Win a Stay in Cinderella Castle Suite and Support a Great Cause at Disney World!

Staying in the Cinderella Castle Suite, the only overnight “hotel” room inside Magic Kingdom is a bucket list dream for Walt Disney World fans, and it’ll be possible again in 2025 thanks to Give Kids the World! This covers details of the giveaway, what’s included in this vacation package, the actual retail value of a night inside the suite, and much more.
We’ve been fortunate enough to step inside the Cinderella Castle Suite twice, and it’s absolutely incredible. The accommodations are fit for royalty, with attention to detail and lavish flourishings everywhere you look. For those fans who bemoan who hotel rooms at Walt Disney World are becoming generic and unthemed…this is the exact opposite of that.
Every inch of the Cinderella Castle Suite is meticulously detailed and thoughtfully themed. Not only that, but the design is incredibly clever, showcasing Imagineering at the top of its design game. Space in the suite is utilized brilliantly, transforming what’s in reality a pretty small space into something that feels extravagant.
For those unfamiliar with it, the Cinderella Castle Suite is actually a relatively recent addition that’s not nearly as old as the 50+ year old centerpiece of Magic Kingdom. The Cinderella Castle Suite opened in January 2007, and its purpose at that time was to serve as a daily prize for randomly chosen guests during the Year of a Million Dreams.
Prior to that, what’s now the Cinderella Castle Suite was a utilitarian backstage storage space (it’s amazing how many of those occupy prime real estate in Magic Kingdom). In Magic Kingdom’s early days, Walt Disney World phone operators used it as a workspace. (Talk about the ultimate office!)
Fast-forward to today, and the Cinderella Castle Suite mostly sits empty. Once used on a near-nightly basis during the Year of a Million Dreams, and then frequently for celebrity stays and giveaways, the Cinderella Castle Suite hasn’t gotten nearly as much usage since ~2019.
The biggest exception to that was a series of sweepstakes for Cast Members as part of the “Magic Backstage” program a couple of years ago. Disney Vacation Club has also done a couple of contests for stays in the suite. Most common has been auctions and sweepstakes for the general public, mostly of the charitable variety, in the last several years.
Give Kids the World is the only charity that does a Cinderella Castle Suite stay giveaway with any degree of regularity–it seems to have become an annual thing. With that in mind, here are the details of their 2025 fundraiser…
The most exclusive room at Walt Disney World cannot be purchased…but it can be won!
Give Kids The World Village is offering the chance for one lucky winner and three guests to enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime Magical Celebration Vacation Package featuring a one-night stay in the Cinderella Castle Suite, located inside the iconic Cinderella Castle four stories above the Magic Kingdom and Walt Disney World Resort.
From today through March 17, 2025 at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern, Disney fans can enter for the chance to stay overnight inside Cinderella Castle Suite and be treated like royalty during this unique fairy tale experience. But there’s more to the prize package than just one enchanted evening! This dream Walt Disney World vacation package includes the following:
- 1-night stay at the Cinderella Castle Suite in Magic Kingdom for up to four (4) persons.
- Breakfast for up to four (4) persons at Cinderella’s Royal Table
- 2-night resort stay in a standard room at a Deluxe Resort, subject to availability for up to four (4) persons.
- Up to four 3-day Theme Park Tickets with Park Hopper Option for 3 days of fun for up to four (4) persons.
- $500 Disney Gift Card for prize winner.
- Domestic roundtrip coach airfares for the prize winner and their travel party (up to four (4) persons total), provided the prize winner and traveling party reside outside a 200-mile radius of Orlando, from the major United States gateway airport closest to the prize winner’s residence to Orlando International Airport.
How to Enter the Cinderella Castle Suite Stay Giveaway
There are two (2) ways to enter:
- Method 1 – Purchase Entry: During the Promotion Period, click here and purchase an entry. For every $10 purchase (together with payment of applicable service fees), the participant will receive one (1) entry into the Sweepstakes.
