Using Disney Dollars

Dear Peter,

Over the past five years, I have accumulated almost $1,500 Disney "dollars" on my credit card. Can I use my Disney dollars to pay for resort and theme-park tickets? How easy or difficult are they to use?  Can I use them to book special promotional offers? I would be taking my family of four (3 adults and 1 teen) and would buy a 6- or 7-day ticket with the “park hopper” option for each person. Any additional information would be appreciated as far as the best "bang for the buck" I could get, since we don't vacation very often.

–Billie, LaPorte, Ind.

A: Disney Dream Reward Dollars, which you accrue by using a Disney Rewards Visa card, can be redeemed toward payment of vacation packages, park admission passes, dining, recreation, and merchandise at most hotels and venues at the Walt Disney World Resort. The dollars can be applied to promotional hotel offers, as long as the offer is still valid at the time you book. Reservations must be booked through the Walt Disney Travel Company at 407-939-7675 or online at www.waltdisneyworld.com.

Before you can use your dollars, you must load them on to a Disney Rewards Card, then activate it. You can either do this online at www.disneyrewards.com or by calling, toll-free, 800-436-7999. You can also get a Rewards Card at certain locations around Disney World, though in your case, you’d obviously want to get (and use) the card before you arrive.

Rooms at Disney resorts start at a reasonable $80 per night, and a seven-day park-hopper ticket runs about $275 per person. Special promotions pop up throughout the year that bundle lodging and tickets together, so keep your eyes open for these to get even better value for money.