Gift cards

[Coconut36]

Just curious if there is any value or big downsides to having some Disney gift cards. I saw a pack of them in the store and thought about getting them for my boys to help limit the "I want, I want". Each will have a certain amount on gift cards and when they spend it they are done (ha..guarantee Grandma and Grandpa will supplement them at least once but still it should help). I was wondering if there was downsides to having them..like if you can only use them in certain stores or something like that.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Just curious if there is any value or big downsides to having some Disney gift cards. I saw a pack of them in the store and thought about getting them for my boys to help limit the "I want, I want". Each will have a certain amount on gift cards and when they spend it they are done (ha..guarantee Grandma and Grandpa will supplement them at least once but still it should help). I was wondering if there was downsides to having them..like if you can only use them in certain stores or something like that.

We give our boys gift cards and Disney dollars all the time for gifts and allowance even. It helps them save some for Disneyland. They can be used most anywhere in the parks and at the Disney-branded stores in Downtown Disney. The only "negative" is that the Disney gift cards can't be used at places like RideMakerz, Build-a-Bear, and the Lego store in DtD since those aren't Disney owned places. If you know any of those are going to be places you will visit and potentially encourage the boys to buy something, you may want to help them save a mix of Disney gift cards and cash. Maybe the grandparents can provide the cash part?

 

[mrswh]

I don't really see a point in buying gift cards - you don't get any type of discount or perks for buying them, and it's nearly impossible to spend the exact amount on the card (unless you are somewhere where they will take two types of payment for one transaction if you run out on the card), so you are not likely to get their full value. If you lose a gift card, you're SOL. I didn't see how old your boys are, but I know my kids (5 and 7) tend to lose things so I wouldn't really let them carry around a gift card. What we do is tell them they have $X to spend, and then we just pay for the things they choose and we all keep track of how much they have left. The other thing we do sometimes is we do not buy anything for them during the trip (well, other than little things here and there that don't count coming from their $$), but on our last day we go to the WOD store and tell them they have $X to spend. So the whole trip we remind them that we are not shopping now, we'll go shopping on Thursday or whatever day it is. They seem to be fine with that, and it stops them from stopping in every store/kiosk when we're trying to get from one ride/attraction to the next.

 

[tlovesdis]

I use gift cards every time I go to Disneyland! I go about once a year so over the year I buy a $25 or $50 card every now and then and put them away in a cute ittle Princess card holder I have.. Then when it's time to go I have plenty of $ to cover my food and souviners. I use them everywhere in the parks (except the carts, although some take them now) and at the World of Disney store.

I think it's a great idea for you to give them to your kids so they have spending money in DL!!

PS, I also buy a Subway gift card (we stop there on the way down and on the way home), Starbucks (for the drive up and down) and gas cards throughout the year! When I leave on a trip I need very little cash!!

 

[ddwlms]

My kids, 6 and 9, love having and using their own gift cards. I've held onto the cards, for the most part, in the parks, but they really liked the mature feeling of walking up to the register with their very own "credit card."

Some of the snack stands only take cash however.

and it's nearly impossible to spend the exact amount on the card (unless you are somewhere where they will take two types of payment for one transaction if you run out on the card), so you are not likely to get their full value.

FWIW, I've never had any trouble splitting up payment types when the card had only a few bucks on it and not enough to cover my purchase. Not at DLR, anyways. And I've even used 3 or 4 small balance cards to pay for a purchase (more then once)

(There is a Calif law that says if a gift card is balance will be below $10 after a purchase, the merchant must provide cash back to the purchaser. I'm not sure if Disney cards manage to fall within any of the law's loopholes.......)

 

[Sherry E]

Count me in as a gift card fan! Here's why:

1. They never, ever expire. If you don't use a gift card and stash it aside for a while, you can take it out in another 2 years and use it then.


2. No tax and no shipping fee to send the card to you.


3. It's an excellent way to 'save' for your trip. It's a way to put aside dedicated Disney money that cannot be spent on anything else, and if you are saving for a DLR trip and want to make sure that there is money solely going into the Disney fund, gift cards are a great way to go.


4. They are versatile! Not only can they be used at most of the restaurants (both table service and counter service) and shops all around DLR (including all the places in the 3 Disney hotels), they can also be used to pay off your Disney hotel bill (you can give the gift cards to the CM at the front desk when you check in or check out) or hotel travel package. Additionally, the gift cards can be used for PhotoPass online orders. They can be used for purchases on the Disney Cruise Line, at the Disney Stores in malls, at the Disney Store online website, for Adventures by Disney stuff, etc. Plus, you can use gift cards on the Disneyland website to order Park Hoppers, Annual Passes, etc.


5. You can always get the full value of the card. Any Disney merchant will take the remaining balance of the card (even if it's 75 cents) and then take another card or another form of payment as well, to complete a single transaction. I handed about 8 gift cards - all in different amounts - to the CM at the Paradise Pier front desk when I checked in last December to pay off one hotel bill.

Let's say you have a gift card for $25, and you give one to your son to buy souvenirs. He comes back and gives you the card, and there is $1.50 left on it. You cannot think of too many options for what to do with that remaining $1.50 because almost nothing in DLR costs $1.50. However, maybe you are planning to get a PhotoPass CD when you return home, on the PP website. You can apply that $1.50 towards your PhotoPass order and finish off the card, and then use an additional form of payment to pay off the rest. You can also do this at restaurants in DLR, shops, the hotels, etc. Or, you can set aside the card with its $1.50 balance for future use.


6. Just in case you don't want to use that remaining, hypothetical $1.50 that's left on a card towards a transaction, you can reload the card. You can reload the card to get it to an amount you want it to be, and then you can keep it for yourself to re-use - OR you can give it as a gift to someone else.

 

[Coconut36]

Thanks!

Sherry you confirmed a lot of what I was thinking regarding using them. I wanted to be sure they could be fully used and used in diverse places before I bought them though. It has always been my experience with gift cards (with the exception of prepaid cards like Visa/Mastercard/Amex) that they will just use it up..even 10 cents and then take the rest in another payment form but I wanted to be sure Disney did that.

I also like the idea of having dedicated "Disney" money especially for them as I know it is going to be a lot of "I have to get this" and for my oldest especially a great way to know what he has to work with.

 

[Malcon10t]

You can also get Disney dollars. That way he has "CASH" he can see and make determinations. Sometimes a gift card doesn't have the same impact as giving up "cash".

 

[Coconut36]

You can also get Disney dollars. That way he has "CASH" he can see and make determinations. Sometimes a gift card doesn't have the same impact as giving up "cash".

Is that something you get at the park itself?

 

[FlameGirl]

I love using gift cards because it really helps manage our spending. I put a large amount on one the first day with a set amount to reload when needed, and each time I use it, I check the balance on the receipt. I like this method much better than using the debit card, as one year I lost track of what we spent and it pulled from savings, so we were really hurting.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Is that something you get at the park itself?

Yes, you can get Disney dollars at the park, in fact only at the park these days. They come in $1s, $5s, and $10s. Last time I wanted some, I found the only place you can get them anymore is at City Hall at Disneyland. I have not purchased any since February, so I don't know their current availability. Disney dollars are accepted at carts within the park, even those that don't take gift cards, and they are also accepted at the Lego and Build-a-Bear (and probably other stores I haven't tried) in Downtown Disney. I mostly use Disney dollars as part of my sons' allowances as a way to force them to save for their many Disney wants since we go to the parks a few times a year. For the rest of their spending needs, they use real cash or Disney gift cards received as holiday gifts.