Welcome to planDisney, Nancy, and thanks for this great question. Your
Walt Disney World Resort visit is a heartbeat away, so let's look at using
Disney Gift Cards to pay for food and merchandise during your trip.
Only credit and debit cards can be saved to your My Disney Experience account, but I have some good news. You can use your
mobile app for food and merchandise purchases using your Disney Gift Card as payment. Choose the
Mobile Food Orders tile to order meals and snacks or the
Merchandise Mobile Checkout tile for merchandise.
After you've placed an order on your app and come to the payment page, choose "Use a Different Payment Method," tap "Add Card," and select "Disney Gift Card." You'll enter the 16-digit card number, so my tip is to type that number in the Notes section of your phone. You can copy and paste it whenever you use it to check out in the app. It's as easy as hugging Mickey!
When you use your MagicBand for purchases, those charges appear on your Disney Resort Hotel folio. The credit or debit card required to use this service will be charged for those purchases. Even though Disney Gift Cards can't be tied to your resort stay via MagicBand, you can use the mobile app for any purchases you'd like to come from the gift card.
Speaking of Mobile Ordering, one of my favorite snacks is the Caramel Butter Bar at
Karamell-Küche in
EPCOT. You can choose your arrival window, stroll past the standby line, and pick up this decadent treat. It's almost too easy; I tend to order more than one. Oh well. I usually walk it off during the day in the park!
Nancy, I hope your upcoming visit is the gift that keeps on giving. Please
stop by planDisney anytime!
Magic awaits,
Elaine