No matter how you feel about getting older, everyone loves freebies. Every day, families visit Walt Disney World to celebrate birthdays for kids, loved ones, or just to have a “treat-yo-self” day trip to soak in the magic. You may assume that you have to spend big bucks on a fancy dinner to get the full Disney birthday experience.
In truth, you can enjoy an entire day of birthday freebies if you do your homework ahead of time. Here’s the top ten birthday goodies we found at Walt Disney World—including some that you won’t even need a park ticket for!
1. The all-important celebration button
Image: HarshLight, Flickr (license)
Ah, the Disney celebration buttons. It’s easy to ignore these all-important badges of honor. After all, at any given time, 1/12th of other park guests who have a birthday the same month are also wearing one, and many guests wear them even if they’re not celebrating anything. Are they still worth it?
Yes. Absolutely, yes.
Your birthday celebration button is a great big flag to cast members to direct Disney magic your way. This could be as simple as wishing you happy birthday as you pass through the parks, but it could also mean freebies. In the case of almost all the freebies below, your birthday celebration button will help ensure you have the best chance possible of getting some extra birthday love. If you’re staying at a Disney resort (or are just passing through one), you can pick up a button from the front desk. If you get your button from the Polynesian Resort, you might even get a free lei! If not, stop by Guest Relations in any of the parks or at Disney Springs to pick one up.
2. Free ICEE at Club Cool
Epcot cast members love pointing guests to Club Cool, and it’s not just to see their faces when they try the dreaded “Beverly” soda. It’s partially because birthday guests get a double dose of freebies at Club Cool.
First, you get access to the free soda samples all guests enjoy. Try them all and have your camera ready if your friends try the aforementioned horror-seltzer, Beverly. This moment alone will provide a birthday memory (and blackmail) to last a lifetime.
Second, if you visit the counter, Club Cool gives all birthday visitors a free ICEE in a flavor of your choosing. It’s the perfect treat for a sweltering day, and they don’t skimp on the size either!
3. Free dessert at many Disney restaurants
Image: Jett Farrell-Vega (@mykingdomforamouse Instagram)
The most popular birthday freebie at Walt Disney World is also the most random. At any given sit-down restaurant, birthday guests at Walt Disney World have a pretty good chance of getting a free celebratory dessert. Usually, this ends up being a slice of cake, sundae, or cupcake, though some of the fancier restaurants might go more all-out.
The trick here is to have your celebration button visible and be very friendly and engaging with your server. It also can’t hurt to have a birthday during the off-season since cast members are less pressed for time. My husband and I usually engage cast members in conversation but are both shy about mentioning it’s our birthday. Often, just having the button visible gets the job done, and we’ve enjoyed beautiful birthday treats at Rose and Crown Pub, Spice Road Table, Boma, and Tutto Italia. Mentioning our anniversary also worked at Portobello.
The dessert is usually unique for birthday guests, so if you’re planning on ordering something specific (like any of the mouth-watering desserts at Jungle Navigation Skipper Canteen), it most likely will not be comped. Getting freebies at restaurants is always a little bit of a gamble but having a great rapport with your server goes a long way. Definitely tip them well!
4. Free Starbucks
Image: Disney
Where better to spend a free birthday drink than Walt Disney World? Sign up for Starbucks Gold Rewards about a week or two before your birthday visit and make sure you have the Starbucks app downloaded on your phone. I don’t recommend waiting to do this in the parks since Disney Wi-Fi can be spotty, and you likely won’t get your birthday reward in time.
With your reward ready, head to Starbucks in Epcot, Magic Kingdom, or Disney Springs to pick any drink of your choosing. Heck, pick the most expensive drink on the menu. You can even pick a “secret menu” drink or have the baristas whip up some wacky concoction. It’s your birthday, so the sky’s the limit!
5. Free sandwich or brownie from Earl of Sandwich
Image: Disney
If you really want to reap the birthday freebies, plan to spend a few hours at Disney Springs. You can start off with a potential free sandwich from Earl of Sandwich. Just sign up for their Loyalty Rewards program ahead of time, and you’ll receive an email coupon the month of your birthday for a freebie.
While this used to mean a free sandwich, some guests have reported that the reward has been changed to a free brownie. Either way, it’s worthwhile to sign up, and Earl of Sandwich is one of the cheapest places to grab a bite to eat in the Springs if you’re looking to save.
