Disney World’s New Resort-Specific Freebie!
There’s new resort-specific merchandise popping up around Walt Disney World, and it’s free! This post share photos of the hotel souvenirs found in guest rooms, plus our general love for this type of “little” thing and other assorted commentary.
We should probably disclaim that this resort-specific merchandise is new to us, and not necessarily brand-new. For all we know, some of this stuff been out there in the wild for months–maybe longer. Since it’s unlikely anyone reading this makes monthly trips to Walt Disney World, at least some of it will be new to you, too.
Or perhaps this is part of a brand new initiative? One of the things that prompted this article was that I couldn’t find any other coverage of these items online. Not via Google, social media, etc. It’s possible that I just don’t know where to look, and these have been around for months–maybe years. That there was a viral TikTok video about them seen by millions.
Anyway, the resort-specific souvenir that’s now available in select (?) rooms at select (?) resorts is slippers with the hotel logos. We found these at Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts and Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.
And by we, I mean Sarah. Within seconds of entering the rooms–and I do mean seconds–she had found these slippers. She excitedly asked me why I didn’t tell her Walt Disney World was doing this now, to which I responded: Walt Disney World is doing this now?
In life and in covering all things Disney, Sarah and I make a good team. This was our first family trip to Walt Disney World staying in Deluxe Resorts in a while; I had done a lot of solo research trips prior to that.
I can say with a high degree of certainty that if it were just me doing these Christmas-time stays, these slippers never would’ve been “discovered” and this article wouldn’t exist. Perhaps the many male bloggers running sites like this one have likewise overlooked the resort-specific slippers, explaining the lack of coverage?
When I’m doing solo stays, and Sarah and I chat on the phone, she always asks what the bathrobes are like. She does so despite knowing full well that my standard response is going to be along the lines of: I dunno, like towels you can wear? It’s something about which she is genuinely curious and enthusiastic (but I also suspect she’s trolling me just a tad).
Apparently, there are quality differences in Disney bathrobes. She knows I’d never put on a bathrobe of my own volition, and typically only do so upon her request so we can take a photo or something. I have strong opinions about a lot of things, but bathrobes are not one of them. So she picks up the hot takes slack there, having big beliefs about bathrobes and which resorts have the best ones.
Conversely, she relies on me for such valuable information as the best stairwell to exit Yacht Club for shorter walks to EPCOT’s International Gateway or Disney’s Hollywood Studios and faster Earlier Entry arrival.
As a side note, you all do know that taking the stairs is faster than backtracking to the elevators, right? This is something I’m not sure we’ve covered, but it can be valuable–especially given those long hallways at Y&BC! Perhaps I should make the already lengthy step-by-step Early Entry reports even longer by documenting my hotel exit route. But I digress.
Point being, we make a good team and complete one another, you might say.
As for the slippers, this is definitely a newer thing at Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts. Since they’re sister resorts, we’d assume the slippers are at both Yacht Club and Beach Club, but we can only confirm the former.
My guess is that it’s an amenity that rolled out after one or both of the resorts saw its rooms refurbished in the last couple of years. We last stayed at Yacht Club together 2 years ago, and there were no slippers then.
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa used to offer branded “GF” slippers (to my knowledge, it was the only resort to do so), but we hadn’t seen those in a while. It strikes me as another COVID cutback, but I won’t pretend my memory or authority on this subject is strong.
I’m not sure if Walt Disney World ever formally discontinued those GF slippers, or if they just became more hit or miss due to inventory issues, or our DVC vs. hotel stays are blurring together (I wouldn’t expect them in DVC rooms), etc. It’s easy to overlook slippers. I can attest to that.
Regardless, the slippers in our room at Grand Floridian were branded to the Royal Palm Club. There was actually a surprising amount of club-specific branding for Royal Palm, which I assume is partly due to its status as the flagship Club Level in all of Walt Disney World.
It’s also probably partly the Grand Floridian riding high on the recent resort reimagining, which leans heavily on GF branding. Given that, I wouldn’t be surprised if Royal Palm Club slippers rolled out for the main building and “GF” slippers were brought back to the outlying buildings.
For all I know, this could’ve happened when those refurbishments were completed, and I just missed them. This strikes me as the kind of thing that would’ve debuted (or returned) with the ‘reset’ offered by a reimagining or refresh. This also explains why Yacht Club, fresh off its own room refurbishment, would also now have slippers.
