How much $ to put on giftcards to use in Parks?

[DisneyMama811]

Canadian here.
I'm planning to mainly use giftcards in the park to pay for food and souvenirs (2 adults 2 kids) for meals I'm thinking breakfast in room,
quick service lunches occasionally purchase snacks but will mainly bring snacks
mainly quick service suppers, (will do a few characters meals but for the purpose of this question I'm not including those)

I'm not really sure what dollar amount in giftcards to bring though, exchange rate has to be considered and I don't want to over estimate by several hundred dollars and get stuck with unused cards, we live in a very small town, the only Disney Store anywhere near us is 2 hours away and we can't use the cards to pay for Disney+
what's the best strategy here? between 6 and 8 park days is the tentative plan

 

[starry_solo]

Are you planning on purchasing these gift cards at a discount somewhere?

You can check out the menus on allearsnet.com that also have pricing so you can have a good estimate of the costs for the quick service meals. Not sure if the kids eat adult sized meals or kids meals, whether you will be drinking soft drinks or alcoholic drinks at quick service, but plan on at least $15/per adult meal for quick service.

 

[DisneyMama811]

no not purchasing at a discount, I don't think there is anywhere around here that we can do that (we don't have Target or Sam's Club) possibly at Costco but the nearest one is an hour away and we don't have a membership

the kids definitely will eat kid sized portions the youngest (will be close to 6 by trip time) barely even eats a kid sized meal, no alcohol.

 

[DisneyMama811]

the main motivation for using giftcards is to not have to carry a lot of cash, trying to avoid credit card use because with the exchange rate the fees kill you

 

[MischaOz]

Also note that if you are planning on eating quick service, I believe you cannot mobile order with a gift card.

 

[Meglen]

Also note that if you are planning on eating quick service, I believe you cannot mobile order with a gift card.

[ You can even customize certain menu items to your taste. After you’ve reviewed your details, pay for your order using a credit card, debit card, Disney Gift Card, Disney Rewards Redemption Card, Apple Pay or Disney dining plan.]

Also if you plan on buying 500+$ it's worth it to set up target to your debit card. No fee not a cc. And you save a decent amount.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

Personally, I'd do $1000 ($30 a day times 4 people-I like to overestimate) at least if you are going to do 2 QS a day for 4 people and snacks, and I'd probably do more if I was buying souvenirs with those gift cards.

 

[MrsPete]

Also note that if you are planning on eating quick service, I believe you cannot mobile order with a gift card.

I did not know this! Can anyone else verify? If you can't order with a Disney gift card, how about a VISA gift card? This is kinda a game changer for me.

I've been considering this very question lately, and here's what I'm leaning towards for our upcoming trip with our adult children:

I'm getting a $500 gift card for myself. We will choose a quick-service lunch spot for lunch each park day, and I will pay for the group's lunch (figuring breakfast at the house, individuals can choose dinner plans). Here's how I figured that number:
- 5 adults x $20/lunch x 4 park days
- 1 toddler x 10/lunch x 4 park days
- $50 for a Kitchen Sink (cost + tip), which is a family tradition for us.
- Yes, I know that totals to $490, but who gets a $490 gift card?

In addition, I'm giving each adult a gift card with $150 - except my oldest (who will have a toddler by that point) will get $250 because she has to cover the child's what-nots as well as her own. They can use this for dinner in the parks, snacks, drinks, whatever. I'm asking them to drive us to the parks /cover parking. This may not cover ALL their costs, but they're all college graduates with professional jobs and can manage any overage.

 

[FCDub]

You can use a gift card when you mobile order. The above information is incorrect. You will just have to enter the gift card number every time as opposed to having it saved.

 

[MischaOz]

You can use a gift card when you mobile order. The above information is incorrect. You will just have to enter the gift card number every time as opposed to having it saved.

Thanks for clarifying! I am happy to learn they finally updated that!!

 

[starry_solo]

OK, so this means you're going to want to buy it at the beginning of the trip and not have to replenish it and also not to have much leftover.

