23 Disney World secrets that can add ‘pixie dust’ to your vacation

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post regularly updated with new offers and information.

Sometimes, it can feel like you need to know some sort of secret handshake to maximize a visit to Disney World.

There are tickets to purchase and Lightning Lane selections to make if you want to skip the line on popular rides. You also have to decide on things like which credit card to use and whether you want to buy an interactive MagicBand+.

While we at TPG love sharing practical tips to help you unlock a successful Disney World vacation, we also enjoy letting you in on some lesser-known tips and secrets that can make your trip more interesting and enjoyable.

Here are 23 Easter eggs, hidden spots and insider secrets to make your next visit to Disney World even more magical.

There’s extra kid-friendly fun this summer

If you plan a Disney vacation between May 27 and Sept. 1, Disney is bringing even more magic to the parks with several limited-time experiences for families with young kids. Dubbed “Cool Kid Summer,” families will find special areas with characters, dance parties, games, magicians and more in all four parks.

Here’s where to go at each park:

• Epcot — GoofyCore at CommuniCore Hall
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom — A Celebration Sing-Along at Discovery Island
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios — Animation Courtyard
• Magic Kingdom — Big Top Bash at Storybook Circus and Galactic Blast at Tomorrowland featuring Stitch

There are Hidden Mickeys everywhere

A hidden Mickey is a subtle image of Mickey Mouse that Disney Imagineers snuck into rides, walls, carpeting, wallpaper and other design elements across Disney World. There are hundreds — probably thousands — of hidden Mickeys around the parks.

Some are so small, you’ve probably walked right past (or even stepped on) them without noticing they were there. I am notoriously bad at spotting Hidden Mickeys, but luckily, some are easier to spot than others.

A few of the more obvious ones include:

• Mickey-shaped plants on Living With the Land at Epcot
• A Mickey-shaped place setting in the dinner party scene on the Haunted Mansion at the Magic Kingdom
• A Mickey-shaped rock display at the bottom of one of the tanks at The Seas with Nemo and Friends at Epcot

You can go it alone and search for Hidden Mickeys on your next trip, or you can pick up one of many helpful guides, such as this Hidden Mickey book on Amazon by Keven Neary, who is featured in the TPG video below.

You can go on scavenger hunts

If you visit Disney World on a regular basis and you’re looking to shake things up a bit, try a fun (and often free) scavenger hunt.

There are some Disney World scavenger hunts that are free and available year-round. In the Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland area, you can search for Pascal, the chameleon from “Tangled,” near the Rapunzel-themed restrooms (there are 10 in total).

Also in the Magic Kingdom, you can become a real-life swashbuckler at A Pirate’s Adventure ~ Treasures of the Seven Seas in Adventureland. This interactive scavenger hunt is free and has a lot of fun surprises.

If you happen to be staying in a Disney World hotel, there are often scavenger hunts that send you running around the hotel grounds. You earn a prize (we’ve gotten buttons or a sweet treat) when you complete the hunt, and the clues are sometimes themed to holidays and special events.

Related: How to save your Disney vacation when the parks are absurdly crowded

There are also paid scavenger hunts that take your search to the next level.

During Epcot’s limited-time festivals, you can purchase a map for about $10 that leads you around the park to search for clues. When you complete the hunt, you turn in your map for a prize. During the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, for example, you can take part in Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak and earn a fun prize like a character spork or miniature cornhole.

Kids can become Wilderness Explorers

As Russell from “Up!” said, “The wilderness must be explored!” At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, kids can join Russell’s ranks and become official Wilderness Explorers. When you enter the park, look for the Wilderness Explorers headquarters and pick up a handbook.

Inside the book, there are several activities that teach kids about animals and conservation. For each activity they complete, they earn a badge. Collect more than 25 badges and they’ll become official Wilderness Explorers.

You can participate in as few or as many activities as you like, and it’s a fun way to explore everything this park has to offer beyond the rides.

You can mail a letter with a Disney postmark

The turn-of-the-century mailboxes on the Magic Kingdom’s Main Street, U.S.A. are more than just well-themed decorations. They are real, working mailboxes, and the mail is collected daily by Disney cast members who pass it off to the United States Postal Service.

You can bring your own postcard and stamp or purchase them from locations around all four Disney World parks. Before you drop mail in the box, stop by Guest Relations to get your exclusive Disney postmark.

Kids can run around play areas

While Disney is one of the most kid-friendly parks out there when it comes to attractions with low (or no) height requirements, any parent who has taken their kids to Disney World knows that kids can’t just go from ride to ride to ride all day without a break.

