Illinois family mistakenly buys $10,000 worth of Disney+ gift cards, thinking they were for the theme park
An Illinois family’s vacation nearly went sideways after they mistakenly bought $10,000 worth of Disney+ gift cards, thinking they could be used for the theme parks.
Andie Coston, a 41-year-old social worker, took to TikTok last week to explain the mix-up and ask for help getting the money “in the right form.”
In a series of TikTok videos, Coston shared that her family had planned a trip together over Christmas. To save money, her parents bought $10,000 worth of Disney gift cards to purchase tickets and restaurant reservations.
But when her parents faced issues loading the gift cards to buy the park tickets, Coston realized they had made a mistake. She showed a thick stack of gift cards on her table and revealed that they were for Disney+, Disney’s streaming service, and not the parks.
Coston said her “mom is distraught, dad frustrated, and the kids worried we won’t get into Disney.”
In response to Coston’s initial video, she received over 7,000 comments from fellow TikTok users offering advice and expressing skepticism about how the mix-up could have happened.
About a day after Coston posted her initial TikTok video, someone from Disney contacted her parents and offered to turn the Disney+ gift cards into Disney Parks gift cards. Coston confirmed that the issue was resolved, telling Business Insider, “Disney did call my parents and have rectified the situation.”
“We are so glad it got resolved and I am glad that this is raising awareness for others who may have made the same mistake,” she said.
Disney did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.