Tag: Special Stuff

Walt Disney World is TRULY a magical place. It almost seems like you can snap your fingers, and a magical moment will occur around you.

Well, technically there are TONS of magical moments happening all around you constantly, thanks to a lovely little thing known as Guest Services.

The team behind those moments are an extensive number of Cast Members across multiple lines of business, ready to assist you. We’re bringing to you THIRTY NINE Things You Didn’t Know Guest Services Could Do In Walt Disney World.

No Strings Attached Voucher

Let’s start this list off with a big ol’ secret! While this isn’t something you can ask for, deserving guests can be gifted with the No Strings Attached Voucher.

This is basically the chance for a Cast Member to make something right by providing a voucher for a priority entrance to meet a character, Disney Dining Plan Snack, FastPass, merchandise, and more. These are typically only given out when something goes wrong, and NOT something you can ask for. But you never know if your day might be sprinkled with a little extra pixie dust!

Check out four super SECRET things you didn’t know happened in Disney World here!

First Aid Mosquito Prevention

Did you know that First Aid Mosquito Prevention is available to all guests and can be found in each of the 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, Disney Springs, and the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex?

Walt Disney World does a pretty great job at keeping bugs at bay in public spaces, BUT they also provide complimentary insect repellent for all guests and Cast Members. Just head to a First Aid location or ask a Guest Service Cast Member for assistance.

Notary Public

This is quite an interesting one. Guests at Business Centers at Disney’s BoardWalk Resort, Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Disney’s Coronado Spring Resort, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, and Disney’s Yacht Club Resort can utilize their Notary Services for $10.00 per seal. So, if you need that important doc notarized on your vacation, Disney has got your back!

Resort Airline Check-In

If you are departing from Orlando International Airport with select airlines, you can make travel a breeze by utilizing your Resort’s Airline Check-In Service.

With this complimentary service, you can check-in for your flight, print your boarding pass, and even check your bags right at your resort from 5AM til 12PM daily. All guests must be present and you’ll need to check-in at least 3 hours prior to your departure time.

Service Your Way

Wanna save a few bucks while on vacation? Opt out of daily cleaning services by contacting guest services to participate in the Service Your Way program.

When you decline standard daily housekeeping services, which includes making beds, vacuuming, removing trash, and changing linens, you’ll be handsomely rewarded with a Disney Gift Card. You’ll get a $10 credit for each night you stay on property, minus the first night, for a maximum of 14 nights! Note that this is currently available only at Disney’s value and moderate resorts.

Check our MORE Disney World vacation hacks that the pros SWEAR by here!

Basic Office Services

We know it can be hard to fully unplug from the real world while on vacation. If duty calls, Basic Office Services are available in Business Centers located in select Walt Disney World Resorts — Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, Disney’s Beach Club Resort, Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, Disney’s Grand Floridian, Walt Disney Dolphin Hotel, and Walt Disney Swan Hotel.

These services range from the basics, like faxing and scanning, but also include printing of Business Cards and even wide-format poster printing.

Get all the details on shipping a package to your resort here!!

Car Rentals

Walt Disney World Guests can inquire at their resort lobby to be connected to the Car Care Center. The on-property center provides guests with car rentals and even provides door-to-door transportation service from your Resort to the rental facility. Participating rental car companies include Alamo and National.

If you’re renting a car, be prepared for some extra hotel parking fees!

Lost Child

If the unthinkable happens, Guest Services is there for you to help you find your lost child. The team utilizes the Baby Care Center in each park as a safe meeting point for younger kids, and Guest Services for older kids.

Children are looked after by trained cast members and kept safe there until the parents are found.

Learn about lost and found, Baby Care Centers, and MORE here!

Baby Care Centers

Located in each theme park, Baby Care Centers are staffed by Cast Members and provide private nursing rooms, a feeding area, kitchen, television, as well as an on-site store that offers baby care essentials.

This can be an excellent resource for parents who may have run out of baby supplies or are waiting on lost luggage. Have no fear! Diapers and more can be found here. Plus the staff here we think are some of the best around and always eager to help parents!

Note that Baby Care Centers can also be used by parents or caretakers of older children who just need a little bit of a respite from the craziness of the parks.

