Disney’s  Theme Park Reservation Systems causes quite a bit of concern for Military Travelers!
The Problem
With the advent of Disney World and Disneyland’s new, hopefully temporary Theme Park Reservation System it is very important to have your Disney Military Tickets well prior to arrival.
(Updated January 2023)
In order to make your Theme Park Reservations, you need to link your theme park tickets to your My Disney Experience (MDE) account via the MDE app or Disney Word’s website / or your Disneyland app or Disneyland website. You do this by taking the number off the back of the ticket and entering it into the website, or by scanning the ticket number barcode with your smart phone app.
Note you can do this with Exchange vouchers too, both the cardboard ticket shaped ones (like the pic below) and the full sheets of printer paper.
Without the ticket, you can’t do this and you’ll miss out on getting the most popular experiences like the Star Wars: Millennium Falcon or Avatar: Flight of Passage.
This is a big issue for those who do not live reasonably close to a military base!
Waiting until you arrive at Disney to buy your tickets could keep you from getting reservations for some of the parks that you’d like to visit!
The Solutions
Note the first two locations listed (Patrick and Pendleton) are my preferred go-to Ticket Offices. They are friendly, fast, and efficient! I just bought a Disneyland Salute ticket from Camp Pendleton and had it in my hand here in Ohio in less than 24 hours! Patrick is also very fast, they provide you the ticket numbers via email within minutes of making your purchase and physical tickets within 2 days. Shades of Green can sometimes take a long time with the back and forth communication process, so only use them for ticket’s that others don’t sell.
Patrick SFB ITT
Just go to the Patrick SFB ITT Page, then click on “Order By Phone.” Fast service and $10 FedEx Fee.
I love using the Patrick ITT! This is where I often get my tickets, I use them over driving the hour round trip to my local base! Instead of waiting the 2-3 days for them to FedEx the tickets as many other Ticket Offices that sell long distance do, the Patrick ITT office enters your online order into WDW’s ticketing system and WDW directly emails you with the ticket numbers within minutes of your paying over the phone. Therefore, you can link your tickets the same day as your order instead of waiting for the FedEx. You still get the hard card tickets by FedEx a couple of days later.
Camp Pendleton
The Camp Pendleton ITTÂ can take your order over the phone and then send them to you.
They carry all varieties of Disneyland and Disney World tickets both Armed Forces Salute and Regular Military Discounted Disney tickets plus other locations.
There is a $10.oo fee for them to send your tickets to you via FedEx. You can pay for your tickets and fee with your credit card.
Disney World tickets require a 2 week lead time! This is because they may need to order the specific tickets that you want.
To order your tickets, contact the Camp Pendleton ITT Pacific Plaza at (760) 725-5805. Please note, unlike other tickets, Disney Armed Forces Salute Ticket eligibility is for those who are career retired, as in 20+ years of service or 100% medically retired (DAVPRM).
Their hours of operation are: Mon-Sat: 8:30am-6:30pm (Pacific Time)
Shades of Green
Shades of Green’s Ticket Office sells all of their available tickets long distance.
The way this works is that you will submit a ticket order sheet and then the Shades of Green Ticket Office will call you back to verify some information and get your payment information. They will then get the tickets to you in one of 2 ways.
You should allow ample time for the transaction to take place. Depending on their volume of requests the time it takes Shades of Green’s Ticket Office to call you back can take from a few days to 3 weeks! A reader recently reported to me that it only took Shades of Green just 2-3 hours to call her back. I have NEVER experienced this! My personal experience is that 3 days is the soonest I’ve received a call back and 3 weeks is the longest. During several of my recent purchases (but not all) 3 days has been the usual (as recently as January 2024) the 3 weeks was in early 2023.
As of late December 2023, the ticket delivery process has changed at Shades of Green.
To purchase your tickets download and fill out their PDF form linked on this linked page. And then go to this page to fill out your information and attach the form.
When you order, you can either have them:
- Send you a PDF image of the back of all of your tickets showing the ticket numbers, ticket QR code, and your receipt via email with no fee
- 2-Day FedEx you the physical tickets and receipt for a $15 dollar fee
Shades of Green sells activated Disney Armed Forces Salute tickets. They are the only location that does this (though others claim to). What this means it that the Salute tickets are ready for use. You can walk right up to a park entry and tap in. When purchasing from all other Military Sellers you will need to activate your Salute Tickets at a Disney ticket or guest relations window prior to use.
