Hi Eliza,
Welcome to planDisney!
Anytime I hear a question about budgeting for a trip to the Walt Disney World® Resort, I take notice. My family is always on a budget, especially because I do not want to leave our Disney expenses on a credit card long enough to be charged interest. Like you, we use
MagicBand+ to make charges to our room folio. I used to leave a credit card at check-in and then stop by the front desk to switch to my debit card before we checkout. More recently, I have used this strategy - I leave the charges on a credit card until about a week after the trip to make sure all charges have posted and then I just pay off the credit card online.
I will encourage you to pay close attention the process for room folio charges, however. Review the
details regarding credit card holds and final room payments that are due upon check-in and make note of the details with incremental holds and payment processing prior to checkout. I do have one suggestion that may help - if you have any Disney gift cards, consider stopping by the front desk and having those applied to your room folio.
Eliza, since your arrival date is approaching soon, I also encourage you, if you have not done so already, to take a look at the menus of the restaurants you plan to visit to get an idea of food costs. We always create a spreadsheet with food estimates to help with budgeting. Make
advanced dining reservations and use
Mobile Food & Beverage Ordering. In the meantime, start packing! In the spirit of Princess Tiana, you are
almost there!
Magic and memories,
Donyell