45 Disney World Freebies
Resort Freebies
Campfire Sing-Along with Chip & Dale at the Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground. A Disney Cast Member plays guitar and leads songs while Chip & Dale go around to the guests. This is our favorite freebie because the character meals are so expensive but this really sweet character experience is absolutely free – you don’t need theme park admission or anything. Read more buildabettermousetrip.com/campfire-activities
The other Disney resorts have campfires on select nights with free marshmallow roasting
Movies Under the Stars – Most nights a Disney movie is shown on outdoor screens at all the Disney-owned hotels. Check out the current movie schedule
The Electric Water Pageant is a floating parade offered nightly on the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake in the Magic Kingdom resort area.
Animal Viewing: Barnyard Animal Viewing area at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground. When: Daily – closes mid-afternoon. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge has a several savannahs with Giraffe, Bongo, Impala, Gazelles, Ostrich, African crown cranes, Pelicans, Zebra, and many other animals.
The "String of Memories" activity at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge lets kids create a keepsake bracelet, earning one bead for each of seven guided activities about African culture and the resort’s animals, with a bonus bead for completing all 7. It's a perfect non-park day activity that offers a fun, learning-filled experience.
Are you staying at a Disney resort? Ask for the Recreation and Activity Guide. Activities vary by resort but may include Pickleball, Yoga, Dance Parties and even Hidden Mickey hunts.
Free Special Resort Tours – Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge and Disney’s Wilderness Lodge have offerings at various times during the week. We list resort numbers in our resort presentations to get tour times.
Holiday Decorations in the Deluxe Resorts – Every year, most of the Disney World Deluxe resorts get an absolutely amazing gingerbread creation that is put on display in the resort lobby to be enjoyed by anyone who visits the resort – you do not have to stay at the hotel to see them.
Wake Up Calls – Set a wake-up call and let the kids hear a morning greeting from Mickey Mouse or Stitch.
Free Use of Life Jackets at the Resort Pools (Resort Guests Only) – You’ll find bins or racks with life jackets near each of the Disney World resort hotel feature pools for use while you enjoy the pool.
Showers near the Pools – Check-out is at 11AM but Disney resort guests are still welcome to enjoy resort amenities like the pool on their check-out day. All of the resorts except Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground have pool towels and changing rooms with showers so that you can clean up before catching your flight.
Fire Rock Geiser at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
“Yehaa Bob” Jackson at Disney’s Port Orleans – Riverside Resort in the River Roost Lounge. Enjoy boogie-woogie musical stylings and comedy from a local legend.
Disney Springs Freebies
There is no admission required to enter Disney Springs and parking is free.
Coca-Cola Polar Bear photo-op on the second level of the Coca-Cola Store in Disney Springs.
Arribas Brothers often has free glass blowing demonstrations. At times, you can also see glass artistry demos in the Mexico & Germany pavilions at Epcot or at Crystal Arts on Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom.
Disney Springs has lots of great live entertainment – Disney Springs Event Calendar here
Special Events – Disney Springs hosts several free events throughout the year. The Festival of the Seasons runs from mid-November to the end of December and includes a Santa meet-and-greet.
Disney Springs Kids Club—Saturdays 10:30, 11:15 and noon. Activities include Flight Crew: a high-energy dance party with jump rope routines and acrobatics; Wassalou Drum Circle: create music with this vibrant Afropop band; and play games like limbo and hula hoops with DJ "KD Queen."
It is fun to watch candied apples and treats being made through the front display windows at the Candy Cauldron in Disney Springs and the Main Street Confectionary.
General Freebies
Ride the Boats – Enjoy a free ride on Disney Transportation. My favorite boat ride is the one that goes between the Contemporary, Fort Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge.
Ride the Monorail – Riding around the Seven Seas Lagoon & thru the Contemporary Resort is the most iconic, but the trip from the TTC to Epcot is a longer ride, and you get to see inside the Epcot park.
Ride the Skyliner – This is Disney’s newest and most popular transportation. From the main station at the Caribbean Beach resort you can visit 1) the Riviera Resort and the Epcot resort area and theme park, 2) Disney’s Hollywood Studios and 3) Disney’s Art of Animation and Pop Century resorts.
Register with www.mydisneyexperience.com whether you’re staying on Disney property or not. It is a free website Disney created to help guests plan their trips and make dining reservation (must pre-purchase tickets).
MyDisneyExperience Smartphone App. The App lets you link hotel and dining reservations and has the tip board with attraction wait times and restaurant availability. It also allows you to purchase and schedule the paid Lightning Lane Multi-Pass, Single-Pass and Premium reservations. We love the car locator :-)
The Play Disney Parks app turns wait time into play time, with interactive games and activities themed to your location in the parks (needs Bluetooth & Location Services). Available on the App Store & Google Play
Free Ice Water at Disney Quick-Service Restaurants – Since these restaurants will happily sell you a bottle of water, we thought it worth mentioning that you can get a free glass of ice water at any Disney World restaurant.
