Where to Buy Disney Gift Cards
I’ve been talking a lot about Disney because it is our top family destination and I know we aren’t the only ones. It requires some advance planning to make the most of the experience (Disney FastPass System Secrets). Today I want to talk about the cost.
Disney can be an expensive vacation, but there are lots of ways to make it more affordable. One of the best ways is to use gift cards for your trip. To help make this more affordable you need to pay close attention to where to buy Disney gift cards.
Other things that help make your Disney trip more affordable are to stay off-site, go off-season, and taking food and water into the parks. Those are the topic of other posts.
Disney Gift Card Tips (and where to buy Disney Gift Cards)
Disney gift cards are a great hack to help shave the budget. When you are talking about buying Disney gift cards, some things you need to know: you can combine gift cards, you can use gift cards to make payments on your onsite vacation packages, you can use Disney gift cards to purchase almost anything in the park. I’m sure there are exclusions but I’ve never run across one in my 25+ trips so they will be limited.
When choosing where to buy Disney gift cards, there are three main paths to savings: there can be savings on other merchandise as a perk of purchasing, using your benefits of being a member of a retail membership site or warehouse, and/or maximizing rewards with credit card offers.
Perks of Purchase
Buy from stores that have a discount program for using their card, like Target, or a rewards program that gives a discount on other merchandise. Chains like Kroger and CVS will often run specials where something else like gas is reduced when you purchase gift cards.
Maximize your Memberships
Check out any membership stores. Chains like Costco and BJ’s often sell gift cards, including Disney gift cards, for less than face value making them an excellent option to save.
Reap the Rewards
Use a Disney visa or other travel rewards card to purchase Disney cards and you can maximize the savings by gaining travel rewards including adding money to that Disney redemption card for your next trip. To really make the most of this option use it in conjunction with one of the other options above.
Another word about Budget
When you begin planning and budgeting for your trip, please keep in mind that you will not need additional entertainment other than the hotel and Disney. There are lots of options for free entertainment around the resort when the parks get tiring. Pool time is always a hit after long hours in the park. This helps lessen the blow.
We find that we spend about the same amount going to Disney as other trips when we break down all the little expenses.
You can also pay for everything (including a meal plan) in advance which can help make the vacation itself less stressful when you aren’t constantly thinking about how each snack impacts the budget.
