Disney Dollars

[TOMAR@SSR]

Hi
Its soooo hard to put MONEY away for the future these days, and saving Disney Dollars helps me to SAVE!!! Even if I tried to put away cash money, when It is time to leave for WDW I`d probably be wondering," where is the money I saved!!
Soooo every now and then, We get some DD @ the DS, and by the time we leave, everyone has some spending CASH!

 

[Dis2times]

Wow, so if we have more than we use we can get cash for them before we leave?

ITA about saving. For us if there is any way for us to access the cash, we will if we think we need it or if something else comes up. Can't spend Disney Dollars anywhere else (except for the DS, and we don't go there much) so for us it is a way to make SURE we save.

Plus, we do our entire trips in cash. Not a single credit card used. So I think the tradeoff is good. Yeah, we don't earn interest on what we get in Disney Dollars and spend at WDW, but neither does Visa.

 

[mom23boys]

I have been saving Disney Dollars for about a year. Yes I could put the money in a savings account, but it would be gone. Three kids something always pops up. So far I have $300 for our trip in August.

 

[celtick8]

If you buy DD at home and donot use all of it, can you still change it out at the bank on main street? Or do you have to have a receipt?

 

[DonnaBelle2005]

I have to agree with what you are saying....

We too are a family that will spend our entire week (Nov 20-27) at an offsite pool home and we pay "cash only" without the use of a credit card. I am going to start buying DD's, and with my kids bdays coming up (next week and the week after), I plan on giving them each $20 in DDs to start saving for our trip.

I too am bad at saving so I will also be buying myself DDs and not telling DH. It will be fun seeing how much $$ I have by November! (Plus he/I both do the change jar by the bed to see who will save more by October 31, 2005.)

THANKS for the tips!
Donna in Maryland
1st family WDW trip Nove 20-27, 2005 for Thanksgiving!

 

[Cindy's Mom]

I like the idea of a contest for the change jar. We cash in our chance twice a year, once for Disney and once for 4th of July weekend. Our jar holds about $350; so its always extra special spending money. We actually have two jars going now for Disney, will filled it up in November and started the second one, there are even dollar bills in there too, not many, but they're there. I think DH and I are especially excited about this trip as the kids are 3 and 4 and a little bit more manageable. We've been travelling with them since each was 6 months old and each time it gets easier, "less baby gear" to bring with.

 

[jenelope]

The peace of mind I get from knowing that I can't spend my vacation money before I actually go on vacation is worth the $2 total that I might get in interest from my credit union's Vacation Club Savings Account.

I just wish that they made D$ in larger denominations. I probably won't be using them this trip because I don't relish standing at the reception desk for ages while they count all those tens.

 

[hambirg]

I used my Disney Visa to buy our Disney Dollars before our last trip, kind of a double bonus. I bought $80 for my DD8. I gave her one $10 every morning and she had to buy her snacks and souvenirs with it. It was soo worth the peace of mind! No begging for this and that. She actually did really well. Our last day she had $50 left to spend. We went to DTD and she bought a nice shirt for herself and some small things for her friends.

 

[lovesdumbo]

Last Jan after my 3rd baby turned 1 I decided it was time to loose some weight. I rewarded myself with $10 for every pound lost. I figured I was saving money by not stopping at Dunkin Donuts every morning and brown bagging my lunch more often. And I would also buy Disney Dollars when I got rebates. I "earned" $550 in DD and ended up with $750 total for our October trip which I purchased using the Disney Visa. I was going to use them to purchase our annual passes at the Disney Store but decided to use my Visa for those as well to get the rewards for the trip. I just brought the $750 with me and put it on my room when we arrived.

I haven't lost much weight since my October trip but recently decided the New Year was a good time to get on track again. Unfortunately my Disney Store just closed so I guess I'll have to open a savings account to start this year's Disney reward system.

 

[DVCconvert]

You are better off saving money in a designated savings account than you are buying Disney Dollars. Buying disney dollars is essentially making an interest free loan to the Disney Corp.

--->While I agree buying DD$ is basically an interest loan to WDC, I disagree with the first above comment. Let's say you buy $500 DD$'s six months in advance of a trip. You got the 'cash in hand'. The only "advantage" of puting those funds into a savings account would the the half of one percent interest paid ( approx. $1.25 ). I prefer to 'lock up' the cash (I can spend DD$ on a new golf set) .

 

[jenr812]

So, just to clarify, the DD$s are only sold AT the Disney store?

 

[DMRick]

So, just to clarify, the DD$s are only sold AT the Disney store?

*************
The ones I show "padded" for my grands in another thread, were bought at guest services, downtown disney.

 

[DVCconvert]

So, just to clarify, the DD$s are only sold AT the Disney store?

No. Disney Dollars can be purchased from any guest services window at any park. Resort hotel front desks may also have them, and they can also be ordered via mail (at least from now until May). And yes, they are sold at the Disney Stores as well.

 

[CheapMom]

What happens to Disney dollars once they are spent? Are they destroyed or recirculated?
anyone know?

 

[beattyfamily]

What happens to Disney dollars once they are spent? Are they destroyed or recirculated?
anyone know?

That's a good question! I'd like to know too! All I can say about that is that I've bought many many Disney dollars and I've never ever had one given to me that 'looked' used in any way. So who knows!

 

[tubachick]

My kids ask for Disney Dollars for christmas and birthdays, they save for trips. or to use at the disney store (however I Think that changed when they were bought by the childrens place).

 

[DVCconvert]

I am told that after 'redemption' they are routinely destroyed.

 

[SunFloridaDisney]

I can see saving up over a long period of time makes more sense to put your money in something that will pay interest.

However, we're going to the World in just a few months, and I've recently been getting Disney Dollars each paycheck, just a bit, so that by the time the trip rolls around, I'll have a nice little amount to spend.

On a different direction though, Saturday I was at our local Disney Store, and they were running out of the Dollars. One CM told me she can't get anymore in, is waiting on Disney to send new ones, which are being redesigned for the 50th anniversary celebration. Has anyone else run into this?

 

[DMRick]

Lots of the ones I have have been used. Some are several years old. When I go them, they had to take from each drawer, and said they are only given $25 to start the day with. I needed $60 ($20 for each pad).