Kids need a chance to expend pent-up energy, and all four Disney World parks have indoor and outdoor play areas where they can do just that. A few of my favorites include:

• Circus-themed indoor (i.e., air-conditioned) play area in the queue for Dumbo the Flying Elephant at the Magic Kingdom
• Space-themed play area (with video games for older kids) at the exit of Mission: Space in Epcot
• The Boneyard fossil dig site at Animal Kingdom’s DinoLand U.S.A.
• Outdoor playground in Epcot behind the Creations Shop
• Interactive indoor play area at the exit to Journey Into Imagination with Figment at Epcot

You can book a private photo session

Whether you want a special memento of your trip or that perfect photo without other tourists in the background but lack Photoshop skills, Disney offers private photo sessions at all four theme parks.

At $99 for a 20-minute photo session for up to eight guests, it’s surprisingly affordable as far as Disney prices go.

You can use it to commemorate a birthday, family reunion or other special occasion, or book a morning session to get all your vacation photos out of the way before the heat and humidity set in.

Although same-day sessions are occasionally available, you’ll have better luck reserving your session in advance via Disney’s website.

Related: The best $120 I’ve spent at Disney this year got me into Magic Kingdom’s secret tunnels

You can take home free souvenirs

I haven’t cracked the code on how to get a free Disney vacation yet (though using points and miles can help), but I do know where you can find a few free souvenirs to bring home from your trip.

The first one you may already know because it’s a pretty popular one, but you can pick up free buttons at any guest services location in the parks. There are buttons to celebrate a first visit, birthday or anniversary or generic “I’m Celebrating” buttons where a cast member can write in the details of your special celebration.

Other free souvenirs include transportation trading cards you can collect from bus, monorail and ferry drivers and at the Skyliner stations. Kids can also get KidCot postcards from each of the World Showcase pavilions, and they’ll receive a bonus postcard for collecting all 11 KidCot cards.

You can trade pins with cast members

Pin trading has been an official Disney activity for 25 years. There are several levels of pin trading. Some guests have thousands of pins and visit the parks specifically to trade for certain pins and meet up with other pin-trading enthusiasts. Others are more casual traders, using it as an opportunity to collect a unique souvenir from their vacation.

All you need to get started with pin trading is just one pin. You can purchase individual Disney pins or starter sets with a lanyard and multiple pins from several Disney shopping locations inside the park and at Pin Traders in Disney Springs.

Once you have a pin (or pins), look for a pin board or a cast member with a lanyard or pouch with pins and ask them to trade. You can trade your pin for any of their pins. Sometimes, there are hidden pins that you can only trade for if you correctly answer the cast member’s trivia question.

Pin trading can be a lot of fun for kids or adults who want to add another layer of fun to their trips, while collecting inexpensive souvenirs.

You can hop a ride down Main Street, USA

There are all kinds of magical ways to bop around Walt Disney World — the Skyliner, the Monorail or a red-and-white polka-dot Minnie Van, to name a few.

One of the lesser-known modes of transportation at Disney is the Main Street Vehicles in the Magic Kingdom.

You can hop on a colorful trolley, omnibus, jitney or fire engine and enjoy a whimsical ride between Town Square and Cinderella Castle. It’s basically like being in a Disney parade, so don’t forget to wave at your adoring fans. These are available on a first-come, first-served basis and typically only run in the early operating hours, though they occasionally make a return late in the afternoon.

The Magic Kingdom is actually on the second floor of the park

OK, stick with me on this one. When you walk through the entrance tunnel to the Magic Kingdom and onto Main Street, U.S.A., you are technically on the second floor of the Magic Kingdom.

The first floor is hidden underground and allows cast members, characters and supplies to move throughout the park while staying out of sight. Dubbed the “Utilidor,” this tunnel system is often referred to as underground, but it’s actually the park’s ground floor.

The tree in Liberty Square was hand-chosen by Walt Disney

The Magic Kingdom’s Liberty Square is themed after Colonial America, complete with a replica Liberty Bell and Liberty Tree, where the colonists’ first act of defiance against the British was staged in 1765. Disney’s Liberty Tree was hand-chosen by Walt Disney and transplanted about 6 miles from its original location elsewhere on Disney property.

The tree is so important to the park that acorns from the tree are collected and planted so that they can be used to replace the current tree should misfortune (or lightning) strike.

You can taste-test (free) sodas from around the world at Epcot

Club Cool has been an Epcot staple since the late 1990s, though it recently moved into some new digs. The Coca-Cola-sponsored venue lets guests sample sodas from Italy, Korea, the Dominican Republic and other countries from around the world at no extra charge.

