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!