Disney Military Discounts For 2012
The news that Disney has extended their very popular Armed Forces Salute Military Discounts through 30 September 2012, has been out for a while. This offer includes both steeply discounted theme park tickets and room rates.
Yesterday I received exciting news from the Walt Disney World theme park ticket windows.
There is a great new change to the military theme park ticket policy. This is an official Disney ticketing department policy change which has been distributed to all ticket windows.
UPDATE – This great Disney military discount offer has changed several times. This particular revision only lasted about one week. Click this link for the most up to date details
Military members may now purchase the Military Salute Tickets as often as they wish as long as no more than six (6) tickets are sold in each transaction.
All other details of the 2011-2012 ticket offer remain the same. See here for full details on the Disney Armed Forces Salute.
An important consideration is that the 4-Day Disney Military Promotion Tickets may be upgraded to Premium Annual or Annual Passes. And for Florida residents to Premium Annual, Annual, Seasonal and Weekday Select Passes. You may upgrade the tickets by paying the difference between what you have already paid for the military ticket and the price of the pass you are upgrading to.
This needs to be accomplished at Disney’s ticket counters at the regular rates of the above passes. If you do upgrade to the above passes they will expire 1 year from the date of first use of the military ticket.
So if your stay at Disney will require more than 4 days in the parks or you are returning for a second visit within the 1 year time frame, compare the cost of additional Military Salute tickets to the prices below.
Premium Annual Pass Adult $669.89 / Child (3-9) $603.86
Annual Pass Adult $531.44 / Child (3-9) $479.25
Florida Resident Premium Annual Adult $531.44 / Child (3-9) $479.25
Florida Residents Annual Adult $403.64 / Child (3-9) $364.23
Florida Resident Seasonal Adult $275.84 / Child (3-9) $249.21
Florida Resident Select Seasonal Adult $185.31 / Child (3-9) $167.21
Compare to
Military Salute Ticket Prices
Four-Day Park Hopper Tickets or Four-Day Water Park and More Tickets for $138.00,
Four-Day Park Hopper Tickets plus the Water Park and More Option for $165.00.
Other Disney Military Discounted ticket prices
Just an example: 3 of the 4-Day military tickets (12 days worth) go for $414.00 while 4 tickets (16 days worth) go for $552.00 compared to an adult annual pass (non Florida resident) sells for $531.44.
You’ll just have to access your particular situation and decide what’s most cost effective for your particular situation.
I will probably buy the $138 Hoppers and upgrade them to Florida Resident Seasonal passes on my second visit for an extra 137. 84.
Note: it could take a while for this information to flow to you local base ticket office, Shades of Green should be on top of it right away though,
What do you think will work best for you?
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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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Steve, Do you know if this goes for Disneyland tickets as well?
Hey Jennifer, I would hope so… But as big and uncommunicative with it’s self Disney is, I’d call Guest Relations at Disneyland to ask 714-781-7290. Let me know if you do find out!
We are planning a Disney trip next summer with my sister and her family. Do you think this means we could go on post 2 times to buy 6 tickets for our trip?
Hi Kim, right now you can buy as many groups of 6 tickets as you want. What is still a gray area as this is very new is how many the military member can activate at a time. I’ll definitely post as soon as I know!
This is the best news I have read all day! Thank you so much for posting and please update as soon as you know more, such as how many can be active at once. We have a huge family vacation planned for December and need about 12 tickets. I’m dying to know if we can only get 6 at the discount or all 12 of us. I see we can buy them, but here’s to hoping we can activate them as well. Would it be best to call Shades of Green, or go to post to find out?
Marisha,
I don’t know if Shades of Green is allowing you to buy more than 6 yet.
What I’m really hoping is that we can get a report from someone who’s been to the park and activated more than six!
We are trying to buy a total of 9 tickets in 2 separate transactions at the Disney World ticket window. They are standing by their original policy of only 6 tickets for the year. We even went to guest relations and were told the same thing.
Hey there KIm,
They just told you that?
Keep trying different windows and ask each to see their “Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Ticketing Announcement” which was updated on24 June. They should have this 2 page document at each ticket window and GR.
“Guests may participate in this offer two (2) separate times during the entire duration of this promotion.” is in red on the first page.
