Walt Disney World has expanded its Airport Luggage Transfer program again, adding JetBlue for eligible guests traveling through Orlando International Airport (MCO). The change makes JetBlue the fourth participating airline and gives more Disney Resort guests a way to skip baggage claim while their checked luggage travels separately.
For longtime Disney World visitors, the arrangement may sound familiar. It restores another piece of the convenience once associated with Disney’s Magical Express, but there is one major difference: your bags get transportation between MCO and Disney World. You don’t.
Disney World Airport Luggage Transfer Adds JetBlue
Disney’s official Airport Luggage Transfer page now lists JetBlue alongside American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines as participating carriers. The pilot is provided by BagCheck and remains limited to domestic flights and guests staying at participating Disney Resorts Collection hotels.
Those hotels currently include Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort, All-Star Music Resort, All-Star Sports Resort, Art of Animation Resort, Pop Century Resort, and Caribbean Beach Resort. Caribbean Beach became the first Moderate Resort included in the program in August, another expansion that followed the service’s earlier concentration on Disney’s Value Resorts. Inside the Magic previously covered the Caribbean Beach expansion.
JetBlue’s addition continues that gradual growth. Earlier in 2026, Disney expanded the luggage program beyond Southwest to include American Airlines and United Airlines, substantially increasing the number of eligible travelers. Inside the Magic tracked that airline expansion in May.
The Magical Express Comparison Is Hard to Avoid
Disney’s Magical Express once bundled two major arrival-day conveniences into the Disney Resort experience: airport transportation and, during portions of the service’s history, luggage handling. Disney ended Magical Express for arrivals beginning January 1, 2022. Inside the Magic reported Disney’s original Magical Express closure announcement.
The new luggage program brings back part of that old friction-free experience. Eligible travelers can arrive at MCO and proceed toward Walt Disney World without waiting at baggage claim, while BagCheck handles their checked luggage.
But Airport Luggage Transfer is not a revival of Magical Express. Disney is not providing those guests with complimentary motorcoach transportation from Orlando International Airport to their hotel. Travelers still have to arrange—and potentially pay for—their own ground transportation.
That distinction matters. Inside the Magic’s look back at the transition from Magical Express to Mears Connect explains how the airport transportation landscape changed after Disney retired its former service.
Your Bags Can Skip Baggage Claim
For arriving guests, Disney says registration can be completed between 30 days and 24 hours before the flight. Travelers need both their Disney Resort confirmation number and flight confirmation number.
After checking their bags with the participating airline, eligible guests can bypass baggage claim after landing at MCO. Disney says luggage can take up to four hours from the flight’s arrival time to reach the participating hotel. Guests can retrieve it through Luggage Assistance/Bell Services or request delivery to their room; gratuities are not included.
The service works in the opposite direction, too. Guests leaving Disney World can deliver their luggage to Luggage Assistance/Bell Services between 24 hours and four hours before departure. They must have a boarding pass and valid government-issued photo identification before the bags can be accepted.
Airline baggage fees still apply where required, so the luggage transfer does not erase the normal checked-bag costs imposed by a guest’s carrier.
The Ride to Disney World Is Still on You
This is where comparisons to Magical Express stop.
Guests using Airport Luggage Transfer still need separate transportation between MCO and Walt Disney World. Since Magical Express ended, travelers have relied on alternatives including rideshare services, rental cars, private transportation, and paid shuttle options such as Mears Connect.
That post-Magical Express reality has been developing for years. Inside the Magic previously examined Mears Connect as a Magical Express alternative, while subsequent changes eventually combined Mears Connect and Sunshine Flyer operations. Inside the Magic covered that airport shuttle transition.
The result is a split experience that longtime guests may notice immediately. Disney and BagCheck can now remove eligible luggage from the airport equation, but the family traveling with those bags remains responsible for reaching the resort.
For parents traveling with children, strollers, and carry-ons, removing checked suitcases from that journey could still make arrival day considerably simpler. It just isn’t the all-in-one airport connection Magical Express once represented.
Disney’s Airport Perk Could Keep Growing
JetBlue’s addition also matters because Disney has explicitly left room for further expansion. Its official Airport Luggage Transfer page says additional airlines could be added, although Disney has not announced which carrier might come next or provided a timetable.
There is likewise no confirmed announcement that Airport Luggage Transfer will expand across every Disney Resorts Collection hotel. Deluxe Resorts remain outside the current list, while Caribbean Beach is presently the sole participating Moderate Resort.
That makes the JetBlue addition another incremental step rather than a full restoration of Disney World’s former airport system. Inside the Magic has followed the program since its earlier Southwest-focused expansion, and each subsequent change has widened eligibility.
For upcoming travelers, the practical advice is straightforward: check Disney’s official Airport Luggage Transfer page before departure, since the pilot is subject to change. JetBlue passengers now have one less piece of luggage logistics to handle—but unless Disney announces something considerably larger, the ride between Orlando International Airport and Walt Disney World remains theirs to arrange.
