Can I go straight from airport?

I have a nonstop flight landing in Orlando at 8:00 am. I am only in Disney for 3 days, and won't need to check a bag. Would it make sense to head straight to the park and put my luggage in a locker? I would just take an uber or left straight there when I land. Has anyone done that before? Do you think thats a good idea? If so, what time do you think I could get to AKL from the airport? Is there anything I need first from the hotel to go to the park- like magic band activation? (Also, are all the special magic bands sold out already?!)

Thanks
do you really want everyone in line to see everything in your carryon? it would have to go thru security who will remove everything. then you would have to repack after find somewhere to do that. from what I have read no lockers outside of security
 
You can use a luggage shipping service to send your bags to the hotel a couple of days ahead of time. We have used Luggage Free in the past, who picks up from our home, wraps the luggage in plastic, and ships it. Or you can send it by UPS yourself. Then just bring a very small bag on the plane of stuff you need in the park, and when you land you can stroll off the plane and into an Uber directly to the park, with no waiting around for bags, so you can maximize your vacation time.
 
Thanks everyone for the great responses. I just wanted to get to the park early so we could leave early and get a good nights sleep because the next two days I bought early morning magic passes. I’m going solo with a 4 year old. I think we will likely uber or take the free shuttle to the hotel to check our bags and then uber to the park. What time should I expect to get to the park (AK from AKL) just wondering for sake of fast passes.
 
Thanks everyone for the great responses. I just wanted to get to the park early so we could leave early and get a good nights sleep because the next two days I bought early morning magic passes. I’m going solo with a 4 year old. I think we will likely uber or take the free shuttle to the hotel to check our bags and then uber to the park. What time should I expect to get to the park (AK from AKL) just wondering for sake of fast passes.
I believe you said you land at 8:00? Figure about 9:30 to reach your resort, drop your bags and call for your Uber (or Minnie Van) Remember, the 4yo will need a car seat in FL so only those 2 will work, unless you can use a portable booster seat. I'd start my FP about 9:45, knowing that means I have until 11:00 to use it, maximum time. If you aren't comfortable planning the grace period, move it out to start at 10:00
 


Waiting to pick up checked luggage after arrival can be a drag. I like the idea of checking the bag through MDE and taking rideshare instead of actually riding MDE.

The OP said they are doing carry-on only so the issue of waiting to pick up checked luggage after arrival is a moot point. If they were to allow DME to handle their luggage, they would then be checking luggage with the airline for the sole purpose of DME handling it. Which means incurring potential airline luggage fees and the risk of the airline losing or mishandling it. I can't see how this is worth gaining 30 minutes of park time.
 
Time is Money.... and if the OPs luggage is LOST then he/she won't know it until late that night when they check into the hotel and Disney says "what luggage, you never told us you had luggage" (which you won't have unless you checked in with Magical Express) OP then gets to call the airline who can say "well the timeline for reporting lost luggage is a few hours and you are out of luck" or "yes we have your luggage, but it will be another 4 hours before we can deliver it". (And yes, I actually know someone who had this happen. Disney didn't get their luggage and didn't notice because they never checked in. They wound up having to do without the first night because the baggage office at the airport closed before they realized the mess and they paying for two ubers early the next morning to get clean clothing! Disney wasn't real helpful as it really wasn't their fault!)


Personally for a short trip I do carryon just to avoid this "time and money" mess!
 
The OP said they are doing carry-on only so the issue of waiting to pick up checked luggage after arrival is a moot point. If they were to allow DME to handle their luggage, they would then be checking luggage with the airline for the sole purpose of DME handling it. Which means incurring potential airline luggage fees and the risk of the airline losing or mishandling it. I can't see how this is worth gaining 30 minutes of park time.

I was responding in regard to a suggestion from another poster so it was not a moot point at the time; plus, the OP said they did not need to check bags, not that they wouldn't. Other than that, what you said makes sense except none of us know what fees would be incurred, if any, by the OP if the OP decided to check the bag. I also think there would be more than 30 minutes park time added by going directly to the park instead of waiting and riding to a resort on a bus that may make a stop or two before arriving at that resort.
 
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Personally I'd just take the free DME to the hotel, leave the bag with a porter, and then head to the park. ~$30-$40 Uber or Lyft and then a locker rental just for an extra hour at a park?

Everyone's different, but even on a 3-day vacation I can't imagine it being enjoyable to be in "rush" mode to get to a park.

Agree with this - what if you get to the park and there are no open lockers or your bag doesn't fit?

Personally I would take DME to the resort, if the room is ready stow your bag, if not store with bell services and then possibly rideshare to the park if you don't want to wait for the theme park bus.
 
if you're trying to maximize your time in the parks, don't bother with Magical Express, which is an inefficient service. Like you, most of my family's Disney trips are just for a long weekend, so I understand not wanting to waste even one minute stuck sitting on a bus unnecessarily. If an Uber from the airport is your budget, it's absolutely the smart approach. The only reason I can ever justify somebody taking Magical Express is if the fact that it's free is crucial.