Per day - Budget $110 GC
Breakfast = $0 b/c in the room
Lunch = Kid's meals run around $8, including tax. Adult entrees run around $16-18, including tax & soft drink. So, $50 for the 4 of you.
Snacks = you said you might have an occasional snack. Snacks typically run $4-6 each, so let's budget for 2 snacks a day at $5 each = $10
Dinner = Same as lunch; most QS have the same thing for lunch and dinner. So $50 for the 4 of you

 

[MomOfDisneyPrincess]

Personally, I would budget $7-$8 for kid's meals and $15 for adult quick service meals. The children's meals include a beverage, but you may want to bump up the $15 to $20 to include beverages for the adults. I also budget $5 per snack as an average. Depending on how/what your children eat, you may consider having them split an adult quick service. The kid's meals get very repetitive after a while and my daughter would get tired of the grapes or carrots as the sides and she won't touch PB&J's. It's about the same price to buy two kid's meals or one adult meal for them to share, so that shouldn't affect your budgeting. I hope this helps.

 

[StuckInKS]

For food we are doing $40/day per Disney adult and $30 kid for 2 QS and 2 snacks per day. Souvenirs really depend on how much you want to spend.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Also note that if you are planning on eating quick service, I believe you cannot mobile order with a gift card.

As noted, this is not correct.

You can use a gift card when you mobile order. The above information is incorrect. You will just have to enter the gift card number every time as opposed to having it saved.

One way to help get around this is to enter GC numbers in the notes field of your phone. It's just a copy and paste when it's time to use it. Far easier than rekeying each time.

 

[tzeitel]

I would not have just one gift card for the entire trip. I would have one card per day and keep the rest in your room safe.

Also, put your cards on the Disney gift card app. If you lose one you can transfer the money to another card. What I do is bring a back up, empty, card and put it on the app. I take photos of all the cards and if anything happens just transfer to the empty one.

As for budget - I check menus and look at what we might order. One qs, one ts, one snack per person per day. Starry and Momof DisneyPrincess gave you good advice, that is what I usually do to budget.

 

[starry_solo]

I would not have just one gift card for the entire trip. I would have one card per day and keep the rest in your room safe.

Also, put your cards on the Disney gift card app. If you lose one you can transfer the money to another card. What I do is bring a back up, empty, card and put it on the app. I take photos of all the cards and if anything happens just transfer to the empty one.

As for budget - I check menus and look at what we might order. One qs, one ts, one snack per person per day. Starry and Momof DisneyPrincess gave you good advice, that is what I usually do to budget.

I agree with this. So put the budgeted per day amount on 8 different gift cards (i think you mentioned going for 8 days).

Used up gift cards make bice souvenirs too...so many pretty designs

 

[MrsPete]

Thanks for clarifying! I am happy to learn they finally updated that!!

That's good news!

I would not have just one gift card for the entire trip. I would have one card per day and keep the rest in your room safe.

This is a good idea in that you couldn't lose ALL your money; I don't know why I worry about that -- I've literally never lost a credit card.
This is a bad idea in that you could end up with $3 on four different cards at the end of the trip.

Used up gift cards make bice souvenirs too...so many pretty designs

I don't know about souvenirs, but they're nice in a scrapbook.

 

[_19disnA]

There are several ATM's located around Disney. One option would be to get the daily cash you need as required from the ATM so you aren't carrying a large amount for the entire trip. Not sure what fees/exchange rate your credit card might charge.

 

[tzeitel]

That's good news!
This is a good idea in that you couldn't lose ALL your money; I don't know why I worry about that -- I've literally never lost a credit card.
This is a bad idea in that you could end up with $3 on four different cards at the end of the trip.
I don't know about souvenirs, but they're nice in a scrapbook.

You can combine cards on the Disney gift card site.

 

[Lilsia]

I would get a credit card that does not charge a foreign currency fee and charge everything back to the room.