Hi Ali!
Welcome back to planDisney!
I’m a HUGE fan of paying with Disney gift cards on our trips. It’s nice to spend a little at a time leading up to the trip, so we don’t have a big shock to our bank account during our trip!
While there’s no way to add a Disney gift card to your My Disney Experience account, there are still ways to use that gift card throughout your stay.
Since you’re staying at the Contemporary, you can
charge purchases to your room using your
MagicBand or Key to the World card. Usually that charge will be paid off with the card you’ve added to your account. But, from my experience, there is a way to pay it off with your Disney gift card!
I’ve found that your card on file will be charged in the early morning hours of your check-out date if your trip is less than 5 days. If your trip is 5 days or more, that charge will occur every 5th day of your vacation and at check out.
I always visit the front desk the night before the charge will drop to pay off the balance with my Disney gift card. So, although I can’t add the card to my account up front, I can still use it to pay off that balance. I recommend double-checking with the Cast Member at your resort upon arrival to make sure you have the correct timing for when your card will get charged based on your length of stay.
Beyond that, I’ve found it very easy to pay for things around the parks and resorts using Disney gift cards. You can easily use them at the majority of restaurants and shops. And if you use
Merchandise Mobile Checkout on your
My Disney Experience app, it allows you to quickly scan the barcode to make the payment.
It’s also good to note that you can combine your Disney gift cards into one (up to $1000) by visiting
DisneyGiftCard.com. That way, you don’t need to carry around a bunch of cards on your vacation.
I hope that helps! Let us know if you have any other questions. Have the BEST trip!
Jenn J.