No, it’s not an early April Fools. Starting today, Walt Disney World has started a pilot program that’s testing the return of the popular Resort Airline Check-In service. This post shares the current details as of Spring 2025, along with our commentary about what this could mean for the future, including a potential comeback of Disney’s Magical Express.
For those who are unfamiliar with the service, Resort Airline Check-In allowed guests to drop-off their luggage at their Walt Disney World resort on departure day. Guests would then go to the airport unencumbered by suitcases, usually via Disney’s Magical Express. The bags would then magically appear when they arrived on the baggage claim carousel at their home airport at the end of their trip.
Previously, this also worked in reverse–old school Walt Disney World fans probably remember those magical yellow luggage tags that arrived in the mail. You’d attach those to your luggage, check it at your home airport, and it would magically find its way to your room at Walt Disney World. This was a big part of the beloved “Disney Bubble” that the company voluntarily punctured with the infamous end of Disney’s Magical Express.
This seamless service was truly magical. That’s a word we’ve already used three times in this post, and it’s not one this blog throws around lightly. You’ve never heard us describe a cupcake as magical, for example. But in a world where airport and transportation logistics have become nightmarish, Walt Disney World had something special with this–which is a big reason why fans still bemoan the demise of Disney’s Magical Express. You were on vacation the moment you landed in Orlando, and Disney took care of the details.
We speak for most Walt Disney World fans when we say the true countdown to vacation started even earlier: when that envelope arrived with the Disney’s Magical Express booklet and those yellow luggage tags. It’s odd–I can’t remember Netflix movies I watched a couple weeks ago, but if that envelope showed up in the mail today, I could still identify it just by feel without even opening it. And we haven’t used the service since ~2017. But I digress.
One thing to note is that Disney’s Magical Express and Resort Airline Check-In (or the yellow tags) were actually two separate third party services bundled together with a layer of Walt Disney World packaging. Although both were distinctly Disney in terms of attention to detail, they actually did not end simultaneously.
The luggage handling component was a victim of the COVID closure and phased reopening. It never returned when the parks reopened in Summer 2020. Disney’s Magical Express, on the other hand, did come back. On January 11, 2021, Walt Disney World officially announced the decision to discontinue the free Disney’s Magical Express airport shuttle service.
The company explained that “vacationers have more options to choose from than ever for transportation, including ride-share services that save time and offer more flexibility to go where they want, when they want.” Walt Disney World continued to operate the airport shuttle service for new and existing reservations made for arrivals throughout 2021, and departures into early 2022.
Fast-forward to Spring 2025, and Walt Disney World is now piloting a test of a spiritual successor to Resort Airline Check-In. According to exclusive reporting by our friends at BlogMickey, the current rollout of Resort Airline Check-In service is extremely limited during this pilot program.
Specifically, Southwest Airlines is the only supported airline at this time and the option is only available at Pop Century. It’s also only available when returning home from Walt Disney World, meaning the yellow tags aren’t making a comeback just yet. (Before you dismiss this out of hand as something that won’t apply to you, I’d implore you to keep reading. This isn’t a fakeout.)
There are other logistical specifics about the return of Resort Airline Check-In, and I’d encourage you to read BlogMickey’s report for the nitty-gritty. The big one is that Resort Airline Check-In is a FREE guest perk at Walt Disney World. You read that correctly–Resort Airline Check-In is complimentary for guests, just like its predecessors.
If there is more guest interest in Resort Airline Check-In, it will be expanded to other airlines in the future as well as other resorts.
Right now, Resort Airline Check-In is only being communicated to guests via word of mouth to keep it manageable during the pilot program rollout. Guests who qualify to use the service can head to the Luggage Assistance desk in front of Disney’s Pop Century Resort where Cast Members will be able to assist in the process.
Guests will be able to utilize the Resort Airline Check-In service so long as they’re staying at Disney’s Pop Century Resort on the last night of their vacation (split stays welcome!), are checked-in online with Southwest Airlines, and have paid any relevant baggage fees (not an issue yet with SWA…but it will be soon). So long as there’s approval from Southwest via the system, guests can utilize the Resort Airline Check-In process. So much for switching from Southwest to a different airline now.
Here’s where things get interesting. Per BlogMickey’s excellent reporting, this service is once again being operated by a third party. That company is called BagCheck. You probably haven’t heard of this generically-named business, but the founder of BagCheck is Craig Mateer.
That name might sound slightly more familiar, as he previously served on the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District until stepping down in September 2024. He also had a stint as a Board Member on the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (which oversees Orlando International Airport) that not-so-coincidentally also ended last year.
I’d be lying if I said I remembered any of that, but the name did vaguely ring a bell. His LinkedIn page is much more interesting. According to that, Craig Mateer founded BagCheck in December 2023 to “leverage patents for baggage check-in/messaging and security screening file sharing for the airline, cruise, resort, TSA and CBP integration processes.”
