In Disney's Hollywood Studios, tour the animation exhibit, then line up at the animation studio door. A Disney animator will teach a class on how to draw a classic Disney character. The animators teach a different character at each session, and you have no advance notice of which character you'll be drawing during each class. The class holds 25-30 people, lasts about half an hour and is free. You may get lucky and find Fantasia Mickey right outside your classroom, just as you finish drawing him.
If you're traveling with a small child, go to the Harmony Barbershop on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom. If you get your child's first haircut there, he will get a special cut, Mickey Mouse ears made for the occasion and a certificate celebrating this special event.
If you are a guest at any of the Disney resorts, spend an evening at Fort Wilderness with your family. There are sing-alongs around the campfire, marshmallow roasts and Disney movies on an outside screen. All of it is free.
If you are celebrating your birthday in any of the parks, make your first stop the Guest Services desk. Tell them it's your birthday, and you will be presented with a special birthday pin to wear all day. You never know what magical things could happen because of this pin. You may be presented with free Mickey Mouse ears, characters may sing to you in the street, you may get a phone call from Goofy on a house phone, and desserts or treats may be free. Nothing is guaranteed, but many happy things have been known to happen on birthdays in Walt Disney World. It's just up to the imagination of the cast members you meet that day.
Walt Disney World is full of little surprises to discover in all of the parks. In the Magic Kingdom at Cinderella Castle, sit on the ledge outside and you can hear Stitch giggling, whispering that he's hiding. Outside the Haunted Mansion is a wedding ring embedded in the cement. There are claw marks in the floor of the Country Bear Jamboree. In Epcot, open the crates at the African Outpost to get a surprise. In Hollywood Studios, find the key under the mat at the entrance of the Muppets attraction, and pull the rope in the well near the Indiana Jones Adventure. There are many more for you to discover, so look everywhere.
