Well hi there Julia and welcome to planDisney!
If there was ever a key lesson that I should've learned early on during my first visit to any Disney Destinations around the world, it's setting limits and budgeting for the things I was eager to get my hands on - whether it was toys, clothing items or any of the tantalizing snacks found everywhere! When I got my first
MagicBand (and now MagicBand+), it just made it so much easier to happily tap and pay for everything for "Future-Me" to look back on and deal with later. I can only imagine the challenges that some families face when children have access to begin charging things with a simple tap of the wrist; as a young fledging superhero learned, "with great power comes great responsibility" and we always hope that our younger adventurers don't abuse the privilege!
At the current time, there isn't a way to directly set any spending limitations on MagicBands beyond requesting charging privileges to be removed from particular ones with the help of a friendly Guest Relations Cast Member. Some folks may have been successful with speaking to the Front Desk of their Walt Disney World Resort Hotel and assigning specific credit or debit cards with predetermined limitations based on their bank or provider, but I would recommend making sure that you understand the current
Payment Card Policy before attempting to do so.
I think a far easier way to go about it is taking advantage of
Disney Gift Cards as the easiest way for you and the children to be able to track their spending and know how much they have left with every transaction. If you're concerned about losing or forgetting the physical card, my husband and I have personally loved being able to purchase a
Disney Gift Card eGifts instead and having backup screenshots ready and available on our phones for the Cast Members to scan. We've used this so often, especially with
making Mobile Food Orders throughout our visits!
I hope this helps you Julia, and allows the kids to feel empowered to make their own decisions as they navigate what they'd like to spend on each day of our trip. We're just as excited for you to embark on your very first Walt Disney World Resort trip with the family, so please
come back to ask us as many questions as possible for the latest and greatest advice, tips and tricks from the planDisney team!
Here's to some smart spending on your very first Disney adventure to the Most Magical Place on Earth!
Prince