Tickets to Disney are not cheap. But what do you do if you want to go for just one day, but can’t afford to pay the one day’s worth of admission for your family? You want your child to still experience some Disney magic while you are in Orlando, right?
If you still want to meet characters without paying admission, you could book a character meal at one of the restaurants located outside the park. (You can park for free at any resort, just ask for the 3 hour parking pass to check it out.) 1900 Park Faire has Cinderella, Prince Charming, the 2 Stepsisters and Lady Tremaine for dinner. It is pricey though. It’s $52.05 per adult and $29.55 per child. Chef Mickey’s has Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald and Goofy. If you go for breakfast it’s $42.46 per adult and $23.29 per child.
Every night, beginning at 9 pm, the Electrical Water Pageant makes it’s way around Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake. It can be seen at 5 of the resorts. You could go for dinner at 1900 Park Faire (located at The Grand Floridian) and then walk down to their beach and see the Pageant and the fireworks at Magic Kingdom.
Disney’s Boardwalk is located right outside Epcot. There are multiple shops, restaurants and in the evenings there are even performers along the Boardwalk. Be sure to get an ice cream cone at Beaches and Cream. Also, if you plan to be there around the time of Illuminations at Epcot, you can see a lot of the fireworks and hear the music.
Fort Wilderness Campground has a bonfire every night (around 8 pm) and it is free. It starts with a sing-a-long, Chip and Dale come for a meet and greet and then they play a Disney movie for free. You can bring items to make your own s’mores or you can buy it there. Of you can bring whatever treat you want. They also has a free petting zoo and you can visit the barn where they house the horses they use on Main Street. Small children can also enjoy pony rides.
Animal Kingdom Lodge has over 100 grazing animals on property. You can view them for free. While you are there, you can stop by the gift shop and there is a place set up for kids to play musical instruments from Africa!
There is no admission to visit Disney Springs. There are full size statues of Disney characters that you can pose next too for memorable pictures. There is an amazing Lego store there with plenty of Lego structures that you can check out. They also have a big play area where kids can build legos for free. Also be sure to visit the Ghiradelli Chocolate store. They are always giving out free samples. There are so many things to do here.
Learn more about planning your Walt Disney World vacation. Plus overwhelmed with all the planning? Destinations in Florida can help you plan your perfect trip.
I thought you could only go to the campfire if you were staying on Disney property. Is this true or can anyone go?
I like the free ideas, I can’t wait to go still a long ways away now but I will get there.
These are some great ideas. We always visit downtown disney on our first and last days of vacation so that we can taste the disney fun, even when we aren’t paying for the day’s admission. I was unaware of some of these other events though. I like the idea of a movie on the boardwalk.
Some of the things mentioned, specifically the Fort Wilderness movie and the Boardwalk movie are for resort guests only. Though you may be able to attend without being noticed, it is breaking the rules.
Wow..great ideas and free..that awesome thanks!! Love Disney is magic!!
We love doing the free things. We love visiting the resorts, going to Down Town Disney, etc.
Glenda
Wow, these are great suggestions! Perfect for those days when you fly in/out and don’t really have enough time to enjoy the parks!
We loved Fort Wilderness camperground. Will stay here everytime. Wish we would have went to the lodge now.
Thanks so much for all this info. We live 40 minutes from Disney and wish we could visit all of the time but cant because of the cost. this is a great way to get that “disney” feeling without breaking the bank! Thanks again!
What great ideas. We might try to look at the electric water parade this year.
For years now one of our favorite activities has been ‘transportation roulette’. We let the kids pick either boat, bus or monorail then get on the first one that comes in. Wherever it takes us we find something fun to do at that stop. Could be as simple as getting a soda from a vending machine @ TTC or could be watching EWP on the resort beach, you never know. Depending on how tired everyone is we either pick another form of transportation and do it again or we head in for the evening.
All of these ideas and tips make me want to stay at Disney for a month! lol.
Thanks for the great tips!!
Thanks for the great tips! During our trip around Christmas we are looking forward to going to all the resorts and checking out the Christmas decorations.
I didn’t know they had a movie on the Boardwalk. I’ve never been to the Boardwalk as many times as I’ve been to Disney. We were planning on having dinner over there one night (Cape May Buffet) so good to know that maybe we can catch a movie too while we wait for the fireworks.
We love riding the monorail. My kids think its a Disney ride! You can ride it to Epcot, see the front of the park as it circles around the entrance! We also resort hop a lot as we are DVC members. We hardly ever go to the Disney parks…if we do its for maybe 1 day out of 3 at the most.
And as previously mentioned a few days ago, there are a few outlet malls that have genuine Disney merchandise that you can get a great deal on!
I did not know about the water pageant….good thing i am saving for another trip
Great ideas!
I’ve been to WDW many, many times but you have taught me a few things I didn’t know. Thanks
All Star Music (not Movies, as one would think) shows a family friendly movie every night on an inflatable jumbo screen at the main pool.
I love Downtown Disney! It is great for when I need a quick fix of Disney :)
Great advice. I am able to make it a day trip, so these ideas will definitely come in handy!
I’m loving all of these ideas.
You have some great ideas. I am having such a great time reading your blog !
Great ideas!
Mousesavers is awesome!
Ft Wildreness no longer has the petting zoo. The ponies are still there and you can take a ride, but in our stay there a few months ago, they never opened up the pony rides. All other animals are sadly gone.
I’ve always heard about the bonfire at Fort Wilderness, but never realized how many other activities are free! I would love to try out the Boardwalk to watch the fireworks! Has anyone tried this yet? I’ve always been afraid they’re gonna find out we’re not staying there and kick us out.. lol
Very good info!