Disney Store locations nationwide host free 2017 Summer Play Days

With summer upon us, parents everywhere are searching for activities and entertainment to keep their little ones occupied without breaking the bank. Look no farther than your local mall to escape the heat and take advantage of quality, free programs for little ones.

Disney Store locations nationwide — including Orlando’s only retail site at Florida Mall — are again offering a summer’s worth of free daily activities and giveaways for kids ages 3 and older. Summer Play Days take place now through Aug. 9 and feature Story Time; Trivia; The Art of Drawing; and Showtime. These activities take place every day at 3 p.m.

During Story Time, each participating guest will receive a finger puppet to take the story home. For Trivia, players each will be given a set of Collector Cards, which can be used to play Character Counts and also fit together to form a poster when the participant has a full set.

Showtime invites kids to move along, dance, sing and become immersed in exciting worlds from Disney films and TV shows. This year’s stories include: Star Wars Adventures, Princess Gathering, Elena of Avalor, Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron Training Academy, Zootopia Training Academy, and Mickey and the Roadster Racers.

Plus, on each Wednesday (and one special Saturday), kids who participate in that day’s Summer Play Day activities can collect free embroidered patches depicting different Disney characters. Characters from “Cars 3” — which hit theaters this weekend — will be the first available this month. Many of the designs are based on the Disney Emoji series.

Here the patch distribution schedule:

June 10: Lightning McQueen
June 10: Mater (Disney Visa Card Member exclusive)
June 14: Cruz Ramirez
June 21: Pascal
June 28: Stormtrooper
July 5: Spider-Man
July 12: Jackson Storm
July 19: Olaf
July 26: BB-8
Aug. 2: Iron Man
Aug. 9: Stitch

Guests who have collected all of the character patches at the end of the summer will receive an exclusive Mickey Mouse & Minnie Mouse patch on Aug. 9 when they present their collection of 10 patches.

Participation in activities is required to receive a patch. Each session is limited to store capacity, and no line can be formed more than 30 minutes before the event.

The Disney Emoji collection can be found on a variety of products sold at Disney Stores, including swimwear and accessories, such as towels and flip flops; plush faces; pillows, mugs; T-shirts; water bottles; and customizable bags and aprons.