- Method 2 – Alternate Method of Entry: To enter without making a purchase: On a 3” x 5” card, handwrite your full name, address, city, state, ZIP code, age, email address, and phone number and place in a standard size envelope with proper postage affixed to earn one (1) entry and mail to: Give Kids the World 2025 Magical Celebration Vacation Package, PO Box 595, Social Circle, GA 30025-0595. Mail-in entries must be postmarked by March 17, 2025 and received by March 24, 2025 to be eligible for the prize drawing. Each mail-in entry must be mailed separately.
Note that this Cinderella Castle Suite stay giveaway is, first and foremost, a fundraiser for Give Kids The World Village, an 89-acre, nonprofit “storybook” resort in Central Florida that fulfills the wishes of children with critical illnesses and their families.
When wish granting organizations from around the world receive a request from a critically ill child who wishes to visit Orlando and its world renowned theme parks, Give Kids The World fulfills all of these wishes and provides every child and their family with an all-inclusive experience that includes transportation, accommodations, theme park tickets, nightly entertainment, daily gifts, and more.
Since its founding 1986, nearly 200,000 wish families from all 50 states and 77 countries have been welcomed to the Give Kids the World Village to spend priceless time together away from hospital stays and medical treatments. Give Kids The World Village is charging $10 per entry in the hopes of raising as much money as possible to support its mission.
Give Kids the World is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization (meaning your donation is tax-deductible) with a 98/100 score on Charity Navigator. More than 90 cents of every dollar it spends goes to program services, and only 2.2% of their revenue is spent on administrative expenses, which is an exceptionally low amount.
It should go without saying, but we are not receiving any compensation for this ‘endorsement’ of Give Kids the World and promotion of this giveaway. To the contrary, it feels like it’s been too long since we’ve last plugged Give Kids the World, a charity that we strongly believe in, so that’s why we’re sharing this. (That, and readers often ask about the Cinderella Castle Suite, so it’s a two birds with one stone sorta deal.)
Readers occasionally ask how they can support the site since we don’t have Patreon or that type of thing. The answer is pay it forward. Donate to Make-A-Wish, Give Kids the World, or a comparable charity of your choice. We also like to support Second Harvest of Central Florida and Orange County, CA. Find a way to make the world a better place–that’s the very best way you can support this site.
Consider your entry into the Magical Celebration Vacation Package Contest a win-win, as you’re supporting a fantastic cause and getting a chance at winning a stay in the Cinderella Castle Suite! Even if you lose–and realistically, you probably will–you’re still a winner in our book just by playing!
Sarah and I strongly believe in Give Kids the World’s mission, and have been moved by our visits to the Village. It’s evident in the enthusiasm of the families staying, the passion of the volunteers and staff, and the collaborative sense of community leaders that help make this place something special–something magical.
Suffice to say, please do not use “method 2” for entering the contest. That only exists because of legal requirements to which Give Kids the World must adhere. We hope that everyone who wants to enter will contribute at least $10 to the cause because that money directly impacts GKTW’s mission and the precious families they serve. Just skip a coffee or two.
Cinderella Castle Suite Stay Value & Terms
Check-in for the Cinderella Castle Suite is at 4:00 PM and check-out is at 9:00 AM. The 2-night resort stay at a Deluxe Disney Resort hotel may take place before or after the stay at the Cinderella Castle Suite.
Travel for this Vacation Package must be completed by March 31, 2026, subject to availability and blockout dates. Advance reservations are required. Requests must be submitted ninety (90) days in advance and confirmed at least forty-five (45) days prior to arrival.
The Actual Retail Value or “ARV” is $9,308. The actual value of the Vacation Package may vary depending on dates of stay, point of departure and fluctuations of rates and airfares. Any difference between the ARV and the actual value of the prize will not be awarded. There are a bunch of other disclaimers, rules, and requirements that can be found in the contest rules.
The most important two things are that the approximate retail value of the vacation package is $9,308. This is the estimated value of the entire Walt Disney World vacation package, and not just the night in Cinderella Castle.
