Not on the DP this trip, but want to feel like I am

[1GR8DISNEYFAN]

We will not be on the DP this trip, but I want my family to feel like we are. I would like each one of us to have the independence of buying our own snacks and cs meals. I was thinking about getting a gift card for each one of us, writting our names on them, and just having our own plan. Telling everyone they can have 2 sancks a day, and 1 cs meal. And then just estimating how much to put on each card to cover these expences. I am just worried about keeping track of the right amount of money subtracted from each card when it is used and know the balances. And I am also wondering if these gift cards are accepted at all cs restaraunts and food kiosks in every park. Do you think this is a good idea? Does anyone have any better ideas? Thanks.

 

[TDC Nala]

If you use a gift card, your receipt will show how much is left on the gift card. And no, the gift cards are not accepted at every kiosk. If the kiosk doesn't have a card scanner it won't accept it. There are also some kiosks that are not operated by Disney and won't take the gift cards (they wouldn't take dining plan either). This usually applies to the Joffrey's coffee kiosks at Epcot and TTC, the funnel cake kiosk at Epcot's American Pavilion, and the food kiosks outside on the Boardwalk, plus the Boardwalk pizza window.

 

[wdw_monster]

were on the DxDDp but i did the same thing i bought everyone thier own gift for extra food and snack ect. im not sure if thier excepted everywhere at disney but i'm hoping

 

[HuskerFaninIL]

I've never been to Disney (yet) but we went to a different amusement park last year with my dad/stepmom and brothers/wives (and our kids) and they had these little "cool cash" gift cards and my dad got us those and it made life so easy! We were able to eat when and where we wanted and dad was able to cover the cost (which was his goal all along).

Also, at the end of our trip if we had left over money we could get whatever souvies our kids might want.

 

[Homesick for Disney]

I've thought about doing this before. I think it's a great idea; a nice way to not have to worry about how much you're spending on food, as it's already paid for.

 

[rlovew]

They will definately be able to use them anywhere that takes the DDP as the same card readers work for both the plan and gift cards. As someone mentioned before the reciept will show the amount of money left on the card.

 

[Disfan3]

How about Visa gift cards??! General Visa cards that are pre-loaded with a certain amount...those can be used anywhere. I see them at Walgreens and WalMart all the time...

 

[sjs314]

If it were me I would have 1 , tops 2 gift cards. How old are your kids? I know my DS could be scatter brains at times and with my luck they would lose the gift card and I would be out the money.

The first time we went to Disney my DS were 9 and 19 and the 19 year old in his hurry to get on the bus to go back to the hotel, got on the wrong bus, he did not notice till it pulled out lucky for him it was late after park closing and the driver dropped him off at our hotel since it was nearby.

 

[TinLizzy90]

I would say to get the Disney Cards over the Visa gift cards - the fees on Visa gift cards are exorbitant, and they won't have the benefit of getting the balance printed on the receipts.

 

[NMAmy]

Why not just use your KTTW cards? If they're lost, it can be cancelled and reissued. You wouldn't have to worry about the kids losing their card.

 

[Belle5]

We were on the DDP in Feb 2011, but last May we were not. We also wanted our kids to have that freedom that they are used to when having the DDP of getting a snack or QS meal of their choice. Several of our kids are older and tend to go off independently making sure to meet up with us for dinner. The way we handled it was that my DH (using our rental car) would hit an ATM machine each morning before the kids woke up and he would get out a bunch of cash. He would hand each of our older sons a $20 and tell them that was to cover their snacks, drinks and a QS meal each day. They loved it and had more freedom than with the DDP since they weren't limited in their snack choices. Then we would cover the dinner cost at a TS--allowing them to order as if they were on the DDP but we used our TIW instead. It worked out really well and we saved a lot of $$ because no one ever seemed to be hungry because of the snacking and the heat. We came in WAYYY under budget!

Just for the record, going out to an ATM each morning may seem extreme for some, but my DH had to go out each day any way for personal reasons. Also, we just didn't want to keep a bunch of cash in our room...even in a safe (although I'm sure we could have done so safely). This is what worked for us...perhaps others could tweak it to work for them. I think the cash was a lot easier to use than a credit card.

 

[Jetta8300]

We did this last trip and it worked out very well! Every kiosk/restaurant/gift shop we went to throughout the parks accepted the gift card. I know that the Swan/Dolphin hotels do not accept the card. But even some places that do not accept the dining plan DO accept the gift card (such as Bistro de Paris, Paradiso 37, etc). We looked through all of the Downtown Disney restaurants and every one we checked took the card. I think they all do. You can look on the Disney website at all of the restaurants and if they do not take the card it will tell you-

"This dining facility does not accept Disney room charges, the Disney Dining Plan, or Disney Gift Cards." -Taken from the Il Mulino page.

