paying out of pocket?

[mrs moon]

looking for advice here?.....I am heading out next summer, first time without a dining plan! Which is the best way to pay for meals?..Do you use cc and have it taken at end of holiday charging it to your room.or do you pay cash? ..thanks in advance...

 

[DebbieB]

looking for advice here?.....I am heading out next summer, first time without a dining plan! Which is the best way to pay for meals?..Do you use cc and have it taken at end of holiday charging it to your room.or do you pay cash? ..thanks in advance...

I like gift cards.

 

[Mrsjvb]

we might bring enough cash into the parks to grab a churro or caramel apple. Everything else is on a credit card.

 

[mrs moon]

we might bring enough cash into the parks to grab a churro or caramel apple. Everything else is on a credit card.

Do you charge it to the room then have it charged in one transaction at the end of vacation or straight on cc?

 

[Deadp00l]

Cash only for 1) Mousekeeping Tip and 2) Balloons in the park.

What credit card(s) do you have and/or plan on using?

 

[mrs moon]

Cash only for 1) Mousekeeping Tip and 2) Balloons in the park.

What credit card(s) do you have and/or plan on using?

barcclays..

 

[buzznina]

Our family rarely does the DDP and normally always does OOP. After every trip I will run our food purchases numbers and, so far, only 1 trip would the DDP have saved us $$. Normally we save $100-$200+ by paying OOP, especially when you add up all the TS tips.
I buy discounted GCs throughout the year and combine them on the disneygiftcard site so I only have a few of them. Then we use our MBs to charge everything to our room, this way everyone in our party can buy stuff without having a person (me) with a CC or GC always there. Then I will grab a GC out of the safe and stop in the lobby to pay the balance off every few days and get a printout so that I can quickly look over it to make sure there are no surprises. This rarely takes more than a few minutes. Like a PP we only use cash for tips and the few things that are cash only. When the trip is over we rarely ever have any charges go against our CC on file, which is a VERY nice feeling.

 

[SteveH]

We haven't done any dining plan, ever. With our kids and now with just wife and I we budget of our meals in advance. We would look over menus of places we had a reservation and get a rough idea of prices. Generally we have the cash, but we use a CC for purchases - I don't charge back to the room for most places as I prefer to track my spending and how much we spent each day. For Counter Service the Magic Band is helpful. I don't carry a debit card on any trips. Once the trip is over we pay the CC off and enjoy our trip memories.

 

[Aprilshack]

I'm setting a budget and putting it on a separate gift card to merchandise spends.

 

[sponica]

It depends, when i'm pinching pennies to go, I bring cash or put the money in my "fun" account. When I'm not pinching pennies, I charge to the room.

After the dystopic heck-scape of 2020, I'll be buying ALL THE THINGS and burning money so fast the next time I get to go (with a kid under 2, I'll need a lot less covid for that to happen)

 

[lanejudy]

Nothing kills a vacation more than returning home to a huge credit card bill! I budget ahead and buy gift cards plus take some cash; the credit card stays in the wallet as a back-up.

 

[AngieInOH]

We charge everything to to room account (scan our Magic Bands). I like doing this. At the end of the trip you get a breakdown of all your costs, and I can see how much I spent on food, souvenirs, etc.

FYI, We've always used the Dining Plan, except for our last trip. My girls turned "adults" in Disney's eyes and I just couldn't bring myself to pay adult prices for them. We ended up saving around $200 and visited Via Napoli, which I would never go to before on the Dining Plan (couldn't bring myself to use our dining credits on Pizza!). It turns out we all loved it!!

 

[ars0525]

Everything goes on my credit card.

If I carried cash around I would lose it asap. I also rarely use cash in everyday life so charging to my cc is my norm.

If you want to pay with cash or gift cards, charge it on your MB & then pay the front desk before they charge your credit card for the final amount.

 

[Moliphino]

I use my magic band or credit card, whichever is easiest for the transaction. I find the credit card is easier at TS and lounges, where the server brings the check, and the magic band is easier if I'm paying at a register.

Either way it ends up on the same credit card.

 

[nw6675]

You really can save quite a bit purchasing discounted gift cards and using them. The budget board has a bunch of tips. Even if you aren't pinching pennies, the savings can be too good to pass up! I make a spreadsheet and put in my meal estimates, plus tax and tip and use that to determine how much to purchase in GCs. I purchase the cards when i know the trip is a for sure thing so I don't get stuck with a card that can't be used.

 

[RoseGold]

I just use my CC like normal, or sometimes magic band. I don't really view this as a problem. I have never used a dining plan.

 

[Miffy]

We always pay out of pocket. We use our credit cards, and very very rarely charge anything to the room.

 

[ruthdoege]

We will be staying at POP for the 1st time. We usually are at The Fort. My question is how much do I tip Housekeeping daily? TIA

 

[Miffy]

We will be staying at POP for the 1st time. We usually are at The Fort. My question is how much do I tip Housekeeping daily? TIA

That is totally up to you. There's no set amount. You will get lots of different responses to this post. I tip $10/day and $20 on check-out day, since that's the day they have to do the most work.

However, it's not clear to me that there's even daily housekeeping right now. Is there?

Edited for clarity.

 

[Bjkandma]

We use discounted gift cards from Target, paying at time of purchase. Carry cash for tips, including table service meals. Have a Chase debit and pull out cash at ATM, as needed. Have a credit card available for "emergencies", but only use it for true emergwncy. (Got stuck at airport going back home and used once)