Click here to learn more about visiting Disney World with a baby

In-Room Celebrations

Disney does an excellent job of shining the light on any of life’s celebrations! Did you know you could have the fixings for practically an entire party delivered directly to your Disney resort room?

With at least a 72-hour notice, you could arrange for a unique celebration right in your hotel room, whether it’s for a birthday, an anniversary, or just because you’re in Disney World! This includes custom cakes (more on cakes in a moment), gift baskets, flowers, and more!

Fine Art Photography

Through Disney Fine Art Photography, you can set up in-park family portrait sessions. Packages range from Mini Portrait sessions at your resort to in-park with the stunning Cinderella Castle as your backdrop.

The ultimate package includes exclusive pre-opening access to Magic Kingdom as you pose in front of 5 locations during your 1-hour session. These services are separate from the recently announced Disney’s PhotoPass Capture Your Moment service, which costs $50 and gets you a dedicated PhotoPass photographer in one of the parks for 20 minutes.

Click here to learn more about the Capture Your Moment PhotoPass option

Lost or Stolen Items

If you lose any personal item while visiting virtually anywhere at Walt Disney World — the theme parks, water parks, Disney Springs, ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Resorts, as well as transportation — Guest Services will be on hand to help you track down the item. Lost and Found locations are available in each park. Additionally, If you believe something was stolen, like your wallet, they can assist you in filing a police report.

Here’s How To Get Out of 6 Sticky Situations While At Walt Disney World!

Portable Translators

For guests visiting with limited English fluency, Walt Disney World provides portable translators for certain attractions, this includes over 20 popular attractions and shows like DINOSAUR and The Hall of Presidents.

Rental is complimentary and available in French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish. The narration, hosted by voice actors, is synchronized to the attraction.

Free Buttons!

Celebrating anything special while visiting Walt Disney World? You can stop by any Guest Services location for a celebration button! These complimentary buttons are for milestones and special occasions like Birthdays, Anniversaries, 1st visits, Weddings, or any of life’s celebrations!

What makes these extra special is Cast Members will frequently come up to you and recognize the button you’re wearing and congratulate you!

Check out ALL the souvenirs you can get for FREE at Disney World here!

Currency Exchange

If you are visiting the parks from an international location, Guest Services can exchange your local currency to U.S. currency. The front desk at your resort hotel as well as concierge can assist with currency exchange and cashing traveler’s checks.

Guest Relations throughout the four theme parks can also assist with currency exchange.

Ship Merchandise to Your Disney Hotel

Lots of people will wait until the end of the day to buy merchandise so they don’t have to walk around with a large shopping bag all day. But if you’re staying at a Disney World Resort hotel, you can have your merchandise shipped directly to your resort for free!

Typically they will require that you are not checking out the following day in order to process the shipment, and your items will show up at your resort’s gift shop the next day. Just ask the Cast Member at the register about shipping to your hotel and they will be able to assist you!

Learn more about what your Disney World Resort hotel can do for you!

Stroller Rentals

A lot of families have young kiddos who need a break from all that walking around the theme parks, but they don’t want to haul their stroller on a plane! Not to worry: Disney has stroller rental services at each park as well as Disney Springs.

You can rent a single stroller for $15 per day, or pre-pay for your entire stay at a rate of $13 per day. You can also rent a double stroller for $31 per day, or for the length of your stay at $27 per day.

Don’t forget — once you’ve purchased a stroller for the day, if you decide to park-hop, just bring your receipt to the stroller location at the new park to get one there! Also, strollers will not be allowed out of the park, so even if you’re paying for the length of your stay, you’ll have to get a new stroller at each park you visit each day, and strollers won’t be able to be brought to your resort hotel.

Learn more about Disney’s recently updated stroller policy here!

Umbrella Rentals

There are few things worse than spending a hot afternoon at the water parks and not having any shade to escape to (then getting back to your hotel to see you’re burnt and now look like a lobster!)!

At both Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, you can rent umbrellas for the day to lounge under! These are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. This costs about $60 for the day but also comes with two dedicated lounge chairs, two beach chairs, a table, and towels to accommodate four people.

Click here to decide which Disney World water park is right for you!

Locker Rentals

Locker rentals can really come in handy if you have a lot of belongings with you at the parks, like a change of clothes or extra snacks to munch on throughout the day! Lockers are located at the front entrance of each of the parks, including the water parks, and come in various sizes.

