I think that you can design the toys for free, but if you want to take home a copy of what you created on the screen, you must pay for it. They have other things that you can buy as a souvenir of the experience: artwork, video of the virtual coaster, copy of the music. I think that there is plenty to do without paying extra. My kids know that if we paid an admission, anything that costs extra comes out of their "long term savings" account. My youngest used his money to buy a copy of his virtual coaster creation and is still very happy with it almost two years later.