coming from Canada and we love Disney but we can’t afford to go every year but hopefully we can come this November. If not how do we get to Disney otherwise If we come in 2022 from the airport…any suggestions? Disney is also stopping giving free magic bands with Disney resort stay. I understand Disney has to cut costs because they had a loss but for now I hope it stops at this point.
I have been coming to Disney World since you have opened every Park! Why are you changing all the perks from checking luggage to and from the airport and back. This helped so many of us with children. Not so sure what you can do to bring this back. Even coming back home to NYC you use to let us check in at hotel for the airport. Why all this change? Is it money? What about ALL those workers? Are they losing jobs or getting their time cut? Hopefully your making things better.
Thank you for letting me vent,
Marian Quigley