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foxfamily
11-22-2005, 06:02 AM
Hi!

We will be at DL from Dec 11-15 and I heard that you can write checks at DL shops ( Not Kiosks) and the restaurants ( not food carts), also you can go to City Hall and Cash a check for up to $300 per day.... Is this true? Has anyone utilized this service? I like to have checks handy at home and I thought this sounded really convenient.
I have this really random bank , I wonder how long it would take checks to clear, I am only wondering this as they will be putting a hold on my debit card for the hotel stay, then I have to wait for the hold to come off after we check out, so I thought paying with a check my last day would be great if funds are held up on my debit card...

No, I am not trying to write bad checks, just using checks as a last resort convenience. I had to mention that as I have seen some padders really misread what others say :)

Thanks for any advice you have on this. And I am really only looking for people who have actually written or cashed checksat DL to respond... not opinions.
Thanks!:)

kaylaashleymom
11-22-2005, 07:44 AM
There is a bank inside Disneyland and I was able to cash a check there a year and a half ago, so unlsess things have changed- I don't recall what the limit is, $300 sounds about right.

lauramaynot
11-22-2005, 07:45 AM
I wrote a check a few years ago (1999 I think) at city hall for disney dollars. I don't know if they will give you "real" money or not. They took my check no problem only asking for ID (they ask for ID for credit cards too). I have noticed that most places now have signs for the Disney Visa, but I would think that checks would still be accepted especially since most places can now process checks in the same way they do credit cards (walmart now gives you your check back and the funds are automatically deducted from your account) I agree that checks would be an easier way to track your purchases especially ones that duplicate, I always get home and find that I have lost reciepts. My last few trips I have been getting a cash advance when using a credit card or cash from my debit and then don't have to worry too much about reciepts but this method forgoes the discounts you get if you use the disney visa. Hope this helps.

DaddyB
11-22-2005, 12:00 PM
I write checks at City Hall quite often. WHY is kinda' complicated, but let's just leave it that I too have a 'random' bank (it's the one I work for) and I don't get an ATM card associated with this particular account. SO it's easier to just write one check and play with the cash for the day.

Just walk in and wait your turn. Tell the person you would like to cash a check. They take the check (make it out to Disneyland) and call their accounting services who in turn call the bank to verify funds in the account. That's the part that takes several minutes, as much as ten minutes one time. Once verified, you then have the choice of Disney dollars or cash.

The check clears my account very quickly. With the advent of 'check33' law, all my checks (ones I write and ones I deposit from other people) always clear very quickly. 2 business days at most, usually next business day unless (like my kid's daycare) they hold onto the check in their office for a week and a half. Checks I write at Disneyland usually clear my account the next business day.

I've never written a check at a store or restaurant.

3894
11-22-2005, 12:35 PM
Would traveller's checks be easier?

DianeM
11-22-2005, 03:19 PM
If there is a hold on your debit card, there will probably also be a hold on your checking account. I think it might be easier to simply use traveller's checks than to worry about it.





I have this really random bank , I wonder how long it would take checks to clear, I am only wondering this as they will be putting a hold on my debit card for the hotel stay, then I have to wait for the hold to come off after we check out, so I thought paying with a check my last day would be great if funds are held up on my debit card...
)

RickW
11-22-2005, 04:13 PM
I have successfully reduced the amount of the "hold" on my credit card by doing the following:

1) Pay for the entire stay in cash upon check-in.
2) Explain to the clerk that you will not be charging things to your room and agree to have such charges blocked.
3) Offer your debit card as a deposit for incidentals and ask specifically how much the "hold" will be - this may be negotiable based on the above.
4) Make eye contact with the desk clerk and smile - smile - smile.

While I have not used this process at a Disneyland hotel, I have used it at major hotels in Las Vegas.

foxfamily
11-22-2005, 05:13 PM
Hi!!

Thanks for the great tips!
I think that we will pay our hotel in cash.

I called DL guest services today and they said you can write a check at all restaurants and stores in DL and DCA, also the check cashing limit is $200 per day.

Apparently they do not use the "check 33 " system yet and a check cashed from an out of CA bank will take about 5 days to clear, so we may do checks and travellers.

Thanks for the help.

Alex S.
11-27-2005, 04:13 PM
Thoroughly pedantic and off topic, but just in case someone was wondering what Check 33 is and tried to find out about it, the correct name is Check 21 and refers to new laws that went into effect late last year changing the rules on how banks can handle money movement and check representations rather than having to wait for the physical paper check to be transferred.

coronado_g
11-27-2005, 06:43 PM
Thoroughly pedantic and off topic, but just in case someone was wondering what Check 33 is and tried to find out about it, the correct name is Check 21 and refers to new laws that went into effect late last year changing the rules on how banks can handle money movement and check representations rather than having to wait for the physical paper check to be transferred.
I'm a "someone" who was wondering what Check 33 is. Thanks for the additional bit of info to clear things up.

DaddyB
11-27-2005, 07:37 PM
Sorry if I added to the confusion by calling it 'check 33' when it should have been 'check 21'... must have had "Club 33" in mind!

TahoeBob
11-27-2005, 08:47 PM
I too have a 'random' bank (it's the one I work for) and I don't get an ATM card associated with this particular account. SO it's easier to just write one check and play with the cash for the day.
.

What is a random bank?

DaddyB
11-27-2005, 10:40 PM
a small bank, not a national, or even statewide bank... just a regional bank... They used to have names like "Savings & Loan" back before the savings and loan scandals in the 80's.

"random" is not an official term, it's just what was inferred.