With the announcement that the Disneyland Resort will re-open to out of State visitors on 15 June, the question of whether or not there will be a Disney Armed Forces Salute for the remainder of the year is a hot topic!
The military community is understandably anxious to hear if they will have the same great discount that they have had access to for the 11 years prior to Disneyland’s closing in 2020.
Background Information
The Walt Disney World Resort and the Disneyland Resort are actually 2 subsidiary companies within the Walt Disney Company umbrella. Each company has administered their own special military room and ticket discounts under the common name of the Disney Armed Forces Salute since 2009.
The 2 different ticket offers and 2 different room offers are not connected and have rules that while similar are different in many details.
Disneyland has historically been the Resort that has drug their feet in releasing each year’s new Salute offer. Sometimes releasing their information days or weeks later that Walt Disney World.
Recent History
The sales of 2020 Disneyland Armed Forces Salute tickets ended when Disneyland closed its doors in March 2020.
As 2020 drug on, in early June Disneyland initially announced that they would re-open in July 2020, like Disney World did. However the California State Government would not allow them to do so.
In preparation, in late June they announced that they would extend their 2020 Disney Armed Forces Salute Tickets expiration to 16 December 2021. This information disappeared from their website after the announcement that they would not be re-opening in July. However it has returned, see the bottom of this page: disneyland.disney.go.com/experience-updates/park-reservations/
What about 2021?
Disneyland has been just as silent as Disney World was leading up to their 2021 Salute announcement, which is typical.
Disney does not release information until they are ready.
Walt Disney World did not announce the 2021 Disney Armed Forces Salute until mid-December 2020, This is 3 months later than they would normally have announced a Salute.
All companies offer discounts to attract business and in some cases to some extent as good will gestures or for community relations.
Disney’s theme parks have always offered slightly discounted tickets to the military community and do to this day.
But the highly discounted Salute Tickets and room rates have always been started when theme park attendance was very low. The first Salute was offered post 9/11 during the first half of 2002 when people were afraid to travel, once people started to travel again it ended. The next string of Salute offers began during the 2009 economic downturn after the housing crash.
MDT expects Disneyland to approach any discounts military or otherwise with the same wait and see attitude that Disney World did. Disneyland is going to need to see how they d filling their parks to allowed capacities with no discounts. If they are not having trouble getting to the numbers they want, expect no discounts. If however they are having trouble, then discounts expect discounts to be offered.
Wrap Up
As always, we’ll keep our ear to the ground and advise you as soon as we know something!
The fastest way to find out is to subscribe to out newsletter, we’ll send out a notice as soon as we hear!
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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 |
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- 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
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- Shades of Green, WDW’s Military-Only Resort
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I’m not waiting for DLR Salute Tickets. I made very inexpensive hotel reservations for the 2nd week in July across the street (Harbor) just one week before DLR announced they were reopening. In the meantime I hoped they would open up to out-of-state travelers before my hotel reservation dates, which they just did! But park reservations for July are starting to fill up! So I pulled the trigger on “regular” military discount tickets so I could make park reservations before availability dried up for the week of our hotel reservation. There are six of us, so probably spent 400 more for the regular discounted tickets, but it was worth it knowing we have confirmed park reservations. Plus with what I’m saving on the hotel, vs their normal rates, it’s probably a wash.
Great job Eric!
You were optimistically proactive. It worked out perfectly and you’re good with he extra cost, so a big Win!
So they have an additional regular” military discount tickets ?
Jessica
Yes they do Jessica,
Though they are the original, not additional. LOL
See: https://www.militarydisneytips.com/blog/military-discount-theme-park-tickets/disneyland-military-discounted-theme-park-tickets/