Southwest Early Bird Check-in

[Christina Troiano]

Traveling to Orlando with husband and 1yo flight is full. Debating add early bird check in thoughts???

 

[sponica]

Is the 1 year old a lap rider or does he have a seat?

Where are you traveling from? Is it a flight that originates there or is the plane coming from somewhere else before going to MCO?

 

[Spunky946]

We always do it so I don’t have to think about checking in.

 

[ClapYourHands]

So, with a full flight, that probably means it's coming up relatively soon, and that most of the other passengers know the flight is full. I'm sure a lot of people have already added EBCI, since many people do it at the time of booking. My understanding is that the earlier you add EBCI, the lower your number is, so to add at this point, you'll probably get a number somewhere in the Bs. Since you're traveling with a 1-year-old, your family boarding status will get you on the plane earlier than an EBCI would.

 

[SG131]

As long as you don't mind sitting further back on the plane, you'll be able to do family boarding between groups A and B since your child is so young and have no problem. If your flight is coming up soon, you might be so far back in the EB queue that you get a B letter anyway. That has happened to me before. I wouldn't bother at this point.

 

[Sara_H]

We always do it because when I'm on vacation I don't want to have to remember to check in.

 

[Tink_83]

With family boarding - even if you check in when you arrive at the airport you board between a and b. I also agree with a pp about EBCI - you are assigned it as you add it and after all of the top tier people get their slots as well. I’ve done it before to end up in the b group so I wouldn’t bother at this point myself. Now if family boarding wasn’t an option then I’d add it because trying to remember to check in 24 hours in advance so your not in group c is a real pain, especially on vacation.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

We usually add it for our flight out of MCO as I have seen Southwest not do family boarding leaving Orlando as there are so many families which would qualify. Like others said, for your flight out, I'd skip it and do family boarding.

 

[DLgal]

I added EBCI a week before and got positions A41 and A52 (had a connection). Both flights were full.

 

[ninafeliz]

We just always book it when we book our flights. We’ve always gotten A group, although once we were the last A’s.

 

[thor369]

I have never flown SW and also a family a four so should I do early check in and pay for seats?

Also, we have a early morning 6:30am
Flight from Orlando what time should be leave the resort? How busy is the airport in the morning?

 

[Specter]

DW and I have always and will always pay for the EBCI on Southwest. March 2020 will be our first time flying with a child, 10 months at the time, and we're still going to add it as soon as we book.

 

[Marionnette]

I have never flown SW and also a family a four so should I do early check in and pay for seats?

I would. It just removes the stress of “one more thing I gotta do”.

Also, we have a early morning 6:30am
Flight from Orlando what time should be leave the resort? How busy is the airport in the morning?

DME typically picks up 3 hours prior to your scheduled departure (yes, it will run at 3:30 AM). RAC will not be open at that hour so you will have to take your luggage on DME and then check it thru at the airport. TSA security can be slow at that hour, not due to crowds but because they have fewer lanes open.

 

[thor369]

ok, so won't book during that time, its way too early with kids at 4am in the morning.

 

[EllNat11]

I always just pay for the EBCI. I budget it in from the jump and we always book pretty far out. As a result, I personally have never had a position further back than A33 (although I realize that experience can vary widely). It was always just worth the peace of mind for me to know we will all be together and our luggage has space in our overhead bin (that said, my daughter is now 7 so we don't "qualify" for the family boarding between A and B, that may sway things if your kids do qualify).

 

[Jacq7414]

I usually do EBCI as soon as I book the flight. It’s worth it to me. Last time we got A29-A31. There were a lot of kids on the flight from MCO, so many families didn’t get seats together during the family boarding process.

The flight was a full flight

 

[Jessirip]

I personally do it more for not having to check in rather than a boarding position since we can do family boarding. If we get a number that would put us behind family boarding we just do that instead.

That said, you also get a higher number based on the type of fare you chose when you booked. For example, a "wanna get away" cheaper fare will be behind a higher paid fare that both have EBCI. (Just read that the other day while I was confirming our flight time).

 

[piccolopat]

ok, so won't book during that time, its way too early with kids at 4am in the morning.

You might consider taking DME the night before your flight (give Disney an late evening flight #) and stay at the hotel at the airport. This way you can roll your kids out of bed later than if you still had to travel to the airport. You would have to handle your luggage until you checked in for your flight.

 

[CNYMickeyFan]

Those traveling with children via Southwest are allowed to board directly after the A group boards.

 

[MomOTwins]

The thing about family boarding on Orlando flights, where there are so many families, is just to line up in the family boarding lane ahead of time. You can ask the attendant where family boarding is. I stake out a spot in the line about 30 minutes ahead of boarding and just read my book. If you are are near the front of the family boarding queue, there is never a problem to find seats together (and we are a family of 5). You're heading to Disney world, so waiting in lines is good practice