Disney’s Magical Express Will Change July 1st 2021
Despite being discontinued on the 1st of January 2022, changes are coming to Disney’s Magical Express starting on July 1st of this year. Starting on the first of the month, guests will no longer be receiving a DIsney’s Magical Express confirmation in the mail prior to their departure.
This change is just one of the many that has come since Walt Disney World opened up last year and started offering the complementary rides from Orlando International Airport to the Walt Disney World Resort again. Other changes to Disney’s Magical Express include no longer sending luggage tags, not collecting luggage and no longer delivering it directly to your room. As with many of the other changes that have happened in the last year, these too were done in the name of health and safety.
Now, if you’ve got an upcoming reservation on Disney’s Magical Express, you don’t have to worry! The process for checking in when you arrive at Orlando International Airport hasn’t changed much due to this change. In fact, I’d argue that it’s gotten even easier! Rather than having to keep track of a paper confirmation, simply present your MagicBand or Disney MagicMobile Pass to the Cast Members at the check-in counter. They’ll scan it and you’ll be on your way. If you don’t have either of these, you can simply present a government-issued photo ID along with your resort reservation number and you’ll be good to go.
Why exactly Disney is doing this is anyone’s guess, but we’re honestly surprised it took them this long. Though getting a paper confirmation via post is something many of us are familiar with, it’s not as necessary as it once was. Thanks to MagicBands and the new MagicMobile smartphone app, guests can have all of their information in one place and Disney can save a lot of money by not sending out these mailpieces. Win/Win!
Of course, with any change comes a certain amount of concern from guests. The main concern I’ve seen so far from guests around social media is that this will make the lines longer than they already are. Though I understand where these concerns are coming from, I respectfully disagree. During a recent trip to Walt Disney World I utilized Disney’s Magical Express and found that using MagicBands to check guests in was quite efficient and what most people seemed to prefer. [NOTE: This is before MagicMobile was also available on Android.] If anything, the paperwork ended up being just another thing to fumble with. That said, I don’t think that this change is going to impact guests in a big way, but we’ll have to see.
Once again, this change goes into effect on the 1st of July, 2021.