6. Free cupcake (or a dozen!) from Sprinkles
Image: Disney
If you’re a fan of cupcakes, Walt Disney World is definitely the place to spend your birthday. Not only do many restaurants throughout the parks offer free cupcakes as a birthday dessert, but members of the Perks Program for Sprinkles cupcakes in Disney Springs can get a free gourmet uber-cupcake on their birthday. Members of the program who visits Sprinkles locations 20 or more times can also get a cupcake on their “half-birthday”.
Are you seriously crazy for cupcakes? If, for whatever reason, you happen to rack up a whopping 40 visits to Sprinkles throughout the year, you’ll earn a whole dozen free cupcakes for your birthday and a front of line pass! It’s a good incentive to become the person at the office who orders and picks up cupcakes for events!
7. Free chocolate from Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory (and other samples)
Image: Jett Farrell-Vega (@mykingdomforamouse Instagram)
Birthday-specific freebies aren’t the only way to sate your sweet tooth without draining your wallet at Disney. Bakeries, confectionaries, and ice cream shops throughout Walt Disney World regularly offer samples to guests. As an example, during your Disney Springs jaunt, stop by the Ghirardelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop for a piece of chocolate. Peek in at Goofy’s Candy Company, The Ganachery, or the Main Street Confectionary in Magic Kingdom to possibly score some free sweets as well. Guests can also try ice cream flavors at most of the ice cream parlors in the resort (though it’s generally a good practice to order some ice cream after doing this).
8. Free pretzel from Wetzel’s and free popcorn at AMC Theaters
Image: Ana Ulin, Flickr (license)
Want a snack that isn’t slathered in sugar? Download the app for Wetzel’s Pretzels to get both a free birthday pretzel and a free pretzel to use any other time. While you certainly can probably choose a sweet pretzel for your freebie, a nice savory pretzel might be the perfect snack if you’ve been inundated with free desserts!
Planning on catching a movie? Sign up for AMC Stubs Rewards and get a free popcorn that you can use when you see a movie in Disney Springs!
9. Free entree at Shula’s, Rainforest Café, or T-Rex
Image: Jett Farrell-Vega (@mykingdomforamouse Instagram)
If you don’t mind breaking off from Disney-owned restaurants for your birthday lunch or dinner meal, you can score an entire free entrée by signing up for the rewards program for Shula’s Steakhouse at the Dolphin hotel or Rainforest Café’ and T-Rex. You can’t beat a whole birthday steak! Sometimes, these deals show up as Buy One, Get One Free, so you may need to bring a friend with you.
10. VIP treatment from cast members
Similar to scoring a free birthday dessert, wearing your celebration button can also earn you a breadth of VIP treatment from cast members in the parks. As an example, at Hollywood Studios, cast members may direct you to a very special telephone near the entrance to receive a personal birthday phone call from Goofy. Other cast members may treat you to a birthday sticker or card from Mickey.
At many Disney restaurants, your free dessert may also come with the gift of song. This is especially fun if the song happens to be sung at any of the Italian pavilion restaurants at Epcot (where some of the servers fancy themselves opera singers). Even funnier is if you happen to be the target of the renowned “Birthday Song that Isn’t Very Long” by the Hollywood Studios Citizens of Hollywood.
One of the best memories we had on a birthday happened randomly while passing through World Showcase. A janitor from Columbia stopped us and—with no small amount of charm and fanfare– asked if he could sing the birthday song. He adorably assumed my name was “Jett-ie” due to the exclamation point on my celebration button. He sang a full belting rendition of happy birthday in front of passing parkgoers and spoke some kind words of blessing before we went on our way. It was an awesome moment.
Another time, as mentioned in a previous article, we were asking some questions about the dolphins in The Seas with Nemo and Friends after a training demonstration. The trainer invited us to come upstairs and meet the dolphins where we were able to ask questions about their training and the studies the researchers at The Seas are doing to learn more about how dolphins sleep. It may have been anything that triggered this highly-unusual opportunity, but I was wearing a celebration button when it happened. Coincidence? Possibly.
Keep a welcoming smile, make eye contact, and strike up friendly conversation with cast members on your birthday to potentially trigger some birthday Disney magic. There are no guarantees, but anything’s possible at the most Magical Place on Earth!
What’s your best memory of a birthday freebie at Disney World?
