We have been waiting for Disney World to do something genuinely fun with its summer season and Cool Kids’ Summer is delivering more than we expected.
The season kicked off May 26 and runs through September 8, and it is touching every corner of the resort in ways that feel considered rather than thrown together. Every park has something new. The water parks have characters. The resort hotels have actual family perks. And Disney’s Hollywood Studios just debuted a pin trading board exclusively for kids, which is one of the most charming specific additions we have seen Disney make to a summer season in a while.
If you have a young Disney fan in your family, this is the summer to go. Let us break down everything that is happening.
The Kids-Only Pin Trading Board at Hollywood Studios
We want to lead with this because it is the detail that stuck with us the most.
Disney pin trading is a beloved part of the parks experience but it has always been a space where serious adult collectors have a significant advantage. The boards are open to everyone and experienced traders know what they are looking for in a way that kids often do not. A board exclusively for kids changes that dynamic entirely. It gives younger guests their own space where they are the intended participant and nobody with a lanyard full of rare pins is competing with them.
It is a small thing. It is also a lovely thing. And it is exactly the kind of addition that shows Disney is thinking about what the experience actually feels like for the kids it is supposedly designing for.
Every Park, Broken Down
At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Bluey’s Wild World is now running at Conservation Station and staying beyond the summer season. Guests hop off the Wildlife Express Train and find Bluey and Bingo ready for games and photos, with activities pulled directly from episodes of Bluey and a section called Jumping Junction featuring Australian animals native to Bluey’s home country. The connection between the show and the park’s conservation mission is one of those ideas that makes total sense once you see it.
At EPCOT, GoofyCore has taken over CommuniCore Hall. DJ-led dancing, games including Loopy Limbo and Parachutes ‘n’ Pipsqueaks, and Goofy himself presiding over the whole thing. The concept is simple: be as silly as possible and that is correct behavior. For kids who spend too much of a Disney park day being told to stand in line quietly, having a space where silliness is explicitly the point is genuinely refreshing.
At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, alongside the kids-only pin trading board, Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live! launches May 26 and is staying beyond summer. Based on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse+, the show sends Mickey and Minnie on a mission to track down their friends before a big Clubhouse party. Original songs, interactive audience moments, and enough energy to hold young kids’ attention through a full performance. The Disney Jr. Zone also opens May 26 with character greetings from Sofia the First and Bitsy from SuperKitties, set with bubbles and Disney Jr. music.
At Magic Kingdom, Jessie’s Roundup: A Rip-Roarin’ Revue is running this summer only inside the Diamond Horseshoe. Jessie, Woody, Bullseye, and Toy Story pals lead songs, dances, and games in one of the park’s most underused spaces. The Diamond Horseshoe is big, climate-controlled, and has good sightlines, and turning it into a Toy Story roundup experience for kids is a significantly better use of the building than what it has typically been doing.
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin also received updates earlier this year that are worth knowing about: new ride vehicles, a new support bot character named Buddy who walks riders through interactive target practice before launch, targets that light up and respond when hit, new handheld blasters with enhanced lighting and vibration, and post-ride photos that display individual scores for a little friendly competition on the way out.
At Disney Springs, the DescenDANCE Party x Camp Rock Jam runs every Tuesday through Thursday from May 26 through summer, from 6 PM to 10 PM at the Marketplace. A DJ plays music from Descendants and Camp Rock for a crowd that skews older than the character greeting set. It is free, it is outside, and it is one of the few Cool Kids’ Summer offerings built specifically for tweens and teens rather than the under-ten crowd.
At the water parks, both Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach are open this summer simultaneously for only the second time since the pandemic, which we cannot stress enough is genuinely exciting for anyone who has had to choose between them in recent years. Goofy is doing a beach-style appearance at Blizzard Beach. Stitch is spreading chaos at Typhoon Lagoon. And Disney hotel guests get complimentary water park admission on check-in day through September 8.
The Resort Hotel Perks Are Actually Really Good
We cover the full Disney vacation experience and the hotel perks this summer deserve more attention than they typically get.
All Disney hotel guests receive 30 minutes of early theme park entry every day of their stay. That alone is worth building into your planning.
Four resorts are running expanded family programming this summer: Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, and Port Orleans Riverside. What those four hotels are offering goes well beyond the standard resort experience. Character visits with posted appearance times so you can actually plan around them instead of wandering and hoping. Complimentary baby and toddler supplies waiting in your room, including bottle warmers, infant bathtubs, diaper disposal units, and nightlights. Curated children’s libraries from Disney Publishing. Pool parties with interactive games. Story time pajama parties with a create-your-own bedtime story activity. Campfire evenings with marshmallows and Disney sing-alongs.
That last one made us genuinely want to book a trip.
The Ticket Deal Worth Knowing About
The 4-Day, 4-Park Magic Ticket starts at $109 per day plus tax for visits between May 26 and October 3, 2026. One park per day, all four theme parks, and the ticket must be used within seven days of first use. Starting at $436 plus tax for the full package, it is one of the more straightforward value tickets Disney has offered recently.
A free dining plan was also available for guests who booked between March 12 and April 30 through a Walt Disney Travel Company package with Park Hopper tickets, covering select stay windows from late June through December 2026. If you booked in that window, you are in good shape. If you did not, the ticket deal is still a solid option.
What This Means for Your Summer Trip
We are going to be direct: if you are planning a Walt Disney World trip with young kids this summer, the resort is doing more for your demographic right now than it has in several years.
The kids-only pin trading board is a small gesture that means something. The character appearance schedules at the family resorts mean you can actually show your kid when they will meet Mickey instead of just hoping it happens. The infant supplies at those same hotels mean families traveling with very young children can pack lighter. The programming at every park is specifically designed for kids rather than incidentally kid-friendly.
This is a good summer to go. And it is a particularly good summer to go if you have been putting off a trip because you were not sure the experience would be worth it for a child who is still young enough that the magic is what matters most.
Check current show times for Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live!, Jessie’s Roundup, and GoofyCore before your visit since entertainment schedules shift. If you are choosing between resort hotels, the programming at Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, and Port Orleans Riverside is legitimately worth factoring into that decision. And if your kid is into pin trading, make sure they know about the Hollywood Studios board before you get there. We will keep covering everything new at the parks as Cool Kids’ Summer continues.