Prior to that, Mateer founded Bags, Inc. This business launched the first TSA approved off-airport baggage check-in operations in 2003. Mateer sold Bags, Inc. and other related businesses in November 2018 for $275 million. Bags, Inc. was the company that previously ran Resort Airline Check-In and the ‘yellow tags’ side of things for Walt Disney World and Disney’s Magical Express.
Let’s connect the dots and bring this all together.
The founder of Bags Inc., who is a successful serial entrepreneur and is presumably worth at least $100 million (even assuming he has a bad Pokemon card habit) has spent the last 16 months creating a new business that leverages patents he holds for baggage check-in, security screening, and other integration processes. Something that sounds strikingly similar to the old Bags, Inc. process integrated into Disney’s Magical Express.
The founder’s new company proceeds to re-establish a partnership with Walt Disney World, and begins rolling out a pilot program with one airline and one resort. Again, this is a guy worth hundreds of millions of dollars who resigned from two conflicts of interest and just spent the last year-plus working on this project. Does anyone really think he did this with the end game of being able to check luggage for just Southwest Airlines at just Disney’s Pop Century Resort?!?
As should be obvious at this point, this Resort Airline Check-In pilot program is the first step in something with much bigger ambitions.
It’s starting small, presumably, because it needs to beta test and scale up. Probably for the sake of both Walt Disney World and BagCheck, as this is a complex system involving patents, and (eventually) multiple airlines with different processes as well as a variety of resorts.
Flipping a switch and rolling out BagCheck and reintroducing Resort Airline Check-In overnight would be a recipe for disaster. It’s not as if all the old Bags, Inc. infrastructure is still in place and the new BagCheck company can go from zero to 100% on it. This type of thing takes time to scale up, iterate on the process, on-board employees, and train current Cast Members–most of whom probably were not around for the old days of Resort Airline Check-In.
But we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves or be presumptuous. Having bigger ambitions doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll come to fruition.
We’re very bullish on the prospects of this pilot program specifically because it’s from by the former founder of Bags, Inc. He did it once, so clearly he can do it again. We’d feel a lot less optimistic if this were a new player attempting to enter the market. That’s precisely why we were skeptical of Sunshine Flyer from the outset, but assumed Mears Connect would be a success. And look what happened there.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that history will repeat itself, as a lot has changed in the last ~5 years. Even more has changed since Mateer last ran Bags, Inc. before selling it. Nevertheless, our view is that the odds are pretty high of this being a success. We still hear from fans who lament the loss of Resort Airline Check-In and those yellow tags.
In fact, many Walt Disney World fans view the luggage handling as a bigger thing than Disney’s Magical Express. Plenty have flat-out said that the latter returning without the former would be meaningless, which might speak to the demise of DME in the first place.
Nevertheless, I’m slightly concerned that Resort Airline Check-In won’t make a full comeback.
Again, a lot has changed since 2020. One of the things we’ve repeatedly mentioned is that the guest utilization rate of Mears Connect is really low, far lower than Disney’s Magical Express. Fans derided the decreased competition when Mears and Sunshine Flyer merged, but I pointed out even then that it’s unlikely both were viable in the long-term. Consolidation was probably the only path forward.
Since then, it’s only gotten worse. I take Mears Connect a lot (four times in the last 3 weeks!) and it’s seldom even remotely busy. I’m often put on the smaller vans because there aren’t enough guests to justify taking a big bus, and when the buses are used, they’re rarely over 25% full. This included during the heart of spring break. (For whatever it’s worth, the holiday season always seems busiest.)
My fear is that consumer preferences have already changed, and there’s no unringing that bell.
It’s not 2003 or even 2019 anymore, and maybe the world has moved on from this type of service. I don’t actually believe that. If I did, we wouldn’t have so many pieces imploring Walt Disney World to bring back Disney’s Magical Express. It’s nevertheless worth discussing this, though, as evolving guest preferences is what Disney cited when killing off DME in the first place.
The reason I don’t believe this is because, in my view, there are a couple of critical distinctions between Disney’s Magical Express and Mears Connect. The first is guest awareness and branding. The second is cost. Disney’s Magical Express was free (or built into the cost of resort reservations, if you’d prefer), whereas Mears Connect has a fee.
Of course the adoption rates are going to differ as a result. When it was just the two of us, we never used Mears Connect–the math didn’t pencil out over taking Uber or Lyft. By contrast, I use Mears Connect a lot for solo research trips because it’s cheaper, I’m never in a rush, and I like sitting in the back by myself and working on my laptop.
It’s easy to see why families opt for other options over Mears Connect. However, many of them would use Disney’s Magical Express if given the option. And if all goes well here, perhaps they’ll soon have that option! (More on that later, though.)
Right from the outset, the return of Resort Airline Check-In has a couple of advantages over Mears Connect.
