Will there be a Disney Military Discount next year? Is a question that I begin getting in increasing numbers starting every June.
The 2023 Disney Armed Forces Salute has been announced!
This year the queries have started even earlier, so I’m posting this earlier than usual.
UPDATE 28 Sept 2022: Sadly, the traditional (pre covid) renewal date for the Disney Armed Forces Salute has passed. We’re now in a waiting game to see when Disney might announce. Rumor Control seems to be indication mid-November.
UPDATE 5 November 2022. Well the first week of November has past. Disney does not announce Salute renewals on the weekend, they traditionally have announced near the end of the work week (Thurs/Fri). So having said that, ti seems that we are set up for a Veteran’s day announcement. Veteran’s day is Friday and in the past Disney usually shoots for Thursday in order to have another week day to recover from the issues that always pop up during a Salute announcement. So let’s see what happens the end of next week!
The military community starts asking this question in the June timeframe because Disney usually releases their general public resort rates for the upcoming year in late June. This year they will be releasing the 2023 info on 8 June 2022.
However this is not the case for Disney’s military discounts: the Disney Armed Forces Salute Room and Ticket discounts.
Disney and most other companies offer discounts, military or otherwise, as loss leaders. This is industry lingo for getting you in the door with an attractive offer or discount, banking that once in you will buy other things. Or in Disney’s case offering an attractive discount to attract bodies that would not have otherwise come.
Every year Disney holds a Revenue Generation Board, in which they discuss the company’s finances looking forward. The Disney Armed Forces Salute is not released/offered for the coming year until after this board meets and decides to make the Salute offer again. Since 2015, due to the timing of this meeting, the Salutes have been announced in late September in the year prior to the offer period.
A Temporary, Not Guaranteed Offer
Something that those who are relatively new to the military discounts for Disney vacations are often unaware of, is that the Disney’s Armed Forces Salutes are temporary offers and that they are not guaranteed to continue.
Another bit of information that’s not widely known, is that what our community calls the Disney Armed Forces Salute is actually a collection of offers.
- The Walt Disney World Room Offer
- The Walt Disney World Ticket Offer
- The Disneyland Resort Room Offer
- TheDisneyland Resort Ticket Offer
They are all independent and executed differently. The ticket discounts are a negotiated deal with the DoD executed separately by the 2 different Disney theme park companies. The room discounts are offered separately and directly by Disney at each location.
This string of mostly back-to-back temporary Salute offers began in 2009 and since then have been offered or renewed for: partial years, full years, and multiple years. The Salutes even ended for a short period of time in 2012 before being started again.
During the time the Disney Armed Forces Salute ended with no follow-on (Sept 2012) The room discounts started back up first as they required no signed contract with DoD. The ticket discounts came back 2 weeks later once the contracts were signed.
The Salutes were originally offered on a Disney’s fiscal year basis, but in 2015 they switched to calendar year offers.
As I mentioned here a couple of times, the Disney Armed Forces Salutes are not guaranteed to be offered, they could be discontinued at the end of any offer, not coming back for the new year.
Disney offers discounts (military or general public) to attract bodies. Disney has much more control over general public room discounts which are offered for specific timeframes and are often ended when target numbers are reached. Disney does not offer general public ticket discounts.
A few years ago Disney changed the Armed Forces Salute room discounts from a guaranteed percentage off to an unnamed percentage somewhere between zero and the old guaranteed amounts. and in recent years it has become harder to get a military room discount. This was done to turn what was a wide open discount into something controllable offering the best discount when Disney needed it and decreasing the discount on a sliding scale for periods of lesser need and not offering it when not needed. See how this works.
Since re-opening after the 2020 shutdown, Disney World has been operating at the reduced capacity that they desire (based on manning shortages). So they might not need to discount to attract extra bodies.
Having said a few negative things, I’ll say that the Salutes have been running for a long time now and there is some perceived pressure to keep them going. Dropping the Salute discounts wouldn’t look that good for Disney (for a news cycle or two), especially since they have had so much negative press lately.
The 2020 Shutdown
Empty Hollywood Boulevard
The shutdown and its aftermath have played havoc with the announcement schedule for the 2021 and 2022 Salutes. Nothing has been normal.
- Disney World closed for 4 months in 2020 – They announced several interim 2020 Salute extensions and finally a 2021 Salute on 5 Feb 2021. WDW’s 2022 Salute ticket offer was not announced until 15 November 2021.
- Disneyland closed for the remainder of 2020 and half of 2021 – They announced a Salute offer for the remainder of 2021 and 2022 on 29 June 2021.
So When We Could Hear
Based upon the last 3 annual Salute announcements prior to the shutdown, Disney could release information about a 2023 Armed Forces Salute in Late September 2022 as they normally would.
I’d hope that Disney can get back to normal this year.
