Using Cash

[howedaniel]

We are travelling from the UK in December. What is the current situation with using cash in the states and parks? Here cards seem to be preferred over cash with some places not accepting cash at all.

 

[PirateBrigade]

We are travelling from the UK in December. What is the current situation with using cash in the states and parks? Here cards seem to be preferred over cash with some places not accepting cash at all.

Cash is generally still accepted, but not everywhere. There are some upscale markets and food places that only take card. The issue at Disneyland will be a) mobile ordering of food, and b) paying for upcharge add-ons (like Genie+, lightning lanes, etc...)... not using a card will either be impossible, or extremely difficult, since it is app-based.

If you don't want to use your UK based card, it might be a good idea to buy a prepaid Visa or Mastercard debit card from any general store in the US (Target, Wal-Mart, a grocery store), load cash onto it, and use that within the Disneyland app.

 

[DonnerB]

Can’t speak to the Parks despite having been there last week, but generally across Los Angeles it has been common to see signs stating exact change is required (coin shortage). There are quite a few cashless places around as well.

 

[RunnerMom71]

My young daughter had a bunch of cash that she saved up over the months for spending $ in the parks. Last August she had zero issues spending her cold hard cash all over Disney & DTD! No one seemed to mind in the sightest.

Also I needed cash on hand for tips for the hotel staff & housekeeping: still don't know how to manage that one without cash on hand. No one seemed upset about that.

 

[evilmommie]

My young daughter had a bunch of cash that she saved up over the months for spending $ in the parks. Last August she had zero issues spending her cold hard cash all over Disney & DTD! No one seemed to mind in the sightest.

Also I needed cash on hand for tips for the hotel staff & housekeeping: still don't know how to manage that one without cash on hand. No one seemed upset about that.

100! I was at DLR and used cash during several transactions. No one blinked an eye.

 

[nuttynatty]

I am from Canada and plan on bringing cash too...mainly because it's cheaper than using a credit card! One thing I thought of is putting that cash onto a DL gift card and then you can use that almost everywhere. Maybe keep some aside for Churro carts and tips lol

 

[ParkHopper1]

Maybe keep some aside for Churro carts

Even the Chrruo carts take credit cards and Disney gift cards.

...some of us need to finance our snacks at those prices!

 

[GoldeneyezCA]

Another perspective: We stopped using cash at Disneyland after a trip to the UK in summer 2019, for which we purchased pounds and never used them! We used Apple Pay on our watch or phones for nearly every transaction - food, transit, etc. So yes, you can use cash in the parks, but I adopted the practice from across the pond, and now all of our DLR transactions are via Apple Pay or card. For the non-Apple users, I believe that Samsung Pay is also an option.

 

[Kender]

Another perspective: We stopped using cash at Disneyland after a trip to the UK in summer 2019, for which we purchased pounds and never used them! We used Apple Pay on our watch or phones for nearly every transaction - food, transit, etc. So yes, you can use cash in the parks, but I adopted the practice from across the pond, and now all of our DLR transactions are via Apple Pay or card. For the non-Apple users, I believe that Samsung Pay is also an option.

Yes, they accept other types of NFC payments beyond Apple Pay including Samsung Pay and Google Pay.

 

[howedaniel]

Thanks everyone for your replies, it is really useful to know that both are generally accepted. I think we will mainly use our card, we have one specifically for transactions in a different currency but will bring some cash for tips etc.

 

[LovesTimone]

You might want to get a Disneyland GC, and put the cash on it, I would not do a large amount at one time, you can always add to it or just get another one, it makes it so much easier to just slide the GC... We do this for food and wine, alot easier just slide and move along, the recipe will tell you what you have left on the card...

I would keep some cash for tips, servers, bell men, housekeeping, Uber or Taxi drivers, at the airport...