Walt Disney World may be the Most Magical Place on Earth, but that magic can certainly be expensive. It’s been a challenging past few years to be a Disney parks fan with massive budget cuts resulting in guests losing access to a wide range of perks that used to be included in a Disney trip such as MagicBands, the Disney Magical Express, and Fastpass+.
That doesn’t mean all the freebies are gone, however.
We’ve talked about Walt Disney World freebies before, specifically focusing on perks to take advantage of during a birthday. What about the rest of the year, though?
1. The Animation Experience (Disney’s Animal Kingdom)
Some of the best freebies at Walt Disney World are experiences that feel like VIP offerings but are available to all guests at low to no cost. The Animation Experience at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a perfect example of this—a charming, hands-on experience that gives guests the chance to create a piece of personal art under the instruction of a Disney animator.
Tucked away inside the Conservation Station at Rafiki’s Planet Watch, the Animation Experience is easy to miss. Just getting to it requires a short, relaxing train ride from the Africa pavilion, but the trip is well worth the detour. Throughout the day, guests can take part in an interactive class where a Disney animator will teach you how to draw an iconic animal character, such as Dumbo, Shere Khan, or Simba. The mini classes are enticingly relaxing compared to the average hustle expected on a Disney day.
Best of all, you will always leave the Animation Experience with a free keepsake—your personal piece of Disney art to treasure for years to come.
2. Sodas, murals, and butterflies – Epcot’s ever-rotating freebies
Epcot remains my personal favorite park overall, and one of the reasons is that you never fully know what to expect from one visit to the next. Thanks to the implementation of seasonal festivals, guests visiting at different times of year can engage in a range of fun activities, many of which are offered totally free.
Enjoy soda and trying international flavors? The free soda samples at Club Cool remain Epcot’s most popular freebie, available year round in a new location at the center of Future World / World Celebration near Spaceship Earth. All the sodas are worth giving at least one try, though make sure you have your camera out when your travel mates try the Beverly (proof that there really is a taste more bitter than defeat).
As for seasonal offerings, all four of Epcot’s rotating festivals offer activities for guests to enjoy at no additional cost. In January and February, guests can participate in group mural painting and other artistic fun as part of the Festival of the Arts. The Flower and Garden Festival includes access to a stunning butterfly pavilion, and Disney has even been known to give small gardening freebies out like bookmarks containing seeds you can plant. Guests attending the Epcot Food and Wine Festival might be able to watch a culinary demonstration (or participate in a class for an additional cost) or enjoy rare free food samples like Ghirardelli chocolates. All four festivals also include special concerts and ever-changing artistic exhibitions.
BONUS FREEBIE: Disney+ Day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
This one only applies only one day a year, but the past few years, Disney has surprised park guests at Disney’s Hollywood Studios one day a year with free swag related to Disney+. We aren’t sure if this tradition has survived into Iger’s tenure (it was weirdly the only freebie Chapek ever pushed), but it’s a nice opportunity to get a free button, hat, or other piece of limited edition Disney+ gear.
3. All the things you forgot at First Aid
I say this one with an asterisk as it seems like Disney has tightened up just how many courtesy items they are willing to dole out, but in years past, Disney has been surprisingly generous how many things they are willing to provide for free to guests visiting First Aid stations inside the parks.
The gist is that just about anything you would normally get from a pharmacy store, there is a chance that Disney First Aid (available in all four parks) might have for free. This can include singles for over-the-counter medications, band-aids, ice packs, blister treatments, and in the past, even some items for contact lens users. A few things they’ve tightened up on include sunscreen and feminine products, so don’t expect to find those, but don’t hesitate to stop by if you need medical help or a medical-related convenience item to make your trip a little more comfortable.
4. Bug repellant
Disney’s mosquito control measures are impressive, but Walt Disney World is still in Florida—biting insects are an inevitable problem, particularly around dusk. I’ve made it through entire Disney days bite free only to be absolutely devoured by mosquitos and no-see-ums on the way out of Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
If you find yourself surrounded by a cloud of bloodsuckers without any repellant, don’t panic. Back in 2016 (when the Zika virus arrived in Florida), Disney started placing bug repellant stations inside the parks. These are generally found near Guest Relations (look for a table with a big pump jug), though we have seen them inside and outside of shops near the front of parks as well.
The more surefire way to get some repellant is to make a stop by Disney First Aid. In years past, they have kept small repellant wipes available for guests that work like a charm.
5. Play Disney Parks
We didn’t mention My Disney Experience because it’s become pretty central to a Disney visit, but many people still don’t know about Play Disney Parks. At first glance, the app can seem pretty dismissible—just a source for phone games to pass time in line.
The thing that makes Play Disney Parks special is the way Disney has used the app to gamify interactions with attractions and lands throughout Walt Disney World. For example, at Epcot, guests can participate in a queue-wide trivia challenge about world travel destinations or participate in a DuckTales themed scavenger hunt in World Showcase. At Magic Kingdom, guests can compete in space games in the queue for Space Mountain.
Our favorite, of course, is Star Wars Datapad.
Star Wars Datapad is basically a hidden attraction tied into the fabric of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The app turns your phone into an in-world computer from the Star Wars universe that can interact with elements throughout the land, including droids, signal towers, ships, panels, and crates. Many of these will activate in tangible ways with lights and sounds. Guests can also participate in hidden jobs and quests throughout the land, winning reputation for the Resistance or First Order (or just skimming a few credits for yourself), including special quests tied to the queues for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
Continue reading for more great freebies at Walt Disney World…
6. Buttons, stickers, and cards
We are glad one of Walt Disney World’s most popular freebies survived the belt-tightening of the past few years: celebration buttons.
