When Walt Disney World ended its free Magical Express bus service in 2022, the reaction was swift and split. Some called it inevitable. Others saw it as the unraveling of a carefully designed experience—one that started the moment your plane touched down in Orlando and ended only when you were back at your gate.
The loss of Magical Express wasn’t just about transportation. It was part of a larger shift. Resort benefits that had once been automatic were suddenly gone or pared back. Luggage handling disappeared. Free MagicBands went with it. Extra Magic Hours were restructured. The Disney bubble, as longtime fans called it, began to fade.
Now, for the first time since the pandemic, one of those retired perks has returned out of the blue – and it’s expanding fast.
A Quiet Return for a Popular Disney Perk
Earlier this week, Disney began piloting the return of a long-lost guest convenience: Resort Airline Check-In. Now rebranded as the Airport Luggage Transfer program, the service allows guests staying at Disney’s Value Resorts to check their bags at the hotel before flying out of Orlando International Airport (MCO) on Southwest Airlines.
The service was first reintroduced at Disney’s Pop Century Resort without much fanfare. Within days, it expanded to four more properties: Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort, All-Star Music Resort, All-Star Sports Resort, and Art of Animation Resort.
Before the pandemic, this perk was available at every Disney World resort hotel and supported multiple airlines. The current version is more limited, but the recent expansion suggests Disney is gauging interest and feasibility before deciding whether to bring it back resort-wide.
The service is operated by Bag Check, a company helmed by Craig Mateer. Mateer previously ran Bags, Inc., which partnered with Disney to operate the original Resort Airline Check-In program before it was discontinued in 2020.
What the Disney World Program Offers—and What It Means
As detailed on the Walt Disney World Resort website, the new system will allow guests flying with Southwest to drop their luggage off at their hotel the day before their flight. The program allows guests to bypass the airline counter entirely at Orlando International Airport, heading straight to security. For those flying before 1 p.m., luggage must be dropped off by 1 a.m. the same day. For later flights, the cutoff is either four hours before departure or 1 p.m.—whichever is earlier.
Guests can coordinate the drop-off through their hotel’s Luggage Assistance desk and are encouraged to leave Southwest’s barcode tags on their bags from the inbound flight, if available.
A Disney spokesperson confirmed the reintroduction is a pilot initiative, saying it’s designed “to manage the high demand for travel to Central Florida and improve the experience for our guests and other airport passengers.”
While the program is currently limited to Value Resort guests flying on a single airline, the return of this once-standard amenity has fans hopeful. Not only does it offer a smoother end to a Disney vacation, but it also reintroduces an element of convenience that had been notably missing.
Disney (Finally) Starts Restoring the Disney Bubble
For many guests, the charm of staying on Disney property wasn’t just about proximity to the parks—it was about ease. Airport transfers. Bag handling. Early park entry. Even the small details added up to something bigger: a sense that everything was taken care of.
Since the pandemic, that sense has been harder to come by.
Disney has shifted toward a more à la carte model in recent years, with individual upgrades and paid perks replacing all-in-one convenience. This pilot could be an early sign that Disney is reevaluating some of those decisions as it faces increasing competition across town.
With Universal’s Epic Universe on track for a May opening—and promising its own immersive resort experience—Disney may be looking to remind guests what staying on property used to feel like. It won’t happen all at once. But this small step suggests the company hasn’t ruled it out entirely.
What other perks would you like to see restored at Walt Disney World Resort?
