Guide to Disney World V.I.PASSHOLDER Summer Days: 2026 Dates & Discounts, Free Magnet & Lounge

Walt Disney World has revealed details about some of the new perks and freebies during V.I.PASSHOLDER Summer Days, including a return of the fan-favorite lounge at EPCOT, discounts, magnet & more. This covers everything we know so far, plus some speculation, and thoughts on the lounge moving to Morocco from Sunshine Seasons.

For starters, V.I.PASSHOLDER Days (or VIP Passholder Days, if you want to sound it out and remove the yelling) is a limited-time offering just for Annual Passholders at Walt Disney World Resort. It’s the company’s way of saying ‘thank you’ for being a Walt Disney World Annual Passholder!

V.I.Passholder Summer Days will occur between May 1 and July 31, 2026 at Walt Disney World. For reference, last year’s event started May 14 and ended on the same date. This makes the 2026 V.I.Passholder Summer Days a little over two weeks longer than last year, or a full month longer than the event was two years ago.

The in-park focus of the ‘event’ appears to be at EPCOT so far, but like last year, there will probably also be offerings at Animal Kingdom. APs will be able to take advantage of exclusive perks and discounts throughout the parks and resorts during the month-long appreciation event. Let’s dig into the details, starting with the official announcement from Walt Disney World:

The 2026 event is once again being called V.I.Passholder Summer Days, whereas previous events have been V.I.Passholder Days. This could be an inconsequential branding change…or it could be opening the door for more AP days in other seasons, aside from summer. August and September are the two slowest months of the year, after all.

Walt Disney World has now revealed details of the special perks Annual Passholders can enjoy during V.I.PASSHOLDER Summer Days. Here’s everything you can expect during the event…

Toy Story Magnet

One fan-favorite of V.I.Passholder Days is the exclusive magnet character and design. This year, the magnet design showcases Woody and Buzz Lightyear. The Toy Story magnet will be available while supplies last throughout VIPASSHOLDER Summer Days, from park opening until closing.

The free magnet will be available at Creations Shop in EPCOT from May 1 through July 31, 2026. It comes just after the debut of the reimagined Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin at Magic Kingdom (park-to-park synergy, baby!), as well as the Toy Story topiary at the front entrance of EPCOT for Flower & Garden Festival.

Each Passholder must be present and show their valid Annual Pass card, linked MagicBand, MagicBand+ or Disney MagicMobile pass, and a government-issued photo ID to receive a magnet. Learn how to link your pass to your Disney account.

Limit one magnet per Passholder. Disney’s normal terms and conditions for this kinda thing apply. (E.g. not responsible for any lost, stolen or damaged magnets. All offerings, dates, hours of operation and locations are subject to availability, and change, closure or cancellation without notice.)

To enter EPCOT, you will need valid admission and a reservation for EPCOT on the same date or you can enter EPCOT without a reservation on a “good-to-go” day or after 2 p.m., subject to block-out dates. EPCOT should end up having a lot of “good-to-go” days during V.I.PASSHOLDER Days, so you should be…good to go!

V.I.PASSHOLDER Summer Days Dining Discount

Passholders can save 40% at select dining locations for a limited time this summer, Monday to Thursday only. These savings are available as part of V.I.PASSHOLDER Summer Days.

Save 20% at the following restaurants—valid Monday to Thursday only from May 1 through July 31, 2026:

• Be Our Guest Restaurant (lunch only)*
• The Crystal Palace (lunch and dinner)*

Save 40% at the following restaurants—valid Monday to Thursday only from May 1 through July 31, 2026:

• Biergarten Restaurant (lunch only)*
• Coral Reef Restaurant (dinner only)
• Garden Grill Restaurant (lunch and dinner)*
• Hollywood & Vine (breakfast, lunch and dinner)
• Tiffins Restaurant (dinner only)
• Tusker House Restaurant (lunch and dinner)
• Boatwright’s Dining Hall (dinner only)
• Cape May Cafe (dinner only)
• Toledo – Tapas, Steak & Seafood (dinner)
• Whispering Canyon Cafe (brunch and dinner)

*Denotes a restaurant new to the V.I.PASSHOLDER Summer Days dining discount in 2026.

Valid Monday through Thursday only at participating locations, dine-in only, during the dates indicated above. Discounts apply to the regular price and exclude alcoholic beverages, tax and gratuity. Discounts are not valid on certain items and cannot be combined with any other discount, offer or promotion.

Discounts are only for the use of Passholders and, unless otherwise noted, up to 3 Guests during each location’s regular operating hours. At the time of purchase, Passholders must present their valid Annual Pass ID in the Tickets and Passes section of their My Disney Experience app and a valid photo ID.

There are some fantastic restaurants on this list, including some that make our list of the 26 Best Restaurants at Walt Disney World for 2026 (or are honorable mentions). Sadly, many of our favorite restaurants are also unpopular ones, which is why they’re getting this aggressive discount. In addition to the restaurants we highlight, I’d also add that Toledo – Tapas, Steak & Seafood was once again just recognized by the Michelin Guide Florida.

