Disney would not take my check!!! Here I am at VWL!

[Dean]

Always have a CC for emergencies if at all possible.

 

[byoung]

Sorry you had this problem, we have been lucky so far and never have had a problem.

 

[bsusanmb]

Thanks to all of you for helping me not feel so "second class" so to speak. Well, had my cc fed ex'd to me, traded in my 10 day hoppers from SOG for AP's with DVC discount and they didn't deduct the first day from the passes - got full credit. But, we were a day late to have our AP's renewed. Oh well. DP has gone really well.

So, today I check out of the studio and into the one bedroom. This should be better!

No more checks for me!

 

[gracelrm]

I've had that happen to me twice at WDW. Once at WL and once at POR. Both times there was plenty of money in the account. I even called my bank, had them call the manager on duty at check in and everything - but still no go. My bank didn't understand why and I got the same code something from the person at the desk. What I learned after coming home is that the account I use as a savings account - I rarely write checks from and they said that the lack of action on the account made them deny it. If I ever decide to write a check again - I'll move money from my savings to my regular checking and it should be fine. Actually, they ran my regular checking account and would accept it - but I knew I probably wouldn't have enough in that account to pay for my family's vacation at WDW. It was humiliating and although I tried to assure them I had plenty of money in the bank - they kept looking at me like "sure you do!". I'm sorry it happened to you, but am also glad I'm not the only one!

 

[LakeAriel]

This has never happened to me before. DH and I are trying not to use our CC's and paying off our home early so that we can retire in 6 years. We own 630 DVC points. When we left on 6/2 I asked DH if I should bring cc's or a lot of cash, and he said no, just enough cash for spending, $500 and our check book. I did bring one cc with me that has only a $1000 limit. Left all the rest at home.

I was planning on paying for the dining plan for the 4 of us with a check, putting down the cc for charging to the room, and buying us AP's with our DVC card at a discount.

Gave WL our check and after waiting a very very long time, was denied by telecheck. DH and I believed this to be impossible (lots of money in our account and have not bounced any checks, no credit issues). We have had this account for 23 years and have never been denied writing a check anywhere, including WDW. Our annual dues are direct debit from our account.

Well, I was crying till all was said and done. We ended up paying the meal plan on our cc, and then had to go to SOG (DH is a military retiree) and bought our passes at $100 each extra, with a check.

I called telecheck, and they could not give me a reason. It was a code 3 (I think) and it could be that they do not guarantee checks with a credit union (we use our local credit union and not a bank), or that our check number is too high (we are now in the 10,000's), or we write too many checks, or just a system error.

Needless to say it destroyed our first day here. So, I had my credit card with the high limit overnight'd to me (we are staying 4 days in studio and 6 in a one bedroom at the VWL so it will be two separate check ins). I was really upset.

In the future, I will have to bring a lot of cash or succumb to the credit card charging. Yes, I can pay it off right away, but when you have money to spare in your checking account, and all Disney says they require is a DL and major CC, that is what I expected. YIKES. Well, live and learn.

Why couldn't you get the park passes at the DVC discount????

 

[Machta]

This has never happened to me before. DH and I are trying not to use our CC's and paying off our home early so that we can retire in 6 years.

I just would like to give kudos to OP for this effort--congratulations for having such great goals, and working realistically to meet them! We're in a similar situation, but rather than simply not use CCs, I have our VISA card from our credit union so I can access all the accounts together online. Once a week I have a reminder on my calendar to transfer money to the card balance to cover that week's charges. We charge EVERYTHING on it since the rewards program actually pays for us to fly to WDW once a year. We've never had a late charge or finance charge--it's kind of fun to work their system to our advantage.

Best of luck, and thanks for your upbeat attitude, even though you had a bad experience!

 

[bsusanmb]

I couldn't write a check for anything when I arrived. Telecheck wouldn't guarantee my check and so it was , "too bad so sad" with 4 CM's looking at me and holding my check up for all to see asking me how I planned to pay for my dining plan. So, in OP, you see what I did.
I went to guest services at MK to see if they would accept my check to get the AP's with DVC discount, but they discouraged a check, saying it takes a long time to process and they use TELECHECK - I told them to forget it, VWL wouldn't take my check. CM said that is a common occurrence and that it can just be a system issue.
So, we went to SOG where I know they will take our check. I was going to buy AP's, but began to think that if I bought 10 day passes, I might be able to later upgrade to AP at the DVC rate, which I did. All over the internet, I have read that Disney will only credit your upgrade with the amount of money left on the pass - so once you use a 10 day pass, you lose $65 the first day, and so on. But, we got full credit for the passes even though we used them once.

