Paying ahead of time

[Tiiiigergirl]

How do you pay for meals ahead of time?

OKay here is my dilemma:

I have not inherited a small fortune so going with the gold plan is not an option. Plus there are times that we like to eat quick and fast and the gold plan would definitely not be worth it.

I've read enough horror stories about the certificates from connections to keep me awake at night. Fighting over credit card charges is NOT my idea of a good time.

Even the silver plan looks pricey for what you get.

My problem is that I LOVE the convenience of having everything pre-paid. I don't like fussing with money on vacation for anything but snacks and souvenirs. That is why I have loved the cruise.

Any suggestions or am I just going to have to pay extra for the convenience?

 

[SamSam]

Prepay yourself! Either start a jar or open a savings account that you contribute to on a regular basis. You would pay for inclusive plans in advance, so why not just pay yourself in advance. Then, when you go on your trip just withdraw your money and put it in an envelope labeled 'meals'; then use it just for your meals.
It's always more enjoyable to use money that's been 'set aside', then to charge.
Have a great trip!

 

[Shells9]

You could also buy Disney Dollars at a local Disney store (if you have one) and use those. Kind of like a "forced savings" since you'd only be able to use them either at a Disney store or when you reach your destination.

 

[ducklite]

I'm not sure if you do'nt like to have to take the time to "pay", or you want to "pre-pay".

If you want to "pre-pay", Disney Dollars would be a good choice.

If you don't want to carry cash, just room charge everything and pay the bill once at the end. This is what we do, and we've had some vacations taht we've gone through less than $100 in cash in a week and most of that went to tips.

Anne

 

[Belle5]

I'm not sure of how this works exactly but maybe someone else can elaborate. I have read on these boards about folks way over-paying (in advance of their arrival) their onsite hotel bill. Then they get one of those room keys you can charge your meals to and all the meal charges come out of that "slush fund" you've pre paid (over paid, really) onto your hotel bill.
I hope I haven't slaughtered the details of this too much. Anyone with first hand experience feel free to correct me and iron out the details. I can't even remember if those room keys can be used to charge at counter services but I think so....

 

[carone0318]

at the ripe age of 33, but I like to take envelopes and write the name of the restaurant on the front and put the money in it and seal it. Now, before you go there are a couple of options here, you can bring the envelope (not really advised) or you could go and buy Disney dollars or write a check to your credit card company and have already paid the bill in advance.

I basically know how much I am going to spend at a sit down meal because I look at the menus. If it is a buffet, it is really easy to figure out if not I just look at the most expensive thing on the menu and budget for that.

 

[Jordan's MOM]

What we do is save all our money for the trip. Before we go we have tickets already paid from from AAA and have paid off our resort. We then know how much we have to spend on food, snacks, gifts etc. We get most of this money in travler checks and take a couple hundred in cash. We then charge everything to our room key and just pay it off every few days. The amount you can charge differs form resort to resort but if you go over it goes on your charge card and we don't want that.You can also prepay on your account. We keep the extra checks in our room safe. If works well for our family but we stay on site and do almost all WDW resturants and activities.


Jordan's mom

 

[Tiiiigergirl]

Thanks for the advice.

I have always saved up the money before I go. I personally could never enjoy a trip that I don't have the money to pay for. The problem is that when the credit card bill comes I feel like I've paid twice. I mean I paid when I signed my name. It feels like paying to me. And then I have to pay that awful bill. It's that feeling that I hate!

I would pre-pay my credit card but I've always been afraid that if it got stolen that I wouldn't be able to contest the charges if I'd paid ahead. Maybe I should double check. I did do that for one trip several years ago and the bank teller said you have a zero balance. I said I know I'm going on a trip and I want to put money on it to cover my expenses. She was shocked!

I kind of like the envelope idea. I might try that with travelers checks. Anything left over can go into another envelope. If there are any more ideas that anyone has that would be great!