Looking for Disney Tips for Saving Money? Pay For Your Walt Disney World Trip With Disney Gift Cards.
Disney gift cards are accepted at almost every single restaurant, resort and merchant on Walt Disney World property. The only ones I have found that do not accept gift cards are cash merchants (like the ones that sell the light up toys before the parade or the balloons at the park entrance). I have used Disney gift cards to pay for my package before I arrive, tickets, souvenirs, meals, etc.
I still add a credit card to my resort reservation for MagiBand charging privileges. They won’t charge the credit card until it either reaches $500 in charges or the day before you check out. I stop by the front desk every few days during our trip and pay off the balance with the gift cards. This way I do not have to carry a ton of gift cards in the park with me.
Disney gift cards do not expire and they do not charge you a fee no matter how long you wait to use the card.
So next time you see a perk on a Disney gift card, don’t hesitate to take advantage of it.
Don’t miss the tips to save on the overall cost of your Walt Disney World trip.Â
Learn more about planning your Walt Disney World vacation. Plus overwhelmed with all the planning? Destinations in Florida can help you plan your perfect trip.
Laura says
Is this still valid? I can go to the front desk at my resort and pay off my balance with gift cards every few days? I am planning our first Disney World trip and trying to Swag by way there!
Kim says
You also go on http://www.disneygiftcard.com order gift cards from them. You don’t get any discounts,but they do have a lot of cute gift cards.
Brenda says
Do all Disney resorts accept them? We’re going to Aulani in September, then on the Disney Hawaiian cruise.
alejandro says
Can I use more than one Disney gift card to purchase (by internet) vacation packages in Disney orlando?
Kristin from Couponing to Disney says
You should be able to, I know they can by phone.
kay says
what i found easiest was to open up a disney vacation account, load all my gift cards to that account, and then when I was ready just make 1 payment via the vacation account. Worked great – no hassle, no phone calls or customer service waits. There is a limit on loading 5 gift cards per day though, so plan accordingly if you do this option and you have lots of gift cards. We had 13, so it took 3 days to load them, paid on the 3rd day.
Karen says
Kroger has a new digital coupon offer for $5 off a $50 Disney gift card! Offer expires 12/31 and there is a limit of one per account. Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t hit up the non-Disney fans you know for their discount too!
Laura says
After reading all over the internet and from various people that I could use unlimited gift card to buy my Disney World tickets, I went to Target and bought 27 $50 gift cards, plus I had a $200 gift card for getting my Disney VISA. I called WDW today ready to order my 5 5-day tickets, and the agent told me that I could only use 2 gift cards per person, so 10 gift cards total. I begged and pleaded and she told me that’s all I could use. So then I had a panic attack and started crying because I had already bought $1500 in gift cards, so I asked to speak to her manager. She transferred me to someone in Guest Services who told me I could go ahead and reserve my tickets and then just give my confirmation number at Downtown Disney the night we get there and run my gift cards though there. I’m okay with that but wanted the tickets sooner to see if we would be chosen for the FP+ testing.
So NO, I was NOT allowed to use unlimited gift cards on the phone today to order tickets, but I can use them at Guest Services at the park.
Caroline says
I booked my room and tickets together. I used at least 35 gift cards to pay for my $3200 reservations. I did it all through guest relations during multiple calls. I had no problems. I actually used $1900 on $100 gift cards to pay for dining and charges to our room. I paid the morning the left the Poly without any problems as well. We were just there last month :)
Diane says
I put my gift cards in myself via online. There is a place for that online where they ask for the gift card # or you can use the disney vacation account where the gift cards are pretty much consolidated and then just put that info in and it will apply how ever much $$ you have in that account.
Rachel says
Can you tell me more about where you did this? I was just trying to purchase tickets and apply about 8 gift cards I have and couldn’t figure it out!
Caroline says
If you have a BJ’s Membership Club in your area….then BUY YOUR GIFT CARDS there!!!! They are not included in the store rewards but the price offers savings. $100=$97.99 and $50=47.99. They are available every day as long as stock is there. I buy all they have when I go in. We are going in November and the total cost of the trip with food will be around $5000. By using BJ’s, I am saving $201!!!!!! on the cost of our Disney World trip!
Liz says
target red card it will be 250 in savings on a 5000 trip 5% off
jen d says
So glad I found y’all. Lol
I received over a $1000 dollars in AMEX gift cards for Christmas. Can I use them to pay for our trip?
TIA
Allison Jones says
No worries Kris! I understand completely. :)
Thank you for always booking with us. We do appreciate your business. I hope you can squeeze in another visit with Mickey Mouse!
