Cash or Disney gift card for tweens to spend at WDW?

[opus_00]

Our kids were given cash for Christmas and birthdays to spend on our upcoming Disney trip. We told them that they can spend that money however they would like on souvenirs, clothing, etc., and when it's gone, it's gone. They have to budget it and decide what's important to them.

Would you recommend having a 12 year-old bring the cash, or put it on a Disney gift card and have him keep track of the balance?

 

[lanejudy]

Are the kids used to watching a gift card balance? Or do they usually spend it all at once (like $25 gift card for birthday and buy 1 item at that price or higher)? If they are familiar with watching the declining balance then a gift card is fine. If they aren't used to doing that, I'd have them take the cash because the visual of letting go of that cash each transaction has more impact than watching a declining balance on a receipt. I hope that made sense.

Either way -- find a good wallet or lanyard or whatever for them to carry either the gift card or cash. If lost, neither one can be recovered easily.

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

I'd say it depends on how much money we are talking.
If you know they will spend it all then go ahead and do a gift card.
If its kind of a lot and you're not sure if they will use it all then I would not do a gift card because then you will have money left on it that can only be used for Disney.
If you're staying onsite you could also go the route of you keeping the cash and letting them charge it back to the room reservation but that gets a little more tricky because they could more easily lose track of how much they are spending and you wind up having a bigger bill then you wanted.

 

[DisneyTexan]

If its kind of a lot and you're not sure if they will use it all then I would not do a gift card because then you will have money left on it that can only be used for Disney.

When my daughter was young I would tell her on the next to last day of vacation that if the money wasn't spent by the end of the day, then I would "repo" the card and spend the remaining balance for lunch on the last day. So if the child has $20 on the card, take the card and spend it, and reimburse the child with $20 cash.

If its a lot of money, then this strategy might not work.

 

[MommaKetch]

Would you recommend having a 12 year-old bring the cash, or put it on a Disney gift card and have him keep track of the balance?

Here is another option we use that could apply. My DS13 has my old iPhone (wifi only, no cell), and his own ApplePay account under our family. He uses that via Tap Pay for buying things at the parks.

No gift card or cash to keep track of, and he was careful with the phone. I can add money to his account from my phone when needed. This is also how we pay him for extra projects/jobs around the house.

 

[amcnj]

Maybe I would have them take some cash or a not too large gift card, as I know some kids get a thrill paying for things themselves. But assuming it is not just a small amount, I might not want them carrying all of it around at one time. If they just had to have something and didn’t have enough on them, I could charge it and they could pay me back at the end of the day or something.

 

[_19disnA]

Chances are your 12 yr old will always be with an adult while at Disney who can hold the gift card/money for them, so I don't think it makes that much of a difference. In either case, they can be responsible for tracking the 'balance' either cash or on a gift card which would be good experience for them.

 

[Mle8308]

I might put it on a VISA card that you can buy at a grocery store or online, if you are worried about them losing cash. Again, as others have mentioned, depending on how much cash you are talking. They may not want to spend it all at Disney, and if it's on a Disney gift card, the money is pretty much tied up.

 

[barkley]

They may not want to spend it all at Disney, and if it's on a Disney gift card, the money is pretty much tied up.

very true-i had the one kid that would spend it all at Disney (or the Disney outlet) while the other was mentally calculating how many video games that vacation spending money would buy upon our return.

 

[MabelM]

My kids have received gift cards and I have taken them from them and we keep track of what they spend. They are a little older now, but we didn’t want them to lose the gift cards. They spent their money differently, but both knew that the gift card was the limit. My younger guy is more about spending it immediately and my older guy is more deliberate.

Cash gives them more flexibility if they decide not to spend it all. I would do the approach of a prior poster who said they the gift card balance and reimburse the cash. We do that all the time with gift cards for stores where we shop. I’d rather have my kids put money in the bank than blow a gift card on something they don’t need or really want. They have done plenty of that already in their lifetimes!

 

[rdaky]

We are fans of using cards like Greenlight or GoHenry for kids. If they have a phone, they can use an app that will tell them the balance. It's a lot easier to keep track of the balance than on a gift card. And then if they have leftover money, they can take it home with them and spend it. And it's a really easy way for grandparents to send money for birthdays, etc.

 

[Mle8308]

very true-i had the one kid that would spend it all at Disney (or the Disney outlet) while the other was mentally calculating how many video games that vacation spending money would buy upon our return.

That’s my nephew, too!

