When it comes to visiting Disney World, many visitors choose to stay at a Disney World hotel.

Staying at Disney World hotels comes with perks.

Why? Well, many of us like staying in the Disney bubble. If you stay on-property, you also get some special Disney perks, like Early Theme Park Entry (available at all of Disney’s resorts) and Extended Evening Hours (available at deluxe resorts). There’s also the perk of having easy access to Disney transportation. However, there are two NEW Disney World hotel perks that many visitors just aren’t loving.

Hey, Disney!

Disney World has been rolling out a new voice assistant service using Alexa on Amazon Echo devices called “Hey, Disney!“ The service can assist guests with things like room amenities, guest services, planning, and weather information, but with a Disney touch.

Hey, Disney at Art of Animation Resort

Hey, Disney does all this PLUS allows guests to interact with Disney characters via the device, play trivia, get jokes, play ambient Disney sounds, and more. However, some people staying in Disney World hotels aren’t big fans of the service. Why? Well, the device is “always on” meaning it is always listening in on what you’re saying — even if you’re not interacting with it.

Hey, Disney at Saratoga Springs

There are privacy concerns about devices that are in “always listening” mode, and some visitors may not know how to turn the device off. However, all you have to do if you have these concerns is to unplug it. Yep, just unplug the device and leave it unplugged for the duration of your stay.

Just unplug the device if you don’t want it listening

A lot of the same information you can get from Hey, Disney! can be found on your hotel TV, although if you have special room requests (like if you need extra towels), you can pick up the in-room phone to do that.

5 Ways the “Hey, Disney” Device Can Help You At Disney World

Disney Character Clicks

One of the most fun things you can do in Disney World is meet characters, right? Who doesn’t want to hug Mickey and get a photo with him? However, Disney has introduced a way to “meet” characters at the hotels that some guests might not enjoy. 

Who doesn’t want to meet Mickey in person?

That service is Character Clicks, and it’s available in the lobbies at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort and Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort for a limited time. It’s basically a photo booth with complimentary PhotoPass service where you can take a photo with a character…sort of.

Character Clicks at All-Star Movies

It works like this: you can tap your MagicBand, Key to the World Card, or Disney MagicMobile Pass to the reader on the box and then select the character you want to appear digitally in a photo with you. Each character is wearing their 100th Anniversary outfits, but as we said, the characters are digital.

The Options

You can select multiple characters to “appear” in your photo, and you can get a download of the photo for free, which makes it an easy way to get photos with some of your favorite characters. However, you’ll be missing out on the extra fun that comes with meeting characters in person — you can’t hug the characters or have any kind of interaction with them.

Here’s More About Character Clicks 

So if you’re staying in a Disney World hotel soon, you’re now aware of two new perks that you may or may not like. You’ll still be available to take advantage of other benefits that come with staying at a Disney World hotel, though.

Stay tuned to DFB for more!

FULL LIST of Changes Announced for Disney World Hotels

What do you think of these two Disney World hotel perks? Let us know in the comments!