Once Free Disney World Offerings That Are No More

Taking a Disney vacation has never been a cheap experience — whether you are heading to Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort, Tokyo Disney, Hong Kong Disneyland, Shanghai Disney, or Disneyland Paris. A Disney vacation takes a lot of planning and a lot of saving, although some resorts are much cheaper than others.

Despite the high price tag, many guests always justified the cost with all the perks that came along with the trip. Disney theme parks were always kept incredibly clean, the cast members were friendly, the food was not your average theme park food, and perks like Extra Magic Hours and FastPasses all made it worth it.

Unfortunately, over the past few years — mainly since the COVID-19 pandemic — many of the complimentary perks have become a distant memory. To make matters more frustrating, Disney theme park tickets keep getting more expensive, so many guests feel like they are paying more and getting less.

Here are some of the biggest perks that Disney has either completely gotten rid of or now charges money for.

Disney’s Magical Express

They say it’s not about the destination; it’s about the journey. However, this might not exactly be the case when it comes to a Walt Disney World Resort vacation because the destination is absolutely incredible.

And for years, Disney made the journey to its Florida theme park really exciting with its Magical Express. Disney’s Magical Express took guests directly from the Orlando International Airport to their Walt Disney World Resort hotel. Disney cast members took care of everything, all guests had to do was hand off their bags and get ready for theme park fun!

Related: Disney’s Magical Express Is Officially GONE. Here Are Your Options

Sadly, in January 2021, Disney — under the leadership of unpopular CEO Bob Chapek — announced that the service would be ending in 2022. And to say that there was some backlash would be an understatement. Guests were incredibly upset that they were paying all this money for a Disney World vacation and Disney was taking away one of its most popular free services.

Disney’s Magical Express officially ended on January 10, 2022.

Related: Fans Beg Disney World to Fix “Disney Bubble” and Reintroduce Magical Express

Guests who need to travel between the airport and their Walt Disney World Resort hotel have several options. First, they can rent a car, which they can park for free at their Disney resort hotel. Then, they can travel via Uber or Lyft. Finally, there is the popular Mears Connect option, which costs $16 each way per adult and $13 each way per child.

FastPass and FastPass+

The dissolution of Disney’s beloved FastPass program is still something that a lot of guests are bitter about, and for good reason. FastPass was something that every theme park guest had access to and could get for free. Everyone was on the same page and had the same chance to wait in a shorter line at some of their favorite theme park attractions.

Disney’s FastPass was introduced in 1999 and stationed kiosks at many of the most popular rides and attractions. Guests would go up to the kiosk and scan their park tickets. Then, a paper ticket would be printed out, giving the guests a time frame in which they could return and wait in a shorter line.

In 2014, Disney changed up FastPass and introduced FastPass+. The new system was still free but allowed guests to pre-book three attractions per day, so they would already have some ride guarantees before they even got to the parks!

In 2021, just months after announcing the end of the Magical Express, Disney also announced that it would be getting rid of FastPass+. In its place, Disney would begin offering Disney Genie+, which costs money. While Disney Genie+ did start out at a set rate, the price now varies by the day of the week and the time of the year, ranging from around $17 per person per day to as much as $39 per person per day.

Since its launch in October 2021, Genie+ has been very controversial. Many guests hate that they now have to pay but feel that they don’t have a choice. Surveys have shown that guests feel like they won’t get to experience all the attractions they want if they don’t purchase Disney Genie+.

Related: Disney Ends Character Meet-And-Greets and More After Scrapping Genie+

On July 24, 2024, Disney Genie+ will change once again. Instead of having to purchase Genie+ on the morning they want to use it, guests will be able to buy it in advance. They will also get to book three rides in advance, just like they used to be able to do with FastPass+.

Extra Magic Hours

There used to be many perks associated with staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel, one of the big ones being Extra Magic Hours. During extra Magic Hours, select theme parks would either open one hour early or stay open three hours late, so guests could enjoy what EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and the Magic Kingdom had to offer.

Again, those Extra Magic Hours were available for ALL guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel.

Sadly, after the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney ended those Extra Magic Hours. Now, Disney offers what it calls Extended Evening Hours. Unfortunately, those extended hours are only available to guests who are staying at Deluxe Disney hotels like Animal Kingdom Lodge, Polynesian Village, and the Grand Floridian.

And instead of Early Morning Extra Magic Hours, the theme parks are only open for 30 minutes, so guests can’t really get too much done before the regular crowds arrive.

Related: Disney Gets Rid of Early Park Access for Certain Hotels in 2024

Now, technically, the Extended Evening Hours are free, but many guests can no longer access them. Only guests spending the most money at the most expensive hotels can take advantage of the service.

Complimentary MagicBands

Disney has always been at the forefront of theme park innovation and creation. And, in 2013, it once again changed the theme park experience with the introduction of MagicBands.

MagicBands were bands that guests wore around their wrists. They held all the information guests and Disney cast members needed. Instead of scanning a physical ticket, guests could simply tap their MagicBand. They could also use their MagicBand when getting their picture taken with a Disney PhotoPass photographer.