That said, I wouldn't take your luggage straight to the parks. Even I wouldn't do that. I don't even know if the lockers are big enough to fit your bags. Go to you hotel, immediately leave your stuff with bell services and head out again. You'll beat Magical Express, guaranteed.

Good luck!
 
the OP said they did not need to check bags, not that they wouldn't
If they don't need to, then why would they? Even if they are flying Southwest and have no bag fees to contend with, there's always a risk of lost luggage or mishandling/damage when checking a bag. Many people try to avoid checking a bag whenever possible for this reason alone.

I also think there would be more than 30 minutes park time added by going directly to the park instead of waiting and riding to a resort on a bus that may make a stop or two before arriving at that resort.
I agree that if they took a bus to the park from their resort that it would likely take longer than 30 minutes. But if OP is willing to take an Uber from the airport to begin with in order to maximize time, it would make more sense to then take an Uber to the park so they don't have to wait on a bus. I mentioned in a prior post that often times an Uber driver will wait for you - if OP expresses their plans to the Uber driver, the Uber driver will likely wait while they run out and drop their bags at bell services quick-like. In that scenario, its only adding maybe 15-20 minutes at most.
 
I believe this is highly frowned upon and not sure they will let you do this if they find out you are not taking the ME.
Nope, not an issue. No one cares...Disney certainly doesn't.
Thanks everyone for the great responses. I just wanted to get to the park early so we could leave early and get a good nights sleep because the next two days I bought early morning magic passes. I’m going solo with a 4 year old. I think we will likely uber or take the free shuttle to the hotel to check our bags and then uber to the park. What time should I expect to get to the park (AK from AKL) just wondering for sake of fast passes.
If you land, on-time, at 8am, you should be at AKL by 9:30, probably sooner, using DME. Hand your bag off to Bell Services. Understand that if you use Uber, you will have to wait for them to get to you, then they have to drive around to the main entrance, drop you off. You then will have to walk or tram to the park entrance. Check the bus arrival times. If there is an AK bus arriving within the next 10 or so minutes, take it. Otherwise, use Uber.
If you use Uber from the airport to AK, then you'll arrive at AKL around 8:45. If they will wait while you drop your bags, great. That would get you to AK around 9:10ish. Up to you if you want to spend the money or not.
 
The only reason I can ever justify somebody taking Magical Express is if the fact that it's free is crucial.
I can justify somebody taking Magical Express because it exists; or because they don't want/like to drive on vacation; or because they just want to.
I don't even know if the lockers are big enough to fit your bags.
According to the link posted previously, there are lockers at Epcot and MK that will hold a suitcase.
 
According to the link posted previously, there are lockers at Epcot and MK that will hold a suitcase.

I didn’t check the link, but FYI, the lockers that used to be outside of Epcot that could hold most carry-on luggage size bags were removed last year sometime. I know @AngiTN used to use them frequently and has mentioned they are no longer there.
 
Nope, not an issue. No one cares...Disney certainly doesn't.

If you land, on-time, at 8am, you should be at AKL by 9:30, probably sooner, using DME. Hand your bag off to Bell Services. Understand that if you use Uber, you will have to wait for them to get to you, then they have to drive around to the main entrance, drop you off. You then will have to walk or tram to the park entrance. Check the bus arrival times. If there is an AK bus arriving within the next 10 or so minutes, take it. Otherwise, use Uber.
If you use Uber from the airport to AK, then you'll arrive at AKL around 8:45. If they will wait while you drop your bags, great. That would get you to AK around 9:10ish. Up to you if you want to spend the money or not.
At AK, the Rideshare drop off is as close to the park entrance as you can get. No tram needed. And closer than any of the bus stops are. We often rideshare to AK because it's the best location to do so

I can justify somebody taking Magical Express because it exists; or because they don't want/like to drive on vacation; or because they just want to.

According to the link posted previously, there are lockers at Epcot and MK that will hold a suitcase.
I didn’t check the link, but FYI, the lockers that used to be outside of Epcot that could hold most carry-on luggage size bags were removed last year sometime. I know @AngiTN used to use them frequently and has mentioned they are no longer there.
Correct. No outside park lockers exist
 
Outside lockers, no. I think all the posters warning the OP about their luggage being emptied at security, in front of all the other guests, pretty much established that :D.

According to that link, and with the understanding that Disney IT isn't great at maintaining/updating (and that the OP is going to AK), Epcot and MK have Jumbo lockers:
Small.....................Large....................Jumbo (MK* park and Epcot only)
12" x 10" x 17" ......15.5" x 13" x 17" ..17" x 22" x 26"
$10 per day ........$12 per day ..........$15 per day

*edited from Magic Kingdom for formatting)
 

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