No More Disney Gift Cards at Third-Party Retail Locations
Disney has changed operations concerning Disney Gift Cards, Chase VISA Redemption cards and room charges at Disney Springs. They have pulled the machines that processed Disney payment options from all third-party retail (not dining) locations. We stopped by Disney Springs guest services as well as several locations, including Sephora, Lego, Fit2Run, and the M&M’s Store, to confirm the same changes were affecting all non-Disney merchants. This policy change began approximately three weeks ago.
The retailers we spoke to were disappointed in the policy change. Several customers, both tourists and locals, would stock up on Disney Gift Cards at Costco, Sam’s, etc., or use their Chase Visa Rewards cards to get the discount even on non-Disney purchases.
Disney merchant locations, like World of Disney, have not made any changes to their payment systems. You can still use Disney Gift Cards and Disney Visa Reward Redemption Cards for your purchases. You can also still use a MagicBand to pay at the register. Examples of Disney merchants at Disney Springs include:
- Marketplace Co-Op
- Tren-D
- Once Upon a Toy
- Disney’s Pin Traders
- Disney’s Days of Christmas
- The Art of Disney
- Disney’s Wonderful World of Memories
- DisneyStyle
- Star Wars Galactic Outpost
- Super Hero Headquarters
Dining locations at Disney Springs have not been impacted by this change, but it’s a good idea to ask about policies before you eat! A few notable locations that accept Disney Gift Cards, Disney Rewards Redemption Cards, Disney Resort Room Charges, and the Disney Dining Plan for 2026 and 2027:
- The Daily Poutine
- Amorette’s Patisserie
- The Polite Pig
- Frontera Cocina
- D-Luxe Burger
- Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’
- Morimoto
- Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar
- The Boathouse
Please note that Wine Bar George does not accept the Disney Dining Plan but we have confirmed they still accept Disney Gift Cards as of the date of this post.
What do you think? Does this change impact how you’ll shop at Disney Springs?
It seemed like a hassle for third-party merchants to accept Disney payments: they had to find the special terminal reader, manually input payment details, give us multiple receipts, etc. I assumed Springs merchants were required to accept Disney room charges and/or gift cards as a condition of their leases, but maybe it was simply cheaper than a credit card swipe. I have used room charges to buy LEGO and Ghirardelli many times in the past; while that was handy (and let me use discounted Disney Gift Cards for the purchases), tapping a card or phone is just as easy nowadays, and I can understand moving to that. If I were a merchant, I wouldn’t want to deal with a separate Disney payment system.