Kathy says
Are there different types of Disney Gift cards?
I was looking on-line at some of the gift card exchange sites. They have them for 10% off face value, but they are called “Disney Store” gift cards, and one says that it for “Merchandise credit”. Another site has some but they specifically say that it will not work for park admission or park purcahses.
I think that buying gift cards in advance is a genious way to save, but how do I know which ones will work?
Thanks!!
Allison Jones says
Hi Kathy,
I love those “gift card” sites, too. Disney only has one gift card and it is called the Disney Gift Card. These are good for merchandise, dining, packages, room reservation payments, and much more. The Disney Gift Cards are good for anything that is owned by Disney.
Allison
Kris says
Not that I don’t trust Allison, but, has anyone purchased a discounted Disney GC and used it for dining, packages, rooms? The websites listing the GC are pretty up front saying these are only for the stores…..
(and Allison – i’ve booked 3 trips w/ your company and trying to figure out how I can squeeze in a 4th!)
Oleg says
There is Disney STORE card, that you can use in store only.
Kristy Stout says
I was disappointed to learn that the only way to add more cash to a Disney Gift is to go in a Disney Store and do it. I wanted to be able to do it over the phone or online since the closest Disney Store is 2 1/2 hours away from me. I don’t want a ton of $20 gift cards to take with us. So now I guess I will just have to hold onto the money until I have larger amounts.
Lee Ann says
I used Disney gift cards on a vacation package for the first time recently. I usually book through a travel agent (I use AAA) and it worked great. My grocery stores gives you $0.10 off a gallon of gas for every $50 you spend in gift cards. One side note, to be nice to your agent or your disney cast member who is helping you, buy large domination ones to make it a quicker transaction. I had several little ones and I think my agent wanted to kill me, but she was a sweetie and didn’t but for the sake of those people, try and get the larger domination ones….. P.S. my most recent $500 gift card got me $1.00 off a gallon of gas- which means I paid $2.55 per gallon!!!! AWESOME, considering I have an SUV
Sharon says
So for example, in a 20 gallon tank fill-up, that’s $20 off the total, which translates to a 4% bonus on the $500, did I do that right?
Karen says
I build my Disney fund by buying a $15-25 gift card whenever I go to the grocery store. The cards add up quickly wthout being too painful to the budget and I know I will not be able to spend the money on anything BUT the trip. Also, when I booked at Art of Animation, I used multiple gift cards without any problem. Be aware, though, that you will need to hold onto your used cards in case your plans change or Disney will not be able to credit back the funds as you will have to give them the card numbers. I usually just write USED on the card along with the value of the card as not all cards state the value.
Ashley says
Kristin- How often does the Winn Dixie in Birmingham run the gift card deal? We are booking a trip in the next week and I would love to get a bunch before we have to pay for the trip.
Thanks!!!
CandiceMC says
We are saving up for our first trip and I never thought to use gift cards. Great advise from everyone. Thanks!
Shera says
I wish Publix had some incentives on Disney gift cards! The only downside to using them at Disney though is that you get a discount on most food/ merchandise if you pay using your Disney VISA.
Cierese says
I will buy the gas cards when they run the $50 gas card for $40… We drive to Disney, so this helps save a bit on the drive costs.
Laura says
Wow! Such great info. I didn’t know about buying gift cards with gift cards. Gotta try this. Thanks for sharing!
Michele says
My hubby and I are headed to WDW in May. I am seriously thinking of buying the gift cards so as to limit how much I spend on souvenirs. I know from experience, this is where all our money will go if I don’t.
alley says
I didnt know you can save target giftcards for disney giftcards. i didnt know you can buy a giftcard with a giftcard. I wish I knew that, target had a deal during xmas if you spend 50 you get a 10 giftcard. I could of bought some giftcards to get an extra 10 for disney. arggggggggg
Katie says
I have been doing this for the last year. I currently have about $2300 in gift cards. I put them in $200 increments.
Kristen D. says
Until your blog, I had never made the connection that you could use giftcards AT the resorts. Talk about a DOH moment.
Jen says
Such a wonderful idea! Never thought of this!
Ruth says
Every time we get $100 or more in our coupon fund, we go buy a Disney Gift Card with it. This serves two purposes – we aren’t tempted to raid the fund when cash is tight, and we don’t have to worry about having spending money on our trips (to WDW or DCL)!