Nevertheless, it’s odd that there hasn’t really been coverage of this anywhere else, especially with how enthusiastic Walt Disney World fans are about: 1) resort-specific merchandise, 2) branded in-room amenities, 3) anything that’s free. Heck, we have a post about Walt Disney World’s scented soaps that has garnered 93 comments, most of which from people who miss the “souvenir-sized” soaps to take home. Branded slippers are way better than soaps!
Accordingly, this post exists to offer a heads up about the free resort-specific slippers in some (?) rooms at some (?) resorts at Walt Disney World so you know to check. And yes, slippers are a freebie that you can take home with you; hotels do not reuse them.
Bathrobes are not a freebie; they are reused. For further discussion of the official rules on what you can take from hotel rooms, see “The One With Rachel’s Dream” episode of Friends, in which Ross and Chandler try to win their money back from an expensive suite. (Phones, furniture, furnishings, and other fixtures are not free; other rules exist.)
Given all of the uncertainty, it also exists to solicit reader feedback so we can narrow down where and when these free slippers can be found. It would be a huge coincidence if they just so happen to be available at the only two Deluxe Resorts where we stayed, and they just rolled out at the start of this Christmas season to prevent a chilly toes epidemic.
I’d be shocked if resort-specific slippers are at Value or Moderate Resorts (maybe Gran Destino Tower?) or DVC rooms. But I’d be mildly surprised if Yacht & Beach Club got them without the same being offered at BoardWalk. Same goes with Grand Floridian and the Polynesian, albeit to a lesser extent since GF just wrapped up a massive overhaul and is the flagship.
This post also exists to bring awareness to these slippers so others don’t miss them like I would’ve. Walt Disney World fans love this type of thing, so it’d be a shame if you could’ve had a free resort-specific souvenir, but simply overlooked it.
Awareness also involves giving positive guest feedback about the slippers if you like them. I’m not saying you need to write a 2,000 word letter to Jeff Vahle extolling the virtues of slippers, but going out of your way to mention them in surveys or whatever could be helpful. That’s doubly true if this is not a top-down initiative and is just a localized push by certain hotel managers. Positive feedback at these locations could help it spread as other hotels want to get in on that sweet free footwear action.
Selfishly, I’m doing this in part because I really want to see this slippers ‘trend’ spread to Wilderness Lodge. Even though we need no excuse to stay there and I’m not a “slippers man,” I’d make an exception for Wilderness Lodge. Honestly, I’d consider buying nicer Wilderness Lodge-branded slippers.
They’d go nicely with my flannel Wilderness Lodge hat and big Wilderness Lodge cups, both of which are winter staples for me. In case it’s not obvious, we’re huge suckers for resort-specific merchandise. Outside of Figment collectibles, this is far and away the category of WDW merchandise from which we own the most items.
We have old school refillable mugs (remember those?!), new school Tervises, coffee mugs, shirts, Christmas ornaments, hats, and even a few resort-restaurant-specific items. Walt Disney World has really stepped up its resort-specific merchandise game in the last several years. Some items are formulaic, but others are inventive and uniquely tailored to the theme and vibe of the specific resorts. It’s arguably the top type of merchandise, with the best designs and most creativity. (Not kidding or exaggerating!)
Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t offer kudos to Walt Disney World for introducing this resort-specific freebie! We are quick to give criticism when Disney makes changes that we perceive to be cutbacks, like the switch from Early Entry to a single free Lightning Lane per stay at Disneyland.
It’s important balance that out with praise, and recognize a slipper-clad step in the right direction. More like this, Walt Disney World. It’s obviously a little thing–but it’s those little things and attention to detail that Walt Disney World is all about, and what keeps us fans coming back year after year!
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Your Thoughts
Have you “discovered” resort-specific slippers in your Walt Disney World hotel room? Where and when did you find them? Any strong opinions on bathrobes or other in-room amenities? Agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
We stayed in two rooms at Beach club (regular not DVC rooms) and didn’t have any slippers! This was end of November -December 4th. No robes no slippers -nothing.
I would never wear them, but that’s besides the point. I think it’s nice when Disney does these little things. I miss that Disney. I haven’t felt they were doing the little things the past few years. It’s like they forgot who they were. I hope they continue to sprinkle in pixie dust here and there.
