Military Ticket Purchasing Guide: Save Money On Disney World Tickets
Disney Military Tickets can save military members and their families big money at both the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando Florida and the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim California!
Welcome to the Military Disney Tips guide to how and where to purchase your military tickets for your Disney vacation.
Whether you are interested in the Disney Armed Forces Salute 4-Day Ticket or 5-day ticket, or the Regular Disney Military Ticket Discount for Walt Disney World and Disneyland
Where to Buy
When it comes down to where you can buy your military discounted Disney tickets you have several options:
- Your local Military Base Ticket Office
- A non-local Base Ticket Office that Ships
- Directly from Disney
- Other Ticket Reseller
Your Local Base Ticket Office
Depending on your service this could be an ITT, ITR, or MWR Â Office or Travel Office.
Most bases have a ticket office, but there are some smaller installations that do not. I you don’t have a local ticket office you’ll need to consider the next option.
Things to consider when purchasing on base:
- Fees
- MWR Cost Offsets
- Lead Time
Occasionally I’ll get an email asking why the prices that I publish on this site for these tickets for military personnel are different than at the Base Ticket Office. And it’s because I publish the actual prices, without any fees or cost offsets. Some bases charge a “service” fee that increases the ticket price by usually just a few dollars (though once in an extreme case one base was charging 15 dollars). Conversely, some bases use local MWR funds to bring the cost of their tickets down a few dollars.
Another thing to consider is lead time. Many bases do not stock all of the tickets that they offer for sale. They need to order them from a regional office. So it could take your tickets a few days to arrive after you pay for them at the ticket office. Be sure to leave enough lead time prior to when you need your tickets in hand! A week or two is recommended to be on the safe side.
A Non-Local Base Ticket Office That Ships
Shades of Green Attraction Ticket Office
There are quite a few bases that will verify your eligibility, get your payment info, and then ship your tickets right to your home. They all have slightly different procedures, but typically you will submit a form with what tickets you’d like to purchase (how it is submitted is what typically varies) along with your contact phone number. The ticket office will call you to get your payment information and them complete your transaction, then they will FedEx your tickets to you.
Things to consider when purchasing long-distance:
- Fees
- Lead Time
If you do not have a local office, this is your best option. Or this also works if you just want to skip the drive to base.
Keep in mind that there are shipping fees, typically $12 to $15 for 2-Day FedEx shipping.
Allow plenty of time before you need your tickets for shipping.
Note: Most ticket offices will just drop the tickets in a FedEx mailer and you will need to wait until you receive the physical tickets to link them and make your Theme Park Reservations. Some ticket offices, like the Patrick ITT, are connected to Disney’s park pass system. Right after your transaction goes though you will get an email from Disney with your ticket numbers. The physical tickets will follow by FedEx a couple of days later.
See my full post on buying Military Discounted Disney tickets long distance. This post covers how and where to purchase more in depth.
Directly from Disney
To purchase military tickets from Disney you have to do so in person at a Walt Disney World theme park ticket window. You cannot do this online or over the phone as you can for general public tickets!
Note, only the Disney Armed Forces Salute Tickets can be purchased at Disney, not the Regular Military Discounted Tickets. More on these tickets in a bit.
While this option is still available it is not a good one due to Walt Disney World Theme Parks requiring Advance Theme Park Reservations for non-dated tickets. All Tickets with Military discounts are non-dated.
Remember you need to have your ticket numbers in order to make your Theme Park Reservations. If you wait to buy until arrival you might not be able to get the parks that you want on specific days, or not at all.
Other Ticket Resellers
I usually tell our community to steer clear of ticket resellers, like quick stops along the Florida interstate highways, eBay and other online sales options, Triple A, timeshare presentations (trading tickets for your time), because the military purchase options are cheaper, or you might get ripped off.
However one exception to this is the GovX website, where occasionally you can find a deal on the general public tickets. Use caution and always price all options carefully.
How to Pay for Your Military Disney Tickets
There are multiple ways to pay for your Disney Military Tickets. Which are available to you depends on where you buy the tickets from.
Typical purchase methods are:
- Credit or Debit Card
- Gift Cards – Disney or other Brands (Visa/Master Card)
- The Military Star Card
Credit or Debit Cards
These are of course accepted everywhere.
Be sure to use one that will give you points back! Good options are the Disney Visa Card to earn points that you can then use on your Disney vacation, or an airline credit card to earn miles for your trip.
