Cash at WDW

[emily nicole]

I bring enough $5 bills for tipping housekeeping daily, and also some ones for miscellaneous tipping (Magical Express driver, bell services, resort airline check-in, etc.).

I do bring a little safety net of cash in case I may need it, but I've never actually had to dip into it.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I guess I'm the exception. We pay for everything with a Disney gift card or cash with one exception our last trip (dessert party). I usually have about $1500 (sometimes more) for length of trip.

 

[dawnball]

In the parks themselves, I usually carry an emergency $20, and that's it. This trip I told my kid that he could have a balloon, so I'll bring an extra $20 that day. I bring enough small bills for my expected tips (housekeeping, skycaps, etc) plus ~$100 in cash. I can get more if I need it.

 

[Moliphino]

The balloon vendors and the carts out around parade times (light up toys) are cash only. Always carry a few dollars, if there are technical difficulties with using your Magical band, you could be stuck.

At least some of the light up toy vendors do take cards/MB. I bought one for my nephew last trip (on the bridge by the castle coming from the teacups), they have you pay with a tablet.

 

[YawningDodo]

We are clearly not the norm but we bring lots of cash, as this helps keep us on budget. We do have credit cards and will use them at times but it's much easier to go over your budget with your MB or CC...at least in my opinion. However, I know that we are not the norm as most people almost never have cash in their daily lives.

I like hearing how other people stay on budget -- for me it's the opposite, since I'm used to tracking all my expenses in You Need a Budget in day to day life and I find it easier to do so if I do all my spending on cards (all card transactions get synced in YNAB so I can see exactly what I've spent and where). Cash just disappears into the void as far as my brain is concerned, since once it's pulled out of my bank account it becomes much harder to track where it goes.

When I'm traveling I tally my spending by category each evening so I can check it against my expected budget for food, souvenirs, etc., since that both helps me stay on track during the trip and lets me figure whether I need to budget higher or lower the next time.

 

[TCRAIG]

At least some of the light up toy vendors do take cards/MB. I bought one for my nephew last trip (on the bridge by the castle coming from the teacups), they have you pay with a tablet.

Yup - used my CC in December for balloon - they don’t take Gift Cards IIR or Magic Bands. We’re DVC so no daily Mousekeeping. Cash wise - we have our usual amount of cash that we would have at home and my husband of course has his wallet with him - I only take some change into the parks for tossing in the fountains. The only time we’ve ever needed cash was at a vendor cart where her CC reader wasn’t working.

 

[a742246]

We usually bring around $1,000 and bring back about $500. Except for last year when we stayed at a casino hotel because of a very early next day flight and won $2,000. Then we brought about 3,000 but we still came back with 500. The mouse knows when you have extra money......

 

[skippytx]

We bring about 250 bucks in 10', 5's and 1's. I worked in the service industry in a former life so I tip quite a bit. I don't carry it all on me at once, but it's there.

 

[Lilsia]

Well, I have been there when their system had gone down and for a while they were only taking cash. So I usually carry about $50 with me at the most for my solo trips. A bit more if I am with my kids. But I usually use my MB for most purchases. And I always have my ID and 1 credit card on me. Just in case.

 

[SleeplessInTO]

The balloon vendors took credit card in Oct/Dec 2019. We couldn’t charge to MB after checking out of our room, so consider credit card / cash if you’re buying things post check out.

 

[Orionreplay]

The carts that sell bottles of Dasani and light-up toys took magic band in November 2019. I know this because we had walked into the Christmas Party and I wanted a water... but the kids were enamored with the spinny, whirring light-up wands, sticks, and whatever else they were. They also wanted the necklace of Christmas Lights. I had to stiff arm my kids so I could get a single bottle of water. Magic Band accepted.

Cash for pressed pennies. Need to remember this. My 12 year old went nuts for pennies and we traveled with about $20. It gotten broken down and used on many pennies.

 

[Ellie Webbs]

We are clearly not the norm but we bring lots of cash, as this helps keep us on budget. We do have credit cards and will use them at times but it's much easier to go over your budget with your MB or CC...at least in my opinion. However, I know that we are not the norm as most people almost never have cash in their daily lives.

We are the same, I work out a budget based on what we are doing for the day and put each day in a labelled envelope. Me and DH then split it between us on the day to reduce risk of it being 'mislaid'
Helps us not go too crazy, the budget is the budget. We took our credit card many years ago and were really hit with the consequences of our reckless spending when we got home. Never again!

 

[Moliphino]

Yup - used my CC in December for balloon - they don’t take Gift Cards IIR or Magic Bands. We’re DVC so no daily Mousekeeping. Cash wise - we have our usual amount of cash that we would have at home and my husband of course has his wallet with him - I only take some change into the parks for tossing in the fountains. The only time we’ve ever needed cash was at a vendor cart where her CC reader wasn’t working.

I just checked, and I did use my magic band to pay (it's on my list of room charges). This was in September 2019.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We bring about $200 in 5's and 1's.

I use that money at the airport for any food or drinks we want before we board. I also use it for tips and any kiosks that don't take MB.

It mostly stays in the safe once we arrive. I carry about $20-30 a day with me each day. I usually come home with some of it.

 

[lilmc]

None. What’s cash?

 

[Katie Little]

My husband, father and myself are going for 6 days in Feb. We are staying on property and have the dining plan. So the only thing we need money for is souvenirs and gratuity. We can use our cards for souvenirs so we are planning on taking $300 for gratuity (we have a couple expensive table service reservations.)

 

[MS Sweety]

I guess I'm the exception. We pay for everything with a Disney gift card or cash with one exception our last trip (dessert party). I usually have about $1500 (sometimes more) for length of trip.

I read about using a gift card and wondered if that's better than charging to your room. How do you know how much you're spending with it (balance). Do you get a receipt with each purchase?

 

[MS Sweety]

I bring enough $5 bills for tipping housekeeping daily, and also some ones for miscellaneous tipping (Magical Express driver, bell services, resort airline check-in, etc.).

I do bring a little safety net of cash in case I may need it, but I've never actually had to dip into it.

I didn't know that you should tip the Magical Express driver or resort airline check-in. I have tipped bell services for carrying my bags but wasn't really sure how much you were supposed to. Just how much do you tip all of them?

 

[emily nicole]

I didn't know that you should tip the Magical Express driver or resort airline check-in. I have tipped bell services for carrying my bags but wasn't really sure how much you were supposed to. Just how much do you tip all of them?

I tip the ME driver $1 per bag if he handles any luggage (we often don’t use the luggage delivery service- I like having my bags with me immediately). And $1 per bag at resort airline check in, for whichever CM weighs and tags our luggage.

 

[Best Aunt]

I read about using a gift card and wondered if that's better than charging to your room. How do you know how much you're spending with it (balance). Do you get a receipt with each purchase?

You get a receipt just like you do with any other form of payment. The receipt will tell you how much is left on the gift card. Also i think the card has a website you can go to if you want to check the balance.