Booking High Demand Disney World Restaurants with Gift Cards
Many Walt Disney World visitors make restaurant reservations as early as possible, currently 180 days in advance. Dining at Disney World can get expensive very quickly. One way to decrease dining costs is by using discounted Disney gift cards.
How To Acquire Discounted Disney Gift Cards
Here are some great options for obtaining Disney gift cards at a discount:
- Using Amex Offers for 10%-20% off Disney gift cards. Like the recent Lowe’s and Staples Amex Offers.
- Discounted warehouse stores like Sam’s Club, BJ’s and Costco will offer deals on Disney gift cards. They are always a few dollars off but sometimes they offer sales on top of their normal discounts.
- Purchasing Disney gift cards at Office Stores with cards that earn 5X on the purchase, like the Chase Ink Cash, are a great options.
- You can similarly purchase Disney gift cards at U.S. Supermarkets with a card like the American Express Gold card for 4X earning on the purchase. And if you time it up with a 4X fuel rewards promotion the savings can really add up.
- You can purchase them for 5% off any time you want with your Target REDcard at Target stores or online.
- Lastly you can use Shawn’s trick at Raise when purchasing Disney gift cards.
Disney Dining Reservations With A Gift Card Can Be Tricky
Online Disney World dining reservations are overwhelmingly popular, considering the long wait times phone reservations entail. Using discounted Disney gift cards is an attractive payment option, but online bookings do not accept Disney gift cards to certain high demand restaurants.
Two of these restaurants are Cinderella’s Royal Table and the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, which require advance payment. Let’s explore an alternative solution to use Disney gift cards for high demand Disney restaurants.
Step 1: Conduct Restaurant Research
Prior to your reservation window opening, review and determine which Disney World restaurants you want to book. Then, note which restaurants require payment at the time of reservation.
Step 2: Call Walt Disney World Reservations
On the day your restaurant reservation window opens, call the reservations number at (407) 939-5277. You can confirm the date your reservation window opens by logging into My Disney Experience. Be sure to set aside time and have other things to do, as phone wait times can vary widely.
Step 3: Check Availability and Secure a Restaurant Reservation
Confirm availability of the restaurant and subsequently tell the Disney World cast member you want to pay for the reservation with a gift card. Make sure to keep this gift card! If you decide to cancel your reservation later, the refund will be applied back to this same gift card.
Step 4: Ensure Discounts Are Applied
If you are an annual passholder, confirm any dining discounts during the call. For instance, I was able to confirm and obtain this discount for the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue during my recent call. However, the cast member was unable to immediately provide this discount for my Cinderella’s Royal Table reservation. Instead, she told me to provide my pass at restaurant check-in. After completing our breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table, the server confirmed our passholder discount amount would be refunded to the gift card. Indeed, this refund showed up on the gift card about two to three days later.
Final Thoughts
All Disney dining is expensive. Use gift cards to make it cheaper! Don’t forget to stack any other dining discounts, such as the annual passholder discount, with your gift card payments. Cheers!
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