Paying with Gift Cards at Restaurants

[nlenguyen]

Hello!,
We will we going in January and I would like to purchase giftcards so that I do not have to carry around my credit card throughout the trip. We will be eating at Yachtman's steakhouse, Geyser Point and possibly another restaurant in DS. For the most part I have understood that giftcards should be accepted everywhere owned by Disney. Are there any restaurants in DS that would not accept Disney GC's?

 

[RanDIZ]

Gift cards are the only way I pay at WDW. Geyser Point is one location I’ve been. I don’t think you should have any issues anywhere. What’s also great is you can put the card # in notes on your phone and just copy and paste when placing mobile orders.

 

[evilqueenmindy]

I’ve never had an issue anywhere on Disney property with a gift card, even at Disney springs restaurants.
disney also has a super helpful website “Disneygiftcards” dot com, where you can enter all your gift cards or combine them. Makes it much easier to keep track of. I like to combine all my various gift cards on to one; then keep an empty one in my suitcase in case it gets lost.

 

[Mazz519]

We were just there this past September and used Gift cards for everything all our meals Genie + and ILL.....bought at Bjs and saved some money

 

[focusondisney]

disney also has a super helpful website “Disneygiftcards” dot com, where you can enter all your gift cards or combine them. Makes it much easier to keep track of.

Just a word of caution, in case you haven’t heard. There have been several reports over the years from people who left cards on that site & had them disappear or had the funds on them go missing. It’s generally recommended to use the site to combine your cards & then delete them all. There is a disclaimer on the site that it is not a digital wallet & shouldn’t be treated as one. If you’re concerned about losing the physical cards, you could always keep the numbers written down in your wallet, on the room safe or store them on your phone’s wallet.

 

[evilqueenmindy]

Just a word of caution, in case you haven’t heard. There have been several reports over the years from people who left cards on that site & had them disappear or had the funds on them go missing. It’s generally recommended to use the site to combine your cards & then delete them all. There is a disclaimer on the site that it is not a digital wallet & shouldn’t be treated as one. If you’re concerned about losing the physical cards, you could always keep the numbers written down in your wallet, on the room safe or store them on your phone’s wallet.

Oh I always combine and delete, I just leave one extra empty in case of emergency

 

[focusondisney]

Oh I always combine and delete, I just leave one extra empty in case of emergency

Oh, that’s good. Sorry I wasn’t sure if you meant easier to keep track of them by keeping on that website. Just didn’t want to see you have problems & lose money.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

It might not be a strategy for everyone, but we take the approach of charging to the room through MB, and then pay down the bill before checkout with the cards - then we don't need to worry about who takes them and who doesn't, and we use all the cards at one time. That being said, the cards are likely to be taken at nearly all Disney locations, including restaurants.

 

[Sugardimples]

I think we couldn’t use Disney Gift Cards at Jaleo.

 

[mmouse50]

Can you pay the tip with the gift card also? Since we will be a party of over 6 the 18% will automatically added to the total won't it?

 

[focusondisney]

Can you pay the tip with the gift card also? Since we will be a party of over 6 the 18% will automatically added to the total won't it?

Yes, the tip should already be added for parties of 6. But if it isn’t, you can still pay it with your gift card or a Disney Rewards card. The server will process it similar to a credit card. Meaning they take the card to the register & bring back a slip for you to sign, plus a copy for you. There will be a line to add the tip on that slip. So when the final process of the card happens, the total with tip will be deducted.

The thing to be aware of is that when they bring you the slip to sign, your copy will have the gift card balance listed & often the server will circle your balance to highlight it for you. But remember that balance is before the tip is deducted. So you won’t have that amount the next time you go to use the card. When I’m adding the tip & signing the slip, I usually go ahead & subtract the tip amount from the balance listed on my copy. So I know what my real balance will be right then.

 

[ttintagel]

Back in the Dining Plan days, I used to pay just for the alcoholic drinks on a gift card, and I found it was a great way to budget for alcohol and keep myself from spontaneously overindulging. I'd estimate the cost of one drink a day, multiply it by the number of days, and carry a card with that approximate amount.

 

[eticketplease]

It might not be a strategy for everyone, but we take the approach of charging to the room through MB, and then pay down the bill before checkout with the cards - then we don't need to worry about who takes them and who doesn't, and we use all the cards at one time. That being said, the cards are likely to be taken at nearly all Disney locations, including restaurants.

This is what our family does as well. Makes it easier if we end up splitting up. The only downside was mobile ordering. We would copy a gift card into the notes section of our phone and paste it when using Mobile ordering. Since you use MDE to order and MDE knows you are staying on site it would be nice if one day you could mobile order and charge to the room though.

 

[Tall Todd]

Bluezoo at the Dolphin did not accept Disney Gift Cards. I was told none of the restauruants at Swan and Dolphin take them.

 

[eticketplease]

Bluezoo at the Dolphin did not accept Disney Gift Cards. I was told none of the restauruants at Swan and Dolphin take them.

Yes that is true nothing at the Swan or Dolphin take Disney Gift Cards and they also will not allow you to use a magic band either

 

[Tall Todd]

Yes that is true nothing at the Swan or Dolphin take Disney Gift Cards and they also will not allow you to use a magic band either

YEAH!! Or a tap to pay on a phone....
I didn't have any cards or enough cash to cover the bill. The manager was very understanding saying this happens frequently, gave me his card and said call back with a credit card later. It was easily resolved but rather embarrassing.