Stephanie:
Thanks for coming to visit us here at the Moms Panel.
There are very few places that won't accept a
Disney Gift card for payment while you're at Disney World. You can use it in all of the theme parks, at your resort and its restaurants along with most retail stores. There are so many places that I couldn't list them all, so take a look
here at more locations.
The good news is that you can use it to pay your balance at your hotel and for accumulated purchases. Although you could probably work out a "pre-payment" at your resort's desk, I would advise you against this. When you check in, Disney essentially is giving you a credit line (different resorts give different amounts, so ask when you check-in). When you've reached the resort's "limit," the credit or debit card you gave the resort at check-in is charged. I would suggest that if you'd like to use a Disney gift card, that you be aware of what your credit limit is and go by the front desk to look at your charges and then use your gift card to settle your balance before it is automatically charged to your credit/debit card. Depending on your charges and your resort, you may need to go by the front desk to do this more than once during your stay.
Wishing you a magical vacation!
Whitney