Passholder Lounge at EPCOT

Relax in the comfort of a Passholder-exclusive lounge—at EPCOT available as part of V.I.PASSHOLDER Summer Days. (Note that Walt Disney World has not yet confirmed this as returning for 2026, but it’s expected to be part of AP Appreciation yet again, so we’re retaining last year’s details here.)

Exclusive to Annual Passholders, the Passholder Lounge at Restaurant Marrakesh in the Morocco Pavilion is a great place to unwind during a fun-filled day at EPCOT. The free AP lounge is subject to availability on a first-come, first-served basis.

Each Annual Passholder must be present and show their valid AP card, linked MagicBand, MagicBand+ or Disney MagicMobile pass, as well as a valid government-issued photo ID to be eligible to enter the VIP Passholder lounge at EPCOT.

If you’re unfamiliar with the location of this lounge, it’s deep in the Morocco pavilion down a dead-end corridor–this area is only home to Restaurant Marrakesh.

Pre-closure, Restaurant Marrakesh was not particularly popular. This was likely in part due to its more exotic cuisine, but location played a bigger role. Due to that, there was routinely a Cast Member in the front courtyard of Morocco beaconing guests back, showing menus and touting the (underrated) restaurant.

Even after the third party operating participant exited the Morocco pavilion and turned over operations to Disney, the restaurant has remained closed since March 2020. Again, unsurprising. There’s definitely enough demand to justify opening Restaurant Marrakesh at this point, but there are still staffing shortages…especially for face characters. But the future of Restaurant Agrabah is a different story for a different day!

I’m very excited for Annual Passholders to go inside Restaurant Marrakesh, many for the very first time, and discover this beautiful space. While we’ve been publicizing the Florida Blue Lounge for the last several years, many never went, assuming it was only for Florida Blue Members. It wasn’t, but there were a lot of miscommunications about that.

Restaurant Marrakesh largely maintains its opening day appearance with ornate design and stunning details. Morocco is a country of “timeless wonders” with ancient mosques, synagogues, souks, churches, and kasbahs where the art and architecture have been designed and refined over centuries.

The setting is truly transportive, feeling worlds away from a contemporary theme park in Florida. From tile work to the tea dispensers to the ceilings and (especially) the light fixtures, Restaurant Marrakesh is an opulent exemplar of old world Morocco–and old school Imagineering aesthetic sensibilities.

My only concern is crowds. I went to the Florida Blue Lounge several times during last year’s EPCOT Food & Wine Festival. During the first two months, it was relatively uncrowded. Busier than the previous year, which was busier than the year before that, but still a pleasant experience with plenty of empty tables.

The last few times I went in November, it was a madhouse. Granted, these were on busier days, but it had definitely felt like word had gotten out. And that was without Walt Disney World ever posting about the lounge. The only way people knew it existed was via blogs like this one, and even with our explanation, many readers still thought it was only for Florida Blue Members. We also overheard conversations with Cast Members at the entrance essentially saying that was the case. (Again, it wasn’t! All you needed was the guest pass, which could be obtained easily.)

This will have better awareness and it’ll be in a cooler location than last year’s AP lounge in Sunshine Seasons, so it stands to reason that more Annual Passholders will seek out the lounge this year. As such, we’d expect a line to enter–especially during the first week of V.I.PASSHOLDER Days, all weekends, after work/school, and other busier dates. Our recommendation would be going as close to noon as possible, or towards the end of the evening. Even if there’s a line, it’ll be worth some amount of waiting just to see inside this really cool restaurant!

Ultimately, V.I.Passholder Days is an interesting initiative for boosting attendance at EPCOT and Animal Kingdom during shoulder season and summer, trying to win back alienated ex-Annual Passholders, and more. After a few years of Walt Disney World being able to ‘get away’ with pretty much anything and still see record guest spending and insatiable demand, consumers now appear to once again have more leverage.

This should be an interesting saga to follow, and it’s almost certain that we haven’t seen the end of Walt Disney World’s efforts to woo back former fans and pull “levers” to incentivize more demand and guest spending, especially if May through July 2026 prove to be as slow as the same months last year. V.I.PASSHOLDER Days should be great for Annual Passholders, especially for those who never got the chance to dine at Restaurant Marrakesh (we’re excited for you to see inside!).

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

YOUR THOUGHTS

Will you be taking advantage of V.I.PASSHOLDER Days from May 1 through July 31, 2026? Are you an Annual Passholder? Thoughts on the V.I.PASSHOLDER Days, or the latest merchandise and resort discounts? Will you be taking advantage of any of this? If you cancelled your Walt Disney World AP, have any of the recent changes made you revisit that decision? Hopeful that more perks, discounts, etc. are on the horizon as pent-up demand exhausts itself and there’s a slowdown at Walt Disney World? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? 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!