Official 2012/2013 Disney Military Promotion - Updated Post #187

[uscgmouse]

These particular military tickets don't have to be used within 14 days.

Great thank you.

You just need the military person/spouse present when the ticket is activated correct? then after that is can be used by the person whenever?

 

[buffettgirl]

Great thank you.

You just need the military person/spouse present when the ticket is activated correct? then after that is can be used by the person whenever?

that's correct.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Steve posted some additional questions and answers from Disney on his blog or website this morning and it makes it a bit more confusing. I can't post the link here where I'm at, but I saw it on FB.

 

[danceintherain]

I take it this was what you are talking about: http://www.militarydisneytips.com/b...orces-salute-2012-2013-my-questions-answered/

Some of the answers are a bit unfortunate. I guess if my sister wants to go back to use any remaining entitlements, I'll just have to go with her!

I wonder how well they plan on enforcing that particular rule? I can't imagine them checking the IDs of the people entering the park with the military tickets any more than they check the IDs of anyone else.

 

[appleorchard]

This is confusing and also somewhat contradictory. So we DON'T have to activate all the tickets at the same time, as long as the military member or spouse is there for each activation? That's good news, but do we still have to BUY them all at the same time? It doesn't really seem to answer that. I'd be happy if we didn't have to buy them all at once, in case we don't get to make a second trip later in the year.

Sounds like they're going back to everyone having to be there to activate the tickets, like they did the first year. Not a big problem for us, more of an inconvenience to coordinate flight times, most of the time. My niece's DH works for American and she flies standby, so she often doesn't get in until hours after everyone else. Hate to not go into the park waiting for her--in June, she didn't get in until the next day!

Doesn't sound like you can use the tickets for a longer trip by buying two sets, though. We did that one year.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

I take it this was what you are talking about: http://www.militarydisneytips.com/b...orces-salute-2012-2013-my-questions-answered/

Some of the answers are a bit unfortunate. I guess if my sister wants to go back to use any remaining entitlements, I'll just have to go with her!

I wonder how well they plan on enforcing that particular rule? I can't imagine them checking the IDs of the people entering the park with the military tickets any more than they check the IDs of anyone else.

Yes, that would be it.

This is confusing and also somewhat contradictory. So we DON'T have to activate all the tickets at the same time, as long as the military member or spouse is there for each activation? That's good news, but do we still have to BUY them all at the same time? It doesn't really seem to answer that. I'd be happy if we didn't have to buy them all at once, in case we don't get to make a second trip later in the year.

Sounds like they're going back to everyone having to be there to activate the tickets, like they did the first year. Not a big problem for us, more of an inconvenience to coordinate flight times, most of the time. My niece's DH works for American and she flies standby, so she often doesn't get in until hours after everyone else. Hate to not go into the park waiting for her--in June, she didn't get in until the next day!

Doesn't sound like you can use the tickets for a longer trip by buying two sets, though. We did that one year.

It really is contradictory. My only real issue is that we want to go 3 times next year, 2 tickets each time, but we won't have the funds readly available to buy all 6 at one time and who's to say we will make it. I want to be able to buy them when I know for sure I am taking the trip and not be stuck with 6 tickets I can't use.

This makes is sound like I can do what I would need to do, but I am not 100% sure and this would be something they could inforce, I guess, since you have to activate them, they would see that it wasn't done at one time.

They need to quit being so wishy washy!

 

[appleorchard]

It would be so nice if the rules were clearly listed and enforced across the board, but based on previous years, neither will happen. Everything will depend on which CM you get.

 

[danceintherain]

This is confusing and also somewhat contradictory. So we DON'T have to activate all the tickets at the same time, as long as the military member or spouse is there for each activation? That's good news, but do we still have to BUY them all at the same time? It doesn't really seem to answer that. I'd be happy if we didn't have to buy them all at once, in case we don't get to make a second trip later in the year.