Since their introduction, Disney’s free celebration buttons have remained both a charming keepsake and a great way to potentially experience a little extra pixie dust on your trip. You can pick them up at Guest Relations, ticket booths, or at resort concierge desks. While birthdays, weddings, and first visits tend to be the most common ones handed out, you can get a celebration button for just about anything since cast members will customize them with a marker for you. They also make a nice surprise gift for a party member if you have a friend celebrating something. Occasionally, the birthday buttons can even score you a simple complimentary dessert.
Stickers and trading cards also have remained a ubiquitous freebie throughout Disney parks, though their locations can be a little harder to peg. On any given trip, it’s pretty common to see a cast member at random handing out free stickers to kids. Guests also have reported still being able to procure Disney transportation trading cards, which you can pick up from cast members and operators on a range of Disney transportation options.
BONUS: Dining Keepsakes
Several Walt Disney World restaurants offer small keepsakes for guests to take home. Tiffins, for example, has long given guests a beautiful high quality postcard that could easily frame as a work of art. Chef Mickey’s sometimes offers similar postcards. Kids dining at Cinderella’s Royal Table can also reportedly secure a magic wand souvenir to take home. Last, most of Epcot’s festivals offer a dining scavenger hunt that can score you a bonus souvenir: eat all the items on a specific checklist in your festival passport and win a free cookie, cup, or similar freebie.
7. The Baby Care Centers are magic
As a new mom who regularly has to turn my car into a mobile nursery, I absolutely LOVE Disney’s Baby Care Centers. I barely knew they existed before becoming a parent, but they’ve become an essential stop for us bringing our littlest one to the Most Magical Place on Earth.
The Baby Care Centers provide so many things that you don’t even realize you miss when traveling as a parent. I can’t rave enough about the ingenious changing tables, which all include easily accessible paper liners, so you always know baby is getting changed on a clean surface. The centers also include separate nursing areas (some private and some semi-shared), food and bottle preparation tools, rocking chairs, quiet spaces to calm fussy kids, and the biggest game changer—A KITCHEN SINK. I never knew how invaluable a sink could be until I realized I could clean bottles and pump parts on the go during a Disney day, meaning you don’t have to carry as much.
While some guests have reported receiving a free diaper in emergencies, most baby supplies you might need are also available for purchase at the Baby Care Centers. I would still recommend bringing what you can—I’m not a fan of some of Disney’s choices in particular categories—but it’s still great to know the essentials are available should you need them.
8. Scavenger hunts and animal experts
We love a good scavenger hunt, and Disney is home to a surprising number of them. We already mentioned Star Wars Datapad, but three of Disney’s most popular scavenger hunts are available specifically for kids.
Epcot usually has two going at the same time—one tied to the current festival, which you can learn about in your festival passport, as well as access to “Kidcot” stations throughout the park, where kids can participate in simple crafts and activities, building up a nice collection of mini-keepsakes. Over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, kids can engage in a long hunt to become a Wilderness Explorer, learning information about animals and wilderness survival at checkpoints throughout the park while earning badges.
If you want to learn more about Walt Disney World’s animal denizens, take some time to chat with the animal experts throughout Disney’s Animal Kingdom (especially on the park’s walking paths), Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Epcot’s The Seas with Nemo and Friends. These cast members know all sorts of special secrets about the park’s animals, and on ultra-rare occasions, we’ve even had some pixie dust moments where we got to meet animals a little closer than we ever expected after engaging in a good conversation with their keepers.
9. Walking paths & resort hopping
Longtime Disney guests will be familiar with both of these, but it’s worth mentioning nonetheless—many guests don’t realize you can visit any Walt Disney World Resort hotel to explore the grounds without being a guest. While we encourage good-behavior and staying out of “Guest Only” areas, taking a resort hopping tour can be a rewarding way to spend some time on your next Walt Disney World visit.
At Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, for example, visitors can tour the resort’s gardens and savannahs, getting a much closer look at Africa’s most striking animals than may be possible at the park. Guests strolling through the Yacht and Beach Club, the Polynesian Resort, or the Grand Floridian can take a breather on the beach. Many of Disney’s resorts also offer evening outdoor movies you can sit and enjoy with your family.
Walt Disney World is also home to an impressive network of walking paths for those who enjoy free exploration. Some of our favorites include the path between Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot, the walking trails at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground, and the gardens surrounding many Disney resorts.
10. Pixie dust (both literal and figurative)
We’ve said it before, and we will echo it again: Disney cast members are the true champions who make the parks magical. Day after day, cast members find creative ways to go above and beyond to make a Disney experience magical for guests they encounter. When these encounters vastly exceed expectations, we call it Pixie Dust.
I’ve had Pixie Dust encounters with cast members that resulted in surprise freebies all over Walt Disney World. Some are small kindnesses, like the time a cast member in Toy Story Land gave me some free batteries to recharge a dead lightsaber. Others are wow moments, like the time a keeper at The Seas with Nemo and Friends took us up to the upper deck of the dolphin pool (I believe we were celebrating our first anniversary and we’d had a great conversation about the dolphins).
There’s no way to predict or manipulate when Pixie Dust moments will happen, but my best recommendation is to be courteous and friendly—this can go a long way. If you’re celebrating something, wear a celebration button. Most of all, find opportunities to engage with the cast members politely.
Oh, and if you want to encounter a little actual pixie dust? On birthdays, you can have your little ones make a stop at Sir Mickey’s in Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom. Cast members there are known for showering actual glittering pixie dust on young guests having a celebration. Just ask!
What other freebies have you found at Walt Disney World? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook! Thanks for reading!