If you get the card off of disneygiftcard.com they have hundreds of different looking cards, so you could get everyone a different card and keep track of whose is whose that way. It worked out SO WELL for us! And we are doing it again this trip. It also states your balance at the bottom of each receipt.

We have had TERRIBLE luck in the past using those Visa money cards at restaurants. It is hard to use them once it gets down to the last $20 or so, because the card is made to make sure there is enough room for a tip. So the cards have been rejected when we tried to pay for a $35 dinner with a $50 card, because the card is afraid there will not be enough room for a tip. I would advise against using these!!

 

[Jetta8300]

Why not just use your KTTW cards? If they're lost, it can be cancelled and reissued. You wouldn't have to worry about the kids losing their card.

If it were me I would have 1 , tops 2 gift cards. How old are your kids? I know my DS could be scatter brains at times and with my luck they would lose the gift card and I would be out the money.

The first time we went to Disney my DS were 9 and 19 and the 19 year old in his hurry to get on the bus to go back to the hotel, got on the wrong bus, he did not notice till it pulled out lucky for him it was late after park closing and the driver dropped him off at our hotel since it was nearby.

BTW if you take a picture of your gift card so you have the number (and bring your receipt) they will re-issue it for you if it is lost!

 

[1GR8DISNEYFAN]

Thank you for all the suggestions! It sounds like the gift cards will work best for us. This is the first time we wll be staying off site (Bonnet Creek). Everyone is excited about where we are staying, but they expressed how much the liked the DP and will really miss it. There is just something about having that card and feeling like you can get whatever you want that makes vacation feel really special. If we had to pull money out of our wallet to pay for something everytime, our thriftyness would kick in and we would just tell ourselves that we don't need it.

If you get the card off of disneygiftcard.com they have hundreds of different looking cards, so you could get everyone a different card and keep track of whose is whose that way. It worked out SO WELL for us! And we are doing it again this trip. It also states your balance at the bottom of each receipt.

I love this idea! I checked out this web site and there are so many cute cards. I will definitely be ordering a different design for each one of us. Just another thing to get excited about!

 

[sjs314]

BTW if you take a picture of your gift card so you have the number (and bring your receipt) they will re-issue it for you if it is lost!

I did not know that but I do have to wonder if it was hours later when you discovered the missing gift card and in the meantime if someone found and used it, what then?

 

[1GR8DISNEYFAN]

I do have to wonder if it was hours later when you discovered the missing gift card and in the meantime if someone found and used it, what then?

Thant is a good point, I am afraid the money would be lost. I wonder if the same thing could happen with the regular dining plan card, if you lost it and somone found it and used some of your dinning credits, would disney replace them? Also I think with each family member having their own gift card it allows for a smaller amount of money to be on each card vs. a large amount on one card. I might even consider reloading cards mid trip to keep balance a littler lower incase one is lost.

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

i second the keys to the world card idea.

 

[bjscheel]

I am doing Disney gift cards. I split the money between 3 cards so if one is lost, it will not be AS big a deal as if all the money were on one. Add our Disney Visa rewards card and we will have 4 cards with money on them. We do like just handing over a card and feeling that it's already paid for, but the dining plans won't fit our style this trip. I should take pictures of the backs, as suggested.

Plus, when I ordered the gift cards, Disney Shopping apparently fit into one of the Discover 5% cash back categories for 1st quarter, so I got more rewards to put towards the trip expense. Bonus!

 

[smiths02]

Why not just use your KTTW cards? If they're lost, it can be cancelled and reissued. You wouldn't have to worry about the kids losing their card.

I agree with this. I wouldn't tie my money up in gift cards unless it was getting me a discount.

If you are off site, couldn't you just give each person $20 each day? (2 snacks and a counter service)

 

[Jetta8300]

I did not know that but I do have to wonder if it was hours later when you discovered the missing gift card and in the meantime if someone found and used it, what then?

This is totally true. But wouldn't it be the same if you lost your KTTW card? Someone could just keep making purchases on it as well. At least with your gift card there would be a limit to how much the perpetrator could spend

I know a friend of mine uses the gift cards, and punches a hole in them, then puts them on a lanyard for her kids to wear around their necks to make them less likely to lose it!