Credit: DisneyWay back before Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane and guests being glued to their phones, you would have to walk up to a kiosk and take a paper Lightning Lane ticket to skip the line. It was random, egalatiarn, and free. And that’s what made it great.
One of the best things about the old system, other than it being free, was that if you happened to have an extra Lightning Lane pass or your plans changed, you could surprise a random stranger in line and let them skip the line. It was the Disney World version of paying it forward.
With Disney monetizing the Lightning Lane passes, and just about everything else, those days are long gone. However, some guests have found a way to pay it forward and help families who are struggling with Disney World vacations due to the rising costs.
The Disney World “Buy Nothing” movement may seem oxymoronic, but it’s been around for years. And with Disney World raising prices on just about everything at the parks, it’s become more important then ever to allow families to continue enjoying the Disney World magic.
The Washington Post took a deep dive into the Disney World “Buy Nothing” trend and found that thousands of guests use it during their trips via various Facebook groups. Essentially, it works like this: if you happen to have leftover water, snacks, or that enormous stroller that you can’t put on the airplane, you post it on one of the Facebook groups for free and someone who needs it will come to your hotel room to pick it up.
Disney World guests have even posted refillable mugs with some days left or full dinners at various counter service restaurants. Some have even used their remaining Disney Dining credits to pay for meals at sit down restaurants for strangers across the room.
If those unused items were going to be thrown out, what better way to help your fellow Disney World fan than to give them something for free. Many families have been using this system to help defray the costs of a Disney World vacation, and as that cost continues to rise, more and more families are trying it out.
So, the next time you’re checking out of your Disney World Resort Hotel and you have a few items leftover, put them on Facebook and make someone’s vacation that much better and just a little bit easier.
Have you used “Buy Nothing” Disney World on Facebook before? Let us know in the comments.