Disney gift card

[disneydreamer74]

I am thinking of purchasing disney gift cards in advance to set aside just for dining. Are there any restaurants or shops that do not accept the gift card? How about DTD? We usually end up eating there quite a bit.

 

[grumpyskirtgirl]

I would be interested in knowing this as well since I was considering doing the same thing....

TIA!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

The gift card is accepted by Disney park & hotel restaurants and shops, as well as the World of Disney in Downtown Disney, but not the non-Disney owned restaurants & shops.

 

[Queenbillabong]

I am thinking of purchasing disney gift cards in advance to set aside just for dining. Are there any restaurants or shops that do not accept the gift card? How about DTD? We usually end up eating there quite a bit.

Most of the restaurants in DTD are not Disney owned, so they do not accept the Disney gift cards...

 

[bumbershoot]

disneygiftcard.com has some good info.

For the DTD restaurants, I'd buy giftcards for those places (like Landry's for Rainforest, etc).

 

[Escape2Disney]

One trick we've learned with gift cards is to buy different designs depending on how much we put on the card. That way I can give the kids new cards each day. If it gets lost, it doesn't ruin the entire vacation.

When I buy them, I do something like this:
Tink - $100
Matterhorn - $50
Cars - $25

I budget like a crazy person, so I know how much each person gets each day.

It may sound nuts, but it works for us!

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

According to disneygiftcard.com Taste Pilot's Grill in DCA does not accept gift cards... I really don't know why..

Disney's California Adventure® park: The Disney Gift Card can be used at any merchandise or food and beverage location except for Taste Pilots Grill, fruit carts and outdoor vending locations, Midway games, and Face Painting.

 

[disneydreamer74]

Whew, glad I asked in advance! I will set aside a disney gift card specifically for eating in the parks and the hotel. I will have a dining plan mapped out on this trip. I did not do it with the last one and ended up eating a lot of mediocre quick service. I must say though, I will go back to three places that were surprising pleasant. Daisy's Diner had awesome pizza and it comes with a delicious cucumber salad-yummmy! I also loved (cannot remember the name) at test pilots I had a cheeseburger that was to die for. It was had spicy barbecue sauce and crumbled bleu cheese-I still wish I coulda eaten the whole thing. And surprisingly, ESPN zone had very good food. We ate their twice b/c it was across from out hotel room (DLH) and tried ribs, hot wings, and nachos. I was not expecting ribs that fell off the bone, yum yum! anyways, thanks for the tips.

 

[bumbershoot]

escape, if you keep the receipt and the activation receipt (when you buy the cards at the parks, at least, you get two separate receipts), and keep them separate from the giftcard, you can get a lost giftcard replaced.

 

[disneydreamer74]

According to disneygiftcard.com Taste Pilot's Grill in DCA does not accept gift cards... I really don't know why..

Huh what??I cannot give up Taste Pilots,lol! Thanks I am gonna check out the website now, Don't want any surprises. Perhaps I will take my wallet along after all, or just charge to the room , that would be easier.

 

[disneydreamer74]

One trick we've learned with gift cards is to buy different designs depending on how much we put on the card. That way I can give the kids new cards each day. If it gets lost, it doesn't ruin the entire vacation.

When I buy them, I do something like this:
Tink - $100
Matterhorn - $50
Cars - $25

I budget like a crazy person, so I know how much each person gets each day.

It may sound nuts, but it works for us!

Great Idea! I think I may purchase gift cards for DD and DNiece. They will get a kick out of that, They can buy their souveneirs with the allotted amount and I will not have to keep track of how much money is spent! Thanks for the idea!

 

[glendalais]

I think that might be a never-removed holdover from the days when Taste Pilot's Grill still used the self-ordering kiosks. Those were removed quite a while ago and replaced with regular Cash Registers.

I think that you should be able to use the Disney Gift Card there these days. They're certainly not a third-party location or anything.

 

[Boo Bear]

I might get gift cards for my trips as well. I always tend to not pay attention to what all I buy when I'm excited. I'm dropping most of my extra $$$ on my grad student loans that will acquire starting this summer, but if I'm living in Cali, I have to frequent DL! I'm getting an AP, but gift cards are a fantastic way to avoid over spending or buying things you could live without.

 

[Escape2Disney]

escape, if you keep the receipt and the activation receipt (when you buy the cards at the parks, at least, you get two separate receipts), and keep them separate from the giftcard, you can get a lost giftcard replaced.

Thanks! That helps! For non-gift card items, I tend to use traveler's checks for the same reason. ANYTHING to stay away from credit cards....

 

[bumbershoot]

I think that might be a never-removed holdover from the days when Taste Pilot's Grill still used the self-ordering kiosks. Those were removed quite a while ago and replaced with regular Cash Registers.

I think that you should be able to use the Disney Gift Card there these days. They're certainly not a third-party location or anything.

Wouldn't be a surprise that an official disney site had outdated info on it...

I might get gift cards for my trips as well. I always tend to not pay attention to what all I buy when I'm excited. I'm dropping most of my extra $$$ on my grad student loans that will acquire starting this summer, but if I'm living in Cali, I have to frequent DL! I'm getting an AP, but gift cards are a fantastic way to avoid over spending or buying things you could live without.

It's a terrific way to budget. We don't have a disney store in easy driving distance, so we put the money aside in savings. Then before our trip we move it over, and we either buy one big card at the beginning of the trip, or buy a new card (you could also refill the same one, but I like collecting the different card designs) each day. We almost never buy things from the carts that don't accept them (ingredient issues keep the family from eating the Mickey bars, etc, sold at the no-cards vendors) and we only eat at RFC if we have a giftcard, etc), so it's a great way to really control our spending AND have it pre-paid AND make the bookkeeping simple. Instead of a zillion little debits over the week, there's either one big chunk or one smaller chunk per day. Much easier.

When we do this, we have always had money left over from the budget. They cards don't expire, and you can use them on disneyshopping.com, so they don't go to waste.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

I think that might be a never-removed holdover from the days when Taste Pilot's Grill still used the self-ordering kiosks. Those were removed quite a while ago and replaced with regular Cash Registers.

I think that you should be able to use the Disney Gift Card there these days. They're certainly not a third-party location or anything.

I thought it was weird that TPG was the only place and it is Disney owned. I bet Disney just hasn't update the website.

We may possibly eat there soon, so I'll ask if they take the GC and see what they say.

I might get gift cards for my trips as well. I always tend to not pay attention to what all I buy when I'm excited. I'm dropping most of my extra $$$ on my grad student loans that will acquire starting this summer, but if I'm living in Cali, I have to frequent DL! I'm getting an AP, but gift cards are a fantastic way to avoid over spending or buying things you could live without.

That's what I've been doing. It's easy for me to budget ahead of our trip that way. As soon as I get paid, I called Disneyland Delivears and reload my card, so my money is already put away. Plus it's easy to budget at the parks that way. DBF carries the same amount, but in cash so that covers what we buy at ODV carts and such.

I also realized that if you buy your GC online or over the phone, the black swipe line (what's it called?) doesn't work when the CMs swipe it. Since it was never activated that way, the CMs need to type in the actual number. Just an FYI, but with my experience, the CMs figure it out on their own and type the number in the cash register.