One of the features of Disney’s popular Armed Forces Salute is that Military Members with large immediate families are allowed to buy the number of Disney theme park tickets they need.
Normally service members are limited to 6 tickets active at any one time (a max of 12 during the Oct 2010-Sept 2012 timeframe) . This limit would present a problem for military members with more than 5 dependents. But Disney wisely has made an allowance for these families.
I’m often asked by readers who email me, or those asking in post comments to define “immediate family.” These people understandably would like to purchase Armed Forces Salute Tickets for as many as possible in their party. Often it’s those traveling to Disney with large groups of extended family members, siblings, in-laws, cousins, grand kids, etc. and want to get tickets for everyone.
Now if you only need a total of 6 tickets or less, one must be for the military member and the others can be for anyone… But if you want to use the “immediate family” exception and purchase more, then the tickets can only be for the ”immediate family.”
Disney doesn’t define ”immediate family” which is why I’m often asked to.
Here is my take…
An immediate family is the military member, their spouse, and their dependent children.
It does not include
- Adult Children living outside the home
- Grand Children
- Parents
- In-Laws
- Siblings
- Cousins
This is, as I said my take on this, there is no official Disney definition that I’m aware of. But this is what you should base your financial planning on.
I have found though, that Disney Ticket window workers do seem to have latitude on what they are allowed to do. So once you arrive it doesn’t hurt to ask if you can activate more than 6, just explain your circumstances and see what they say.
I hope this clears it up a little…
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Steve Recommends
Here are my recommendations for products and services I've reviewed that can improve your Disney planning. This is a short list since it only includes my top picks.
Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World - Best WDW Planning book in my opinion
Hidden Mickeys - Kids of all ages will love finding Hidden Mickeys at WDW
Disney World Savings Guide - A great eBook by a former Disney Castmember
Ears or Experience - My recommended Travel Agent, Fee Free, Disney Only, Military Family Owned
YourFirstVisit.net The premier website for first time visitors to Walt Disney World!
Simple Stroller Rentals - Beats WDW's prices, plus they offer a 10% Military Discount
TouringPlans.com - The website of the Unofficial Guides - Crowd Forecasts, Pre-made Touring Plans, plus lots of other detailed info
Disney World Lines iPhone App - Current Crowds, Recommended Parks, Wait Times, & Fastpass Return Times on your iPhone
My Disney Experience - The Official Disney iPhone App
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I was able to redeem 12 Disney Military Salute tickets in 1 week (last week) by getting ITT office to request a waiver . According to ITT, if you have not used ANY of these tickets since the beginning of the promotion they will allow you to purchase and redeem 12 tickets in 1 week. ITT requests a waiver from the Disney military rep and its is normally 100% approved. I offered the ITT e-mail I recieved and had no problem at the ticket window
Hey Ray, that’s fantastic news! I’d not heard that you were able to do this before.
Thanks so much for sharing!