Some sodas are tastier than others, but making your way through each flavor to find your favorite is part of the experience. In fact, one of the most well-known flavors is called the “Beverly” — a bitter nonalcoholic aperitif from Italy — that is almost universally disliked. Drinking it is practically an Epcot rite of passage, as are the sticky sneakers you’ll walk out with when you’re through.

There are a lot of Easter eggs

From the business names on the windows on Main Street, U.S.A. to numbers painted on a trash can in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, practically every detail in Disney World has a story behind it.

The windows, for example, bear the names of men and women who have been influential to The Walt Disney Company over the years. If you see a name, number or character — or anything else that you suspect might have a hidden meaning — you are probably right. Ask a cast member to confirm your hunch.

Here are a few of my favorite Easter eggs at Disney World:

• There is a painting of Mr. Toad handing the deed over in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride in the Magic Kingdom because Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was closed to build the Winnie the Pooh ride. You’ll also see a small statue of Mr. Toad in the graveyard at the exit of the Haunted Mansion.
• There is a window above the Emporium on Main Street, U.S.A. with the name “Elias Disney” on it. This was Walt Disney’s father.
• If you look at Cinderella’s fountain in the Magic Kingdom at the right angle, the crown appears as if she is wearing it on her head (like the princess she is).
• Barnabas T. Bullion, the owner of Big Thunder Mountain Mining Company, whose portrait hangs in the queue for the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad coaster, is modeled after Tony Baxter, a Walt Disney Imagineer who worked on the attraction.
• On Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway in Hollywood Studios, the poster for “The Great Moving Ride” is a nod to “The Great Movie Ride,” the attraction it replaced. You’ll also see a sign for a flower shop with the address “1401.” This is a reference to the location of Walt Disney Imagineering in Glendale, California, at 1401 Flower St.

You can watch a daily flag retreat ceremony

Each day in the Magic Kingdom’s Town Square, Disney pays tribute to our U.S. military veterans with a patriotic flag retreat ceremony. As part of the ceremony, a veteran is chosen (often at random) to assist with the lowering of the American flag while the Main Street Philharmonic plays the “Star Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America.”

The ceremony usually takes place around 5 p.m. because it is customary only to display the American flag from sunrise to sunset, according to the U.S. flag code. Other flags you see inside the Disney parks are not subject to this code because they are missing a star or stripe and are not technically “real” American flags.

There are grown-up versions of Disney treats

I would never turn down a Dole Whip or Mickey-shaped beignet, but I’d be even more inclined to partake if it had an extra-special adults-only spin. Some of Disney’s most popular treats have spiked versions that might be just the treat you deserve after spending a long day at Disney.

You can find these treats at the parks, Disney Springs and some of Disney’s resort hotels, and they are well worth the bus ride. Better yet, take a Minnie Van.

Here’s where you can find my favorites:

• Frozen margarita made with lime-flavored Dole Whip at Barefoot Pool Bar at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
• Boozy Baton Rouge Beignets at Scat Cat’s Club at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — French Quarter
• Spiked Blue or Green Milk at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
• Frozcato (Dole Whip, Moscato and vodka) at Wine Bar George in Disney Springs
• Pineapple Dole Whip with a rum floater at Pineapple Lanai at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

You can personalize your souvenirs on the cheap

If you take our advice and pick up free souvenir buttons when you walk into the Magic Kingdom, you can pay just a few dollars to have them personalized by a Disney artist at Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe in Liberty Square.

You can choose from a variety of fonts, colors and illustrations to jazz up your souvenir, and they also sell a variety of customizable holiday ornaments in the shop. Pricing for items such as the TPG button we made on a recent trip starts at $3.

1 land in the Magic Kingdom has no bathrooms

You are never too far from a bathroom (or trash can) at Disney World, but there is one land in the Magic Kingdom where you won’t find a single public restroom: Liberty Square.

Liberty Square is set in Colonial times when indoor plumbing did not exist. Disney, ever the masters of theming, chose to stick to the timeline and build the land without public restrooms.

No need to worry, though. There are restrooms nearby in Frontierland and Fantasyland, or, if you are dining at Columbia Harbor House or Liberty Tree Tavern, you can use the restroom there.

Kids can get a magical haircut

Even everyday things like haircuts are just a bit more magical at Disney World than they are at home. Kids (and adults) can get their hair cut at Harmony Barber Shop in the Magic Kingdom for a reasonable price (starting at around $20 or half that for a beard trim).