When Ticket Offices other than Shades of Green tell you their tickets are “activated” what they are trying to say is that you can use then to link to My Disney Experience and make your Theme Park Reservations (still required as of 2024). They will also tell you that you will still have to show your ID on arrival. THis is the actual activation process!
Orlando ITT
The Orlando ITT has been praised for fast service lately!
See our full info page (with contact info) on this little known location.
Orlando ITT Ticket Sales Office
NAS Corpus Christi MWR
Order via email. Email them ([email protected]) and they will email you the needed forms. They have a $12 FedEx Fee.
Office hours are Monday, Wednesday and Fridays only from 0830-1630, closed from 1300-1400.
Please Note: Some bases sell paper exchange vouchers when you purchase Disney Armed Forces Salute tickets. Some bases sell these paper versions, some sell plastic tickets (which Disney still calls Exchange Vouchers). In either case you can link or scan them into MDE.
Other Base Ticket Office Options
Deciding Where to Buy
For Walt Disney World, your primary options are:
- Shades of Green
- Patrick Space Force Base ITT
- The Orlando ITT
Shades of Green sells Disney Armed Forces Salute Tickets that are pre-activated. This means that you do not have to take the time to get in line at Guest Services to activate them before they will work for entry. This can be a big time saver on your trip. However, Shades of Green’s Ticket office is VERY SLOW in completing your long distance ticket transaction. Days can go by after you have submitted your ticket  purchase form before they call you to get your payment information and start the actual process of getting the tickets to you. So if you’ve planned ahead and have plenty of time before you need the tickets Shades of Green is the way to go. Report: Mar 2023 – I recently ordered a Disney Armed Forces Salute Ticket through Shades of Green long distance. It took them 9 days to call me back for my credit card number. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to answer and had to call them back the following day, when I did they took my number and said someone might call me back the same day! I asked why it took 9 days to get the first call and got the excuse that it was spring break and they had also had “computer trouble.”Â
All other Ticket Offices sell unactivated Disney Armed Forces Salute Tickets! Some may tell you they are activated but that you still need to do an ID check on arrival, this means that they are actually unactivated. What they are trying to tell you is that the tickets are linkable in My Disney Experience (because this is a point of confusion for many guests). Buying unactivated tickets will cause to to spend that time activating them upon arrival before you can enter your first park. So, if you are behind the curve on ordering your tickets or need them ASAP Shades of Green is not the way to go!!!
I often use the Patrick ITT, they are super fast! Within hours of sending in my form they are calling me for payment. Then because they are tied into Disney’s ticketing system I receive an email from Disney with my ticket numbers minutes later, which I can then link to My Disney Experience. That’s just a couple hours from when I initiated the process, not the days it would take for Shades of Green.
I’ve also heard very good things about the Orlando ITT, though I have not used their long distance service. I’ve only purchased tickets in person there.
So, if you are in a rush or don’t care about having to activate tickets on arrival, definitely use another office besides Shades of Green!!!
For Disneyland I always use Camp Pendleton. They are also very fast and efficient!
Make Your Reservations
Once you have your tickets, go ahead and link them in My Disney Experience or the Disneyland app/site and then you can make you Theme Park Reservations.
We have instructions on making Theme Park Reservations.
My Disney Experience Linking Issues
If you have issues linking your tickets or the number of days on the ticket does not show up in MDE (this can happen with Regular Military Discounted Magic Your Way tickets) simply call the Disney Internet Help Desk at 800-848-6413. They can assist you with getting things right.
Linking Notes:
When linking Disney Armed Forces Salute tickets to children you will sometimes get a message that you’ve linked a ticket for ages 10+ to a child. This is not an issue and affects nothing!
Will this info help you? Have you done this? Let us know in the comment section below!
- Shades of Green Ticket Office
- Use Your Military Star Card at Shades of Green
- Buy Long Distance Tickets from Shades of Green
- Disney Armed Forces Salute Tickets
- Regular Military Discounted Magic Your Way Tickets
- Disney World Military Florida Resident Tickets and Annual Passes
- Disney World Military Annual Passes
- What's the difference between the Water Parks and Sports Option & Park Hopper Plus Option
- Walt Disney World Military Non-Theme Park Tickets
- Universal Orlando Resort Military Tickets and Passes
- SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Military Discount Tickets
- Military Discounted Tickets for Other Orlando Area Attractions
This MDT Post By: Steve Bell Steve is the the Military Disney Tips Founder. He a retired U.S. Military Member who's been touring the Disney Parks since 1971! Steve's mission is to help military families with their Disney vacations in every way. Check out Steve's Bio. Subscribe to Steve's email newsletter to get website updates and news by clicking this link. |
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:
- Disney Veteran & Military Discount Eligibility Guide
- The Military Family’s Walt Disney World Comprehensive Vacation Planning and Preparation GuideÂ
- Military Disney Tips Disney Packing ChecklistÂ
- 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
Military Disney Tips' Recommended Disney Travel Agent Ears of Experience Disney Only Travel Agency. Military family owned and operated! They know all the ins and outs of Disney military discounts! |
Lance says
In a bit of dilemma and not sure what to do. Between 4 military members we purchased 24 salute disneyworld tickets. 3 of the members are no longer able to go on the trip. Will I be able to activate all those tickets on my military ID?
