I survived Disney without my wallet (experiment)

[fla4fun]

I have a tiny ID wallet that I carry at Disney. I put my ID, AP card, a cc, my insurance card, and a little cash in it, and it's smaller than my phone. My regular wallet, with everything else I carry normally, stays locked up in the room safe. I too have been there during a Disney IT glitch. I was there during one where no computers property wide were working, so no cc or MB charging at all - strictly cash. That lasted more than 24 hours, because it was already in effect when I arrived and didn't end until late the following afternoon. They couldn't even put a cc on account if you checked in at the front desk (although if you had put a cc on account through online check in, it was still there when the system came up) and anyone who hadn't done online check in had to go back to the front desk to do manual check in once the computers came up. Having been through that more than once, I'm not willing to go out without at least a $20 bill on me, just in case.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

So how did you tip people??? Housekeeping, meals, Uber driver etc??

Tips are included in the price of Uber, at Table Service meals you can leave the tip on the receipt (although as I mentioned, my mom left cash) and my mom tipped the housekeeping. Should probably tag this more as "I survived the parks without a wallet."

All in all... obviously it had its flaws. I'm not saying it worked as much as I'm analyzing its success. I personally survived the parks, but I made sure to call out its flaws.

 

[jpeterson]

One thing we were dismayed to discover last trip is that you must tip housekeeping in cash. Only cash. We were really hoping Disney had modernized this aspect. Sorry to our housekeepers! We had no cash on hand.

 

[IrishNYC]

One thing we were dismayed to discover last trip is that you must tip housekeeping in cash. Only cash. We were really hoping Disney had modernized this aspect. Sorry to our housekeepers! We had no cash on hand.

I've never been anywhere in the world, with the exception of on cruises, that you could tip housekeeping with anything BUT cash. It's very odd to expect that you'd tip any other way.

 

[Tink_83]

I will say I typically reduce the number of cards I carry to my ID a one credit and one bank card and my health insurance card. That takes my normal large sized wallet down to a very small, manageable wallet (I have a small wallet with basically room for 4 cards that I'll typically pull out). It does save space some space for me. Especially with the magic band it could be a good option for some to consider (i.e one backup card, ID)...

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

I will say I typically reduce the number of cards I carry to my ID a one credit and one bank card and my health insurance card. That takes my normal large sized wallet down to a very small, manageable wallet (I have a small wallet with basically room for 4 cards that I'll typically pull out). It does save space some space for me. Especially with the magic band it could be a good option for some to consider (i.e one backup card, ID)...

Right and that's what spurred me to do this. When I went to Vegas I had A LOT of cash on me and didn't feel comfortable carrying it. Whenever I was gambling in the casino within my resort, I rubber band(ed?) my room key, player card and the cash I needed. Going into this trip, I knew I'd be wearing lightweight shorts and the clunky wallet looked weird. That's why I narrowed down my wallet to a cardholder with my essentials: ID, health card, credit card(s) and AP card. I exaggerated a bit on what I brought, but I will say it was just a bit of a challenge to myself to see how well it works.

 

[randumb0]

i was hoping that you were going to say that you didnt spend any money

 

[MikeF;NJ]

Tips are included in the price of Uber, at Table Service meals you can leave the tip on the receipt (although as I mentioned, my mom left cash) and my mom tipped the housekeeping. Should probably tag this more as "I survived the parks without a wallet."

All in all... obviously it had its flaws. I'm not saying it worked as much as I'm analyzing its success. I personally survived the parks, but I made sure to call out its flaws.

I don't want to derail the thread, but tips are not included in the price of Uber.

From the Uber website: (Re: the UberTAXI exception, Uber's website does not show that service available in the Orlando area.)

Can my driver ask for a tip?
As independent contractors, drivers may request tips at their discretion.

Drivers care about rider ratings and do their best to create an ideal trip experience. While Uber does not require riders to offer drivers a cash tip, you are welcome to do so. Should you choose to tip, your driver is welcome to accept or decline.

Please note that the trip fare charged to your payment account does not include a gratuity.

Where available, uberTAXI is an exception. uberTAXI connects riders with licensed yellow cabs and includes the option to set the gratuity percentage added to your trip fare.

 

[Accident]

I tried a fun experiment on our last trip to see just how far the MagicBand could take you.

You got EXTREMELY LUCKY.

