This post is part of our Frequently Asked Question Series in the Disney Armed Forces Salute Ticket FAQ section.
The Disney’s Armed Forces Salute offers huge savings on theme park tickets and resort rooms to those Service Members who are eligible to participate.
I need more than 6 Armed Forces Salute Tickets. What can I do?
Disney’s Armed Forces Salute has a ticket limit of 6 tickets during the Salute offer period per eligible member.
However, Disney’s policy is that “Exceptions should be made for immediate families larger than six people.”
For example, if a family has five children, Disney will allow all members of the family to purchase and use Disney Armed Forces Salute Tickets (for Mom, Dad, and the 5 kids).
Disney defines immediate family as: Mom, Dad, & their Dependent Children.
Qualified:
- Member
- Spouse
- Their Dependent (Mil ID-carrying) children and those too young for an ID
Not Qualified:
- The member’s adult children without a Mil ID, even if still living in the house
- The member’s adult children, plus their spouse, and or children
- Parents
- In-Laws
- The member’s siblings
- The spouse’s siblings
- Aunts and Uncles, or their children
- Friends
- Friend’s kids
- etc. (you get it)
Shades of Green Will Assist!
Shades of Green at Walt Disney World will sell you more than six Disney Armed Forces Salute ticklets if you neeed them for your immediate family.
Their website says: “An exception to the six (6) ticket limit may be made for a Service Member and spouse with more than four (4) children between the ages of 3 and 17. The children must be immediate family members and must be enrolled in DEERS.”
Base Ticket Offices
If you’d rather use your local base rather than Shades of Green.
(Update Sept 2019) – Disney officially advises that you work with your local base ticket office to gain an exception to the 6-ticket rule. The Ticket Office would do this by contacting Disney Military Sales, either directly (if they know how) or through their next higher Ticket Office Supervision.
The problem with this will be a lack of knowledge on the part of Ticket Offices, and perhaps not knowing about this or not believing you. Work up their chain of command if needed to get them to investigate.
Give yourself plenty of time for this to happen. Start well before you want the tickets in hand!
PLEASE provide feedback on how this goes for you in the comments or use my contact form!
Until recently, Disney used to have the member wait until arrival to get the tickets above 6 that they needed.
Disney’s intent is that large immediate families be able to use the Salute discount for all family members!
But a glitch in the way the system was originally set up is causing problems!
This hadn’t been a big problem in the past; those who needed more than 6 tickets just got them upon arrival at Disney.
But with the advent of Theme Park Reservations, it has become a problem.
So as it stands today, Military resellers (base ticket offices and Shades) are not allowed to sell more than 6 per military member due to language in their contract with Disney. But as stated above, Disney now wants local Ticket Offices to work this out.
Don’t Qualify for this Exception?
Then you’ll need to get Regular Military Discounted tickets for the rest of your party.
See:
Disney Tickets and Technology Links
Tickets
Disney's Armed Forces Salute Tickets The biggest military discount available on tickets
- Disney Armed Forces Salute FAQ The questions that I get most often
Regular Disney Military Discount Tickets The permanent Disney Military Discount
Disney Military Tickets – Your Start to Finish Guide
What’s the Right Military Discounted Disney Ticket for Me?
11 Differences Between Disney Armed Forces Salute and Disney Regular Military Discounted Tickets
WDW's Park Hopper Plus Option Information
Technology
Disney Technology Overview Page
Memory Maker and PhotoPass+ Military Discounts
Linking Disney Military Tickets
Disney FuelRod Stations are Available at Disney Parks for Recharging Your Devices
This article was written by Steve Bell, founder of Military Disney Tips.
Steve is a retired U.S. military member who has been visiting the Disney Parks since 1971 and writing about Disney military discounts and vacations for the military community for over 18 years.