Steve says
Hi Lance,
Whew sounds like it…
I need more information though first.
Where did each of you buy your tickets?
Are these 2020 or 2021 tickets?
So 3 eligible members, and their parties I assume, can’t go but you still need to use their tickets?
Are their spouses still going?
How many people are actually going?
Dates? How long? Number of park days desired?
MO says
You have taken a major headache out of trying to purchase these tickets for my family that is a mix of active duty both Army & Navy, grandchild, one non-military affiliated grown child, pending deployments and what to do about that, and every other crazy thing this military life can throw at us,
Thank you!
Steve says
Thank you MO!
It’s my pleasure. I just love doing it.
It’s the combo of my 2 loves.
Katherine says
HI Steve,
I have a bit of a dilemma, I purchased 3 military tickets back in January of this year but my oldest daughter wasn’t able to go on that trip with us. We’re planning on going again in April and she will be joining us. My base does not sell the tickets anymore so I purchase them at Shades of Green. I made the park reservations for the 3 of us that already have tickets but how I’m not able to purchase hers until i get there i couldn’t make the reservation for her and now the park is at capacity. Does Disney make any exception because of the fact we can’t purchase until we’re there?
Steve says
Hi Katherine,
I’m not sure that I quite understand the situation.
I understand that you have 3 tickets and need a 4th.
But you didn’t say why you can’t purchase it from Shades of Green now. Are you too close to departure for them to process and ship the ticket?
I guess that is a moot point as you said your park choice on at least one day is already full. I just looked at the theme park reservation calendar and assume you are going sometime from the 1st to the 10th. There are many days in there that Epcot is the only park open and the MK is only available on the 10th.
So here is what I know. Disney has said there are no exceptions to the park attendance limits.
But it never hurts to ask for some Disney Magic with Guest Relations after you purchase the ticket. Explain the situation, stress the military ticket angle and having had to wait. Politely escalate to as many levels of supervision to hopefully get a positive response. Mention that not everyone who made a reservation can possibly be in the park at the same time, so what’s 1 more person? This might succeed or might not (sorry no way to know).
If it doesn’t work, she might have to make a park reservation for and open park (Epcot mostly) and hope that the park of your choice each day is open for park hopping at 2 pm (unless they change the hopping time time or the park is full, this is the number to check: (407) 560-5000). She will have to enter the park where she has the reservation before she can hop to another.
She could meet you at 2 if you are already in the park or you could all go about the same time after having done something else in the morning like Disney Springs, enjoying your resort or exploring another. See: https://www.militarydisneytips.com/blog/walt-disney-world/top-11-free-or-low-cost-disney-world-activities/
Sorry, I couldn’t offer sure positive answers!
Kathy says
Hi Steve,
Thank you for your response , as always you’re wonderful help.
I will definitely be using some of your tips and hope for some pixie dust !
-Kathy
Monique says
Hi! Last year I purchased 5 armed forces salute tickets from Shades of Green. I will be using 2 of the tickets in June but three of my family members are unable to go. Would there be an issue if I gave three of the tickets to another active duty military family who would use the tickets at a different time? Also, the tickets I received from Shades of Green are plastic. Do I need to stop by guest relations first or do I go directly to the park entrance and scan my ticket. Thank you
Steve says
Hi Monique,
You can give those tickets to other eligible members to use, as long as they have not already used their allowed 6 of the 2020 tickets.
Shades of Green tickets do not need to go through the activation process. Just go right to the park entry.
Diana C says
Hello Steve,
We are a blended family of 11. we have two military members who will be purchasing Salute tickets for the family in advance. However, 2 of the 11 will not be traveling with us in August, but rather on their own a few weeks later due to scheduling conflicts.
How will that affect us once we get to the parks in August?
Will the 4 additional tickets not be valid unless that second military person is not with us?
