Want a quick and easy Disney budgeting tip? Gift cards aren’t just for souvenirs anymore. You can pay for your meal at Be Our Guest, your tickets to the parks, even your resort room fee!
For an upcoming trip, to “save money,” we planned on staying off property for our arrival night. In my search for an affordable room for our family of 5, every hotel told me we exceeded the room limitations. In other words, we’d need two rooms. If I’m going to pay for two rooms, I’d rather be at Disney World. And I know they can accommodate our party in one room at some resorts. I did a search. Chose my resort. Then clicked the button to pay.
Lo and behold, one of the options for payment was gift cards. (Tip: You can only apply one gift card to your “order” if you pay online. If you’d like to use more than one gift card, like I did, call (407) 939-1936 to make your reservations.)
It was a piece of cake.
Now we’re starting the magic one day earlier and it’s already paid for!
But how is this a budget tip?
1. Our family knows what Disney nuts we are. We receive Disney gift cards as gifts. So we collect them and set them aside for our next visit. Free money!
2. Every time I’m at Target, I pick up a Disney gift card. When I pay with my Target card that’s an extra 5% off our bill. Five percent may not sound like a lot. But every little bit helps! Other companies, Costco and Sam’s, also offer discounted Disney gift cards so stock up!
3. And before you know it, this vacation is paid for. Before we leave for our trip. No credit card surprises when we arrive home!
Happy Budgeting!
(There have been a few rumors going around that you are limited to the number of cards that you can use per transaction. I used approximately 24 fifty dollar gift cards to help pay for our most recent trip. If you have any trouble, use the number allowed with that particular Cast Member and then call back to finish off the balance. Or, your authorized Disney travel planner can do it for you. In a nutshell, not all Disney travel “experts” are well versed in this method of payment. Keep trying. Ask to speak to a supervisor and be persistent if you run into trouble. It can be done and can save you a few hundred dollars.)