Small lockers are $10 per day, Large lockers are $12 per day, and Jumbo lockers, available at Magic Kingdom and Epcot only, are $15 per day. Hang on to your receipt if you plan on park hopping because you only have to pay once per day!

Read more useful tips like keeping your rental receipt here!

Wheelchair & ECV Rentals

Disney also provides wheelchair and ECV (scooter) rentals to those guests who need them. You can rent them by the day or for the length of your stay. Wheelchair rentals are $12 per day, or if you pay for the length of stay, they’ll be at the rate of $10 per day. ECV rentals cost $50 per day.

Similar to locker and stroller rentals, if you are planning on park hopping during the day, hang onto your receipt so you don’t have to pay twice!

Disability Access Service (DAS)

Guest Services provides assistance for guests with disabilities who may require additional help in experiencing all that Disney World has to offer. This service is best for guests who are unable to wait in a traditional queue environment. Guests can receive their Disability Access Service notice, or DAS, at each park inside Guest Relations.

Once activated, you will obtain attraction return times from each attraction individually. It functions similarly to FastPass in terms of getting individual return times, but with your party’s individual needs in mind.

Travel & Transportation Services

Disney wants to make sure you have as many different transportation options as possible when you need to get somewhere! Whether you’re heading to a theme park, Disney Springs, your resort hotel, or Orlando International Airport, there are lots of complimentary transportation options at your disposal.

These include Magical Express to the airport, Skyliner, buses, boats, and the Monorail! Minnie Vans are also available, although it does come with a base fee of $15 plus an additional $2.75 per mile.

What does your favorite Disney World transportation say about you?

Mail Services

You can send and receive mail from your Disney World Resort hotel. There are also mailboxes located throughout the theme parks that you can send postcards and letters from! If you need additional postage, several shops throughout the resort sell postage (see the full list here).

So stock up on those Disney postcards and send them to your friends and family, direct from Disney!

Online Check-In

It’s easier than ever to get an early head start on your Disney vacation before you even arrive at your hotel! You can opt-in for Online Check-In via My Disney Experience. You will receive a notification before your arrival that your room is ready, and you can skip the front desk experience entirely!

Note that in order to do this, you’ll need to have your Magic Bands ready, or opt to use the Unlock Door feature on your phone!

Learn more about Magic Bands here!

Business Centers

Some resorts offer business centers, which include computers, imaging services, and incoming and outgoing parcel services. The resorts that currently have business centers are Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts, Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, and Disney’s Grand Floridian Hotel & Spa.

Travel Insurance

Disney does offer their own travel insurance to protect your upcoming trip. This can be applied at any time up until you make your final payment. Please note that this insurance offering is designed for U.S. residents only.

Package Pick-Up

Souvenirs from the parks are only one kind of parcel you can claim through Guest Services. Your resort hotel can also receive grocery deliveries from local grocery stores, as well as deliveries from home! For more information on how to send and receive packages to your Disney hotel (including the ever-important “how to address your package” info), click here!

Click here to learn more about mailing packages to and from your Disney hotel!

Laundry Services

Most Disney World Resort hotels have self-serve laundry facilities on property for you to keep your clothes in tip-top shape!

Disney works with an app called LaundryView that allows you to receive alerts when your laundry is finished, so no need to wait around the laundry room the whole time! Disney World’s hotels also offer dry cleaning services for a fee per item.

Read about Disney’s cool laundry technology here!

Disney Ticket Centers at Disney Springs

Whether you’re looking to purchase park tickets, add a Hopper option, or upgrade your ticket to an Annual Pass (or if you have any questions regarding your park tickets), Disney Springs has a ticket center for you to use!

You can find this spot right at the center of the Town Center portion of Disney Springs.

Disney Vacation Club Info Centers

Are you curious to learn more about Disney Vacation Club? Disney’s timeshare program has several info centers throughout the property where you can weigh the pros and cons if you are considering signing up.

The main information center at Disney World is located at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa.

Click here to learn more about Disney’s newest DVC resort, the Riviera Resort!

Order A Cake!