First Aid Stations – Each of the Disney World theme parks, water parks and Disney Springs have a first aid station that can provide over-the-counter remedies like an aspirin or bandages.
Package Holding – Don’t carry around souvenir purchases all day. Packages can be sent to a holding desk near the front of the park to be collected later in the day; you retain the receipt so there is no danger of loss.
Free Once You’ve Entered The Theme Parks
Free Soda Refills – Disney World quick-service restaurants do not offer free refills except: Backlot Express (Disney’s Hollywood Studios) and Sunshine Seasons (Epcot).
Free Pin Badges – Celebrating a birthday, anniversary, or honeymoon? Is this your first visit to Walt Disney World? Be sure to stop by guest services at any Disney theme park to get the free special pin/button. Wear it and you’ll get a lot of well wishes from Cast Members and you might even get some special treatment along the way.
Stickers – We received a free sticker riding the Fort Wilderness boat. Sonny Eclipse stickers are sometimes available at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe (Magic Kingdom).
Free theme park admission for children age 2 and under. Also, sharing with a parent or sibling at restaurants with a “per person” charge. With no theme park admission, they won't need Lightning Lane selections either.
Rider Switch Pass – This Disney service helps families with small children at attractions with height or age restrictions. After checking in at the attraction’s Rider Swap Cast Member, one person waits with the youngster while the everyone else experiences the attraction. Then, the waiting person uses the Lightning Lane entrance and, because riding alone is no fun, usually one, or possibly two other people get to ride again.
Epcot – You can send e-postcards with your picture included to friends & family from the ImageWorks lab kiosks at the end of the Journey into Imagination with Figment ride in the Imagination Pavilion. Funny animated e-postcards can be sent from the kiosks found at the Training Lab at the end of the Mission Space ride. Free e-postcards are also available from the Kiosk near the Kidcot area in the Mexico Pavilion.
Epcot – Speaking of Kidcot Stations – They are located in various pavilions around the park, but close in the late afternoon. You can pick up packaged kits that have activity cards and memorable mementos with facts about culture and traditions of each country. If the attendant in the China pavilion is from China or from Japan in the Japan Pavilion, ask them to write your child’s name in their language on cards. This was a highlight for my kids.
Epcot – There are free soda samples from around the world at Club Cool in Epcot. They’re interesting to try and most are tasty. One is horrible but I won’t spoil the surprise :-)
Epcot – Finding Dory’s Friends Scavenger Hunt at the Seas with Nemo and Friends pavilion. You can print the activity book before you go in case they run out
Magic Kingdom – A Pirate’s Adventure. Get a map and earn treasure-finder cards with this free activity.
Magic Kingdom – Your child may be able to get a “Guest Skipper” card on the Jungle Cruise ride or a “license” at the Tomorrowland Speedway.
Magic Kingdom – Free Hair Glitter (Pixie Dusting) Sir Mickey’s (in back of the castle) will often sprinkle children’s hair with Pixie Dust for free.
Disney's Animal Kingdom – Wilderness Explorers Club. This activity is based on the fictional version of the Boy Scouts featured in the Disney-Pixar film “Up”. The program is geared towards elementary school age kids but guests of all ages are welcome to participate. Kids receive a free handbook detailing the 25 merit badges (stickers placed in the book) they can earn and receive a sticker to wear.
Free electronics recharging: on newer busses under the seat; Magic Kingdom Tangled area and Pete’s Silly Sideshow in Fantasyland; Epcot World Celebration Gardens, Play area at Mission Space, and some tables in Connections Café, as well as the Land, Norway, and Morocco pavilions; Studios in ABC Commissary, upstairs in PizzeRizzo and Star Wars Launch Bay; Animal Kingdom in Pizzafari, Flame Tree Barbecue and Nomad Lounge
Festivals – Are you visiting Epcot during Festival of the Arts, the Flower and Garden Festival, Food & Wine Festival or Festival of the Holidays? Always check for special events and offerings for both kids and adults.
The Best Freebie of All
The help you receive when you book your trip through us. We want to help you have the most wonderful, most memorable Disney World vacation possible. We want you to have great memories of shared experiences instead, not missed opportunities. Here’s how we help you have a great vacation:
Your travel agent – One person start-to-finish who knows you, your group and your priorities.
Changes – Openings, closures, requirements, policies. We’ll make sure you know what’s changed.
“Best Days” Itinerary – We’ll help you build an itinerary that includes your priorities for fireworks, parades, crowds and shows. Then we help with dining and activity reservations.
Saving Money – Of course we watch for discounts and promotion and automatically apply the best available offer to your reservation but we also help you avoid up-sells and options you won’t use.
We Are Fee-Free – We book directly through Disney and we never charge a service fee so you never pay any extra to use our services when you book your trip through us. You can have all the benefits Disney offers PLUS all the services we offer. You can also purchase planning services through us if you've booked on your own or through another travel agency.