Any reason to carry cash in the parks?

[DisLiss]

We did not plan for Disney's entire electronic payment system to go down. For a period of about 3 hours, the entire park could only take cash payments.
Luckily I was staying at the Beach Club and was visiting Epcot at the time, so it only cost me a half an hour or so, but I will now always carry at least a little cash, because I cannot trust Disney's tech support.

I've had this happen at Macy's , at Target, and at 2 different local grocery stores as well, so carrying some "just in case" cash is something I try to always do now. (Especially since not all of those places have ATMS.)

 

[LizzyDragon]

On the days I don't want to carry my purse around the park, I don't take cash. Just a credit card, AP card (for discounts) and phone. And really, I could leave the credit card behind as I frequently use Apple Pay in the parks. Haven't had an issue yet, but wouldn't rule out a network outage causing problems in the future.

 

[kylenne]

Magic Band

/thread

1) Good luck charging with a MB if you’re staying at Swolphin.

2) Certain smaller vendors in the parks aren’t equipped for MB purchases, notably balloon vendors.

3) If Disney’s jenga pile of an IT system goes down, you’re SOL. I saw this happen during F&W once and the lines for the ATMs were nuts. I had cash and was fine.

Always carry cash as a backup. You don’t need a lot but you never know.

 

[maxiesmom]

I have been where the "system" went down and the kiosks where only accepting cash. We usually charge everything back to our room but do carry about $40 in cash just in case.

Ditto. I've been in the parks more than once where a kiosk could only accept cash, due to computer problems.

 

[Jedimom33]

I always bring a little just in case cash, but rarely use it. We prefer to use our Disney gift cards or credit cards, and charge just about everything, but we've been at the parks several times when kiosks/snack carts were not taking cards, like the readers were down. Also happened at Epcot during a festival at a couple of food booths.

 

[Tallis]

I'm reading people saying balloon vendors, but we were able to use our card to pay for insanely expensive (I think around $30 each if I remember correctly) light up balloons for our grandchildren one night. We had to pay in the store next to where the balloon guy was standing on Main Street, and bring him our receipt.

 

[cgattis]

3) If Disney’s jenga pile of an IT system goes down, you’re SOL

Funny, and yet so true. I had it go down at F&W once....at the very first kiosk I visited after I handed over a $100 bill for a bracelet card. I was pretty crabby, I can tell you.

 

[subtchr]

For balloons, many of them now have handheld scanners for card and MB payments, and if they do not, you can always go into a nearby store to pay that way, and bring the balloon vendor your receipt.

 

[kylenne]

Funny, and yet so true. I had it go down at F&W once....at the very first kiosk I visited after I handed over a $100 bill for a bracelet card. I was pretty crabby, I can tell you.

Ugh, talk about bad timing! For some reason this loves to happen during F&W. Maybe because such a high volume of sales puts additional strain on the system.

I‘m one of the dreaded Childless Millennials and I almost never carry cash in day to day life, everything is plastic or Apple Pay for reward points. Disney trips are some of the only times I do. Even then, 99% of the time it only gets used for tipping, I prefer to use MB (CC for mobile ordering) and pay the room balance with discounted gift cards. But that 1% of the time it really came in handy.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

As PP mentioned, we've also been in the parks when the system has gone down and the only way to purchase something was with cash. I always bring my MB, a credit card and about $60 in cash to the parks along with an ID and health insurance card.

 

[ajlsjl]

I carry a small amount of cash with me ($20-$40) at all times, WDW or no WDW. I pay mostly with a credit card to get the frequent flier miles, but you never know when you're going to run in to a place that doesn't accept credit cards, or as previous posters mentioned, the system goes down and you have to pay cash.

 

[starry_solo]

Yes

 

[Lewisc]

For balloons, many of them now have handheld scanners for card and MB payments, and if they do not, you can always go into a nearby store to pay that way, and bring the balloon vendor your receipt.

but it would be easier if you had a small amount of cash to handle those circumstances.

 

[danceintherain]

but it would be easier if you had a small amount of cash to handle those circumstances.

especially if the target recipient of the cash only item is a small child who only pays attention long enough to understand that you are walking away from the thing they want...

I don't typically buy my kids random street souvenirs, but my Mom came with us on our last trip... you give DD an inch....

 

[loves to dive]

I always carry between $20 and $40 just in case cash. As others have said, sometimes the IT system crashes and cash is all you can pay with. I also use cash for those small under $5 purchases just because I don't want a whole bunch of small purchases on my cc. I do usually buy a WDW gift card when I get there (I'm usually there during a festival and it's just easier for me to use that at the booths) and I use that for the smallish purchases. I never charge to my MB because a: I'm usually staying at Dolphin and b: I forget my pin just about every other second and c: don't like those small purchases on my cc, it's makes a hassel reconcile.

 

[Sjm9911]

Just to add, always bring your license. My halloween party ticket even when linked they asked to see my CC and license. I didnt bring anything because i was on property and had everything linked to my band. It was all taken care of after i had to wait 40 minutes in the customer service line. But thats 40 minutes i wasted.

 

[subtchr]

Just to add, always bring your license...

I can't imagine going anywhere without identification, in the event of a medical emergency. For me, that includes my military ID, since that is my insurance card.

 

[Keetchino]

I'd carry a single $20 or $50, it sucks when the IT system goes down and everything switches to cash only. Seemed to happen 3 out of the 4 times I wanted a morning coffee last trip.

 

[subtchr]

but it would be easier if you had a small amount of cash to handle those circumstances.

True, although I do think that almost all of them do have the handheld scanners now.

 

[fla4fun]

I have only been there once when there was an outage, but it was a big one. Everything was down, check in was manual, they had to issue unlinked key cards for the rooms because MB were useless, no dining credits were available, and credit cards couldn’t be run. The outage lasted about 36 hours. I had done online check in, and entered my cc there, so I didn’t have to go back to the front desk to get that straightened out, and I had planned on using cash for meals, so I was good there too. I felt really bad for people with dining credits, as they had to pay up front and go back to get reimbursed and get the credits removed once the system came up. The lines in the lobby when the system came up were awful. Since then, I take enough cash with me to get through at least 24 hours if necessary.