DVC saving for trips

[kindra657]

i guess a light bulb finally went off in my head cause it took me over a year to figure out a solution to my disney saving problem:

the one thing that i hated about being a dvc member is that i can't go online & pay on my vacation for a year anymore! now i have to save all this money for the ddp, ap's, & spending money for the day of arrival. well, to be honest, i'm not the best person when it comes to saving money!

anyways, yesterday i was calculating that we only have 4 months left before our trip and of course, i haven't saved a dime! i was sitting in my living room wishing that there was a way that i could pay for the ddp, tickets, etc over a period of time cause when i try to set money aside for disney, i end up spending it!

then i felt a rush of excitement as i realized that there was a way that dvc-ers can "pay" for their trips over time instead of on the day of arrival!!!

I'M GONNA GO GET A BOAT LOAD OF DISNEY DOLLARS!! now, when i get paid, i can head over to the disney store & buy $200 here, $100 there & slowly "pay" for our disney trip!!! i called disney today to find out if i can use disney dollars to pay for big purchases & use it for dining tips, etc. the cm (Chevy- such a nice guy) told me that i can use my disney dollars ANYWHERE on property for ANYTHING as long as it's disney owned!!! yippie!!

now i know that i can use these dollars at the disney store but i doubt that i would spend $4k or $5k in there so that's not a prob. i also know that i could possibly loose the disney dollars before the trip but i'm not too concerned with that cause i'm terrible at saving & good at not loosing things
plus, i figure that if anyone seen my disney dollars who wasn't so trustworthy, they would probably think that it was play money!

so, if anyone else is out there and shares my saving problem, here's a nice solution! btw, i could also get a disney world gift card too...

 

[oakmanner]

I think the Diney Store gift card is the way to go. You can put from $ 5.00 to $ 1,500 on them. And you can reload them or add to them as long as you put at least $ 5.00 on at a time.

I always use these to save $ for my WDW trips they are good for dining, shopping, park tickets etc.

They are much easier to deal with as opposed to Disney Dollars. Disney Dollars only come in 1's, 5's & 10's. If you bring a substantial amount of these they will get bulky.

Dennis-

 

[funatdisney]

They are both good ideas! But I think the card would be better. Easier to carry. I happen to save for my trips and am very good at not spending the money. I have been known to pay ahead on my Disney Visa and use it as a cash card. Of course, there is little or no balance on it. I also get the reward Disney dollars with this method.
On another thought: why not ask friends and family to give you Disney Dollars or the gift cards for presents. I know that my family has a hard time thinking of something to give me. I always ask for the Disney Dollars. There are no expiration dates on those.

 

[DebIreland]

That's a great idea.

I opened a 21 Day Deposit A/C here and I'm only allowed one withdrawal per annum and 21 days notice for that withdrawal so 3 to 4 weeks before a Disney trip I can withdraw the money (with nice interest!) - if it wasn't for the notice period I'd be dipping into it all the time. I think it will work out well.

 

[kindra657]

I think the Diney Store gift card is the way to go. You can put from $ 5.00 to $ 1,500 on them. And you can reload them or add to them as long as you put at least $ 5.00 on at a time.

I always use these to save $ for my WDW trips they are good for dining, shopping, park tickets etc.

They are much easier to deal with as opposed to Disney Dollars. Disney Dollars only come in 1's, 5's & 10's. If you bring a substantial amount of these they will get bulky.

Dennis-

you are totally right!! i was talking to one of my disney buds today & he mentioned that disney dollars do not come in high currency. he made the suggestion to put it on disney gift cards as well. either way, i think i've found a wonderful solution to my personal disney saving problem!

 

[ascardino]

I think the Diney Store gift card is the way to go. You can put from $ 5.00 to $ 1,500 on them. And you can reload them or add to them as long as you put at least $ 5.00 on at a time.

I always use these to save $ for my WDW trips they are good for dining, shopping, park tickets etc.

They are much easier to deal with as opposed to Disney Dollars. Disney Dollars only come in 1's, 5's & 10's. If you bring a substantial amount of these they will get bulky.

Dennis-

Interesting idea . I may have to try that.

 

[funatdisney]

Do the Disney gift cards have an expiration date on them? I have never paid attention to the date before. According to California Law, all gifts cards can not expired in California. Only Gift cards from the credit card companies are allowed to have expiration dates.

 

[BethanyF]

I do the exact same thing. Although I buy a combination of Dollars and gift cards.

Every day, at the end of the day, any change and bills smaller than $10 get put in my piggy bank. The next time I go to work (at TDS) I bring that money and buy either dollars or a card. So far I have over $400 in Disney money for the November trip.

I also use my Disney Visa to pay whatever bills I can (cell phone, electric, etc). Ive accumulated a couple hundred points doing that.

By the time the trip rolls around I should have almost $1000 in 'play' money.

 

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

I had a Disney Store Gift Card, and this could not be used at WDW - only in the stores. I now go to Commerce Bank and get their pre-paid Visa Cards - you can load them up all the time. They have no fees and I just keep a running balance on what is left on it. Works out great. I also use Travelers Checks. I just get those every now and then and stash them in my disney trip bin.

 

[BethanyF]

I had a Disney Store Gift Card, and this could not be used at WDW - only in the stores.

Those are the old ones....the ones we've been selling for the past year or so can be used anywhere on DIsney property

and to answer the earlier question....TDS gift cards never expire and there are no inactivity fees

 

[Maelstrom_]

I know it's bulky carrying around a huge pile of Disney Dollars, but I like em better! I usually bring $100 for each day I'm going to be there, and put the rest in the safe. Kids love getting some disney money and spending it in the gift shop...it's fun seeing them price everything out and tryign to get the best for the money...they don't really do that when you pay with a card and just let them pick something out.

I also like getting cash back for change whenever I buy something. So when I get back to my room I swap out the cash for my next $100 in Disney Dollars, and I bring the cash back home with me....if I don't need to spend it on the last day! it works out well, but yeah, $1000 in 10's is a big stack of cash to bring with you!!!

 

[manntra]

I bought some DD too for my nephews/niece that I am taking this year and that is their birthday money that I would usually give them. Hey wait a minute I am taking them to Disney AND birthday money too?? What was I thinking??