Disney $$ vs. Disney gift cards

[danitom]

Do you have a preference when it comes to these? I want to get one or the other for my kids for spending $$ for our trip. Any suggestions/pros/cons ? Also, has anyone ever had trouble using either of these ANYWHERE in Disney?

 

[susykt4]

DD6 absolutely loves Disney Dollars. She doesn't get to carry money around at home, so it's a thrill to have it at Disney World. For her age, it's also a good lesson about money that she wouldn't get from a gift card. She can see exactly how much money she has left, but the card is a bit abstract.

I imagine if your children are old enough they really grasp the concept of money, they might enjoy a gift card more- more adult- like using a credit card. Or if they're very young a gift card might be easier for you.

I've used both and I think there are still a few snack stands that don't accept credit cards (so I assume they wouldn't accept gift cards) and I would be surprised if some stores at Downtown Disney (like Lego or Planet Hollywood) would accept either since they're not Disney.

 

[danx2plus3more]

hope i do this right this is my first post....im getting visa/mastercard gift cards from my bank..so if my kids dont spent all thier money they can use it when we get home or at universal...and its a gift card so i dont have to keep thier money straight...i think its a great idea..what do you think

 

[Elmo888]

Watch the fine print on visa/mc gift cards. Some of them will start charging you if it isn't used in a time period and may have other charges. It isn't the same as gift cards from specific stores.

 

[danx2plus3more]

from what i understand yes it is a gift card but to the merchant its like a credit card .when all the money is gone it just doesnt work anymore...i was also told you have a year to use it.my kids wont have it that long and i would buy the balance from them b4 i let them pay a fee

 

[DisneyDreams4P&B]

We have been collectin Disney Dollars, preparing for our trip in May. I asked a CM what the difference was between the 2, advantages and disadvantages and here goes:

Disney Dollars,

Work like regular $$, you can US Currency back with these (if you wish to "cash out" if you still have $$ left over at the end of your trip)

Disney GiftCard, Works like credit card and are reloadable and you can add $$ to them at any time, so you can build a balance up like Disney Dollars (add $25 this week , add another $25.00 the next week). You cannot get cash back on card, you have to use entire balance (which means you could end up with $$ left over on a card, but probably not much like .34 cents or something) **But I was told that if you keep your reciepts of how much was put on the card and photocopy the card with a copy of # on the gift card, that they can cancel the card in the case that you loose it or it is stolen. You cannot do this with Disney Dollars and it might be a safer alternative depending on how much you were planning on bringing down.

Hope this helps,

 

[asfarrell]

OK! Are ya'll saying
"If my kids get disney gift cards from the Disney Store for their birthdays, they can take those to Disney World and use them for souviner's? or whatever they want? what about food?"
If I am WAY OFF here and didn't understand what ya'll were saying, sorry

Where do you buy disney dollars at?

 

[DisneyDreams4P&B]

OK! Are ya'll saying
"If my kids get disney gift cards from the Disney Store for their birthdays, they can take those to Disney World and use them for souviner's? or whatever they want? what about food?"
If I am WAY OFF here and didn't understand what ya'll were saying, sorry

Where do you buy disney dollars at?

Yes you can use them at WDW, DL and Disney Stores. You can use them for anything in the parks/resorts (Disney owned property), food, souvies, water sports etc.

 

[PA Princess]

For our trip last September our three older kids used both Disney Dollars and the gift card things. We had always done the disney dollars in the past, but they wanted to try the gift cards. Kids were 5, 9, and 10... all were familiar with a gift card from birthdays or seeing mom/dad use debit card for most purchases.

For our trip this fall all three kids will only get the gift cards. There are two advantages to the card: if lost, it can be replaced...a big advantage to us when you are talking kids, and carrying a card is SO much easier than having dollars...heck that is why we like the room charging privledges on site and prefer our debit card to cash...just simpler.

We were amazed last trip at all of the places that took the card, and we never had an issue anywhere including small kiosks all over the World. Plus, you can use up every last dime and there are no remainder issues...if you have 17 cents on the card, buy whatever you want, they will take the 17 cents off the purchase and then you can use another payment option for the purchase balance.

 

[3boyzmom]

That's good to hear about uing up the balance on the Disney GC's. Last trip I purchased Visa/MC gc's ... they worked great the first time, but then you had to know the exact balance remaining to use them again ... kind of a pain.

My kids really like Disney Dollars, so I'll probably get them a small $ amount, but I agree that it will be much easier to keep track of the cards!

 

[danitom]

THANKS for all the input. I think I am going with the gift cards. We have a Disneystore locally so I have access to either but I like the convenience of a "credit card" style versus "paper money" (although the Disney dollars are SO CUTE!!) and the cancellation advantage in case they get lost/stolen.

We also opted to buy our tickets from Disney store to get the hard credit card style. I was under the impression some tickets were still paper??

THANKS AGAIN!!!!!!!