A Disney World Hotel Perk Changes Next Week

Fans of Disney World’s water parks will want to know about this 2026 perk change before their next visit!

In 2025, Disney introduced a new hotel perk that allowed any guest staying at a Disney World hotel free entry into one of Disney’s two water parks. While this perk is returning in 2026, there is now an added catch.

The perk in 2025 stated that any person staying at a Disney World hotel (and the entire party on the reservation) gets free entry into Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon on check-in day.

This limitation has been controversial enough, as it only allows access on a day when you’ve likely been traveling for hours and aren’t in the mood or don’t have the time to get to a water park. It’s also subject to availability and dependent on the weather. Additionally, these tickets are also nontransferable, and you lose them if you don’t use them on check-in day.

To make matters worse, the perk is going to get even MORE LIMITED in 2026.

Per Disney, the water park perk will be limited to specific summer dates ONLY. Disney has yet to release those dates, but has promised to do so in 2026.

In 2025, the perk was year-round, so this is quite a significant change. So if you’re looking to take advantage of this perk in 2026, starting January 1st, you’ll have to wait for those allotted summer dates.

As for eligible hotels, Disney has listed the following as resorts that offer the water park perk:

• Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
• Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort
• The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort – A Disney Vacation Club Resort
• The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort
• Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
• Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
• Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
• Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
• Disney’s Beach Club Resort
• Disney’s Beach Club Villas
• Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
• Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
• Disney’s Contemporary Resort
• Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
• Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
• Disney’s Old Key West Resort
• Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
• Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
• Disney’s Pop Century Resort
• Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter
• Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
• Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
• Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
• Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
• Disney’s Riviera Resort
• The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

Disney adjusts its offered perks all the time, so keep it posted right here for all the latest perk updates and thorough coverage of everything going on at Disney World!

This Disney World Hotel Perk Is About to Get COMPLICATED

Which Disney World hotel perk is your favorite? Let us know in the comments!