Just going to say I was shocked how different the robes are – especially the resort specific ones in the gift shop. Back in August my son wanted the one at the Riviera. I figured we would pick one up at the end of our trip while we were at AKL… not anywhere near the same quality of robe. That Riviera one immediately made us want to throw it on and curl up in a ball. The AKL was more like “sure, this is a thing people could wear, I guess.”
In the 80s and 90s (and probably earlier but I hadn’t visited yet), I collected resort-specific soaps, (not Disney H2O) shampoo, lotion, pens and pads; also, restaurant-specific paper napkins, matchbooks and even drink stirs. They were fun “free” souvenirs that populate my memory books. I miss collecting them, so I’m glad Disney is adding a little extra magic to some rooms.
I share Sarah’s fascination with the resort robes I knew I wanted to buy one but those things aren’t cheap! After extensive research (I wish I was kidding) comparing the different lengths, lining, materials, and logos, I finally decided on the one from GF. It took multiple tries to get it (on many different trips) because the gift shop doesn’t always have them in stock. It was worth all the hassle because when I’m wrapped up in that warm cozy hug-of-robe it brings me right back to all of our fun memories at DW.
I think it ultimately creates more problems when freebies are given out selectively. Assuming that’s what’s happening here? Everything Disney is immediately broadcasted on social media and creates expectations. Above and beyond gestures today, people will read countless postings about and expect at their once in a lifetime trip tomorrow. Making it unique to a resort or consistent based on booking type sets expectations properly.
FWIW, I wouldn’t know what to do with slippers like that, nor have I owned a bathrobe in my life. I would also forever second-guess if its ok to take stuff like that… (as per Admiral Ackbar – it’s a trap!)
We had them in our Boardwalk Club level room on Nov 29th! Like Sarah I also discovered within seconds and was excited. We remember having these branded in the room in 2019 at the Grand Floridian and have missed them since. This article made me excited because I wasn’t sure if Boardwalk was unique or these were coming back. Yay!
Book again at the Yacht club you say? Say no more! Of course by the time I can figure out where to fit that trip in, they will have stopped doing it… We loved our robes at the Swan. And weirdly, I was expecting a robe and slippers while staying at the Riviera earlier this month, but neither were present-because we were staying on points?
Riviera had bathrobes in every room when it first opened, but they’ve slowly disappeared. I’m not sure whether that’s a purposeful cutback or if they’ve been stolen and not replenished. I *think* they are still available upon request, and in the Grand Villas (maybe some of the other larger villas).
Most DVC resorts don’t even have the option for bathrobes. Riviera, GF, and (maybe?) Island Tower are the only exceptions that immediately come to mind–but I’m not a bathrobe expert.
Speaking of resort-specific items, I feel like Disney is finally catching on to folks wanting Christmas tree ornaments from their resort as a souvenir. I have bought ornament on Etsy or Ebay to commemorate our visit to a new-to-us resort under protest. I would have gladly bought at the resort but they either sold out in lightning time (Kidani had 10 one evening and I was too tired to buy them, planning on going the next day and they were sold out first thing in the morning, so there is obviously a demand or people are buying to resell to meet the demand by proxy) or were outright unavailable/no longer made after they sold out (out experience at SSR). And the heartbreak of buying the Maui mascot flat, boring ornament only to find that a couple of months after our summer visit the cool mini hotel replica types of ornaments I have from DGC and OKW became available for the same price, no less. But with each Christmas, taking out our resort ornaments to place on the tree spark great memories makes me happy that we got some aftermarket ornaments rather than none. Stay at the BCV this summer and really hoping an ornament is available, espeically the mini resort replica ones!
Disney Yacht Club slippers sell on eBay for $20 – $25 plus shipping.
Grand Floridian slippers sell for $15 to $35 plus shipping.
Sadly there are NO Wilderness Lodge slippers listed past or present.
Hope this helps all free slipper enthusiasts.
Forgot to mention that two pair of the Royal Palm Club slippers can be purchased together for $30 or best offer plus shipping.
My opinion, not crazy about the Royal Palm Club look. I wouldn’t take them if they were free.
Oh wait…..
A family does not stay in a theme park hotel for the amenities of the hotel because they are primarily there for the theme park, itself. The number of ride closures and delays that add to the frustration of waiting in line is the greatest negative feature of visiting any of these theme parks and a pair of slippers is not going to make up for that!