Does the whole family have to travel together to make sure all 11 tickets are active?
Steve says
Hi Diana,
I assume the second eligible person is one of the two who can’t go with everyone else. (comments based on this)
First, I must say that Disney’s intended use of the Disney Armed Forces Salute Tickets is for the member (or spouse) to spend time in the parks with their guests.
Getting that out of the way, tickets purchased through Shades of Green come pre-activated, no need for the member to go with their whole party on arrival and activate them.
So, those other tickets purchased by the person not there could be used, though it goes against the spirit of the discount.
https://www.militarydisneytips.com/blog/disney-military-discounts/buy-military-discounted-disney-tickets-by-phone/
https://www.militarydisneytips.com/blog/military-discount-theme-park-tickets/regular-military-discounted-magic-your-way-tickets/
Hope this helps!
Diana C says
Thanks. I don’t want to get anyone in trouble,
We are trying to move plans around to go together, but the closest we can get dates together still involves 9 of us beginning the trip 3 days in advance of the rest.
Steve says
Check out the Regular Military Discounted Magic Your Way Tickets I linked to!
Rachelle says
Hey Steve, you’ve always been so helpful in the past, I’m hoping you might know the answer to my question. Are you aware if Camp Pendleton is still doing the distance ticket sales for Disneyland? Or anywhere else where I might get Disneyland Military Salute tickets? Or does Shades of Green sell Disneyland tickets? We’ve always purchased Disney World tickets from there but this next trip is to CA and I don’t know if Covid has changed anything. Thanks!
Steve says
Hey there Rachelle,
Thanks!
Shades only does WDW and Central Florida locations.
The Camp Pendleton ITT locations cover the whole US!
I have not heard that have stopped selling long distance.
See: https://www.mccscp.com/itt
Natalie says
I purchased long distance Salute tickets from Patrick AFB last year and again this year. This year instead of waiting the 2-3 days for FedEx, the ITT office enters the online order into WDW and WDW directly emails you with the activated ticket info/numbers. Therefore, you can link your tickets the same day as your order instead of waiting for the FedEx. You still get the hard card tickets by FedEx a few days later.
Steve says
Hi Natalie,
Thank you so much for the intel!!!
I did both my purchases for last year through Patrick (Great Service!). The last in about October or early November and they were still doing it the old way, that is my having to wait on the tickets to arrive to get the numbers.
Steve says
Hey Natalie,
A question occurred to me. You used the term activated in your comment. Did Disney or the ITT tell you there was no physical activation required on arrival?
I ask because last year Patrick was using odd language in a letter accompanying the tickets, calling the non-activated tickets that they sent “activated” trying to indicate that you could make park reservations with the exchange vouchers they sent. But they said that you still had to go through an in person ID check before use (the actual activation). This confused a few of my readers.
Seraphina says
Hi Steve, I am trying to purchase Armed Forces Salute tickets for Disneyland but we live in Oregon. I have read over a lot of information from your pages and am very thankful for them! But I did want to make sure I understood all the information correctly. Since we are not in California or Florida, is the best and easiest way to order tickets to be going through Camp Pendleton ITT office via phone and then they ship it to us? Or can we purchase these at a local Military Base? (We are close enough to WA where they have a few locations as well as have a coast guard base near by). Or is there a better way I am not understanding?
Thank you so much!
Steve says
Hi Seraphina,
Thanks so much!
Yes, if you have more than a half hour drive or so, I’d pay the 12 bucks (I think it is) for the fedex shipping from Camp Pendleton. It’s a really easy process! I’ve used them from Ohio.
Seraphina says
Thank you! I will do that! One more question, the tickets that camp pendleton sends us, are those the ones we link, make reservation, then have to activate at a booth the day of our first day at Disneyland? Thanks again!
Steve says
Yes they are Seraphina.
Tracie Papsadora says
I used Patrick AFB last week. I was so impressed with how easy and quick the process was! I filled out the form online and emailed it. They called within 48 hours for me to pay, within the hour I had all digital tickets in my email…and 2 days later I had the physical tickets in hand. They were pleasant and answered all my questions! Thank you for the tip on Patrick AFB, their customer service was top notch!
Steve says
Hi Tracie,
Thanks for the report!
I’ve used Patrick also and second all that you said! They are great!!!
Kambria Kauppinen says
Hi there,
This might sound like a dumb question but can any branch (my boyfriend is a Marine with a DD214) buy tickets from another branch of military or does he have to buy from a Marine base?
He said he called Pendleton and they were asking for an access code, so we’re a little confused on how to order.