Gift Cards
Disney Gift Cards and the Disney Visa refillable points card can only be used to purchase tickets directly from Disney. You cannot use them for purchases from a Military Ticket Office. This makes them useless for Disney tickets, as you need to pre-purchase tickets to make reservations prior to your trip. Instead use these cards for dining or merchandise during your trip.
Standard gift cards, Visa and Master Card, can be used anywhere.
The Military Star Card
There is only one location that accepts this card for Disney Tickets and that is the Shades of Green Attraction Ticket Office.
Ticket Safety
Always, Always, Always snap a pic of the backs of your Disney tickets right after you get them!!! Get a pic of the receipt too.
If lost or forgotten, Disney will replace them at no charge.
I’ve heard horror stories over the years of lost tickets or tickets left at home (in Hawaii). Don’t let this happen to you!
Disney Ticket Discounts Available to Military Service Members
Military Discounted tickets fall into 2 types:
- The Disney Armed Forces Salute Tickets
- The Regular Disney Military Discounted Tickets
Disney Armed Forces Salute Tickets
These limited time. special, highly discounted tickets are sometimes referred to as Disney Military Salute Tickets, Military Promotional Tickets, or the Salute to Military Tickets. These come in 4 and 5-day lengths with either the Park Hopper or Park Hopper Plus options.
These can be purchased from a Military Ticket Office or Disney.
Regular Disney Military Discounted Tickets
These tickets are similar to the tickets sold to the general public but at a slight discount. They come in 1 to 10 day lengths at Disney World and 1 to 5 days at Disneyland, with the options available at each park: Base (single park), Park Hopper, Water Park and Sports, and Park Hopper Plus.
These can only be purchased from a Military Ticket Office!
Unlike Disney’s general public tickets, all military tickets are not date based. Meaning that after purchasing, you may use them on any eligible day. When purchasing general public tickets you pick the specific start date and the price is based on that date.
One Additional Type
Above I mentioned GovX sells Disney tickets at a special price. These are the same ones that are available to the general public and they are date based.
Who is Eligible fo Disney Military Tickets?
That actually depends on the type of ticket. The Disney Armed Forces Salute Tickets have stricter eligibility requirements (basically a current, valid military ID) than the Regular Military Tickets do.
Here is the list of who is eligible for the Disney Armed Forces Salute Tickets:
Current US Military Members:
- Active Military (US Army, US Navy, Â US Marines, US Air Force, US Space Force)
- Reservists (US Army, US Navy, Â US Marines, US Air Force, US Space Force)
- National Guard
- US Coast Guard and Reserve
- Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service (PHS)
- Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Retired Members of the US Military:
- Active (US Army, US Navy, Â US Marines, US Air Force, US Space Force)
- Reserve (US Army, US Navy, Â US Marines, US Air Force, US Space Force)
- National Guard
- US Coast Guard
- Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service (PHS)
- Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
100%Â Service Connected Disabled.
Medal of Honor Recipients.
Spouses in place of the military member (not Civil Service or Contractor). Relationship Field must say SP. Note: The Disney Armed Forces Salute benefit is for the member only. While spouses may use their member’s benefit, they are not entitled to a benefit of their own. They only use the discounts in place of the member. Non-spouse dependents (children) are not eligible.
Un-remarried Widows are entitled to their departed military spouse’s discounts (not Civil Service or Contractor). Relationship Field must say DEC-SP.
Foreign partners/Coalition partners stationed at a US base are eligible. They must have a permanent US Military issued ID (CAC card with blue stripe).
The Regular Disney Military Discounted Tickets have the same eligibility as above plus:
Non-Spouse Military Dependents with ID
DoD Civil Service
Non-Retired Veterans who Qualify for the Equal Access Act
Non-Retired Veterans who do not Qualify for the Equal Access Act, can purchase these tickets for Walt Disney World when using Shades of Green’s Salute to Our Veterans Program.
Still not sure if you qualify or not in one of these categories? Check our Military and Veteran Eligibility Guide
Other Disney Military Discounts
There are other military discounts for Disney besides ticket discounts!
- Military Discount on the Memory Maker Product (PhotoPass)
- Military Discounts on Disney Cruises
- Military Discounts on Disney Resort Hotels
- Military Discounts at Disney Springs (Florida)
- Military Discounts at Downtown Disney (California)
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! |
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