It is very important to note, that as I mentioned, the Disney World and Disneyland offers are totally separate (each run by different companies within the big corporate structure). There have been times when one will announce (WDW) and we will not hear from the other (Disneyland) for an extended period of time…
If they do not release in September, then I’d expect as late as mid November again.
What to do?
Be prepared!
Join my Email Newsletter if you haven’t yet, I’ll send out a notification as soon as I know the 2023 Salute is released.
Then see this post on what to expect the day of an announcement: What to Expect on the Day Disney Announces the Disney Armed Forces Salute.
Finding a Room Discount
My recommended Disney Travel Agent, Ears of Experience advises for those those who aren’t comfortable waiting on the release of a 2023 Military Salute (due to obtaining Theme Park Reservations) to just going ahead and book at the general public rates.
This also leaves them open try to convert to any military discount offered later or for other general public promos that can come in pretty darn close to the Military Salute a lot of times anyway.
Want to go this route? contact Ears of Experience.
Ears of Experience – Military Disney Tips’ Recommended Disney Only Travel Agent.If there is no military room discount for 2023 you could use other military discounts.
See:
Tickets
When will tickets be available?
Historically, Tickets have been available for the new calendar year offer by 1 November. This was due to the old 60day FastPass+ reservation window. Theme Park reservations also drive a need for having your tickets in hand as early as possible, so I expect this same timeframe or earlier.
If there is no Salute Ticket Discount offered for 2023 you will need to revert to what the military community used prior to the current string of Armed Forces Salutes. These are the Regular Military Discounted Disney Tickets for Walt Disney World and Disneyland and the Shades of Green Stars and Stripes Passes for Disney World.
See: Regular Military Discounted Disney Tickets
Over to you, what are your thoughts on the chances for renewal? Are you going to book when general public rates come out for 2023 or wait? Tell us in the comments section below!
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This MDT Post By: Steve Bell Steve is the Military Disney Tips Founder. He is a retired U.S. Military Member who's been touring the Disney Parks since 1971! He has been writing about Disney for the US Military Community here for 18 years. Steve's mission is to help military families with their Disney vacations in every way possible. See Steve and His Family's Content |
Planning a Disney Trip? Want to get the best military discounts that are available? Feeling a little confused? See Our Great Disney Discount and Planning Info:
- 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
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Planning on a trip for 9 in March 2023 but may have to cancel if Armed Forces Salute tickets are not available.
Many will be in the same boat David.
Steve, any word on if Disney will have the tickets for 2023? We are on the waiting list at Shades of Green for New Years. Would it be smart to buy the 2022 Salute tickets and pay the difference if 2023 comes out?
Hi Gary,
No nothing new to add to this post. We just have to wait till they announce. I don’t expect that to be prior to late September.
The option of buying 2022 and paying the difference is not allowed. 2022 Salute tickets will lose all value on 17 Dec 2022. This is the normal state of affairs.
You may be recalling the various options Disney offered for those stuck with 2020 tickets affected by the closure and fear to travel.
Steve, does Disney offer a military discount for their non-Floridian annual tickets? I know they are not selling therm now, but heard they are about to offer them again. I know things my change, but pre-condemic, I didn’t know if that was offered.
Thank you!
Hi Gary,
They have been all over the map through the years on this.
First, there really isn’t a mil discount on the passes, Shades gets them from a discount reseller vs. Disney and sells them (I guess at their cost).
Just prior to the shutdown the only pass they sold was the most expensive version under the old system.
Once pass sales come back we’ll have to see what they do.
With military tickets may not making an announcement until late November, how likely are we to get park reservations for marathon weekend if we wait? Wondering if I should just go ahead and get a regular military discount then wait for the Armed Forces Salute tickets. I’m running the Dopey Challenge and want to enjoy some time in the parks too.
Hi Dawn,
It’ll hopefully be late September so there is 2 more months that you weren’t counting on.
Race weekends are busy! You didn’t mention if it’s just you or a whole family we are talking about (dollar wise). Also since you are doing the race I’m guessing that you go often.
Getting the regular mil ticket(s) now would be money wasted if you aren’t going back.
But if you do go somewhat regularly, there is no reason not to buy the regular ticket(s) and link them to get your park reservation(s) if there is a specific must do park. You’d probably use the cheaper base (non-hopper) tickets to do this
Once the Salute tickets come out you would then link them as well.
Disney’s system defaults to using the most recently linked ticket/pass first until used up. So after linking both if there was a specific day that you wanted to use the non hopper(s) or Salute tic you’d need to visit guest relations prior to entering to use the ticket you wanted on that day.
If you’re not going back then you might want to wait it out watching to see if parks begin to close out for your dates. But if there is a must do park, you’re back to the option above.
Hope I was clear, let me know!!!
Hi Steve!
It’s just me going. I’m pretty flexible…the only park I really want to go to is MK on 1/8. Other than that I can do whatever is open. I keep saying prayers we will hear something this week, but am fearful we won’t. I used to go more often than now. I guess I will say lots of prayers that they come out sooner rather than later!! Thank you so much for your help!