Danielle Corne says
This is very helpful information! I actually did see Disney gift cards at Target in my area this week, but was unsure if I wanted to purchase or not. I will keep my eyes out for specials with added value for these cards now, and buy them without reserve. Thanks!
Kate says
i requested a gift card for my birthday and we got the $200 gc for opening the disney visa. between the 2 cards, most of our extra purchases were covered!
Jen says
My local grocery store had a father’s day promo last year when you spent $100 on gift cards, you received a $20 coupon for groceries. I double checked with the travel agent first, but bought $4000 worth of gift cards! It was a double coupon rush!
Todd Chamberlain says
Once we decide on a trip date, we start purchasing a $25 gift card each week on our grocery run. It does not cost much weekly, but adds up at the end for souvenirs and meals not on the dining plan.
April Chu says
With Disney giftcards can you add to the amount on the original card? We are planning our vacation and was wondering if they were reloadable for my daughter.
Cierese says
Some of them are, but you have to call the number on the back of the card and add money over the phone. The cards that have an amount on the front you can not add to, but the others you can. I know you can not add the money at the store, its has to be over the phone.
Lindsay says
For my last trip, my husband and I had accumulated a LOT of gift cards… we asked for them for the holidays, birthdays, and we always buy them at our local grocery store when they have the special .20 off per gallon of gas when you buy $50 in gift cards. To prevent from having a ton of gift cards to worry about and keep track of, I called the number on the back of the gift card and had all of my various gift card balances transferred to 1 card! It took a while on the phone reading all of the numbers to them, and I believe that they told me I had to call between 9-5 for them to be able to do this. It was such a great help while we were in Disney! Now we had 1 card that we used for all of our meals, souvenirs, etc. I just read the other day that the max. amount you can have on a Disney gc now is $1,000, so if you are using them to pay for your room, tickets, etc. you may have to have more than 1 card, but it still beats having tons of them!
Also, there is a free app that you can download for your phone that tracks your Disney gc’s. It shows you the time and amount of each purchase that you made and your current balance. And it updates instantly!
carrie says
Can I use my 5% redcard rewards coupon and my 5% redcard discount to save 10%?
Kristin of Couponing to Disney says
I think you can, but I’m not positive..
Kathie M says
According to what I’ve been reading you sure can! I’m going to hold off on buying my gift cards till my next Reward Coupon arrives!
Denise says
Disney Resorts – allow the the maximum use of 2 different payments – to pay for Disney vacations. That is very limiting if you are using gift cards to pay for your Disney vacation.
So I took all my CVS American Express $10.00 gift card from the holidays to my local Disney Store and purchased one Disney gift card….$750.00. That was (75) $10.00 gift cards used to purchase the (1) $750.00 gift card. The cashier at the Disney Store was AMAZING and very helpful. She explained she gets that alot….people using smaller gift cards to purchase larger Disney gift card because of the max 2 forms of payment for Disney resort reservations. The transaction took some time but it was totally worth it as it paid for my upcoming Disney vacation in a few weeks.
I also stock up on those $5.00 Target gift cards with specially marked purchases they have every week. Then purchase a $100.00 VISA gift card at Target. I do the same thing with my Walmart gift cards…just hold on to them until I can purchase a generic VISA gift card.
Kathie M says
My Travel again said I could use gift cards and that is just considered 1 form of payment even if I have 20 of them:) I’m planning on buything them on sale then paying off the trip with them and just using my Disney Visa if I have a little left I still need to pay. Still just 2 forms of payment according to my TA. I asked about buying 1 big Disney gift card with 20 small Disney gift cards at the Disney Store and was told I couldn’t do it.
Cierese says
So far, I’ve used 6 Disney Gift Cards to make payments on my vacation… currently its room only while I wait on a great deal for my trip to come along, but you can call and pay with many of the gift cards. 4 of them only had $10 each…. I will buy them at Kroger during 4x fuel points when I have extra money left from grocery budget or I get free cards by trading in points at quickrewards or disney movie rewards, etc.
Dallas J says
If you are staying on property at Disney, you can use multiple gift cards to pay for your vacation. However, if you are staying elsewhere and just buying park tickets, you can use only one gift card to pay online. There is a special department if you call Disney that will take multiple gift cards, but the wait time on hold can be long.