Steve says
Hi Kambria,
So, an eligible member of any branch may buy from any military ticket office.
But it sounds like your bf might not be eligible.
If he just served for a period of time and got out with nothing but a DD-214, he isn’t eligible to use base ticket offices.
There are other qualifiers that he may have however, like a service connected disability or other things. See: this post: https://www.militarydisneytips.com/blog/disney-military-discounts/disney-discounts-and-the-john-mccain-defense-authorization-act/
Each base has ways they allow those who qualify via the above to have access to their services without a military ID. If qualified he needs to ask them what they mean by the code and how he gets it.
You can also see the below:
https://www.militarydisneytips.com/blog/veteran-discounts-for-disney-universal-and-other-theme-parks/
https://www.militarydisneytips.com/blog/disney-military-discounts/disney-veteran-discount-and-disney-military-discount-eligibility-guide/
https://www.militarydisneytips.com/blog/disney-military-discounts/disney-military-discounts-for-veterans-who-did-not-retire-from-the-military/
https://www.militarydisneytips.com/blog/shades-of-green/shades-of-green-stays-for-non-retired-veterans/
David N Feliu says
I was able to purchase Walt Disney World tickets today over the phone and online. Great prices and fast service from Patrick SFB ITT. Thank you for the information!
Steve says
My pleasure David!!!
Benji Croom says
Hi Steve. Love your blog and info and have traveled many times to WDW using the salute discounts. Just wanted to let you know that we purchased 2024 salute tickets from a far away base and they were sent to us digitally with an activation code…no waiting…no shipping. I’m assuming this means we can bypass the activation step and just scan our bands or phones to go right in. Wondering if you knew of this change?
Steve says
Hi there Benji,
Thanks much!
By activation code, do you mean ticket number? I too have received my tickets via email when purchasing from the Patrick SFB ITT. They take the payment, input the transaction and then Disney emails the ticket numbers, which you then link in MDE. But these tickets are still not activated. You have to go by Guest Relations or a ticket booth to activate them.
This is probably the situation that you are in.
To my knowledge, Shades of green is the only non-Disney location that sells activated Sallute tickets
Marie says
Hello, I have a question I’m hoping you can help with! I’m gathering info for my brother who has 100% service disability (not retired), which according to my research on your site qualifies for the Salute Tickets, but we are worried and apprehensive about when we activate the tickets at the park because we cannot seem to find anything published from Disney that says 100% disability qualifies. What if he purchases the tickets and we get all the way to the park and then Disney won’t activate them because he does not have an active or retired ID?
Steve says
Hi Marie,
To alleviate your concern, simply purchase the Salute tickets long distance from Shades of Green. Shades of Green sells their long distance tickets pre-activated. There is no activation of these on arrival.
https://www.militarydisneytips.com/blog/disney-military-discounts/buy-military-discounted-disney-tickets-by-phone/
Michele says
Hey Steve. I think you have some old information on this one post. I ordered my tix from shades of green on June 28. I got my call back 4 HOURS after I sent my email and tix in hand in less than a week. Our stay started Oct 29. That is a lot more than 30 days out from our visit. I was able to make park reservations through November 5 immediately. SOG definitely doesn’t make you wait till 30 days anymore. The new form doesn’t even ask for a date. I even had to order one more ticket in late July. It did take one day to get the call, but I had no problem making those park reservations. In this post it says 30 days. Thank you for all you do with the great information. I recommend you all the time.
Steve says
Hi Michele,
Thanks for writing in, and thanks for the recommendations. It means a lot!
Well you were certainly lucky! There may be times like you experienced, but it varies all through the year and it has always been on the other end of the spectrum, taking many days to weeks.
Just last month I was contacted by a reader who Shades of Green refused to sell tickets to because they were more than 30 days prior to their check in. This is why I made sure to emphasize the 30 day rule on this post.
I do see the new form, which is different from the one I saw last month, which had the date on it, when the reader advised me of their issue. They must have just switched it.
Let’s hope what you related is the new standard, things have changed, and Shades has joined the rest of in the modern service age.
Thanks again!
Steve says
We just used your advice and ordered tickets for our daughter to catch up to us for a couple of days on our week-long Disney adventure.
The folks at ITT at Camp Pendelton were outstanding. Maria made the whole thing effortless and even brought me to the front of the call-back line since I am TDY to Germany right now.
Minutes of time, easy, professional, and delivered via email.
Thanks for the frank advice and keep up the good work on here.
Steve says
Thank you Steve. Much appreciated.