Over the years that we’ve spent in Disney World, we’ve received plenty of surprises!

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Some were not-so-great like when our favorite rides closed unexpectedly or when we got rained on or when a parade or performance was canceled for technical issues. But other times, we’ve been the recipients of a little “pixie dust” that made our experience in the parks a bit brighter. And one of those magical moments happened recently in Disney’s Hollywood Studios!

If you’re walking around the parks, you’ll often see Cast Members out and about with little free games and activities — typically geared toward children. These little games are typically easy to set up things like hopscotch, hoop tosses, trivia, and the like.

They’re often set up as a way to entertain guests on particularly crowded days, or as an alternate offering in front of a ride or attraction when that attraction is closed for technical difficulties.

Cast Members with games in Frontierland

We’ve played these games ourselves many times in the past, and most of the time, the Cast Member will give you a sticker for playing. But on a recent visit to Hollywood Studios, we were surprised with a special treat!

Outside of Alien Swirling Saucers in Toy Story Land, we saw Cast Members hosting a game of “Hangclaw.” It’s like Hangman except it’s themed to the Toy Story films. Of course, we had to play along!

We won!

After a few wrong letters, we figured out the puzzle — it was “Rex!” And for winning the game, the Cast Members gave us a very unexpected prize…a free Lightning Lane to Alien Swirling Saucers. Check it out in our video below!

Some Disney Magic for your feed✨

We played a game of Hangclaw in Toy Story Land & WON, but the prize wasn’t just pride…we got a Lightning Lane to Alien Swirling Saucers! 🚀 This doesn’t ALWAYS happen, which is why we felt lucky today, but it’s still fun to play the games! pic.twitter.com/NvoGRfUzj7

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) May 9, 2023

This was a VERY RARE thing to happen! Back in the days when FastPass was used in the parks and it was free, it was more common to get complimentary FastPasses from time to time, but we’ve hardly ever seen this happen since Genie+ and Lightning Lanes were introduced. So don’t go playing the games expecting to win a Lightning Lane for a nearby ride — we expect this only happened because Alien Swirling Saucers wasn’t too busy that day. 

It wasn’t busy!

This was just another one of those fun “surprise and delight” moments that happen every once in a while in Disney World. We’ve dealt with a lot of unexpected problems during our trips to the parks, but the Cast Members are the ones who make the REAL magic happen!

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Have you ever had something like this happen in Disney World? Tell us in the comments!