Can we purchase the four day discount ticket and use two of the days now and the balance two days anytime before sept 2012
You sure can, I’ve done it several times!
Can disabled veterans get these tickets
Hi,
Disabled Veterans are eligible for Disney’s Armed Forces Salute if they have the proper ID. They would need a RetiredID with the code:
DAVPRM on it. That stands for Disabled Veteran Permanent status.
Disabled Vets are also eligible to stay at Shades of Green and purchase military discounted tickets there. Shades of Green’s policy says “Honorably Discharged Veterans with 100% service-connected disability (and their families)” are eligible. Required documentation is a DD Form 1173 or DD Form 2765.
Check my FAQ and Armed Forces Salute page for more info
I hope this helps. The 6 ticket policy works as such: you can purchase the tickets 6 tickets per transaction, up to 12. But you can only activate 6 tickets total in a given week at the Disney Ticket Counter. If more than six people are going into the park in the same week then you will need to purchase regularly priced tickets for those people.
Cari,
You have to do what you think is right for you and your family.
I’m just sharing on this site the information as I know it. Information that I’ve gathered from the Dept. at Disney which creates these offers, information from Disney castmembers who work in the ticket booths, and from my readers who’ve reported what they’ve experienced to me.
People have used more than 6 tickets per year (fiscal or calendar) at different times and back to back. It is not two separate offers the FY2010-1011 offer was extended until the end of FY2012.
I’ve explained why ITTs and Shades don’t have the most up to date information, even if they all say the same thing. The DoD is perhaps just behind Disney in bad communication and you just said you’ve now experienced the total lack of information at the Disney call center.
The only policy that matters is the one at the ticket booth where you activate tickets. It doesn’t matter what ITT, Shades, the Disney call center, DisBoards, a friend of yours, or for that matter what I said prior to that one transaction. Because that one individual is the only thing standing between you and the turnstile.
Disney does make this hard, which is why I put so much effort into trying to help people.
I recommend that you plan for what your family can afford based on what you think you are eligible for.
One last thing Cari, in your initial comment you stated that I was encouraging people to “cheat others” and that people could “represent our military better than that,” apparently by not acting on my recommendations.
I want you to know that I am a long time Disney fan, former Disney castmember, and highly respected member of the military community. In no uncertain terms would I ever advocate what you implied. I have merely attempted to pass on the information gathered from the above sources in order to help the military plan for their Disney vacations in an environment where so much disinformation abounds.
I wish you well Cari, I hope your next Disney vacation is Magical!
Steve
Hope someone can help.
My cousin(military) wants to treat my family to Disneyland as our Christmas gift this year.
Obviously he is paying for us, but me and my family are NOT military, would these be able to get us in?
His family and my family may or may not go on the same day.
Thanks in advanced for someone who can shed some light on this.
Thanks
Ben
Ben Hi,
He certainly can do this. THe only issue is not being there on the same dates. That could make it difficult. He can purchase 6 of the highly discounted Armed Forces Salute Tickets, but he needs to activate them at the park before the first use and everyone who is using one needs to be there when he activates them.
You didn’t say how many in your two parties, if it’s more than 6 total he’ll need to buy the regular (not as good a deal) military discount tickets at his base ticket office.
Did you see my Armed Forces Salute FAQ?
Does this go for Military personnel of other countries or only US Military can get the discount? Thanks.
Hi Paula, the only Disney discount available for non-US military is at Shades of Green, for those stationed in the US or on temporary duty here.
http://www.militarydisneytips.com/blog/shades-of-green/non-us-military-members-eligible-to-stay-at-shades-of-green/
The post lists the documentation required.
Do you know if you work for the Federal government if you can purchase the special discount tickets? Also can you buy more than 6 tickets?
Hi Yolanda,
The Armed Forces Salute is only for military members, but as a civil servant you do qualify to stay at Shades of Green and their military ticket discounts.
Steve,
My wife, child and I are going to Disney World. With 6 tickets being eligible to activate in any one week of the promotion, are there any restrictions on me activating 2 tickets for each of us and using them back to back (8 days straight for 3 people) or will I have to activate 1 for each of us on lets say a thursday, then wait till the following thursday to activate the other three?
Thanks,
Sean
Hey there Sean,
No restriction on how you use your 6 tickets. You should have no issue activating all 6 at once for convenience sake.