The first is that it’s free. If there’s one thing people love, it’s things that are free. (Feel free to fact check that.) It also helps that there’s no competitor to BagCheck or Resort Airline Check-In as a service. It’s either using this or lugging your luggage around yourself, like a peasant. There’s no UberBags.
Those are two huge advantages right from the outset that make Resort Airline Check-In destined for success. However, there’s a final variable–and this is where you come in.
As noted above, Disney’s Magical Express also had the advantage of branding and guest awareness. At present, Resort Airline Check-In does not have that. Walt Disney World isn’t advertising it, and it’s only available via word of mouth.
That’s understandable at this point, as it works to scale up. Walt Disney World also doesn’t want to “promise” something that’s only a test, not at every resort, etc. Guests staying at Grand Floridian might be annoyed to receive “lesser” amenities and service than a Value Resort. Even those staying at Pop Century in 2026 could be disappointed if the service is abandoned before then for whatever reason.
Here’s how you can help this be a success. The first is by booking a stay at Pop Century, which is already the #1 resort in our Rankings of All Resort Hotels at Walt Disney World from Worst to Best. (Or if your trip isn’t for a while, you can wait and see where else this rolls out–supposedly it’s coming to all of the Value Resorts in due time.)
Second, while staying at Pop Century (or relevant resorts), you can ask to speak to a manager–ideally on your checkout day after using the Resort Airline Check-In service. Assuming it went well, praise the offering and Cast Members managing it. Communicate that it’s the big reason why you booked that resort–or even stayed on-site in the first place.
Finally, do the same after you get home. Either via surveys you’re sent or by reaching out to Disney. Or both! Explain how the company’s decisions and practices will impact your vacations and future business with Walt Disney World by emailing [email protected]. For once, we’re recommending you do this to praise something as opposed to complaining!
Please contact the company only if you actually stay at a relevant resort and use the Resort Airline Check-In service. Don’t simply spam that email right now or in the future. These types of correspondence are only effective if they’re sincere and truthful. (Trust me–they know.)
The keys to the return of Resort Airline Check-In being deemed a success and extending beyond the pilot program are high utilization, guest satisfaction, and other important metrics (intent to recommend, revisit, etc). If it’s deemed a demonstrative success, you can expect to see Resort Airline Check-In service make a full comeback…and perhaps more.
Ultimately, it is nothing short of fantastic to see Resort Airline Check-In return. We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves and be overly presumptuous based on a very limited pilot program, but as is clear, this service wouldn’t have made it to this point if it didn’t have bigger ambitions.
Quite honestly, if I had to bet on Disney’s Magical Express or Resort Airline Check-In returning a few weeks ago–back when we published Disney’s Magical Express Was Used By One-Third of Hotel Guests at Walt Disney World, I would’ve picked the airport shuttle bus without hesitation.
The reason for that is fairly simple: bringing back Disney’s Magical Express would be way easier and quicker. And yet, here we are with Resort Airline Check-In being rebuilt from the ground up and returning for free.
This doesn’t mean I would’ve been “wrong” in betting on the comeback of Disney’s Magical Express. To the contrary, this makes that airport shuttle service more likely to return, not less. The luggage handling is the more complicated piece of the puzzle that would need to roll out first. The airport shuttle infrastructure already exists, just with different stickers on the buses. Unlike this, that changeover could be like flipping a switch.
If anything, the return of Resort Airline Check-In strikes me as Walt Disney World laying the groundwork for bringing back Disney’s Magical Express. The company finally realizing the error of their ways in deflating the Disney Bubble.
We still don’t want to be overly optimistic. After all, Walt Disney World has to deem this test a success and elect to expand the contract with BagCheck to resorts. (The service is free for guests, but it doesn’t come without costs!) There are likely logistics to be worked out with other airlines. Nothing is guaranteed.
I’m nevertheless heartened to see this happening. It’s as if the report that Walt Disney World is Worried About Its High Prices, and internal concerns about Disney is pricing out the middle class (and young families, specifically) has lit a fire within the company. Something that not even Universal’s Epic Universe could accomplish!
First we had the announcement of New Character Experiences & 50% Off Ticket Deal for ‘Cool Kid Summer’ at Walt Disney World, and now the return of Resort Airline Check-In. As of right now, these are only two small steps, but what they signal is far more meaningful and has me incredibly (but cautiously) optimistic that Walt Disney World is heading in the right direction. Finally.
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Your Thoughts
What do you think about the return of Resort Airline Check-In? Think we’re making too big of a deal about a very limited pilot program, or do you agree with our assessment that this wouldn’t be happening at all unless the end game were much more ambitious? Think this paves the way for a comeback of Disney’s Magical Express, or is that getting really ahead of ourselves? Heartened to see Walt Disney World suddenly starting to take notice of the middle class families that are the parks & resorts’ bread & butter? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
