Recently, a TikTok video by user @aofthecoast has gone viral, explaining how an upcoming trip to Walt Disney World for 16 family members was in jeopardy after her parents spent over $10,000 on Disney+ Gift Cards, instead of buying Disney gift cards, which can be used at multiple locations at the theme parks to buy food, hotels, theme park tickets, merchandise, etc.

The vacation had been postponed due to the pandemic, and in order to save the money for the trip, they had been buying Disney+ gift cards from their local store, mistaking them for the Disney Gift Cards.   Also, many major retailers, including Sam’s Club, have been running promotions where you can buy a $100 gift card for $80, so the parents thought they were saving money using this hack.

The daughter, Andie, only realised the mistake her parents had made when she visited to find out why they were having difficulty activating the gift cards, when they were trying to book a trip to Disney for the holidays.  Which obviously is devasting for the entire family, when they discovered the reason why.

@aofthecoast

Do I have a story for you! PLEASE HELP! Note that the purchaser is not familiar with Disney Plus and did not know the difference! Honest mistake. It is not about the funding of the trip. It is about finding someone who can help us transfer the money into the correct gift card so we can make it to Disney! @Disney Parks @Disney+ @Disney #ohno #fail #disney #disneyworld #disneyplus #disneyfail #help

♬ Oh No – Kreepa

Her parents had inadvertently purchased enough Disney+ gift cards to keep them subscribed to the streaming service for over seventy years.

The terms and conditions on the Disney+ gift card does state that it can only be used for credit towards Disney+ or the Disney Streaming Bundle.  However, it seems Andie’s parents didn’t read or understand this, and were confused between the two different gift cards, wrongly assuming they were the same.

The video also pointed out that they think the gift cards should be better designed so as not to cause any confusion.  However, looking at the Disney+ gift card below, it’s hard to see how much bigger the Disney+ logo could be.

And here is a typical Disney Gift Card to compare to:

Following the TikTok video going viral, with almost two million views, Andie took to TikTok many more times to respond to questions about why this had happened, as other users had made similar mistakes in purchasing the wrong gift card and how Andie was finding it difficult finding a solution, since the gift cards weren’t transferable.  

Andie has also confirmed on TikTok that Disney made contact with her parents and is converting the $10,000 worth of Disney+ gift cards into $10,000 worth of Disney Park gift cards. So, the situation has now been resolved.

@aofthecoast

Thank you.

♬ original sound – Andie.ink

What do you think of this mistake? Let us know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

View all posts