I mentioned earlier this week that I was using the money we have budgeted for our Disney vacation to pick up Disney gift cards. Right now, when you buy $100 gift cards at Albertsons, you will get a $20 Catalina coupon to use at Albertsons.
The Park Hopper passes did not generate the Catalina, so my store manager called to check on it, and he found out that since they were park passes, they did not consider them to be gift cards. I said the best route would be to pick up $50 Disney gift cards. The only problem is that if you purchase your tickets online, you could only use 3 gift cards at a time, which would not cover the full cost of Park Hopper tickets. You would have to pay the rest with a credit card. I found out that there is an even better option, thanks to reader Jenn. (I seriously love my readers – I always learn some great stuff from all of you!)
If your store carries the Princess version of the Disney gift card, you can load it with any amount ($25 – $1000). If you want to get the full amount for this deal, you would load it with $500, and you will receive (5) $20 Catalinas. It is possible that all stores may not carry this card, but I found it at one of my stores today.
One more thing worth mentioning: The prices of the Disney 3-Day Park Hoppers went up on 6/12/11, but I noticed that my Albertsons still has the passes out with the old pricing, so you may be able to pick those up to save money on the rate increase.
3-Day Park Hopper available at Albertsons (with old pricing)
- $165 (ages 3-9)
- $186 (ages 10+)
3-Day Park Hopper available online at Disneyland.com(with new prices)
- $198 (ages 3-9)
- $214 (ages 10+)
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
I got 4 of the princess ones today and bought $100 on each one for our trip to Disneyland. Got $80 in free groceries for $$ I was already going to be spending anyways! Yipee!!!!
Isn’t safeway doing something like this as well? I tried to find it but cannot. Please let me know. I also know , my Albertsons in VAncovuer pulled all their gas cards because they didn’t want to compete with their ONE albertsons gas station in the area.
Lynn,
I purchased a $50 Disney Gift Card at Safeway this morning, and it DID NOT generate a catalina. The cashier stated the promotion was only valid on the gift cards pictured in the ad. I believe they are NIKE, JCPenny, Kohls, and a few others. I was so disappointed, as my nearest Albertson’s is 45 minutes away. Bummer!
@Lynn Jennifer is correct, Safeway is doing a similar promotion. You will get $10 Catalina when you buy $50 in gift cards. However in the wording in Safeway’s ad it appears as if it only includes: Kohls, Nike, Lowe’s, JCPenny and iTunes.
Thanks everyone…that was very helpful.
I’m planning on buying 4 gift cards ($100 on each) and buying them 1-day park hopper tickets online with two transactions (because you can only use up to 3 gift cards in on purchase max). Do you see any problems with doing this (it’s good to know before I rush out to Albertsons and spend $400
Thanks…
Just wanted to let everyone know that if you purchase the old park hopper gift card at stores….when you go to Disneyland to actually use them, you’ll have to pay the difference of the new price! The card actually states-prices may change without notice!
My family is going there in a few months and called Disneyland to confirm this!
Hope this helps others!
@Samantha Your scenario should work out great. You could also just load $400 on to one card and do your transactions all at once.
@Sherri I actually have 2 of the Park Hoppers that I bought BEFORE the prices went up, so I hope thats not the case. That wouldn’t really be fair.
I checked the back of my cards and I can’t find anywhere that it states prices may change without notice. I will call to double check and let you know what I find out.
OK, I called to get confirmation that the Park Hoppers can be used without paying the additional fee for the price increase, and the Disney cast member said that it was fine. There would not be an additional charge. Which makes sense, because you take the tickets directly to the gate, and there is no way for them to charge you extra at the gate because there are no cash registers there.
I also check to see if somebody purchases these tickets in the store now (with the old pricing) if they could be used too without problem. She said “yes”. She said the only requirement is that you use them before the expiration date. Once you buy the Park Hopper bonus ticket, you have fully paid for your admission into the park.
Are these still available? I was hoping to purchase this weekend.
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