From Touring Plans…
I want to rent a car for my trip, but I’d like to save time by having Disney deliver my bags to my room. Can I do this?
Unfortunately not. This is called a “luggage only transfer” and it is not allowed.
Really? I can’t send my luggage with Disney and take an Uber to the park myself?
Well, OK, there is a complicated workaround that some families use. I’ve done it myself once.
In order to accept luggage for delivery, Disney requires that at least one person staying at WDW ride Magical Express. It does not require that everyone in the room ride ME. This means, for example, if you’re a party of five (all in one room), you could have one person ride ME to their WDW hotel, with Disney moving the luggage of all five people, and the other four party members taking a cab/Uber/rental to WDW.
Um, why would we do this?
Two reasons. First, splitting up the way your party gets to WDW allows some folks to get to theme parks earlier. One person takes one for the team and gets everything set up at the hotel while the others go directly to start playing in the parks.
Another reason to split up is to allow your party to get a smaller, less expensive, rental car. A family of five might be OK with squeezing into a compact car for quick trips around the WDW campus. However, those five people might have too much luggage to fit into a compact car. If one person takes ME, then Disney carts the bags, obviating the need for a larger vehicle.
Members of my party are flying to Orlando on several flights arriving at different times. Can we use Magical Express?
Yes. Make sure their names are on your room reservation and that you give ME their flight information. There’s no need for you to travel all together. Each person can take a bus independently upon arrival.
I want to start my fun right away. Can Magical Express drop me at a theme park rather than my hotel?
Nope. They’ll only drop you at your resort. If you want to go directly from the airport to a theme park, you should rent a car or take a cab, car service, or Uber.