I watch a lot of Disney message boards and something that I’ve been noticing the last couple weeks is people either being surprised and/or mad that there are blockout dates on the Armed Forces Salute tickets. One poster on the disboards actually bought the tickets and then found out that there were blockout dates. They said “I knew there was a lot of fine print but didn’t read it.” This started a multi-page heated conversation with multiple posters on both sides of military discounts. I’ve also received several questions from my readers who were a little confused about the blockout dates as well.
The Disney Armed Forces Salute Blockout dates are:
For Park Tickets – 17-23 April 2011 for Disney World and Disneyland,
4 July 2011 Magic Kingdom only, and 1-4 July Disneyland.
For Resort Rooms – 17-30 April 2011 at Disney World
These block out dates have been available since day-one of the offer, on this site, Disney Military Sales, and others. And the fine print wasn’t really that fine. I can’t believe someone would actually buy the tickets without knowing when they could use them.
Others have stated that they are angry at Disney for having blockout dates during the “only time” that they would be able to go to Disney. That Disney isn’t supporting the troops because of this.
Here’s my thoughts…
I’ve said numerous times, Disney’s Armed Forces Salute is an economic decision made by the company. It’s a way to attract more bodies into their resort rooms and theme parks. Bodies which besides paying for the discounted rooms and admission will be paying full price for food, souvenirs, and recreation.
Disney’s military Salutes have only started and run in economic downturns. During 2002 in the economic aftermath of 9/11 for one year only, and then again in 2009, with the housing crash through this year. These downturns cause people to stop discretionary spending i.e. travel to Disney. So Disney makes their vacation destination even more attractive with discounts, to both the military and the general public (who often get the same discounts as the military, packaged differently or with different names). See here general public up to 40% off on rooms
Now Spring Break is the absolutely the worst time during the whole year to visit Disney! The theme parks are at peak attendance and regularly close due to hitting max attendance. And here is the key… Disney does not want or need to attract any more people during this period! It would break the system, and you don’t want to be there to see that.
You are way better off taking the kids out of school, taking along homework and going in late January – early February. There’s WAY LESS PEOPLE in the parks, cooler weather, shorter park hours (but you’ll get more done due to no crowds) it’s way more pleasurable. Have a nice dinner then the kids can do their homework.
I’m thankful that Disney has extended these great offers to the military, and I try to use them wisely.
What are your thoughts on this? Am I right? Am I off base? Leave a comment to let me know…
If you are new to Military Disney Tips Start Here
Disney’s Armed Forces Salute FAQ
Information on Shades of Green – the Military Hotel on Disney World property
For up to the minute news follow us on facebook and twitter.
