ORLANDO — We were less than two days into a family press trip at Walt Disney World, and after countless rides and miles of walking the Magic Kingdom, my kids needed a breather.
Luckily for us, we had a full resort day next on the itinerary. I envisioned a leisurely breakfast, some time by the pool and maybe a midday nap. But I also expected to feel at least a tinge of FOMO. After all, if your day at Disney isn’t spent park-hopping and maximizing every minute with attractions and character interactions, does it even count?
As it turns out, yes, it absolutely does, and our day at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort proved as memorable as our theme park adventures.
What we stumbled upon during our resort day — character appearances and a full slate of family-friendly experiences — wasn’t a happy accident. It was a preview of Disney’s strategy for summer 2025.
On May 27, Walt Disney World will launch its Cool Kid Summer program, which runs through Sept. 1 and extends across all four theme parks. The Cool Kid Summer offerings include the GoofyCore and Big Top Bash DJ-led dance parties at Epcot and Magic Kingdom, respectively, two indoor stage shows at Hollywood Studios and hands-on crafting activities at Animal Kingdom.
It also features an expanded roster of themed activities and character meet-and-greets with scheduled appearance times, focused on four properties: Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, Pop Century Resort, Art of Animation Resort and Wilderness Lodge.
Dale the chipmunk greets young guests at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. Photo Credit: Christina Jelski
During our day at Caribbean Beach, the fun started after breakfast when my 3-year-old, 7-year-old, husband and I headed to the lobby and ran into Dale, of Chip ‘n Dale fame. (His appearance wasn’t sheer luck: A sign in the lobby tells guests when to expect characters to drop by.)
After the photo op, we headed to a grassy outdoor area where Disney cast members were hosting another on-property activity: tie-dye. They equipped my kids with gloves and aprons, handed them T-shirts and let them go to town with colorful dyes in kid-friendly squeeze bottles.
By then, the morning sun was heating up, so we hit the pool. And while the resort’s main Spanish fort-themed Fuentes del Morro Pool offers several waterslides and a shipwreck-inspired play area, the highlight for my kids were the cast member-led activities like relay race-style games and poolside water balloon tosses.
Five hours — and many, many sunscreen reapplications later — I finally managed to drag my littles from the pool and back to our room. We’d missed our nap window, but their happy, slightly sunburned faces made the trade-off worth it.
After dinner, we each satisfied our sweet tooth with a stop at the s’mores station, where my kids learned the art of perfect marshmallow toasting. From there, we capped the night with another perk for resort guests: an evening glow party. Enthusiastic cast members distributed glow sticks and light-up hula hoops while an energetic DJ turned our kids into dancing machines.
As our resort day came to a close, I felt the only FOMO was for parkgoers who never schedule one.
Hotels editor Christina Jelski helps her two kids make tie-dye T-shirts at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. Source: Christina Jelski
Disney summer deals stimulate bookings
The Cool Kid Summer experiences arrive alongside an unusually robust lineup of summertime offers. Disney is currently offering 50% off select children’s tickets; Summer Magic Tickets for Florida residents; three-day, three-park tickets starting at $89 per day; and resort room discounts of up to 30%. Resort deals are also available to Disney+ subscribers.
Disney Resorts guests also get complimentary waterpark access on their check-in day this summer, with Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach operating simultaneously.
Adam Duckworth
Adam Duckworth, president and founder of Fort Lauderdale-based Travelmation, said Disney’s focus on summer has been ramping up the past couple of years, “but this is definitely the most that we’ve ever seen.”
It seems to be working. Duckworth’s Disney summer bookings are up 25% to 30% year over year, he said, with the offers appealing to his clients who want to travel domestically and those who thought a Disney trip was too expensive.
“There is a mindset out there that sometimes a Walt Disney World vacation is out of range for folks in terms of dollars,” he said. “But with these particular offers, I think families are saying to us again that this product that we all love so much is in range for us.”
Kathryn Finkelstein, a Connecticut-based advisor with MickeyTravels, has observed similar trends. The value proposition is compelling for price-sensitive families, she said, citing a client who recently considered a Disney trip over the holidays but ultimately switched to summer.
“Everybody wants to be there for the holidays, but when the summer promotions came out, they asked me to price it out for summer, too,” Finkelstein said. “The [$1,500] difference in price was definitely a motivator.”
What “puts it over the top is the programming,” she added. “They always have things going on, but this is targeted specifically for summertime dates to bring people in that may be on the fence.”
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