 

[loves to dive]

It really depends on your child and how responsible or not they are. Personally, when I was 12 I was already babysitting and earning my own money. We didn't get an allowance and didn't get paid for doing chores around the house since we were supposed to do those any way and well, it was a different time so you didn't not want to do your chores. Anyway, I had my own money to spend and let me tell you, I learned how to pinch a penny since it was my money and I earned it. So, for me, cash would have been fine since I probably wouldn't have spent it. If your kid hasn't had a lot of cash a gift card might be better. The Disney ones always have the balance on the bottom of the receipt when you by something so keeping track of how much is left is pretty easy. If you put it in some sort of lanyard there is a better chance it's not going to get lost or pulled out of a pocket with something else and dropped. At that age my son would have done well with either and would have been very deliberate about what he spent it on. Again, different time (he is nigh on to 45 now) and I was a single mom so he knew how to sort of budget.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Cash.

Around 13 on a fieldtrip I lost my cash for a brief moment as it fell from my pocket unbeknownst to me. Thankfully a stranger was kind, saw it fall from my pocket and returned it. Without it I would have had no lunch- so boy did I make sure not to lose it again! Have the kid bring the cash and manage it themselves. The guardrails are about to start coming off of your 12yo. If they lose it now- at least the only thing they'll miss out on is a souvenir and 100% they'll be more careful next time they need to manage their cash.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Also, remind the kids that you'll be going to different parks/souvenir stops. One child might be content with a Star Wars t-shirt and nothing else, while another might enjoy poking around the shops at Epcot endlessly. Nothing wrong with either shopping style, but they'll have to plan ahead--maybe 1/4 of the money budgeted per park, with the balance rolled over? Extra budgeted for a favorite shopping venue? Are snacks funded by the Bank of Mom and Dad, or do the kids pay (or a little of both--you pay for the Mickey bar, but extra candy is on them?)

In general, I would give them as much independence as you think they can handle.

 

[opus_00]

Are the kids used to watching a gift card balance? Or do they usually spend it all at once (like $25 gift card for birthday and buy 1 item at that price or higher)? If they are familiar with watching the declining balance then a gift card is fine. If they aren't used to doing that, I'd have them take the cash because the visual of letting go of that cash each transaction has more impact than watching a declining balance on a receipt. I hope that made sense.

Either way -- find a good wallet or lanyard or whatever for them to carry either the gift card or cash. If lost, neither one can be recovered easily.

I like the idea of a lanyard for carrying the cash/gift card. We have some good lanyards with zippered compartments that we used to bring in the old days where you needed physical admission media for park entry and fast passes.

 

[opus_00]

Chances are your 12 yr old will always be with an adult while at Disney who can hold the gift card/money for them, so I don't think it makes that much of a difference. In either case, they can be responsible for tracking the 'balance' either cash or on a gift card which would be good experience for them.

That's a good point. I may keep his wallet in my bag and just give it to him when he is ready to make a purchase. I'm leaning toward doing cash since I remember that some of the shops at Disney Springs are not Disney-owned and may not accept Disney gift cards.

 

[opus_00]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. There are lots of good points to consider here. I'm considering a "hybrid" approach of putting a smaller amount on a gift card that he carries with him, and keeping the rest of the cash with me for safety. The 12 year-old is not used to carrying a wallet around, so there is some concern there about it getting misplaced. The goal is to have them manage their own "fun" money and discourage begging for just one last thing!

If we do choose to put some amount on a Disney gift card, will the gift cards sold at retailers like Target work at the parks and shops at WDW, or is there a different gift card for that?

 

[WDW_fan_in_TX]

I'd just do cash. Tweens aren't going to keep up with the amount left on gift cards and might get there to pay for food and not have enough funds. So I'd send cash so they can keep up with what they've spent/ have left.

 

[lsutigers03]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. There are lots of good points to consider here. I'm considering a "hybrid" approach of putting a smaller amount on a gift card that he carries with him, and keeping the rest of the cash with me for safety. The 12 year-old is not used to carrying a wallet around, so there is some concern there about it getting misplaced. The goal is to have them manage their own "fun" money and discourage begging for just one last thing!

If we do choose to put some amount on a Disney gift card, will the gift cards sold at retailers like Target work at the parks and shops at WDW, or is there a different gift card for that?

If you're worried about them losing anything I think a Disney Gift Card would be best. You can always get them at a discount and if it is lost you can have extra cards to move the funds to and you don't lose anything.