Everything You Need To Know About Cool Kid Summer 2026

Terms: If you’re checking in to a Disney Resort between May 26 – September 8, 2026, you’ll have free admission to a Disney World Water Park on your check-in day.
Good to Know: Both Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach will be open during this time according to the press release from Disney earlier today. While we love both parks, we like Typhoon Lagoon more for the smaller (cool) kids. Ketchakiddie Creek, the play area for kids, is well themed and has a full day of activities in one spot. The abundance of slides and water play areas along with shaded seating and proximity to restrooms and food makes this area unmatched. Blizzard Beach’s equivalent, Tike’s Peak, is not as large and does not offer as much close-up seating as Ketchakiddie Creek. You can move chairs as close to the water as Cast Members will allow, but you’ll be on a hard, sand free surface at Blizzard Beach. The seating at Typhoon Lagoon is all in the sand, which is helpful when you have one child that wants to play with sand toys and another that wants to mellow in the splash pad. You can have eyes on both and even some shade if you rope drop.
The wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon is, in our opinion, far superior for little folks who don’t have sturdy swim skills yet. Melt-Away Bay, the wave pool at Blizzard Beach, does not have the big wave that Typhoon Lagoon has. Rather, there are lots of smaller but still hefty waves over and over. This doesn’t allow for any “calm seas” in the wave pool and can be too much for inexperienced swimmers. Typhoon Lagoon’s Surf Pool has one enormous wave every few minutes with intermittent periods of short, choppy waves, as well as periods of calm waters. The winning feature at Typhoon Lagoon is the vast area of zero entry where little ones can play with minimal ripples from the incoming wave. The left side of the Surf Pool has the gentle Bay Slides for little folks, too. There are places for caregivers to sit along the walls and monitor this Life Guard stationed spot.
Free Dining Plan for Kids

Terms: Free dining for kids ages 3 – 9 when you purchase a package that includes a dining plan for guests ages 10 and up and a room at a Disney Resort hotel. Everyone in the room on the same reservation will need to be on the same dining plan. Ex: If you’re staying at POP Century, 2 Adults, 2 kids (ages 4 & 7), you’ll have to select the dining plan with your package and will only pay for 2 adults if you’re within the terms of the promo.
Good to Know: If you are planning to select the dining plan and you have children that qualify for free dining, then you’ll want to keep an eye out for places where you get the most for your credits. If a quick service or food stand location 1) accepts some dining plans, and 2) does NOT have kids meals, you will be able to use a credit from your child’s plan for a full size meal. For example, if you’re planning to get fish and chips from Yorkshire County Fish Shop, you’ll be able to use a Kids Quick Service Credit for the $14.49 fish and chips meal since there is no Kids Menu. In our experience, the portion is more than enough for two to share comfortably. Other places where you’ll find the same criteria include: Friar’s Nook, Gaston’s Tavern, Lunching Pad, Sleepy Hollow, Dockside Diner, Fairfax Fare, Ronto Roasters, Sommerfest, and Tangierine Café. You’ll want to check Disney’s website for changes, but at the time of this article, there are a few food stands / Quick Service locations that do not have Kids Meals and DO NOT accept dining plans: Market and KRNR in Hollywood Studios, and Tamu Tamu, Smiling Crocodile, Kusafari Coffee Shop and Bakery, Harambe Fruit Market, Eight Spoon Café, and Pongu Pongu in the Animal Kingdom.
Character Meets During Early Theme Park Entry
Early Entry Roaming Characters
All Disney Resort Guests have access to Early Theme Park Entry at all four parks. During Cool Kids Summer last year, we spotted characters greeting guests beyond the Early Entry tap in. For example, the picture above was from last May when we happened to catch Mickey hopping on the carousel in the Magic Kingdom with a few new friends. It was all a very spontaneous looking moment – none of the characters in Fantasyland stopped for folks to line up and pose for pictures. We did, however, see Tigger skipping with a very happy dad and his kids, Peter Pan running amok as he is wont to do, Tiana and Prince Naveen dancing with some wee princesses, and a whole host of other moments that would make any eye water.

If the character sightings this year are going to mimmic the summer of 2025, you can expect to see pals at Early Entry and throughout the day around the parks.
What’s a Cool Kid to Do
Paper park map just for the Cool Kids.
In summer of 2025, each park had a Cool Kid Summer map that highlighted rides and activities just for kids. The shot above shows the Magic Kingdom map for last summer. DJ led dance parties in Tomorrowland, and games at Big Top Souvenirs in Storybook Circus were special activities that seemed to be a big hit among the little folk.
Lots for a Cook Kid to do in EPCOT.
EPCOT’s contribution to this promo last year included the popular Phineas and Ferb meet and greet, a very sweet Grab-N-Goof menu, and dance parties with Goofy at CommuniCore Hall. This location offered places to sit inside and out, enormous restrooms, and lots of loud fun.
Resort Fun

Your kiddos can be cool on their Resort days, too. Little ones ages 3-9 got a Cool Kids Summer bag upon check-in during this promotion last year. The contents, pictured above, included stickers, maps, buttons, crayons, and activity pages. The participating Cool Kids Summer Resorts also had special on-site activities throughout the promo.

All Disney Resorts have activities for the whole family, but the designated Cool Kids Summer Resorts had special activities like the events in the picture above. There were special games and lots of opportunities to have a really busy resort day. We wandered through several resorts last summer and were delighted to see little moments of magic like tiny shopping carts at merch locations, tiny libraries for new readers, bubbles everywhere, and even rubber ducks being passed out at random in a few lobbies. It was a scaled down, much less expensive version of the Year of a Million Dreams-ish vibe.
Get Thee to a Park
Future home of Jessie, Woody, and pals!
The discounts, free dining, resort events, and water park day are all in aid of getting you into one of the four parks to spend money on tickets, food, merch, etc. The great news is, there are several new, refurbished, and re-themed attractions that will be waiting for you this summer.

Jessie, Woody, and pals will reside in the Diamond Horseshoe in the Magic Kingdom for Jessie’s Roundup May 26th – September 8th.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopens in the Magic Kingdom
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin reopens in the Magic Kingdom with new gameplay
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets debuts
Soarin’ Across America will debut by Memorial Day 2026
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run will receive a new mission with The Mandalorian and Grogu
Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live! is coming to Hollywood Studios
Bluey and Bingo will take up residence at Conservation Station in Animal Kingdom

We’ll be breaking down the new discounts once they are released on January 6th, so stay tuned!

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