NEWS: Disney World Announces Special Offerings for Summer Guests for More Family Fun

Summer is just around the corner, and Walt Disney World is gearing up for a fantastic summer with limited-time special offerings for guests to enjoy. In addition to the ticket and resort discounts already announced (along with a FREE dining offer), guests can enjoy extra fun when visiting this summer. Learn more below.

Here are all the details from Disney Cast Member Victoria Zicari:

Summer is almost here, and there’s nothing like a visit to Walt Disney World Resort when the kids are out of school! And this summer will be extra fun, with special deals, two new shows, a new nighttime parade and limited-time activities and entertainment created for families with kids.

Here’s why summer 2025 is the perfect time for your family to visit and experience more magical moments you can find only at Disney World.

Save with Disney World Ticket, Dining & Hotel Deals  

Click here to learn about summer deals on tickets, FREE dining deal, and resort discounts!

Disney Magic Is Coming for Kids in Summer 2025  

From May 27 through September 1, 2025, families should be on the lookout for limited-time experiences perfect for young kids in the theme parks, including kid zones featuring new activities and fun ways to interact with more Disney characters. There will be pop-up entertainment offerings, games, music, dancing and other adventures to help your little ones make those core Disney memories.

For example, over at Magic Kingdom, families can discover kid zones with added fun in Storybook Circus and in Tomorrowland with Stitch. And following the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival, families with young kids will be able to cool down while enjoying the ultimate game party and play space featuring none other than Goofy as he takes over CommuniCore Hall at EPCOT. We don’t want to spoil all the surprises but be on the lookout for more details soon.

Some of our characters will also be out in the park earlier than normal for Disney Resort hotel guests during their daily early theme park entry period (valid theme park admission required). What better way to rope drop than saying hello to some of your favorite Disney pals!

Reminder: Our theme parks are often open for longer hours during the summer months, which can help you plan your day around a mid-day pool break or get on more of your favorite attractions. You can find a few tips to stay cool this summer from planDisney.

Stay at These Disney Resort Hotels for Additional Summer Fun   

This summer, guests staying at select resorts – Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, Disney’s Pop Century Resort, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort and Disney’s Wilderness Lodge – will be able to enjoy even more Disney-themed activities designed for families with kids. These activities will include character visits with set appearance times to help you plan your day and an expanded itinerary of things to do with your family throughout your stay at these four resorts.

Other activities will continue to be available across all our resorts, like Disney movie nights, brought to life by our amazing cast members, in addition to perks like complimentary transportation around Disney World.

See New Shows and Nighttime Parade  

The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure and Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After will both debut on May 27, 2025.

• • • The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure: If your child is in their Disney Princess era (or never left) then this show is for you! The Walt Disney Animation Studios classic “The Little Mermaid” comes to life on stage with all-new sets and stunning visuals.
    • Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After: Or, if your kids are enchanted by Disney Villains, this delightfully wicked stage show engages the audience to decide who has been treated the most unfairly of them all.
    • Learn more about both shows by clicking here.

With more surprise, more delight and more fun coming to every corner of our world, it’s all part of Cool Kid Summer! Visit DisneyWorld.com/Summer to learn more.

RELATED ARTICLE: 8 Ways to Prepare Your Kids for a Trip to Disney World

by Cindy E. Nykamp

Whether it’s their first trip or 50th, kids will be even more excited about going to Disney World than their parents. One of the best things you can do to set the stage for a fantastic vacation is to get your kids involved in the process of preparing for your trip. Here are the top ways to prepare your kids for a Walt Disney World vacation.

8 – Surprise Announcements

A simple search on Google will give you many ideas for ways to break the news to your kids that you are going to Disney World. Christmas presents, special deliveries, special gifts, etc. can all be used to share the news. Of course, you don’t need to go over the top here. A simple conversation and announcement of the trip will likely be enough to send your kids through the roof. Guess what? We’re going to Disney World!!!

