Disney World is known for its incredible perks, especially for guests staying at Disney-owned hotels.
Blizzard Beach
From early park entry to extended evening hours, these little bonuses can add serious value to your trip. But there’s one perk that might be slipping under the radar for half of Disney hotel guests, and it’s a FREEBIE that could save you big money. Thinking about that, we were wondering how many of you were making use of the free water park perk, so we reached out to you to get your thoughts. Well, we asked and you delivered!
We reached out to our followers on Instagram to ask: “Did you know Disney World hotel guests can visit a water park for FREE on their arrival day? We want to know how many of you are actually using that free ticket! Are you using the free water park perk?” We had quite a few of you respond to our poll question!
What do you think?
Now, you were basically split right down the middle into one of two camps: “Yes! I’m a fan of this hotel perk!” and “No! This perk is not for me.”
Did you imagine the results would be that close?
So let’s dive into your thoughts!
What’s the Deal With This Perk?
Just in case you didn’t know, for all of 2025, if you’re staying at a Disney World hotel, you can get a complimentary ticket to a Disney water park on your arrival day. This includes Typhoon Lagoon, a tropical-themed paradise, or Blizzard Beach, Disney’s snow-covered oasis in the middle of Florida.
Typhoon Lagoon
This free ticket is only valid on the day you check into your Disney hotel, and it’s a great way to kick off your vacation without having to use a park ticket or burn a day of your multi-day pass. It’s perfect for those who arrive in the morning or early afternoon and want something fun to do before diving into the theme parks.
Why Are People Skipping It?
So why is half of the Disney hotel crowd skipping out on this perk? Here are a few reasons that could be at play:
- Arrival-day exhaustion/late arrivals: Travel days can be long and tiring, and some guests may prefer to relax at their resort instead of jumping into a water park. A lot of people visiting, especially from places like the UK get in very late on their arrival day or are seriously jet lagged when they do arrive.
- Park priorities: Many guests want to head straight to Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, or another main park on arrival day, especially if they’ve planned a shorter trip.
- Not big on water parks: Some people just aren’t into water parks, whether it’s the slides, the wave pools, or the idea of walking around in a swimsuit all day.
Typhoon Lagoon
Why You Should Consider Using It
If you haven’t used this perk before, it might be time to reconsider! Here’s why:
- It’s FREE: Disney isn’t exactly known for handing out free experiences, so this is a rare chance to enjoy a full Disney experience without paying extra.
- It’s a great way to unwind: After a long flight or drive, nothing beats floating down a lazy river or cooling off in a wave pool.
- It saves a park ticket: Instead of using a theme park ticket for a partial day, you can use your arrival day for a water park and save your park days for full experiences.
Blizzard Beach
Those were just some of your thoughts on if you’re making use of the free water park perk, and now we want to hear even more from you! Until then, keep it right here for all the latest Disney news! Also, follow us on Instagram to join in on the next discussion.
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We had a hotel stay before our Disney cruise recently, and a stay post-cruise as well. Our family didn’t feel this perk was worth it and did not make it a priority. Our check-in pre cruise was delayed by 4 hours due to an airline issue, so by the time we got to the hotel there would have been no time left to make it to the water park if we wanted to. Post-cruise, we were exhausted from sun exposure and an early morning and the thought of going to the water parks was too much. If the perk was valid any day of the stay, then we would’ve considered it. Otherwise, it didn’t work out for our family!
I really wanted to use the FREE water park ticket, but an early flight on Jet Blue was so expensive! It wasn’t worth the extra cost. It would have been nice if Disney let us use the perk on any day of our visit. They knew full well half the guests wouldn’t use it. WORTHLESS!
We did go to Blizzard Beach the day we checked in, but I had been staying with family in Central Florida for a few days before, so we were able to dress for the water park before leaving and drive directly there before going to Blizzard Beach. While I would definitely take advantage of this perk again under the same circumstances, it’s hard to say whether I would have gone to Blizzard Beach if I had flown in that day.
I’m surprised that since this has only been offered in 2025, and it’s February, that 50% of people are using it. That is way more than I would have expected. Our tickets normally include the water parks, and we normally visit in the winter anyway, so we weren’t too impressed with this offering, but – if it’s happening, I’m sure Disney considers 50% usage a huge success. I think that one reason they offer it, and limit it to first day, is to thin out ‘first visit day’ crowds at the parks. If half of the people staying on property are going to the water parks on the first day, I’m sure Disney considers that plan to have worked.
You say that this perk is “slipping under the radar” as if people didn’t know of its existence. I think it’s more a case of people being unable to use it. Nobody from the UK can use it (which surely is a large number of that 50%) unless they stay somewhere else off property for the first night or hotel hop during their holiday. Generally for those on package deals this is a bit of a pain to organise. It’s a bit easier for us as DVC members to do split stays but I don’t want to stay off property for the first night just so I can go to a water park. Water parks are included in the UK tickets anyway.
Can’t wait for our next trip. It will be warm enough to go to the water park. We travel by car so we’ll have a day bag that we can change at the park. Just being able to float and relax after the dive. It Free don’t have to kill ourselves getting on the slides because we paid so much for the water park. A nice meal, a quite float then off to our room and ready to go to a park for the fireworks. OOOOHHHH I just cannot wait.
We are planning to use the perk since our flight is really early, but we will see if it works out since everything needs to go as smoothly as possible in order for it to be worth using. Any kind of delay with our flight or transportation to our hotel or bad weather could render it useless to us.