Hello Missy, and welcome to planDisney! I'm so happy you're here with this fun planning question. Saving up Disney Gift Cards is such a terrific way to help pay for your pixie-dusted vacation!
I recently returned from my family's Disney World vacation where I had some Disney Gift Cards I was wanting to utilize as payment. Here's what I experienced. You cannot load your Disney Gift Card into the My Disney Experience app, but you absolutely can use a Disney Gift Card as a form of payment from inside the app. You'll just need to enter the card number during the check out process. Just select other form of payment, and you'll have the option to use a gift card. Note that you can only enter one card during a purchase, but I've got a magical trick to share! You can combine multiple Disney Gift Card balances (up to $1000) onto just a single card for convenience by heading to the
Disney Gift Card site, under "My Cards".
Missy, if you are staying at a Disney Resort I have another option that may be even easier for you. You can pay with either your MagicBand or by using
MagicMobile to charge any purchases to your hotel room. Then some time before you check out, swing by the front desk and ask a Cast Member to use your Disney gift card as payment towards that room balance. I like to do this the day before check-out, to make sure I can pay down that amount before the remaining balance goes to my credit card on file. During your trip you can keep track of all your hotel room charges inside the My Disney Experience app. Under your resort details, just look for the blue icon saying "View Charges".
If you've got a Disney Rewards Visa credit card, it's worth noting which Disney World merchandise and
Disney Dining locations offer a discount when using this form of payment. I tried to juggle selectively using my Disney Visa card instead of gift cards when we ate at places like my favorite
Boma - Flavors of Africa, where we received a 10% discount.
I hope this helps, and that you have a wonderful time when you visit Walt Disney World! Please visit us with your questions any time at planDisney.
The magic is calling!
Tami