Eight days, that’s fantastic! Have fun.
Hi Steve, my Husband (hon.discharge from the military in the 1960′s-fought in the Korean War) and I are taking our son and his family to Disney World in two weeks, would we be eligible for any military discount? Any information would be greatly appreciated!!
Hi Ann,
I’m assuming he didn’t make it a career and retire after 20 years and does not have a military related disability.
If that’s so then the only discount available is at Shades of Green in September and January, see this post about Shades of Green eligibility for non-retired vets.
I was wondering if you could get a 5 day park hopper pass with a military discount insted of just a 4 day?
Miranda the Armed forces Salute 4-day ticket is the only length they offer at this huge discount. these 4-days are just a little more that a regular adult one day hopper with a 14 day expiration.
You can buy the regular military discounted tickets at Shades of Green or your base ticket office they have from 1 to 10 day tickets, but these are just slightly discounted. A 5-day adult hopper that expires in 14 days costs $301. See here for all the prices.
You can get 2 of the Armed forces Salute 4-day ticket for $276 and have till 30 Sept to use any days you don’t during this trip. If you can’t you will have still paid less.
My brother is getting married in May and my husband and I wanted to give my brother and his new wife tickets to Disney as a gift since they are going there for their honeymoon. Obviously they are not military, if my husband buys the tickets on our base and we give them the tickets on their wedding day, will they be able to use them when they get to Disney?
Hi there Brooke,
It’s important to note that there are 2 different kinds of Military Discounted Disney Tickets!
- The steeply discounted Armed Forces Salute 4-day tickets. Which is a temporary program started in Jan. 2009 and renewed year to year, which currently ends 30 Sept 2012. For these tickets the military member (or spouse) must be present at the theme park to activate the tickets and must have one for themselves.
- The Regular Military Discounted Disney 1-10 day Magic Your Way tickets. These have always been available, you’ll save anywhere from 3 to 15% on these compared to the gate price, based on length and options. These tickets have always been sold by base ITT Offices and Shades of Green. Base ITT Offices receive two different kinds of these tickets, actual tickets which are ready for use, and ones that will not work at the theme parks and need to be exchanged for the actual ticket once there. My base ITT Office says it just depends on what Disney sends them and it can vary by the type of ticket. They might have real 5-days and 6-days that you need to exchange. Here is the Shades of Green price list, base ITT Offices have vert similar prices.
So have your husband ask if the tickets you want to buy are ready for use! A military ID at Disney will be needed for the ones that need to be exchanged.
Another option is to give them a Disney Gift Card that they can use on tickets, meals, or whatever.
HOpe this helps!
I think I understand this promotion but I wanted to ask you to make sure if I have it correct.
My step dad is retired military so he will be purchasing the tickets. We have going he and my mom, my husband and I with our 3 kids (ages 2, 3, and 6) along with my brother and his wife. If I understand it correctly my step dad can purchase 6 of the $138 tickets for us is that correct? Or would it be possible for him to purchase 8 tickets since 2 of the tickets are for young kids? I noticed somewhere it did say there would be exceptions for families with children but I was assuming that would be a father or mother with a military ID and their kids.
We also are not staying at Shades of Green or at any of the Disney Parks so where would the best place for us to purchase the tickets be?
Thank you so much
Michelle
Yes 6 is the maximum Armed Forces Salute Tickets allowed active at one time (except like you said for a mom, dad, and their kids).
But that’s all you need, kids 2 and under are free at Disney parks. Disney sells tickets for kids 3-9 and 10 and above.
The AFS tickets are still cheaper than the 4-day kids tickets!
Have fun Michelle!
I read through the comments, but don’t think I saw this question. Do you know what is considered a “single week” of the promotion (or know who to contact)? Sun – Sat, Mon – Sun, week after inital activation? We have 4 people in our party and will be spanning weeks. We’d like to buy 8 tickets, but are unsure if we will be able to activate the second set (well, I guess at least 2 would go through, for max of 6). We are staying Monday of one week through Wednesday of next and would want to activate on Tuesday and Sunday.
Just found your site – thank you for all the wonderful info!!!
Hi there Kat,
Thanks, glad you found the site!
