What did we do before Disney’s fabulous Armed Forces Salute?
Many new members of the military have never experienced a time when Disney did not offer the popular military discount, but prior to January 2009 there was no such thing (except for a similar offer in 2002).
Regular Disney Military Discounted Tickets
While the Regular Disney Military Discount Tickets may be little known by newbies and long forgotten by us old heads, they are still available. These tickets are identical to the general public Disney Magic Your Way Tickets but at a reduced military rate.
How Much Do These Tickets Save You?
The savings offered by these tickets are nowhere as good as those offered by the Armed Forces Salute tickets, which is why they are often forgotten. These tickets will save you anywhere from 4 to 8 percent (depending on the number of days and options) off of what the general public pays at the Disney theme park gates for the same ticket.
Why would You Want These Tickets?
There are several reasons why you might want or need to purchase these tickets.
- A One Day Disney Trip
- One-Day Military Discounted Disney Tickets are less than the Armed Forces Salute tickets. Two days or more the AFS tickets are cheaper.
- Longer Disney Trips
- For stays over 8 days some types of these Military Discounted Disney Tickets can be cheaper than using back to back Armed Forces Salute Tickets.
- Large Parties
- Disney allows only 6 Armed Forces Salute Tickets Active at one time (with exceptions for larger immediate families). If you have a large party who are not all your dependents, then you’ll need to buy these to have enough tickets.
- Your allotment of Armed Forces Salute Tickets is used up
- There is a maximum of 6 tickets Armed Forces Salute tickets allowed during the October 2012 – 28 September 2013 timeframe. If you’ve used yours up these are your next best option.
- You want to go to the Disney parks on days the Armed Forces Salute tickets are Blocked Out.
- There are days on which the AFS tickets are not valid
Where Can You Get These Tickets?
Not at Disney, These tickets are not for sale at Disney World or Disneyland ticket windows. You must buy them from a Military Reseller on a military installation.
Most Bases have a Moral Welfare and Recreation Information Ticket and Travel Office which carry a variety of military discounted tickets, both for Disney and other venues. Bases do not always carry a full complement of these Military discounted Magic Your Way Tickets. Because they might not have the type ticket you want in stock you should check at least 3 or 4 weeks prior to your vacation so they can order the kind you want.
A full complement of Military Discounted Disney World Magic Your Way Tickets is available at Shades of Green, the military owned and operated resort on Disney World property.
Magic Your Way Tickets come in many varieties and lengths. Hopper, Non-Hopper, 14-Day Expiration, Non-Expiring, Water Park and More, from 1 to 10 days in length.
Shades of Green also has their special all-inclusive Stars and Stripes Passes for military members staying on Disney property.
Other Theme Parks
Base ITT Offices and Shades of Green also sell tickets for other theme parks like SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Universal Studios, and many other attractions. Definitely drop by your base ITT Office to find deals like these.
Did you enjoy this post? If you’d like more like it, please share it through your favorite social media by clicking the buttons below to let me know.
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
Follow Military Disney Tips
Like our very active Facebook Page - Follow MDT on Twitter - Follow MDT on Pinterest
Get Steve's Free newsletter- The first place you'll hear about an Armed Forces Salute renewal!
We’re planning trip to Walt Disney World, Orlando FL from 9/28 – 10/4 and looking again at purchasing four-day park hopper tickets.
With the current Armed Forces Salute Program expiring 9/28/2013 and no word yet on renewal, would a renewal date start 9/29/2013? What do you recommend?
Thanks
Retired USAF, MSgt
Hi Roman,
Thanks for checking in.
Very good question and one I don’t have an firm answer for…
But here are some facts:
In 2009 the Disney Armed Forces Salute ran on a calendar year basis
In 2010 they switched to a fiscal year schedule
Since they switched to the FY schedule the Salute has always ended on 30 Sept
When this offer came out I queried them twice on the end date and they confirmed it
Disney has allowed gaps in the Salute before: in Oct 2010 there were 3 days w/o a room discount and 23 days w/o a ticket discount
And here are my thoughts: If Disney renews the AFS as I think they will I would really hope they would fill the gap. But I wouldn’t count on it.
So the ultra conservative thing to do would be to move your dates earlier, so you had at least 4 park days in your plan before and including the 28. Or the next option would be to move your dates to after 1 Oct. The riskiest would be to leave your dates as is I’m afraid.
Hope this helps, some…
We are going to disney on the dates of October 12-19. I can’t change the dates as we have already reserved the place we are staying.. Do you personally think though, if they do renew the Armed Forces Solute program that our dates give us a little wiggle room in possibly being included to get the discounted tickets? Thanks in advance!
Hi Brooke,
Yes I think that if there is a renewal, it will be in place on the 1st. I really think from what I’m hearing that Disney is being proactive this time.