Read Steve’s Full Bio | Follow Military Disney Tips on Facebook
Hello,
My family has been going to DL for the last 3 years using the Salute tickets. My Mother purchases the tickets for 10 people. We haven’t had any issues entering the park. But now seeing all these comments about the activations limited to 6. It looks like the tickets are tracked by ID but are they tracked by the ticket group? Let’s say mom buys 6 including 1 for her and then she buys 5 including 1 for her. Can we activate both groups on the same day with the same ID(moms ID)? Look I’m not trying to sell tickets here we all just want to go together without breaking the bank.
Hi Kris,
Soooo… Per your question, your mom is the only one buying the Disney Armed Forces Salute Tickets. Whether she is the military, member or spouse, the limit is 6! Technically if she is the spouse the limit for her purchase is 5 as one ticket must be reserved for the member, but Disney rarely enforces this.
If there were 2 members in the family 12 is legal.
Are these what she is buying 12 of? There are other types of military tickets which, 1 aren’t limited and 2 offer less savings. In fact what she is allowed to do is but 6 Disney Armed Forces Salute Tickets and 6 (or any other number of) Regular Military Discounted Disneyland Tickets. The regular ones do not require activation.
See: https://www.militarydisneytips.com/blog/military-discount-theme-park-tickets/disneyland-military-discounted-theme-park-tickets/
I’m not sure why you’ve been able to do this to date, unless you are using the regular tickets thinking they are the Salute ones… They are tracked by the individual activating them.
We will be going to Disneyland in March ‘22 and have already purchased those tickets through ITT. I bought 4 but now we are also taking our son in college, so I need to get one more, for a total of five. However, my wife and I are planning a trip to Disneyworld in June ‘22 for our 20-year anniversary. Does the 6-ticket limit apply to both Disneyland and Disneyworld combined, or do the programs operate independent of each other? Thanks!
Hi Shaun,
The two offers (and ticketing systems) are totally separate. Each member is allowed 6 tickets at both WDW and DLR during each offer period.
So we are going to Disney with our friends in January 2022. The 1st 6 salute tickets our retired army friend bought thru shades of green. Than his wife went to buy 3 magic your tickets on base but they gave her salute tickets for our kids. Im worried we are gonna have an issue.
Hi Melissa,
First, between the two of them they are allowed 6 Salute tickets only, as you know. The base should have sold her what she asked for.
But let’s forget about that, that’s on the ticket office.
You will be just fine, as Shades of Green Salute tickets are sold pre-activated. They are ready to use (going right to the entrance tapstiles).
Your friends will just need to activate the 3three other Salute tickets.
One needs to be for your friend and the other two can be for anyone else in the party.
In case you haven’t seen it here is activation info: https://www.militarydisneytips.com/blog/disney-military-discounts/how-to-activate-your-disney-armed-forces-salute-theme-park-tickets/
Hello! Came here to Google this exact topic.
So I (retiree) can purchase 6 tickets and my wife (dependent) could purchase 5?
We have 2 small kids. Purchased the 4 day hopper and realized it’s not nearly enough. Hoping we can buy 4 more of the 4 day tickets once we use up our initial purchase. Thank you for clarifying.
Hi Thomas,
First no, the 6 Salute ticket limit is per military member. The spouse can only purchase yours in place of you.
Now, Options.
You did not say whether you were talking about Disney World or Disneyland…
If you have WDW Salute tickets, you can upgrade them to the 5 or 6 day versions. You need to do this at a WDW ticket window or guest relations location. It will cost the price difference from the 4-day.
If you want more on top of that or are talking DLR you will need to use the Regular Disney Military Ticket Discount for Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
See:
Oh and you have to upgrade the WDW Salute tickets before they are used up…
Hello, military wife here. My husband and I share seven children. We are preparing for a quick trip before he leaves in mid-March. Should we expect an issue at MWR regarding the number of tickets? We are planning the buy the annual military pass. Thank you!
Hi Emily,
The last communication that I had from Disney was that local offices had been briefed on allowing large families to buy what they need.