Planning a WDW Trip? Be Aware of Luggage Changes

According to AllEars.net, Disney is reacting to current changes in airline policies towards luggage by changing their resort check-in policy. From now on, if you elect to use Disney’s Resort Check In before heading back home from your Walt Disney World vacation, you will only be allowed to check one bag per person. Guests who wish to check more than one bag, will not be able to take advantage of the Resort Check In at their Disney hotel. They will instead have to check in at the airport themselves.

This is not the only luggage announcements being made this week. American Airlines announced that they will no charge $15 for the FIRST checked bag and $25 for the second bag. Yes, you read correctly, for the FIRST checked bag. This seems very unwise to me. Don’t most passengers need to check a bag? Wouldn’t it have been easier to just raise the price of their tickets by $15 instead of making this announcement. We are a family of 3 which means we’d have to pay an additional $45 if we were flying with American.  Personally, I can tell you that would stop me from booking those tickets unless they were substantially cheaper than any other airline (which they tend to not be). The fee will start June 15. This is not the only fee changes with American. They are also increasing their fees for things such as oversized bags.  There will be a few exceptions to this policy will be members of their Elite club, those traveling overseas, and those who buy “full fare tickets.”

These changes do not become effective immediately so if you are holding tickets now, do not fret. According to American’s website, if you buy your tickets before June 15, you will still be able to have one free checked bag per person ($25 for a second).

With all of these changes to luggage, we will definitly be paying less to ship a package to our resort before we arrive, and I’ll ship a box back home at the end of our trip.  All WDW resorts, will hold your package for a short period of time until you arrive.  We’ll throw in our Disney pins, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrushes and toothpaste, along with some of our trip goodies like mini fans and snacks.  What measures are you taking in response to the luggage restrictions now put on us by virtually every airline?