This means that we can take the known approximate costs of everything else in the package, remove those from the equation, and come up with an ballpark “price” for a night in the Cinderella Castle Suite. At least, according to Walt Disney World. So here goes:
- Breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table for 4: $296
- 2-night Deluxe Resort standard room stay: $938 to $2,558
- 3-day Park Hopper ticket for 4: $1,900 to $2,500
- $500 Disney Gift Card for prize winner: $500
- Airfare for 4: $800 to $2,000
Total: $4,434 to $7,854
That’s a huge range–and is still imperfect because airfare is a wildcard, and the potential party size could also vary (the cost of 1 person vs. 4 people is obviously quite different). Nevertheless, from that we can conclude that Walt Disney World considers the approximate retail value of one night in the Cinderella Castle Suite to be around $1,454 to $4,874, if not higher.
This is the lowest range for the Cinderella Castle Suite that we’ve ever seen from one of these giveaways. So either the value of the suite has declined (doubtful) or the ARV has not kept pace against price increases. The latter explanation is almost certainly accurate. Ticket and menu prices went up a decent amount for 2025, which explains why the value of the Cinderella Castle Suite could be as low as $1,454 per the fine print of the contest.
That is almost certainly way too low if we’re trying to determine the fair market value–or what people would pay for a night in the Cinderella Castle Suite in an open and free market. The scarcity of the suite coupled with the number of diehard Walt Disney World fans and wealthy travelers craving an exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime experience would almost certainly drive the price much, much higher.
What the fair market value of a stay in the Cinderella Castle Suite would be if it were open 365 nights per year is anyone’s guess. There’s likely a lot of fan demand, plus an endless stream of disposable wealth that could sustain insanely high prices. My guess is around $10,000 per night for the suite alone. Perhaps even higher for the first few years.
After hearing fan feedback praising Lightning Lane Premier Pass–a more mass product product–I’m inclined to up that number to $20,000 for a night in the Cinderella Castle Suite. Even that number could significantly underestimate the fair market value of the room–or what Disney would charge if it were bookable on DisneyWorld.com.
If you want to see more glimpses of the rooms inside the suite, check out our Cinderella Castle Suite Photo Tour post (that bathroom is beyond belief!). In that, we also cover why it’s not realistic for Walt Disney World to use this on a nightly basis for Make a Wish families or even cash bookings. Nevertheless, it feels almost criminal that it just sits empty most nights.
Ultimately, it’s great to see that Walt Disney World is once again putting the Cinderella Castle Suite to use after a few years of it pretty much sitting empty. It’s even better to see that this giveaway is going to support Give Kids the World. We cannot think of a fundraiser for a more deserving organization, and one with a ‘distinctly Disney’ connection.
It’s fantastic that the Cinderella Castle Suite is put to use from time to time for charity. Even that is pretty infrequent, though, and it’s really unfortunate that this incredible space isn’t used on a nightly basis. I would also see it put to use on a daily basis–if Walt Disney World introduced a new behind-the-scenes tour that took guests inside the Cinderella Castle Suite, we’d be the first to book it.
Going forward, it’d be cool if there were a more egalitarian approach to Walt Disney World offering nights in the Cinderella Castle Suite on a regular basis, such as the random giveaways like during the Year of a Million Dreams. It was always incredibly exciting to see someone who was randomly selected return from their trip and post about it. You couldn’t help but feel happy for the winners, albeit with just a bit of good-natured jealousy. Few prizes at Walt Disney World are quite as exciting as a night in the Cinderella Castle Suite!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Happy to see that Walt Disney World is bringing back contests for overnight stays in the Cinderella Castle Suite? Pleased that the first fundraiser in ages is to support Give Kids the World? What would YOU pay to spend a night here (assuming no budgetary limitations)? Do you wish that Walt Disney World bring back random, daily giveaways of the Cinderella Castle Suite? 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!











Hi, Tried to purchase an entry today but it says it wants “Attendee 1″‘s information but yet I can not see anywhere to enter it.
Am I missing something?
Otherwise in the cart it just says the name is Attendee 1.
I didn’t know what to do so I did not complete the purchase. I tried doing it in Google Chrome.
Anyone have any thoughts/tips?
Thank you. I would like to donate to this and enter the contest. I know they do great work there.
Tom, Thank you for your post! I haven’t taken the bunny trail to see your Cinderella Castle Suite Photo Tour, yet. These pictures are phenomenal! Your pictures are always great! But these are just WOW! I can picture (no pun intended) myself there!
