A family trip to Walt Disney World (or any of the other Disney parks for that matter) involves saving tons of money. It's not a cheap trip, and many families have to save for months or years to be able to make it work.
Over the past few years, I've built my spending money for Disney World trips into my budget. I buy one $50 Disney Gift Card at Kroger; then I load all the gift cards onto one card using the Disney Gift Card website so that all my spending money for the next trip is in one place.
(Side note #1: buying the cards at Kroger also earns me points that save me money on gas, so there are multiple benefits.)
Buying gift cards for a Disney trip is a great way to spread out your payments and save over time. But there's one catch: you have to buy the right cards.
People Magazine reports that one Illinois family learned a hard lesson that nearly ruined a dream trip to Walt Disney World this Christmas. Andie Coston shared her family's plight in a TikTok video that went viral. Her family had planned a trip for 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic put that trip on ice. So the family rescheduled the trip for this year.
"We finally planned it for this Christmas. All 16 of my family members were going. To save some money, my parents bought 10k of Disney gift cards to purchase our tickets and restaurant reservations," the captions in Coston's video explained.
Good for her parents for being willing to go to such lengths to finance the trip. It's impressive that they could afford $10,000 worth of Disney gift cards, but there was a slight problem with the gift cards.
"I went home this weekend, and they were having problems loading the gift cards correctly and purchasing the tickets," Coston's captions continued as she revealed that her parents bought $10,000 worth of gift cards for Disney+. That's right: they bought gift cards for Disney's subscription streaming service. And for those of you keeping score at home, 10 grand will pay for about 70 years worth of Disney+ streaming. Oof.
Here's the thing: it's an easy mistake to make if you're unfamiliar with what to look for. My heart goes out to her parents for the mishap.
"We leave in 6 days and the parks are selling out of tickets because it's Christmas. My mom is distraught, Dad frustrated, and the kids worried we won't get into Disney," the captions in Coston's video continued. She tagged the Disney, Disney+, and Disney Parks accounts in the video's description in her attempt to get some assistance.
(Side note #2: If they're waiting this late to do their planning, the wrong gift cards are just the tip of the iceberg. Dining reservations, ticket purchases, rooms, and all the other elements of planning need to happen months ahead of a trip — and that doesn't even count all the "planning tools" Disney has put in place in recent years that frustrate the guest experience.)
Related: The Non-Political Problems With Disney's Theme Parks
Like most Disney stories, this one has a happy ending. Disney eventually reached out to the family and converted the $10,000 worth of Disney+ gift cards into gift cards that the family could use for vacation planning. Although once again, they're in for a world of frustration for waiting until the last minute to plan a trip for one of Disney World's busiest times of year.
"I am so glad we were able to get it resolved, especially for my parent's [sic] sake. It was also good to hear that my parents are not the only ones who have experienced this," Coston told People Magazine. "I received many messages and comments from people telling me that they or someone they know have had similar experiences. I hope that this story makes more people aware of the card difference so no one else experiences this."
So what have we learned today, kids? Make sure you buy the right gift cards for your vacation planning. And if you don't get the right cards, hop on social media to draw attention to your plight — maybe it'll pay off for you.
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