I would prefer they went back to leaving a pen and a small pad of paper in my room. I used these on my trips to jot down quick notes and would then take them home and use them up. Much more useful to me than slippers that would be much too large for me. And every time I used the pen or paper at home, I would remember my vacation. Seems pretty win-win – I got a little freebie and Disney got a continuing plug to get people to keep coming back.
YES! We also loved the pen and pad of paper. My children used to write mousekeeping thank you notes on them and we definitely saved the pens (used one yesterday saved from an earlier 2000s trip-still had ink!)
If you want pens & paper, head to Disneyland!
We have a lifetime supply of Disneyland Hotel and Grand Californian ink pens (we stopped taking the pads a while ago, realizing we don’t actually use them). You don’t even need to book a stay at the hotel, as you can sometimes acquire these ink pens from the restaurants (not sure of the ‘ethics’ of taking the pens from there–you’ll have to figure out that one for yourselves).
I can confirm that the slippers were in both a regular room and a Club-level suite when I did a split stay at Beach Club in November. Interestingly, in the regular room there was also a hand-written note from the hotel manager on Yacht and Beach Club stationary and chocolate truffles in a Yacht and Beach club branded box.
We’ve had notes from the hotel managers in many rooms at WDW, but never handwritten. I felt that was a nice touch when they started doing it.
We stayed at Caribbean Beach for the past two weeks – no slippers.
We still have our DCL bathrobes from our honeymoon cruise three years ago. They were part of the romance package – I think around £100 for them, a rose, some chocolates and a bottle of champagne. That seemed steep at the time but the robes were incredible!
Maybe I’ve just become desensitized to prices, but 2 DCL bathrobes plus all of that for 100 euro doesn’t seem terrible to me.
We were at YC at the end of September and there were no slippers! We have had them— in the past— but only if we stated club level. This time we were in a regular room.
I stayed at Boardwalk in September in a 1-Bedroom and there were no slippers…but it was via DVC points so that might preclude them.
The fluffiest, nicest, warmest bathrobe I ever got at Disney was in the Captain’s Suite on the Starcruiser. If I could have incorporated that into my outfit I would have, because I wore it every time I was in the room. I don’t normally pay attention to bathrobes otherwise, but that one stuck with me…
That’s awesome!
There have been a couple that have stood out like that over the years and make me see Sarah’s point about bathrobe quality, but otherwise not on my radar.
And yeah, I’ve never seen slippers in DVC rooms at WDW. There are sometimes robes; Riviera has (or had) them, as does (or did) Grand Floridian. Not sure about Island Tower, despite having *just* stayed there. IIRC all of the hotels at Disneyland have at least robes.
Random question….what size are the slippers? Do you think someone with larger feet can wear them or maybe get a bigger size from the concierge?
They’re one size fits all, but that size is fairly small. I doubt the hotel has larger ones, but I’ve never checked. Sorry!
Not sure if I can post links here, but if you Google “Disney Yacht Club Slippers” it should bring up a link to planDisney (within the first few results) saying this is a club level perk. (If you weren’t staying club level thinking this is a bit of pixie dust sent your way. I am 90-ish percent sure there’s no way Disney is going to pay to get slippers to every resort guest. There is no way the ROI on that makes sense for them. But club level, yeah, I can see it there.)
Unless I’m misreading that, the question is actually whether slippers are free to take or not. The Club Level part seems incidental.
Other resorts (all non-DVC Deluxes, I believe) have slippers, but the only ones I’ve ever seen with branded ones are GF and now YBC. I don’t purport to be a WDW slipper expert, but my recollection is receiving them sporadically at Deluxes and Club Level rooms–very little consistency over the years. I am a resort-specific merchandise enthusiast, so the branded ones are why I took note of this.
Wow, I’m actually kind of shocked that Disney gives that many free slippers away!
I’m sure the cost of these slippers are partially ascribed to marketing. It only takes a very small percentage who bring them home, wear them, and book another WDW vacation sooner than they otherwise would have, to fully justify the cost.
Of course, the survey question of “what prompted you to book this vacation” is not likely to be answered by “my slippers”, but nobody thinks they bought a car because they watched a commercial either.
To a very extreme version of your point, Sarah wearing the slippers around the house this morning is what led to this post. I planned to write about it eventually, but that brought it top of mind again.
I love this article – and the slippers. I will be searching my yacht club room come March!