First unfortunately there isn’t anyone you can call. No one at any of the Disney call centers is very familiar with this offer. They’d just attempt to search the company database for info.
Also communication between the different departments within Disney is less than perfect.
What I can tell you is that, while the info found on the Disney website and via email from my official contact in Disney’s Military Sales Dept. says no more than 6 per week (without defining a week).
My unofficial contact (someone I can email at home vs an official Disney address) who works in Disney Ticketing says the only restriction they impose is no more than 6 at a time. I’ve seen the document they have in the ticket booths on this program and it does not mention weeks. Also I’ve had no reports of people being denied back to back tickets.
The ticketing dept is the only thing that matters, as they are the ones who’ll activate your tickets.
You should have no issues with 4 tickets followed by 4 more.
Have fun!
Thank you so much for the response! Much appreciated!
I am planning a trip this June with my husband, two kids and my husbands parents. My father inlaw is retired military so he is eligble for the 4 day park hopper, which sounds like a great deal and that is what we are leaning towards. My question is about activating the tickets. I understand the military (or retiree) must be present, but will they have to be present each day the passes are used. Or is it only necessary for the first initail activation day?
The reason for my concern is due to medical reasons my inlaws may not stay with us all day at each of the parks and may even skip a day, would this work, or will they need to be present each time we enter a park?
Hi Dawn,
It’s great that they can go with you and that you’ll be able to use this great discount. You mentioned tickets, but don’t forget the 30-40% off Disney resorts which is part of this offer too.
The only time the whole party needs to be together is at the time of activation. When you arrive at your first theme park you’ll need to go to a ticket window to activate the tickets. Your FIL will need hid military ID and the other adults will need a picture ID (license). Once they activate the tickets you can all part company if you wish, no need to stay together.
I hope you have a fun trip!
My husband and I, are bringing our family to Disneyland in late July. I was told we could get up to 12 Military discount tickets, a 3 day hopper, there will be 8 of us including my husband and myself, are we going to be able to activate 8 tickets. He is retired Military and I also have a Military ID card. The group includes our granddaughter, her husband and 4 children.
Hi Char,
When you say you have a military ID, do you mean you are a military member, active, reserve, or retired? Or are you talking about your dependent ID?
To be clear we are talking about Disney’s Armed Forces Salute tickets, not the (slightly) military discounted Magic Your Way tickets from Base ticket offices (4-8% off).
Disney allows 12 AFS tickets per member during this current offer (24 Oct 2010-30 Sept 2012) with a limit of 6 tickets active at one time.
If you are military there is no issue, you can each activate up to 6.
But if you are a dependent, then the max your husband can activate is 6. Disney does have an exception to the 6 limit for large families, but this is for a mom, dad, and their dependent kids (when there are more than 4 kids) it’s not for extended families as in your case.
You might have luck talking the person working the Disney ticket window into activating 8, it’s worth a try, but be prepared to buy 2 full price kids tickets at the window.
I hope you have a great time!
My fiance and I are planning our Orlando honeymoon Oct 29-Nov 6. When will we be able to find out about Disney, Sea World, and Universal discounts for FY13? We can’t buy our tickets this far in advance since its after the fiscal year end, and I’d like to purchase as soon as possible.
Hi Lori,
I’ve been told that we might hear about a Disney Armed Forces Salute renewal in the early summer.
The Anheuser-Busch Here’s to the Heroes ticket offer runs through the end of December 2012.
And Universal has no special discount (their’s ended in 2010) just the standard military discount.
Thanks!
I have a question about upgrading. We are going in February and are both military as well as FL residents. We are planning 5 nights and 4 park days. We are purchasing our 4 day passes through the base. I am trying to work out another day in the parks so I was thinking of the weekday select passes. My question is, Can we check in and go to MK on Sunday using our military passes and then upgrade them on Monday to the weekday select so we can sneak that extra day in? The difference in the upgrade is much less than a single day pass would be. Thank-you for your help!
Hi Rebecca,
Yes this is something that you can do. I’m a FL res too. Last year in Nov I started a new Armed Forces Salute ticket, used it up, then paid the difference for a FL Seasonal ticket. It is good until one year after the day I first used the ticket (as an AFS ticket). I paid within a dollar of what I’d have payed for another 4-day AFS ticket and got a whole year of use out of it.