Related: Disney Actually Warning Guests Not To Inject Their MagicBand+ Chip

Guests could even use the MagicBand to charge meals and merchandise to their hotel rooms. If a credit card was attached to their room, the MagicBand would act as the credit card.

Originally, MagicBands were available in eight different colors — pink, purple, blue, green, red, yellow, orange, and gray. They were given to all guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel for free. A guest could have a pattern printed on the MagicBand for an extra fee, but if guests wanted a plain one, they were complimentary.

Unfortunately, on January 1, 2021, Disney stopped offering complimentary MagicBands to Disney World hotel guests, and eight months later, free MagicBands were also no longer given to Walt Disney World Resort Annual Passholders.

On July 27, 2022, Disney introduced MagicBand+, a brand-new MagicBand that interacts with various things around Walt Disney World. These include the Fab 50 statues found throughout the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

MagicBand+ also interacts with nighttime shows like Happily Ever After and Fantasmic!, and guests can become bounty hunters around Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Related: Disney Shares More Info on New MagicBand+ Experiences

Disney’s MagicBand+ typically ranges from around $34 to $64.

Free Dining Plans

For more than a decade, Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests visiting during certain times of the year were able to take advantage of the wildly popular free Disney Dining Plan bounceback offer. Here’s how it worked — guests who booked another Walt Disney World Resort vacation before they left their current trip would be able to enjoy a free dining plan!

Disney’s free dining plan bounceback offer happened several times throughout the year, and it really added up to some serious savings for guests.

Disney ended its free dining plan bounceback offers when the parks closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and they never really brought them back. In early 2024, Disney+ subscribers were able to get a free dining plan, but that offer ended.

There was also a time when guests could either get a discount on their Walt Disney World Resort hotel room OR they could receive a gift card to use for food purchases during their stay. However, that did not last long either and was not nearly as popular as the former free dining plan bounceback offer.

On January 9, 2024, dining plans finally returned to Disney World, but Disney has not said if their wildly popular bounceback offers will also return at some point.

Hotel Package Pickup

One thing Disney has no shortage of is truly desirable merchandise. There’s everything from Minnie ears to Nuimo’s, tee shirts, Crocs, perfume, jewelry, and more! It’s so easy to get caught up in everything Disney has to offer and find yourself wondering how you’ll get back to your hotel, much less home!

One of the great perks of staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel was that your theme park purchases could be sent to your hotel for free, so you didn’t have to walk around the parks lugging your bags with you. Guests would fill out a form, giving Disney cast members their contact information and checking off which hotel they were staying at.

The next day, guests would receive a message that their bags were ready to be picked up at their Disney hotel gift shop. It really made things so much easier.

Related: Fans Lament Popular Disney World Service That STILL Hasn’t Returned

Like everything else, Disney World suspended its complimentary package pickup when it closed because of the pandemic. And, for some unknown reason, they have not brought it back in the three years the parks have been open. That has left them with some seriously disappointed guests. Many have even admitted that they don’t buy as much merchandise as they used to because they don’t want to carry it around.

It should be noted that complimentary package pickup is in place at the Disneyland Resort. Guests can have their purchases delivered to the Disneyland Resort hotel they are staying at — Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, the Disneyland Hotel, or Disney’s Pixar Place Hotel.

Free PhotoPass with Annual Pass

The purchase of a Walt Disney World Resort Annual Pass comes with many perks. Guests have access to the parks for most of the year, if not the entire year. Then, there are discounts available at select shopping and dining throughout the four theme parks, two water parks, Disney World Resort hotels, and over at Disney Springs.

Related: Disney’s PhotoPass Hidden Gems Shock Guests

Disney paused its Annual Pass sales during the pandemic and even after the parks reopened in July 2020. When sales resumed one year later, in July 2021, there was one BIG change.

Walt Disney World Annual Passes no longer include complimentary PhotoPass. Instead, Annual Passholders must pay an extra $99 if they want PhotoPass added on.

Related: Disney World Makes Major Change to On-Ride Photos For Guests

This was a very frustrating change for Annual Passholders since they were already paying a premium price for the Annual Pass. And the pictures taken by Disney’s PhotoPass photographers can be some of the best of your vacation. Of course, guests can still have their pictures taken by PhotoPass photographers and purchase them individually for an additional fee.

However, like hotel package pickup, Disney’s PhotoPass is still included on select Disneyland Resort Magic Keys. Guests who purchase either the Inspire Key or the Believe Key receive unlimited PhotoPass downloads.

It’s disappointing to see all the things that were once free on a Walt Disney World vacation, especially since they really made the price of the trip worth it. However, we can always hope that Disney decides to bring some of them back in the future.

Guests are frequently begging Disney to bring back things like Magical Express and the FastPass program. Unfortunately, Disney makes A LOT of money on Disney Genie+, so that seems unlikely. But we can always hope that dinging bounceback offers and hotel package pickup do make their much-awaited return.

What free service are you most upset that Disney took away from guests? Let us know in the comments!