[BlackAngelFmly]

ok so me and the future Mrs. are wanting to fly next year for our vacation. for some reason I keep seeing Orlando trips from Philly, or Detroit, all kinds of places for like 169 a ticket but when it come to flying from little rock its like 500 bucks a ticket, so I checked out Southwest they have some for 2XX a ticket, i think the cheapest was 215, i was JUMPING at that opportunity but its the wanna get away? then there is anytime? what is the deal with Wanna Get Away Tickets? are they like standby tickets and if something comes available there you go or what?


and Magical Express, how long does it take to get to the resort By taking the Magical Express? this is so i can adjust my flight times accordingly to maximize our trip time


thanks in advanced for any and all information given!

[Cincy]

Wana get away is just a slogan they use. You have a ticket and are not on standby.

As for Magical Express. It usually takes us an hour from the time the plane lands, to the time we are at our resort.

[timsha]

I am not sure about the rates from AK, but SWA has some of the best rates around for flying. As for Magical Express, i do not believe they work in conjunction with SWA (or at least they did not in the past). I had have never used ME.. I have heard that if you fly SWA, you can still use ME, but you have to get your own luggage and bring it to / from the bus, but I am not sure about that.

[TigTig]

Congrats on your upcoming wedding!

We've always flown with Delta, but in Feb 09 we will probably be flying southwest (delta no longer has direct flights and their schedule is horrible). I was under the impression that Magical Express operates for all airlines, but resort airline checkin is the one limited to a select airlines. I could be wrong. I just looked on allears real quick and it doesn't say one way or the other.

As for the trip, the bus ride itse;f is only about 30 minutes or so, depending on which resort you are staying at. However, the trip from your plane to the ME check-in desk takes a bit and then you are at the mercy of the buses. We've always been lucky and our bus has arrived moments after we get in the line. ME Check-in doesn't take too long, even when there is a line. They are quite efficient. Overall you may want to assume an hour for planning purposes, even if it doesn't take quite that long. We find though, that just arriving at the airport feels like our vacation has started, so it doesn't ever feel like an hour!

Good luck!

[joseph3947]

We have been using Southwest for several years now and have had no problem with them. We have been carrying our own bags and have never put the ME tags on. The only thing I can tell you is if you carry your own bags, you pick them up in Orlando at the lower level of the B terminal but the ME is located in the lower level of the A terminal. So therefore you have to go back up to the 3rd floor and across the airport main section and back down to the lower level with your bags. But it's not that long of a walk. You're going to do a lot more walking on your vacation. And there are elevators.

[dznylvr]

We have flown SW to WDW before. You don't have to worry about your luggage at all on arrival. ME will pick it up and deliver it to your resort.
Now, on the way home, you do have to take you luggage to the ME bus, then get it off the ME bus, and take it into the airport and check it yourself. Not a problem, just not quite as easy as the carriers that you can check in at the resort.
It took us about an hour last year from flight landing until we got to POR. If you want to maximize your trip time, I would take the first flight out in the morning. We flew out at 7am last year, and we were in Epcot by 10:30 or so (flying from NC). It was great!! Then we came back to the room midafternoon, and our luggage had arrived. We are doing it again this year.

[TigTig]

One thing to note when using ME upon arrival. They mean what they say that you won't see your bags for at least four hours after you arrive. So be sure to pack anything you might want/need at the parks in your carryon bag.

[sue299]

Originally Posted by dznylvr

We have flown SW to WDW before. You don't have to worry about your luggage at all on arrival. ME will pick it up and deliver it to your resort.
Now, on the way home, you do have to take you luggage to the ME bus, then get it off the ME bus, and take it into the airport and check it yourself. Not a problem, just not quite as easy as the carriers that you can check in at the resort.
It took us about an hour last year from flight landing until we got to POR. If you want to maximize your trip time, I would take the first flight out in the morning. We flew out at 7am last year, and we were in Epcot by 10:30 or so (flying from NC). It was great!! Then we came back to the room midafternoon, and our luggage had arrived. We are doing it again this year.

I would like to say all this same information is about what we had. We stayed at POP, arrived at Orlando airport about 10:30. It was about 11:15 we checked in - room ready. We ate at POP and were in Studios by 12:30. It was great. We went back to the room about 3:30 and bags were there - magically!

We had to take our luggage and check in at the airport for the trip home, but no problems.

If you have a late flight, you may want to get your luggage, as otherwise you won't get it until the morning.

I love ME and the no fuss luggage!

as for Southwest tickets, I've only purchased the wanna get away rate ones. They just mean you don't get a refund if you cancel, you get a credit to use in one year from purchase. I love Southwest and if possible, it's the only airlines I will fly!

[A Goofy Family]

This past summer was our 1st time to fly and it was with SWA and loved it! We checked our bags at curbside in Austin and didn't see our bags again until we came back to All Stars from the MK that night. It was great!
Upon departure, we took our luggage to the ME bus with us and then retrieved them again from the driver when we arrived at the airport...did curbside check again and had so problems what so ever. We had an afternoon flight both directions.
Can't wait to do it again in December!!!

[BlackAngelFmly]

ok I feel sooo much better now, and I think we'll fly south west the way you guys are raving about it. and ME is about what I expected as far as travel time. thanks guys and girls! and thank you TigTig if you want go to the report section and look at my report on our recent trip it has "the proposal" in it.

[spacerangerspin]

Southwest is our PREFERRED airline, although it means a 2 hour drive on the home end to get to SW airport. They are SOOO worth it!!! Be sure to download DING to your desktop, because sometimes you can get really SWEET flight deals that make stolen WDW weekends possible. The wanna get away fares work the same as all others, SW doesn't overbook seats & you can still check in from home 24 hours in advance for boarding. It is SOOO nice not to have to pay to book a seat or as just happened to me on AirTran, get all excited to go, book the tickets, go to pay to book the seats & find that your family can't get seats together & know that your DS will FLIP out so you forgo the trip, unless you can find another airline to fly. I "luv" Southwest. I told AirTran, soon they will be the ONLY airline!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats on your engagement! I just saw your WONDERFUL proposal post!!! Best wishes!

[SDuncan]

SW is the only way to go! I fly 8-10 times a year. No lost luggage, never have been late, only bumped once and I volunteered as they offered a $400.00 voucher to wait another hour and a half for the next flight (which is helping pay for my trip in January).

[TigTig]

Originally Posted by sue299

as for Southwest tickets, I've only purchased the wanna get away rate ones. They just mean you don't get a refund if you cancel, you get a credit to use in one year from purchase. I love Southwest and if possible, it's the only airlines I will fly!

We are hoping to fly southwest for our upcoming trip. Is it a bad idea to buy the tickets once they are released later this week??? Should I wait for the possibility of a lower rate or can I switch to one of the ding! fares if they become available??? We've always flown Delta and are just becoming familiar with Southwest so not sure what the best route is.

[SDuncan]

I used to say to wait a month or so after the rates were released as they seemed to drop a little. Recently I have not seen that as a trend. However, oil has dropped a lot in the last couple of months.

There is a way to rebook when lower fares are released and they used to send a voucher for the difference. Somebody here has discussed it before. Things may have changed since the last time I did that.

With that being said, I will probably book my January trip on Thursday when the new schedule is released. Just can't wait much longer. One more step closer!

[TigTig]

My thoughts exactly!!! I'm just so darn excited. Plus the feeling of knowing it's booked and not having to worry about it is worth it.

Thanks!!!