PrePaid Cards vs wristbands

[staceylyns]

Hi, next month we will be traveling with a high school group (im chaperoning) The only thing the trip isnt covering is lunches-I am concerned that if I hand my child a bunch of cash, various disasters may happen (Im sure we will be seperated) I dont think the students will be given wristbands and I am wondering if a prepaid american express is the way to go?

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

How old is your child ? Do you really think that Disney staff will accept an Amex card off a school child to pay for meals and souvenirs ?

 

[RememberWhen]

A Disney giftcard is another option

 

[DManRightHere]

How old is your child ? Do you really think that Disney staff will accept an Amex card off a school child to pay for meals and souvenirs ?

If it is prepaid, I don't see any reason why they should not.

 

[DManRightHere]

I second using Disney gift cards. If it id more than 25 I would suggest using multiple gift cards in increments of $25.

 

[MickeyMomV]

The thought of a bunch of high school kids with room charging privileges sounds a bit disastrous. If they are staying on property I would think disney would make them pay out of pocket, especially if their parents may not be staying with the group. Keep in mind the Magic Band is only a link to charge Disney purchases back to your Disney resort, then you pay your room charges with a credit/gift card or cash. I would send a combination of gift cards and cash.

 

[allidog1]

What is the difference between cash and the prepaid American Express? The kid can still use it most places. The Disney gift card is a good idea, but if you are worried that your child will blow it on thing that are not food then you land in the same boat as giving them cash.

 

[staceylyns]

Hes a junior in HS.. and no I will not be giving him room charging privileges, I havent been able to find disney gift cards (just ones for tickets)
I never expected a bunch of rude responses and I can not find what card is preferred in the parks. And I do not know if the restaurants or the lunch places prefer cash, or a card. it seems to me disney prefers wristbands-and I am not sure I can buy one seperately from the room.
And to be considerate I dont want to list the disasters I see happening. Its an honest question.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Hes a junior in HS.. and no I will not be giving him room charging privileges, I havent been able to find disney gift cards (just ones for tickets)
I never expected a bunch of rude responses and I can not find what card is preferred in the parks. And I do not know if the restaurants or the lunch places prefer cash, or a card. it seems to me disney prefers wristbands-and I am not sure I can buy one seperately from the room.
And to be considerate I dont want to list the disasters I see happening. Its an honest question.

Disney gift cards can be found at a variety of stores, I've seen them at Target, Walgreens, Sam's Club, and Walmart. If you are traveling with him they also sell gift cards at any WDW gift shop. I wouldn't see much of a difference between using a prepaid AmEx or a Disney gift card, although doesn't AMEX have a fee of some sort. If it were my son I would give him a combo of gift card and cash and tell him that is all he gets and if he blows it he blows it. Again if you are traveling with you could give him a set amount everyday and he would be responsible for budgeting. If you aren't traveling put a set amount in envelopes for every day or if you think he can't budget it have one of the adult chaperones dole out his envelope everyday (I have had to do that when chaperoning teens on trips).

 

[Sonconato]

The idea @ajrwdwgirl had is a very good one. You probably need to be concerned that if you hand it all out at once, they could accidentally lose it on a ride or something. Also, check to see if they have dining vouchers. I swear I have seen groups of kids (and adults) hand some type of paper when paying for their meal...no cash or card. I'm not sure this exists but it might be worth asking.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Strongly suggest with the post above on Disney Gift Cards..That way they have a limit and when it's used you don't have to worry.

 

[Retroman40]

No rude response here. I chaperoned many a trip when my kids were in middle and high school and there were always kids who burned through all their cash/prepaid card before the trip was over. They would end up calling home and begging for more. It is super easy to burn through cash at WDW. All stores/restaurants pretty much accept all forms of payment equally. Personally I like the idea of issuing cash on a daily basis since they can see exactly how much they have left.

 

[DisneyChik17]

I would use two separate gift cards, one for food and one for souvenirs. Maybe make the food card re-loadable and have the souvenir card be a firm amount that you agree on together.

Also, I would make sure he has a lanyard to wear with his ticket and gift cards so that he can wear them on the rides and reduce the rick of losing them. And cards can be deactivated and reactivated in the event of losing it (as long as you keep a photocopy of the cards for #s and info).

 

[TARDIS]

We always prebuy gift cards from the disneystore.com for food purchases.Could do one for each day as a daily budget or one for food and one for souvenirs.

