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!