Hi Chris,
Welcome to planDisney and thank you so much for asking us a question, my fellow Canadian!
I love the fact that we can purchase Disney Gift Cards from Canadian retailers and then use them when we visit Walt Disney World Resort. I find them to be a great way to budget for my family’s vacation expenses. My son will often save up his allowance and then buy a gift card to use while we’re visiting the Disney Parks – he’s pretty proud of the way that he manages his budget! And, frankly, there are times when I think that he should be giving ME some of his tips and tricks…
The way that a Disney Gift Card purchased in Canada works is that it’s initially issued in Canadian Funds. After you use it for the first time for a transaction, that day’s exchange rate is applied to the funds and they are then “frozen” in USD until the card is depleted. From what I understand, there are conversion charges applied during that first transaction, which means that, if the Canadian Dollar is trading at 90 cents on the American one (what? A girl can dream!) you won’t get 90 cents on the dollar with that transaction. Based on my experience, you’ll likely lose a few pennies per dollar, as part of a service charge. The good news is that you’ll only pay that fee once, as opposed to, say, with a credit card, where you’ll have a conversion fee charged for every transaction.
As for your other two questions, I’ve been able to use them to purchase
Theme Park Tickets online before, so you should be able to do so. And it doesn’t matter how you purchased them at a given point of sale; all that matters is that they’ve been purchased and activated.
Two tips for you: Did you know that there’s a
Special Offer for Canadians right now on 5-Day or longer Theme Park Tickets at Walt Disney World Resort? Also, if your preferred retailer runs out of Canadian Disney Gift Cards, don’t forget that you can also purchase
electronic Disney Gift Cards online and then use those during your next vacation. It’s another great way to only get “dinged” once by that pesky exchange rate.
Have a Magical Day,
Lynne