Hi Michele! Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel!
I am so happy that you are visiting the Walt Disney World Resort soon! Gift cards are a great way to budget for your trip and then you don't have to carry around that much cash. On my trip earlier this month, I put money on a Disney gift card that was attached to a wrist band (I found it in Epcot at one of the
Epcot International Food & Wine Festival merchandise booths). It was really convenient to have it easily accessible like that!
Almost all dining and merchandise locations on Walt Disney World Resort property accept Disney gift cards as a form of payment. The only locations that I have found that don't accept Disney gift cards are a few of the non-Disney owned stores at Disney Springs. I have used Disney gift cards at all
Table-Service and
Quick-Service locations in the theme parks.
Only Guests staying at Disney Resort hotels are able to link a form of payment to their
MagicBands, so you won't be able to use MagicBands for paying, but you can still use them for entering the theme parks, verifying dining reservations, and
FastPass+ selections, as long as they are all linked to the same
My Disney Experience account.
I hope this helps with your planning, Michele! Please let us know if you have any other questions.
Tabitha