Dawn 🙂
My pleasure Dawn. Fingers crossed.
If Disney decided not to renew Armed Forces Salute, how do you think that would look? Would they say nothing and just leave everyone hanging? Maybe announce such a weak offer that it’s essentially a non-renewal? I’m trying to plan a March 2023 trip but facing up to the fact I might have to do it without discounts. We went in March 2022 and were prepared to do it without discounts but prices are so much higher now!
Hi Ashley,
I think they would just say nothing. And calling to ask would yield no useful information.
Today is the day I would expect it if they went back to the pre-shutdown schedule, but it’s already 10 o’clock eastern and nothing yet.
Tough for people waiting to plan a trip in early 2023. What is the consensus on a cut off to go ahead and book without the Salute?
Hi Ashley,
It can’t hurt to secure what you want, with the understanding that that exact vacation could be full price.
Then when a salute is announced you can attempt to get all the same specifics (dates, resort, room type) at a discount. Or vary any of those if needed and possible for you.
I have about 4 different reservations right now, lol. I just called to cancel one that couldn’t be done online, and, just for fun, asked the Cast Member if he’d heard anything about renewal of Armed Forces Salute for 2o23. He said that it was usually done mid-November. I gently corrected and said it was usually late September but that 2020 and 2021 (for 2021 and 2022) had been the outliers due to COVID. He then corrected himself and said they had been told mid November. So we can take that for what it’s worth. He may or may not have actually been told that.
Hey there Ashley,
Ha, that’s good.
Thanks for the intel. It may turn out to be valid, we’ll see.
Hoping to plan a DisneyLand California trip for Jan 2023 to include staying in a Disney hotel. It looks like there still aren’t any military discount for DL. 🙁
Do the slew of recent price increase announcements signal that a Salute renewal might be imminent?
Hi Ashley,
I’m hoping that we will hear within the next 30 days or so…
Hi Steve,
While waiting to see if Disney will have the Salute to the Military offer, if we purchase discounted tickets from Shades of Green and STM comes out, would we be able to transfer those purchased unused ticket to STM and pay the difference if any?
Thank you!
Hi Gary,
No Unfortunately you can’t do that.
Hey Steve,
Been a while. Still Love the site. Planning a week long trip for the whole family (6 or 7) as soon as school let’s out in NE Fla. Do you still believe middle of November if they announce the salute tickets. We still feel real fortunate to have been able to take advantage of this program since 2009. We have gone many times. The wife and I held off too long for Annual passes and missed that boat. Especially since we live in Fla now. We are hoping if the salute does not come through that they will do something more for Fla residents like they have been doing lately. Take care and keep up the good work.
Walt Bobby
Hi there Walt,
Thanks so much!
I’m still thinking Mid Nov…
I rocked the Florida Seasonal then Silver Pass for about 9 years until the one prior to my current pass actually. I lost my FL eligibility when we sold out Tyndall AFB area home last year. It’s the best deal going for those eligible.
Hi Steve, we are planning a trip to WDW in mid January and having been waiting with baited breath to see if they will release the tickets in mid-November. In your professionally opinion and knowing that park reservations are needed, are we playing Russian roulette by waiting so long before we get these with the possibility that the parks will be full?
Hi there Heidi,
Honestly I think you’ll be just fine. January is about the slowest month of the year excepting the holiday weekend.
I just looked and Jan is green every day (all parks available). If your dates involve MLK Day you may need to do MK and DHS on days other than the weekend if they fill before you have tickets in hand.
Hi Steve,
I’m still confused about our eligibility. My husband is a veteran with a 50% service connected disability. Would we qualify for discounted tickets? Thanks for your help!
Hi there Leah,
Being a service connected disabled vet, he’s eligible for the McCain Equal Access Act that allows these individuals to use certain base services including the Ticket Office.
He can purchase tickets there that do not require a current military ID for use. So that would be all tickets except the Disney Armed Forces Salute and the Universal Freedom Pass which both require a mil ID for activation. Everything else is a go though including the Regular Disney Military Ticket Discount for Walt Disney World and Disneyland.
See: https://www.militarydisneytips.com/blog/disney-military-discounts/disney-discounts-and-the-john-mccain-defense-authorization-act/
And https://www.militarydisneytips.com/blog/disney-military-discounts/regular-disney-military-discount-for-walt-disney-world-and-disneyland-tickets/
November 7th, 2022 . Well I just got off the phone with Disney and was told that MIlitary Salute Tickets will not be released till December or January, That sure puts a damper on us that have planned to go the 1st week of January. I guess planning ahead is useless anymore( been planning for a year), Guess are trip will be canceled as I cannot hold on to a SOG reservation without being charged,
Hi Evelyn,
I would not take what that particular person told you on the phone as gospel. They might have no clue and just told you what they “think”… This happens all the time.
I’m still hoping for Thursday or Friday.