The barbershop offers a special “first haircut” package that comes with a commemorative Mickey Ears hat, a keepsake lock of hair and a certificate, but even standard haircuts come with the option to add a sprinkle of “pixie dust” to finish off your new ‘do.

Advance reservations are highly recommended, and pricing does not include gratuity, which must be paid in cash.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is full of secrets

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is by far the most immersive land at any Disney theme park. So much thought and care went into every small detail of the land, and it’s rife with Easter eggs and easy-to-miss callouts to the “Star Wars” films.

Not only is the Millennium Falcon the first full-size version ever created, but there is also a tiny Millennium Falcon hidden in the ship’s undercarriage. Look for it under the vented part of the cockpit near the entrance to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.

You’ll also probably see the numbers 77, 80 and 83 throughout the land (an easy one to spot is inside the Docking Bay 7 eatery). These are references to the years the three original “Star Wars” films were released.

One of my favorite things about the land is how seamlessly it interacts with the “datapad” in the Play Disney Parks app.

You can translate signs written in the Star Wars language of Aurebesh, decrypt secret messages and hack into droids. Playing with the datapad feature unlocks another level of fun in the land, which comes in especially handy if the lines are long.

You can become a Batuu Bounty Hunter

Speaking of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, you can become a bounty hunter a la Boba Fett, and all you need is a MagicBand+ and your smartphone.

You’ll start by visiting the “bounty board” located between the Droid Depot and the marketplace stalls. When you tap your band to the touchpoint with the Batuu Bounty Hunters symbol, you’ll be assigned a bounty to locate (on your first round, you will also receive an introduction to the game).

Bounties are hidden behind doors in Galaxy’s Edge (the doors also have the Batuu Bounty Hunters symbol painted on them). Start by choosing a direction and walking. If you are getting closer to the correct door, your MagicBand+ will vibrate and light up green. If you are getting further away, it’ll turn red. The closer you get to your bounty, the quicker your band will vibrate.

If you walk up to a door and your band turns purple, you’ve found your bounty. Open the Play Disney Parks app and use the thermal scanner feature to scan the door and reveal the bounty hiding behind the door.

After you’ve located your bounty, head to the doorway to the right of the bounty board to collect your credits. From there, you can walk right back over to the bounty board to collect your next bounty. You can play as little or as long as you like, and the app will save your progress so you can pick the game back up on future trips.

You can watch free Movies under the stars

All Disney World hotels have a daily activities schedule. Some, like arts and crafts or tie-dye T-shirt making, carry an additional fee, but many are free for hotel guests. All Disney World hotels have weekly complimentary outdoor movie screenings.

You should see daily activity schedules posted around the resort, but you can also ask a hotel cast member when the property is showing movies that week. Other free activities include things like pool games and nightly campfires. You can roast marshmallows for free or go all-out and purchase a s’mores kit.

There are surprise character meetings

Most Disney character meet-and-greet times and locations are displayed in the Disney World app, but Disney wouldn’t be Disney without a few surprises. Don’t bank on it, but there are times when you may happen upon a rare character meeting or a whole slew of characters making their way through the park together.

Occasionally, Disney will do “test runs” before bringing characters out for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. If you visit in the weeks leading up to these events, you may get lucky and spot them practicing for their upcoming appearances. Or, even if you don’t spot them, you may get tapped on the shoulder by a cast member and asked if you want a special meet-and-greet that happens backstage.

Some lucky Disney guests have also gotten caught up in what Disney fans refer to as “Character Palooza” — a group of characters who all come out at the same time for photos and autographs. Sometimes, rare characters like the penguin from “Mary Poppins” and Gepetto from “Pinocchio” will show up with the usual cast of characters.

You don’t even have to visit a theme park to meet rare Disney characters. Characters also make the rounds in Disney World hotel lobbies. You may see a sign in the lobby with the dates and time windows for these meet-and-greets, or you can ask a cast member at the front desk.

This summer, select hotels (Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, Disney’s Pop Century Resort, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort and Disney’s Wilderness Lodge) will post specific meet-and-greet times so that families can see their favorite characters without waiting in line at the parks.

Bottom line

One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that vacationers hear about “magical moments” that sometimes happen at Disney World and hope for their own little bit of pixie dust, like a free Mickey-shaped ice cream, skip-the-line pass or another surprise perk. If they don’t get a magical moment, they are sometimes disappointed.

The best way to avoid that disappointment is to make your own magic.

You can search for Hidden Mickeys, stop in for a confetti-topped haircut or pick up a free souvenir … and maybe even add an extra artist’s touch to it for a few dollars. You’ll come home with countless happy memories and newfound Disney knowledge to share with friends and family.