 

[MickeyMomV]

I never expected a bunch of rude responses and I can not find what card is preferred in the parks. And I do not know if the restaurants or the lunch places prefer cash, or a card. it seems to me disney prefers wristbands-and I am not sure I can buy one seperately from the room.

I don't think any of the posts were meant to come off as rude. We are all just trying to help.

As far as preferred method of payment disney does not discriminate. They will take payment in all forms. Typically we use cash for everything as we don't carry credit cards. We don't charge to our room as we are scared of surprises at the end of the trip because like others have said it is easy to run up a good sized final bill.

If your trip does not include Magic Bands you can order one from the disney store. Often times they are a bit cheaper through the store than getting them at the park.

Also, check to see if they have dining vouchers. I swear I have seen groups of kids (and adults) hand some type of paper when paying for their meal...no cash or card. I'm not sure this exists but it might be worth asking.

Now that you mention it a co-worker was down there 2 years ago with the high school band and I remember her talking about the kids having vouchers for food. If I remember correctly it only covered $9 or $10 per meal. She said she would eat all meals with her group and she usually spent an additional $15 to $20 per meal to grab the kids a few extra's. I'm not sure if the vouchers were set up by the school or Disney.

 

[EOD K9]

A Disney giftcard is another ( a better )option

With Disney gift cards, you also wont have to worry about them spending it anywhere outside the parks. I would give a small amount of cash for incidentals. Sometimes I would buy a snack at a cart and use cash. Totally your choice of course.

 

[MinnieM123]

Just a general comment about the Disney gift cards: when you use them to buy something at WDW, your new balance will show on the receipt. It's a convenient way to keep track of how much money you still have left on the gift card.

 

[dreamfinder]

Hes a junior in HS.. and no I will not be giving him room charging privileges, I havent been able to find disney gift cards (just ones for tickets)
I never expected a bunch of rude responses and I can not find what card is preferred in the parks. And I do not know if the restaurants or the lunch places prefer cash, or a card. it seems to me disney prefers wristbands-and I am not sure I can buy one seperately from the room.
And to be considerate I dont want to list the disasters I see happening. Its an honest question.

OP - https://www.disneygiftcard.com/ As PPs have mentioned, you can buy Disney Gift Cards all over the place, many of the gift card kiosks in grocery stores will carry them. And if you don't have any of those nearby, then the website I just linked will let you buy one.

In park they will take pretty much most major forms of currency. Cash, Visa, MasterCard, AmEx, and I think guest services will still let you cash in Traveller's Checks.

I'm not 100% sure if you are traveling with your son, and if you are staying on property. If you are staying on property, WDW will require you to get a MagicBand. You can decline when you show up and demand a card, but they use the bands for room keys, park admission, room charging, etc. Pretty much everything on property is tied into the bands. If you aren't staying on property, or for some reason your trip coordinator declined bands for everyone, you can buy them in most of the stores. However, the only to use them for payment is to have them be linked to a room reservation that has charging privileges. Different cards can be assigned to each person in the room, so unless your son passes around his band, no one else would charge to your card. They cannot currently be used for payment if you are staying off property. If you are traveling with your son, you can do a Disney Gift Card with a small amount on it, and then reload the card each day. (You can do this remotely as well, but I find it to be easier to check the balance simply by looking at the receipts) That would keep them from spending it all at once.

Alternately, look at this as a learning experience for your son. They get a set amount of money at the beginning of the trip, and they need to be responsible for budgeting correctly. Heck, offer the carrot that you are budgeting $X per day, and if they come back with anything they get to keep it, and the stick that if they go over the $X per day, it will come out of their allowance until it is repaid.

 

[righttrack]

High school kids with credit cards/debit cards are the norm around here. Why send your child into the world with cash? If you send them with an Amex card (credit or prepaid) they are much safer. My kids have had a card since 8th grade.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

Hes a junior in HS.. and no I will not be giving him room charging privileges, I havent been able to find disney gift cards (just ones for tickets)
I never expected a bunch of rude responses and I can not find what card is preferred in the parks. And I do not know if the restaurants or the lunch places prefer cash, or a card. it seems to me disney prefers wristbands-and I am not sure I can buy one seperately from the room.
And to be considerate I dont want to list the disasters I see happening. Its an honest question.

No one has mentioned this, but you can now limit the dollar amount for room charges for him. That way he has a daily allowance he can't go over. Magic bands are the way to go for everything there, and as mentioned, if they are not provided (which they should be if you're on-site), you can purchase them, and link them easily to your room, tickets, and FP+.