Welcome to planDisney, Meloney! What a wonderful idea it is to build an amazing experience at Walt Disney World with kind contributions from your family and friends. I want to help you find the best solution. You may already know that any gift cards purchased in the Disney Store in the U.K. can only be redeemed in the U.K. Disney Stores and not at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. I just wanted to rule that out as an option.
I went through the process of trying to purchase a Disney Gift Card by Email and met the same hurdle when trying to enter a U.K.-based billing address.
Meloney, I want to let you know about how I now budget and pay for everything at Walt Disney World, and that's through a mobile bank. I know it's not quite as magical sounding as a Walt Disney World gift card, but the various options available are worth examining. It's completely revolutionised how we pay for things as we travel as they offer borderless banking.
The exchange rate is usually favourable, and there are low or no ATM withdrawal fees worldwide. It's made it easier and cheaper for us to make purchases overseas as those international fees can add up. We like to keep an eye on the exchange rate, and when we see a good point, we use our savings to buy dollars - our non-traditional bank allows us to hold and send money fee-free across many different currencies using just one account. Most mobile banks have accompanying apps, which means you can use your mobile app to freeze a card should it get mislaid (helpful when aboard) or set spending limits.
You can do a quick online search to find out more and see if this option might work for you. Family and friends could pay directly into your account, and you can build up savings this way. One final thing to note is that we have successfully added this card to
My Disney Experience, so you can use these cards to make international-fee-free
Mobile Food and Beverage Orders, for example. You could, of course, use the card linked to your mobile bank to purchase a Disney Gift Card when at Walt Disney World. I have done so before, when I want to spend only a certain amount sampling delicacies from around the World at
EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, for example.
Meloney, I do hope this answer is helpful to you and wish you the best time at the Most Magical Place on Earth. I will be right here if you need anything else, Louise.