C’mon Disney open this up to your friends accross the pond. Don’t worry about the Air fare, I’ll swim the Atlantic if I win!
Great effort all around! I volunteered at GKTW and can only stress what a worthy cause and organization it is. Some of the stories I heard are still with me today.
My daughter had a Wish trip in 2018 and we stayed at GKTW Village and I can attest to how wonderful it is. From the huge villas families stay in (where kids get the big bedroom and bath) to the in village visits by Disney and Universal characters. Great included meals in the dining areas, including a full-service free ice cream parlor (ice cream for breakfast!). A few full-size amusement rides, train ride, arcade, etc. A beauty salon and a tremendous pool and splash area! It is so worth a $10 donation.
Also, we have been blessed to be invited to come back to visit (for an afternoon) any time we are in Orlando, and all Alumni Families can do the same. You can go back and experience the rides or pool if you like. Have lunch or go to the massive playground. Or visit your (child’s) star in the Castle of Miracles and Star Tower.
Great cause Tom, I’m definitely buying some chances. Question, what happens when the park closes? Do you have to report to the castle and they lock you in? It would really be cool if you could roam around the park for a while after closing! Also, I read your article on Crew’s Cup at the Yacht Club where you mentioned you lived in Indy for a while. We’re from Cincinnati and the Jeff Ruby steakhouses are fantastic. However, one of the best meals I’ve ever had was at St. Elmo’s. Great steak and the shrimp cocktail was fantastic…clears out your sinuses too!
Mark,
I remember reading about staying in the Castle Suite during the Year of a Million Dreams giveaways. I recall guests in the suite are assigned a cast member to assist them in any way they may need. That cast member is posted at the door of the suite through the night. If guests want to “wander” the park after closing, they can do so, on a limited basis, in the company of that cast member.
Thanks Klutch….appreciate the info!
Mark
You would be in the room for the night. You can’t really leave unless an emergency because of the work that gets done at night in the parks. The CM that is assigned has their own little room that they stay incase you need something. And the walls are thin, they can hear everything. And they have heard a lot.
Thank you for this. It is nice to learn about a charity doing such a wonderful thing for kids. I was very happy to donate, and appreciate you posting about this.
Would it be possible to do both method 1 and 2? Just wondering? Great cause for sure. Thanks for sharing.
Boo. US residents only, as usual!
Looks quite different than it did when it was the Kids of the Kingdom dressing room for castle shows.
Whoa whoa whoa, you can’t just drop a juicy comment like that without further elaboration. Are you saying you were part of the Kids of the Kingdom??!?
Anything else to share? We’ll take whatever stories we can get! 🙂
Ummmmm….PLEASE ELABORATE!!!!!
I was a MK Entertainment cast member back in the late 80’s to early 90’s — not a Kid of the Kingdom though. So I have spent the night at the castle for rehearsals! Not nearly as luxurious as this! 🙂
Thanks. Very happy to support Give Kids the World! And glad to show my appreciation to this site, too.
Great public service in posting this notice, Tom. Already purchased 10 tickets for a very worthy cause. The only problem is: we have four granddaughters, 8 and under, all raised as Disney princesses since birth. We have a tradition of taking each granddaughter to Disney World for her sixth birthday (no parents, no siblings, just the Birthday Girl and the Grandparents). If we are lucky enough to win this raffle, how do we resolve the numbers dilemma? You may want to consult with Sarah, because I already checked with my wife, and she is still laughing at me for thinking the choice could be made. Anyway, the Village has my money, and I feel good about that. Thanks for the heads-up.
“If we are lucky enough to win this raffle, how do we resolve the numbers dilemma?”
A raffle within a raffle, obviously.
Or a Festivus style Feats of Strength. Your call, really! 😉
I agree that they are using a very low retail value for the suite. Intentional or not, I think this is a good thing. I’m not an accountant, but my understanding is the winner will need to declare the ARV ($9,308) as income for tax purposes. If they used a “real” value of the suite, the tax burden could be so high that the winner had difficulty claiming the prize.
Also, hats off to Tom for promoting a great charity (including providing links showing that they are reputable)!
Excellent point!