Hi there, Natalie,
I’m sorry to hear you won’t be able to attend the
character dining experience with your nieces. I hope they take lots of pictures to share the magical memories with you later.
Yes, of course. The payment method used for securing an advanced
dining reservation at the Disneyland Resort does not need to be the same used at the restaurant to pay for the meal and service. I do this all the time. I use my
Disney Rewards Visa Card or other credit card linked to my Disneyland Resort account to hold my place. But then I use a
Disney Gift Card and/or a
Disney Rewards Redemption Card when I visit the restaurant to pay for our meal. The payment method used to hold the reservation is only charged if the reservation is not canceled before the stated minimum time before the reservation (two hours for most Disneyland Resort dining locations) and the Guests do not show up for the reservation.
Tony’s Tip: At most character dining experiences, service gratuity is typically included in the total at the time of payment. But for table service restaurants that don’t have an automatic gratuity included, Guests can still use a Disney Gift Card to pay for both the meal and the gratuity. As long as funds remain on the card after deducting the price of the meal, an additional tip amount can be written on the restaurant copy of the receipt. The card doesn’t need to be run again. So it’s OK to simply write in the tip amount, sign the receipt and leave it for the server to process.
I hope your nieces have a magical time, Natalie!
~Tony