A million volunteers get free Disney tickets

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — One million people have signed up for a day of volunteer work in exchange for a free one-day ticket to a Disney theme park.

Under the "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" program, Disney is giving a free day's admission to any park at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., or at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla., provided the volunteer work has been performed and certified by the HandsOn Network, a clearinghouse for volunteer opportunities.

The program was announced last fall but the program rules required that the volunteer work take place this year.

Disney said Tuesday that the program had reached its cap of 1 million people registering just 10 weeks after volunteers began signing up Jan. 1. Although registration for the free tickets is now closed, those who were certified for the program by the HandsOn Network have until Dec. 15 to redeem their free park ticket. Some blackout dates apply.

"By any measure, the 'Give a Day, Get a Disney Day' program exceeded our expectations," said Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, While volunteers can no longer get free tickets to the Disney theme parks, anyone interested in volunteering can still look for opportunities through the HandsOn Network at http://HandsOnNetwork.org.