Did you know you can have specialty cakes delivered to celebrate your special occasion? This can happen one of a few ways: you can order a cake delivery as a “Magical Happening” to your hotel room through Disney’s Floral and Gifts, or you can order ahead to have cake brought out at your restaurant of choice! The list of participating restaurants can be found here.

You can also pre-order a cake from Amorette’s Patisserie in Disney Springs or cupcakes from Sprinkles in Disney Springs!

Learn more about Disney World cakes here!

Magical Extras

Before you depart on your Disney World vacation, you’ll sometimes receive a special package in the mail with some “magical extras.” These are special deals, typically “pre-loaded” onto a card for you to use throughout your trip. Usually these are based on what Disney resort hotel and tickets package you have purchased.

Currently, these deals include a free round of mini golf, a voucher for entree into the ESPN Wide World of Sports, and discounts at several Disney Springs food & retail locations.

VIP Tours

If you want to take your Disney World experience to the ULTIMATE NEXT LEVEL, consider a VIP Tour! If your budget allows (in many cases, that’ll be one hefty budget!), you can book a Guest Relations Cast Member to be your own personal tour guide for the day.

You’ll get priority access to many shows and attractions, premium seating for the fireworks, plus you’ll have a knowledgable guide all along the way. This costs several pretty pennies to book (like $425-$750 per HOUR for a private guide — with a several-hour minimum), but as the name implies, you’ll feel like a true VIP all day long.

More affordable tours are available daily. They’ll still set you back a fair chunk of change but are much more doable if a private guide is out of your budget. We love the Ultimate Disney Classics tour for $249 per person (plus lunch!), or the Taste of Magic Kingdom tour for $99 per person.

Click here to see our review of the Taste of Magic Kingdom VIP Tour!

WiFi Service

Although it can be spotty at times, Disney World has resort-wide WiFi service, completely free at no extra cost! When it works the way it’s supposed to, it can help with things like checking wait times in My Disney Experience, booking and modifying FastPass+ reservations, and Mobile Ordering food!

Free wi-fi is available at most locations around Disney World, even some buses now, so be sure to check!

Click here to learn more about wi-fi on some Disney World buses!

Hotel Check-Out Services

If you have a credit card on file at your Disney World Resort hotel room, you can skip the check out process completely! One of the great Guest Services perks at the end of your trip is the convenience of heading straight from your room to the Magical Express, where you will be whisked off to Orlando International Airport.

This is a good perk for those of us who choose to wait until the absolute last minute to pack (we just don’t want to go home!).

Will Disney soon have another method of getting to & from Orlando International Airport? Read more here!

Car Care Center

Lots of folks choose to either drive to Disney World or rent a car when they arrive at Orlando International Airport. If you experience any car troubles while you’re there, Disney has their very own car care center where they can service your car!

This is the same location we mentioned earlier where you can rent a car! If you do have your car serviced, they also offer complimentary shuttle transportation to and from the Transportation & Ticket Center, so you can enjoy your day at the parks while Disney handles your car!

General Park Information and Recommendations

And last but not least — Guest Services is comprised of the most knowledgable group of Cast Members you’ll come across. A big part of their job is simply KNOWING all that there is to know about Disney World and how to make sure YOU have the best vacation possible.

They can give you all sorts of tips and tricks on how to navigate the parks, what certain attractions are like, and where to stand to watch the fireworks! These Cast Members are IRREPLACEABLE, so ask them all the questions! They probably have all the answers!

It’s no wonder that it takes tens of thousands of Cast Members to keep the World going ’round. If you’re needing some magic added to your vacation, never be afraid to just stop by Guest Services and ask! You might be surprised to see just what all they can do for you!

Has a Cast Member ever went above and beyond for you? Let us know!

From our friends at www.disneyfoodblog.com
Filed Under: Disney News, disney parks, Featured, Special Stuff, Walt Disney World, Baby Care Centers, business centers, Car Care Center, car rental, cast members, celebration buttons, Check-Out, Club 33, disability access services, disney floral and gifts, Disney Tips, Disney Tips and Tricks, Disney World, DVC information center, ecv rental, guest services, guest services team, in room celebrations, laundryview, locker rental, lost and found, magical extras, mail services, online check-in, package delivery, service your way, stroller rental, ticket center, translator, umbrella rental, VIP Tours, wheelchair rental, wifi