Disney Armed Forces Salute and Terminal Leave or Separation

I’m often asked about using this great discount after separation or during terminal leave.

The Disney Armed Forces Salute is a discount program for current and retired military members.

One is a big NO and the other is a Maybe. Let me explain.

Identification

As I said above the Disney Armed Forces Salute is for current (active, guard, and reserve) and retired members of the same.

A current valid military ID is required to activate the Disney Armed Forces Salute tickets in person upon arrival at Disney.

Here is a link to the forms of ID Disney accepts.

Inactive Reserve IDs, Tricare TA-180 cards, VA cards, DD-214s are not acceptable!

Note: eligibility is set by the DoD, not Disney and restricted to those with base access/receiving compensation (from the DoD). These are the people with the IDs on the link above.

Separation

Whether you decided to get out of the military or they have decided for you, when outprocessing you will surrender your CAC (military ID).

A current valid ID is required to use the Disney Armed Forces Salute discount.

Many think that if they buy these highly discounted tickets prior to separation at their base ticket office, they will be good to go and use them later.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The tickets will not be valid for park entry until activated in person with the correct ID.

For people in this situation there is another option, see below for info.

Terminal Leave

The other time lack of a valid ID can come into play is during terminal leave.

If you totally outprocess and surrender your CAC (military ID) prior to going on terminal you will not be able to use the Disney Armed Forces Salute discount.

As I said a couple times above you need your ID to activate the tickets prior to use.

If you really can’t schedule your Disney trip prior to starting terminal leave you’ll need to see if you can outprocess at the end of your leave to keep possession of that ID during your trip rather than prior to leave. Policies vary and may entail a return to your base or mailing the ID back. Check with your personnelist!

If you must surrender your ID see just below for an option.

Regular Military Discounted Magic Your Way Tickets

While the Disney Armed Forces Salute tickets require activation in person, the Regular Military Discounted Magic Your Way tickets do not.

These can be purchased at your base ticket office prior to separation/terminal leave and used later.

The drawback is that they offer much less savings for shorter stays (around 4 days) than the Salute tickets.

See this page for information about the Regular Military Discounted Magic Your Way tickets and this page for Regular Military Discounted Magic Your Way tickets prices.

Also see: See: I Don’t Have The Correct ID To Activate Disney Armed Forces Salute Tickets

• Back to Basics Posts - A great place to start, offering basic topics!
• Disney Veteran & Military Discount Eligibility Guide
• The Military Family’s Walt Disney World Comprehensive Vacation Planning and Preparation Guide 
• Military Disney Tips Disney Packing Checklist 
• Disney Military Tickets – Your Start-to-Finish Guide

• Resorts/Hotel Overview Page
• Dining Overview Page
• Transportation Overview Page
• Technology Overview Page
• Shades of Green, WDW’s Military-Only Resort

The Mouse Experts is a travel booking company specializing in Disney vacations. Military family owned and operated! They know all the ins and outs of Disney military discounts!