Emily says
You don’t happen to have the number, do you? Disney is really being sticklers about us wanting to buy 1 day passes and paying with gift cards. We were told we needed to go to a Disney store, and the Disney store told us we couldn’t buy the tickets there. We gotta get this figured out!
kay says
As an alternative option…you can load your disney gift cards into a “disney vacation account”, and then you pay for your tickets with the disney vacation account number. My family did this just this week. We had 13 gift cards, opened the free account, loaded the gift cards (you can only load 5 gift cards per day), and then used the account number to pay for the tickets. “Disney Vacation Account” is a payment option when you buy the tickets. The account is free, but I think we had to contribute $10 to open it. Nevertheless, I did this in just a week and had absolutely no problems. :)
Michele Whittington says
Our local Sam’s has been carrying $100 Disney gift cards for $98.87. I usually see these only around Christmas, but this year I have seen them more often. It’s not much, but every penny counts!
Lorie says
When Grocery shopping & I was under budget thanks to couponing & sales, I would put the difference on a Disney Gift Card. Make sure to not get the ones that say Disney Store, those can’t be used everywhere Disney like the Disney Gift Cards.
Christina says
If you live near a Winn-Dixie, they also sell Disney Gift Cards and just like Kroger, Winn-Dixie offers the Gas Perks…for every $50 spent you get $0.05 fuel perks… Also, on occasion, Winn-Dixie has deals on Gift Cards such as by $50 worth and only pay $45 and so on… Last August, I bought two $300 Disney Gift Cards and only paid $500… I saved $100… Yeah Me!! I also used my Gift Cards to help pay for my Resort as well as meals, souveniers, etc…. I am going again this May and plan to do the same thing….
Angi says
@Kristin…I was sure I did, but now you have me wondering…I also bought some things at the Disney store before we left to take with us for the “I wants” but I thought I used cash there so I could save my gift cards. Darn! I wish I could remember for sure…sorry :(
Angi says
another perk on buying the Disney gift cards…there are certain times at the Kroger where I shop that you can buy gift cards and get 4x fuel points (ie a $25 gift card gets you 100 fuel points) the fuel points will save you money at the gas pump! Who wouldn’t love to save money on gas? Most all the time it’s 2x fuel points. Also, at Sam’s Club for the last 2 years I’ve seen $100 worth of gift cards (4 of the $25 ones) bundled with a disney store gift card for $10. The disney store card is accepted at the disney store in Downtown Disney for sure. That’s $10 free for souvin”ears” when you get there!
Kristin from Couponing to Disney says
When I bought that deal at Sams, the Disney Store gift card was not valid at Downtown Disney as they are different companies. Were you able to use yours there?
Alison says
Target also sells them and if you have a red card you can get 5% off on them or if your an employee you can also get your team member discount off on them.
Rebecca says
Sometimes places like Kroger offer bonus points for buying gift cards, which can then be used towards gas. That’s one perk. Also, sometimes you can find packs of the gift cards at Sam’s that are maybe $98 for $100 worth of cards, which would save you a few $$$.
Tammie Whitaker says
do they expire in a year? if I purchased a gift card now from the grocery store here that sells them do you know how long until they would expire or charges might incur?
Kelly B says
My husband asked the same thing when I said I was going to start purchasing gift cards as we go. Disney gift cards have no fees and do not expire.
https://www.disneygiftcard.com/about/
To answer above question, there are no perks but it helps in saving because you can only use that money for Disney (so you’re not dipping into your Disney fund to pay for lattes, etc). You can buy them online, at Disney stores and lots of other places, I’ve seen them at Target, at Walgreen’s and at grocery stores.
Kristin from Couponing to Disney says
Thanks for the addition to the post! That’s awesome info.
brandy says
what type of perks are there on gift cards and where do you find these? thanks!
Amanda - Destinations in Florida says
Some stores, such as Target and Kroger allow guests who purchase Disney Gift Cards to save money off the purchase off the card or to receive gas savings incentives.
Target – Purchase with your Red Card and receive 5% off the card price
Kroger – Purchase the Disney Gift Cards and receive money off on your gas.
Sams Club – at Christmas time, they have had $100 Disney Gift Cards for $98.50, with a $10 Disney Gift Card that could only be used at Disney Stores (my translation – pay off a vacation with those cards and buy yourself a nice little D&B Disney purse!)
The Disney Gift Cards are great for using throughout Walt Disney World, including paying for your Walt Disney World Vacation (this does exclude some of the kiosks in the parks that sell the little light up toys, etc.), Disney Stores, Disney Online Store. Guests are not limited to the number of cards that they can use, I had a guest a few weeks ago that paid with 56 Disney Gift Cards each worth $100.
My one tip for anyone purchasing with Disney Gift Cards is NOT to toss out the cards after you have used them. If for some reason you need to cancel your vacation, the money will be going back on those gift cards!