It can also be fun to surprise the kids by arriving at Disney without any warning. We did this with great success. Our kids at the time were six, four, and three years old. We told the kids we were taking the “long way” to their Aunt Shari’s house. Our oldest was just young enough to be tricked into not realizing that the standard two-hour drive had turned into a twelve-hour one. Suddenly, they saw the glorious Walt Disney World Welcome sign and went crazy. Thankfully, I have the whole experience on video, and it’s turned into a fantastic family memory! Others have told kids as they arrived at the airport. You can be creative here as well!

7 – Build Excitement by Counting Down

If you’ve chosen to break the news early, the next question the kids will likely ask you is, “WHEN are we going?” A four-year-old might struggle to understand what three months mean when they want to go NOW! A great way to stem the constant stream of questions of, “Are we going yet?” is to create a countdown calendar. This can be as simple as having a dry-erase board with a number you change daily. Or you can create a more elaborate design.

6 – The More They Know

When planning our Disney vacations, one of our favorite things to do was watch the Disney Vacation Planning video, read books, and discuss all of the wonderful possibilities. Don’t forget to include your kids in these activities. The more you can involve them, the more they will “own” the trip. If they have never been, it’s hard to imagine what Disney World is like. Watching the planning video is a great way to introduce the parks to them. Also, remember that kids’ memories are not as developed as adults. If they went as a four-year-old and you are now taking them again at age eight, they likely don’t remember much of the first trip. Another great way to build excitement is to educate them on their options. This leads us to the next tip.

5 – Have Them Participate in the Decision-Making Process

While you don’t need (and probably shouldn’t) open up the entire decision-making process to your children, you should get their input on what they would like to do. As their age dictates, you can get your kids involved in making decisions. Ask younger children what characters they really want to meet. What kinds of foods do they want to eat? Or if they are older, what restaurants do they want to try? Ask all kids what their can’t miss attractions are.

So they don’t feel overwhelmed, and so you can guide them, it is helpful to give them three choices to pick from. For instance, you could ask, “Out of these three rides, which would you want to do the most?” Making decisions can be difficult for anyone when confronted with a multitude of choices at Disney World. Help them by giving them opportunities to help plan the trip. Then, when you experience something they chose, you can say how much you loved it and are so glad they chose it. It will delight any child to receive that kind of praise!

4 – Get Them Walking

Just as adults need to prepare themselves for the many miles of walking they will do at Disney World, so should you prepare your children. Get them walking now. Of course, children have stamina and strength that baffles many adults, but usually, even the most active kids may not be prepared for the amount of walking (and standing) they will be doing while on vacation. Many guests report walking anywhere from seven to ten miles a day! So get those kids walking every single day at home, leading up to your vacation. Even if younger children spend time in the stroller, they should spend some time out of it to be active. So don’t be afraid to train your toddlers for some walking as well!

3 – Prepare Them for Theme Parks

The final step in preparing your kids for Disney World is preparing them for what a day in the parks looks like. Granted, you can more easily have this conversation with older children, but all children should be told what to expect. This can be especially helpful for children who have sensory challenges. Disney World is a loud and busy place. It can be very overwhelming for anyone, but especially children. We are firm believers in building proper expectations. Let them know it will be busy and loud, but that they will still have a fantastic time, just like all the other people at Disney.

2 – Have a Backup Plan

For safety reasons, be sure to discuss what they should do in the (unlikely) event that they get separated from you. We always told our children to look for anyone with a name tag and let them know that they needed help. Older children should have their parents’ cell phone numbers memorized. We’ve also seen parents write their cell phone number on a hand or arm with a Sharpie. We are huge fans of Road ID, and our children wore basic ID bracelets when in the park. Many parents take pictures of their children in the morning so that they will have a picture of them with the clothes they are wearing. Thankfully, Disney World is generally a safe place for lost kids, but there is no reason to take extra chances.

1 – Mind Your Manners

Finally, prepare your children with basic etiquette behavior that will be expected of them. Set proper expectations for behavior in attraction queues, for restaurants, and for meeting characters. This means let them know how things will work. Characters need to be treated with respect. They need to wait patiently in lines, etc. This shouldn’t be too different from how they behave in the normal day-to-day life. No matter what, let them know they can expect to have a fantastic time!