Where have you used the Disney "Gift Card" in WDW?

[abk96]

We are going to the World this summer and have decided to not buy the DDP. Instead we are going to do all counter service this trip.

I would like to buy some Disney GIFT CARDS, not Disney dollars or the rewards card, to pay for most of our meals instead of carrying around cash and resorting to running up the credit cards.

So tell me where you have had success using these gift cards and where you had trouble/or they weren't accepted.

Some places we frequent are WGP Express, Earl of Sandwich, and Sunshine Season's.

TIA

 

[RMulieri]

Not sure but interested in the answers since someone gave me a $50 Disney gift card!!!

 

[WillCAD]

I haven't actually USED my Disney Gift Card anywhere at WDW - I put it down as a deposit to enable room charging.

But I do know that the Disney Gift Card is accepted in all of the same places that accept room keys; the Gift Cards are swiped in the same readers. This includes shops, stores, and carts; restaurants, eateries, and snack carts; parks, resorts, water parks, and Downtown Disney.

 

[juju]

For the past 2 years, we have gone during Oct at Food and Wine time. We used it everywhere, including the Epcot temporary food booths. They actually encourage you to buy them at Epcot to use for this purpose. But you can use them everywhere else too for dining and shopping. We like it because we load a certain amount on the card and can keep track of how much we are spending.

 

[michellelovesthemous]

They are soooo convenient!! The only place I didn't really use it was at DTD so I figured 1/2 day out of 10 ain't bad!!

 

[Tissa]

I used mine to pay for food at ts places and the kids used theirs to buy stuff in the gift shops.

 

[Juanaiguana]

i used mine to buy dinner at Prime Time at Disney Hollywood Studios, and to pay for pins, but the pin kiosk had trouble reading the card, which the CM said happened 'a lot'. No trouble at the restaurants with them though!

 

[RMulieri]

Good to know. Thanks!!!

 

[seashell724]

So, they are good pretty much anywhere then? And you just buy them at the Disney store right?

 

[WillCAD]

So, they are good pretty much anywhere then? And you just buy them at the Disney store right?

Pretty much anywhere that is A) Owned by Disney and B) has a card reader, at WDW, Disneyland, the Disney Cruise Line, and Disneyshopping.com.

You can buy them at many shops at WDW, Disneyland, at all Disney Stores throughout the country, and at DisneyGiftCard.com

If you buy them from the Disney Store, you only get one choice of design.

When you go to DisneyGiftCard.com and click on "Buy the card," you will have a choice of two places to buy it - from the Disneyland web site or the DisneyShopping.com web site; choose Disneyland, because that site has many different card design options to choose from.

After you buy the card, you can ADD money to it any time you want at any Disney Store. Unfortunately, you can't add money to it online. But I use my gift cards as a way to save for my yearly WDW trip; I pick up a card and add some money to it at my local Disney Store, every payday, all year long.

Best of all, if you lose the card or it gets stolen, you can get it replaced, just like a lost ATM or credit card - all you need is the original purchase reciept (so save that reciept!)

 

[abk96]

Thanks for the replies.

So I guess most places in DTD like WGP Express and Earl of Sandwich are out because I don't think they are owned by Disney. Am I correct? Someone help if I'm not.

 

[hercamore]

I htink we used our gift card in Dec at Pop Food Court. .

I'm thinking Earl of Sandwich probalby takes them because I know they take disney dollars.


herc.

 

[HarleyMom]

We used Gift Cards for EVERY meal (and every souvenir, too) in August except for one - Wolfgang Puck cafe in DTD. Even the snack/water/soda carts in the parks accept them. They are extremely convenient, and you get a receipt every time telling you the new balance. They worked wonderfully, and we are now using the same cards and adding money to them every month for our next trip. I highly recommend using them instead of cash!!

 

[abk96]

Thanks everyone. I will get gift cards. Sounds like we'll probably only need cash for WGP Express. That's manageable.

 

[SnowWtch]

We used them at O'Hana and WCC. I can't remember if we used them at Earl of Sandwich or Goofy's Candy. I never had a problem anytime I tried to use the cards. I had a Disney Visa Rewards card and Disney Gift Cards and no one gave me any problems. I used my Rewards card at the GF Afternoon Tea and never had a problem with that card either.

 

[mom2zandjsquared]

willCad mentioned putting it down for the room charging option; how do I go about this? It wasn't offered to me when I paid with my gift card for my room.

 

[WillCAD]

willCad mentioned putting it down for the room charging option; how do I go about this? It wasn't offered to me when I paid with my gift card for my room.

Some CMs don't even know how to do it.

Basically, you tell the CM when you check in that you want to enable charging on your room keys. The main way that this is done is to swipe a credit card, but you can also put down cash/travellers checks/Disney Dollars/Disney Gift Cards as a deposit.

If you charge the entire amount, you won't be able to charge anything more to the room until you put some more money down.

If you charge less than what you deposited, you will get the remainder back as cash when you check out.

You can go to the front desk and ask for a print of all of your charges at any time.

As I said, many CMs at the resort check in desks don't know that you can put a cash deposit down to enable room charging. Some will even tell you that it can't be done - but we know better! I have personally done it for the last 5 years on every on-site stay. If you get a check-in CM who doesn't know how or who insists that it can't be done, just ask him to cal his manager; the managers all seem to know how it's done.

Be sure to tell the CM that you want to enable room charging before he begins to code your keys; in fact, it's a good thing to tell him as soon as you walk up to the desk, "Good morning! I have a room-only reservation for a ____ room, I'm not on the dining plan, and I want to enable room charging. If possible I'd like to have a room in _____ section, yada, yada, yada..." Also include any special features you requested or paid extra for, such as a fridge or a roll-away or connecting rooms.

And always say good morning or good evening, and always smile. CMs aren't the only ones who can spread Disney Magic, you know!

 

[katyjeka]

We bought them all year long for our Dec. trip, and charged nothing. It was great to come home to no vacation bills. We used them everywhere, but Mcdonalds at DTD.(They do not take them). I did buy my share of dolewhips and many snacks from carts with no problem. We also paid for a fireworks cruise, although the man had to call to see what he was to do. The only other problem we accountered was some of the cashiers couldnt get them to scan, until I saw a girl wrap ours with paper, and scan it that way. It worked for everyone when I told them what to do from that point. Oh, one other place was at Rainforest at AK, they do not take them. Have a great trip. Janice