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Disney Dreamlight Valley: How to get pets and companions

Farming is much more fun with a squirrel egging you on.

Disney Dreamlight Valley is home to many a familiar face, whisked away from their usual Disney universe and into the valley. The good news is that there’s even more content on the way! Remy and WALL-E are certainly enough to have me hooked on this surprisingly pleasant Disney title, and the fact players can also choose a pet-like companion to follow them around is merely an added bonus.

On that note, how do you actually get a pet or companion in Disney Dreamlight Valley? It’s certainly not as simple as singing to the birds, like you’d maybe expect from a Disney game, but it isn’t actually too far from that.

In this guide, we’ve explained how to get new companions or pets in Disney Dreamlight Valley, and how to assign yourself a new one!


How do I get companions or pets in Disney Dreamlight Valley?

There are a few ways to get your hands on a pet or companion in Disney Dreamlight Valley. One of them requires a little patience, while the other requires taking part in events!

Feed Critters each day

Two Critters from each species, such as squirrels or raccoons, will appear each day; these are typically distinguishable by colour. For example, you'll get red and black squirrels. These are animals from the same species, but they're different variants, and this is important!

You’ll also only be able to feed each individual Critter once each day. However, after feeding that same Critter two days in a row, they’ll be unlocked as a pet that can follow you wherever you go. This is where variants of each Critter matters; if you encounter a red squirrel, you'll need to feed that red squirrel twice to unlock it. The same goes for other variants of squirrel, and this applies to all Critters.

A player looks at a sunbird in Disney Dreamlight Valley
I didn't have a bromeliad to hand, and can confirm sunbirds do not like milkweeds as an alternative.

For this to work properly, you’ll need to ensure you feed the Critters their favourite food. We detailed exactly what each animal likes, and how you should approach them, in our guide to all the Critters and their favourite food across Disney Dreamlight Valley.

Check out Events

In the events tab of the Disney Dreamlight Valley menu, you can take part in various events that’ll reward you for completing tasks across the valley. Your rewards will be a form of token that can then be exclusively spent on items from that event’s reward shop, which takes the form of a pass.

At the time of writing, the ongoing event is the Pixar Fest. In exchange for completing simple activities such as selling meals, mining, farming, and nothing out of the ordinary from what you’d be doing anyway, you’ll earn Pixar tokens to spend. Some of the items are, however, locked behind a premium pass that can be purchased using Moonstone; a currency you can fortunately earn in-game.

The events menu in Disney Dreamlight Valley, featuring Pixar Fest
IncrediSquirrel.

That said, some of the rewards you can spend your hard-earned tokens on include companions. The Pixar Fest event is privy to a neat, badass-looking squirrel in The Incredibles gear, and I look forward to what other dressed-up Critters appear in the future!

How do I set my companion in Disney Dreamlight Valley?

After having fed a Critter their favourite food twice, you’ll have unlocked them as a companion or pet. Next, all you need to do is open your Wardrobe menu and choose to select a companion. Then, all of your unlocked companions will appear for you to choose from!

A player has the companions menu open in Disney Dreamlight Valley

That’s it for companions and pets in Disney Dreamlight Valley, and while my Incredibles squirrel is cool and all, I think I’ll be sticking with Choco Crocodile. For more on what you can do across the valley, spend some time levelling your friendships, and why not look into upgrading your house while you’re at it?

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