I will post elsewhere, but we had to move to a one bedroom at VWL, and MY GOODNESS. I HAVE NEVER STAYED IN A ONE BEDROOM AND IT IS HEAVEN. THIS ROOM IS BEAUTIFUL AND IT IS A CORNER ROOM WITH 5 WINDOWS, TWO OF WHICH ARE PATIOS ON THE 5TH FLOOR. MAYBE THEY FELT BAD FOR MAKING A FOOL OUT OF ME AND MAKING ME CRY. Now that I have experienced a one bedroom, I doubt I will ever stay in a studio again. This is living!

And, thanks everyone for your encouragement and good thoughts. I was trying to keep my credit card limited to my air tran and to $1000. I have worked very hard on my budget and paying off credit cards and debts so that DH and I can retire at 62 and be debt free, including our house. Credit card debt is a way of life in the USA. I was watching a news show about the stock market decline on NBC the other day, and the rise in credit card debt in the last year is phenomenal. Credit cards are encouraged by hotels, etc, but it is easy to just make those minimum payments when you get home, and go deeper into debt. It is a sad situation.

But, hey, here I am at WDW and it is lovely!!!!

 

[fishermouse]

This has never happened to me before. DH and I are trying not to use our CC's and paying off our home early so that we can retire in 6 years. We own 630 DVC points. When we left on 6/2 I asked DH if I should bring cc's or a lot of cash, and he said no, just enough cash for spending, $500 and our check book. I did bring one cc with me that has only a $1000 limit. Left all the rest at home.

I was planning on paying for the dining plan for the 4 of us with a check, putting down the cc for charging to the room, and buying us AP's with our DVC card at a discount.

Well, I was crying till all was said and done. We ended up paying the meal plan on our cc, and then had to go to SOG (DH is a military retiree) and bought our passes at $100 each extra, with a check..

Call me dumb but I don't get it!! Why did you have to go to SOG? Sounds like you are DVC members using points, and you were going to use the cc for room charges anyway, nothing goes against the cc unless you charge something to your room.
You were able to pay for your Ap's with a check anyway and all you have to do is show your DVC card for the discount no matter where you are staying.
Your cc had enough to cover the meal plan since thats what you used anyway. That still leaves you the $500. spending cash. A little juggling should have taken care of everything, especially since you recieved another cc overnight, plus you can always hit an ATM for more cash since as you said there was plenty of money in the account.

 

[jultomzach]

Just curious about other people's debit limits...my ATM CASH withdrawls are limited to $500 per day but my debit withdrawls are MUCH higher and are per transaction (not per day). My single per debit transaction limit is $1,500 and not limited to one per day. I have paid for vacation home rental with 2 debit transcations in one day that were close to $2,500. Are other people's debit (not an ATM cash withdrawl) transaction limited to less than $500.?

 

[Disney-Kim]

My bank, BofA, will raise your debit limits to whatever you want for a limited time...like 10 days...so if you are on vacation you are not stuck with your usual lower limit, then it automatically reverts. I have done this for vacations before.
my regular debit charge limit is $2,500 per day and atm limit is $1500. maybe you could request yours be raised for the future.

 

[brandip22]

I know at my bank and the other ones I've managed in the past will all raise your limit either for good for a set timeframe for vacations. Also, usually, the ATM (cash) limit is $400 or $500, but the POS (debit card) limit is much higher- ours is $3000, but could be $5000, it just depends on the bank. I always take the debit card and one cc just in case. But, I pre pay as much as possible so I don't have to worry about it. I plan on having our discounted APs purchased ahead of time as well. Anyway, I hope your vacation goes better now- and I love those 1 bedrooms, too. We are booked for a studio in Dec and I don't know how we'll make it!!

 

[gppnj]

I've heard of a lot of bad experiences with that Telecheck. But if you have no way of knowing in advance whether or not you can use a check, doesn't that essentially mean that you can't use checks? They should just say they don't accept any checks.

And ironically, you were there for so long that if they cashed your check right away, they'd know whether or not it cleared before you even left.

 

[bsusanmb]

We had 10 days to pay on the meal plan when we arrived. Three adults and one child. That exceeded the cc, and we had already put down the card for our rental car. So, we managed to pay the meal plan, but could not write a check anywhere in WDW for our AP's. Since DH is retired USAF, we have our military ID's and can write a check at SOG for reduced price tickets, which we did. Even though the CC was over night'd we didn't get it until Monday afternoon.

It all worked out in the end. I agree with the poster who said, why doesn't Disney just say they don't take checks - yes, that would make sense to me. But what just really irritated me is that DVC has no problem taking my checks for 630 vacation club points - a personal check - and they debit my dues out of my checking account. I was annoyed, but why let that ruin my 10 days at VWL.

Yes, the one bedroom corner room has been lovely. But the tropical storm is headed this way. I hope we are able to fly out to Phila this evening without any problems.

The food court at the WL has improved so much over past years. The selections are better, the food is better and I love the self serve soft ice cream - you can really fill a dish up! The meal plan was great this trip. Our favorite meal was at California Grill.