Just 2 months ago, there was a full outage of the magicband system in epcot and you had to pay for purchases, food including meal plan using cash, gift card, credit card or one of tap your phone pay methods if you had it setup (apple pay, google wallet, samsung pay, etc). Anyone who went without another method to pay couldn't and either had to leave to get another method to pay, go without or change their plans. And if you did have another method to pay, you then had to deal with getting credit for your meal plan if you had that. It was a very empty day at epcot.. Now you probably had your phone so if you've never looked into the phone payment methods, it's worth doing, I love it. I usually get extra bonuses in points or cash back for using it instead of my card. It's a nice setup that works outside of disney...

Also an annual passholder if you want your discounts better have their id on them while they don't always ask, it's getting more and more strict lately.

Okay, so of course I had a wallet—how else would I be able to board a plane without my ID?

Actually, you don't need an ID to board a plane when flying domestic and it's your right to not have one. They also have contingencies for situations like lost or stolen id as you sometimes can't replace it without getting home first. It might take you longer to get through security and there is no guarantee but you can do it.

 

[Accident]

I don't want to derail the thread, but tips are not included in the price of Uber.

Also not to derail, lyft makes it easy to tip from the phone to use their service instead.

 

[jo-jo]

We don't have TIW right now, but for any discounts, we would typically need to carry, TIW, DVC, AP, Disney Visa and ID.

I would also carry medical insurance card and $20 cash.

 

[Jamie77]

You for got to add........ as long as Disney's IT systems don't crash.

That's the first thing I was thinking. I carry at least $20 cash each day to cover a small meal just to be on the safe side.

 

[hakepb]

You actually don't need your AP card. When I renewed my AP a year ago, I never got a new card. Some CMs are happy to accept my circa-2015 AP card but some request that I pull up my AP on the "tickets and passes" section of the app. One CM suggested taking a screenshot. Now, ID I can't help you with - although I'd be curious to find out if a photo would suffice.

Do non-Disney owned entities restaurants and Sammy Duvall water sports with AP discounts use Magic Bands for discounts?

 

[VAfamily1998]

We were just at Disney last weekend and I went to the park without my full wallet. I wore some "travel pants"
https://www.rei.com/product/861816/rei-co-op-sahara-roll-up-pants-womens-petite
with a large pocket in the front thigh area that was large enough to hold my phone (iphone 6 with a lifeproof case) and a small back pocket that was able to fit my ID, annual pass (for discounts), a credit card, and about $30 in cash, just in case. It was awesome to not have to go through bag check and also to not have to worry on rides about where to put a bag.

 

[Beer Me]

I never go anywhere without id, a cc and some cash. I keep them in a money clip in my front pocket which is no burden at all. Magic bands are convenient but it's stupid to rely on them too much.

 

[Skywise]

I had to go without my wallet.

Disney took all my cash for the room and tix ahead of time!

 

[china mom]

my goal for next trip is to have my ID, CC, Cash and AP card in a lanyard pocket holder thing and go back/mostly wallet free

That's what I do when I travel solo. I have a small pouch on my lanyard with my AP card and Driver's License and about $20 cash. If I am not staying on property I have wristlet gift card.

 

[SaintsManiac]

My husband would never be able to do this. He says he would be "off balance." He even carried his keys the entire trip last time and no, we didn't have our car

 

[NeuroCindy]

I don't want to derail the thread, but tips are not included in the price of Uber.

From the Uber website: (Re: the UberTAXI exception, Uber's website does not show that service available in the Orlando area.)

Can my driver ask for a tip?
As independent contractors, drivers may request tips at their discretion.

Drivers care about rider ratings and do their best to create an ideal trip experience. While Uber does not require riders to offer drivers a cash tip, you are welcome to do so. Should you choose to tip, your driver is welcome to accept or decline.

Please note that the trip fare charged to your payment account does not include a gratuity.

Where available, uberTAXI is an exception. uberTAXI connects riders with licensed yellow cabs and includes the option to set the gratuity percentage added to your trip fare.

You beat me to it. It's also the reason I use Lyft, easier to tip.

 

[AngiTN]

You can indeed continue to charge to the card on file on day of check out. We do all the time
You do need to carry your ID and your AP but if you are not using an AP, or if you don't look too young to drink you can indeed go without any plastic if you want.
We are plenty old enough and have never had to produce an ID to drink. We do have to produce it to get our AP discount.
We switched to Lyft so I don't have to carry cash. We got home last night and not a single time over the week did we spend cash outside the room (where we left a tip for housekeeping). Otherwise 100% charged to the room via our MB.
We've been in the parks A LOT this past 18 months or so and not one did have we encountered a time when the system was down and bands not being accepted. I think the times that happens are pretty seldom. That or we just never bought anything at that time.