Sounds like they're going back to everyone having to be there to activate the tickets, like they did the first year. Not a big problem for us, more of an inconvenience to coordinate flight times, most of the time. My niece's DH works for American and she flies standby, so she often doesn't get in until hours after everyone else. Hate to not go into the park waiting for her--in June, she didn't get in until the next day!

Doesn't sound like you can use the tickets for a longer trip by buying two sets, though. We did that one year.

I'm even more confused now after reading the answers more carefully. It seems that they have to all be bought at the same time and all users must be there to activate them. Therefore, you can't buy tickets for someone who isn't there to use in the future. I guess it makes sense, because the purpose is for the service member to go to Disney with their family and friends, and not get discounts for others.
The wording does sound as if as long as you purchase all the tickets together, you can activate most of the tickets one on day, and as long as the military person is present when any additional members of your party arrive, the additional tickets can be activated later.

Yes, that would be it.

It really is contradictory. My only real issue is that we want to go 3 times next year, 2 tickets each time, but we won't have the funds readly available to buy all 6 at one time and who's to say we will make it. I want to be able to buy them when I know for sure I am taking the trip and not be stuck with 6 tickets I can't use.

This makes is sound like I can do what I would need to do, but I am not 100% sure and this would be something they could inforce, I guess, since you have to activate them, they would see that it wasn't done at one time.

They need to quit being so wishy washy!

I think they're probably trying to cover their bottom line. They probably expect some people to be overly ambitious and plan on multiple trips within the year, then not be able to taken them, in which case Disney would gain some money.

I don't really see how they can enforce any of it either, which has been their problem in the past. They've probably figured out that people have been "abusing" the program, so they're trying to make the rules more strict, which makes it more complicated, because they want people to still feel comfortable taking advantage of the offer.

It would be a nice perk for my sister to be able to use any remaining entitlements later on in the year (her inlaws have a house in Orlando) but it's still a good deal for her without that as a possibility. I just really can't imagine them being all that vigilant in checking IDs. I don't want to abuse the program, but it also seems slightly ridiculous that I'd have to follow my sister around at Disney in order to share this discount with her. Not that I'd mind multiple trips to Disney in a year, but it's not practical for us for time reasons more than anything else.

I do hope that they figure out a manageable way to execute the program, because I'd love it to be a fairly consistent thing in the future, but it seems as if it's too complicated for them.

 

[appleorchard]

The way I took it, you can split the buying of the tickets as long as the military member or spouse is there to buy them and activate them, which is nothing new. I can't imagine that there will be any problem with your sister using them without you there, unless they plan, like you said, on IDing everyone every time they go through the gate. What a mess that would be! And even when you're on a trip with someone, you're not always together the whole time. I think your sister would be fine using the unused portion of the ticket on a later trip. That would probably be my sister's plan too--it's what she's done in the past.

These rules always start out at the beginning sounding way more complicated than they end up actually being. What did seem different is that on the official offer, it sounded like the military member or spouse had to use one of the six tickets, if you bought six. In this Q&A session, it sounded like the military member has to use one if you're buying six. My AP runs out before my DH's, so I was thinking I could use one of tickets if we bought six. Guess not.

Can't wait to get feedback when people first start using the tickets. We won't be using them until 2013, since just DH and I are going in Oct. and I already have my DD and DGD's tickets for next week. Can't wait--an all-girl trip!

 

[katiemely]

Random question: I have a Disney Visa and am determined to earn enough Disney dollars to pay for our February trip (tickets/food). My question is can I use my Reward dollars at SOG to get our tickets?

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Random question: I have a Disney Visa and am determined to earn enough Disney dollars to pay for our February trip (tickets/food). My question is can I use my Reward dollars at SOG to get our tickets?

No. Shades of Green is not owned/operated by Disney. You can only use Rewards dollars at Disney merchants. Even a few of the stores in the parks/resorts don't accept them.

 

[danceintherain]

The way I took it, you can split the buying of the tickets as long as the military member or spouse is there to buy them and activate them, which is nothing new. I can't imagine that there will be any problem with your sister using them without you there, unless they plan, like you said, on IDing everyone every time they go through the gate. What a mess that would be! And even when you're on a trip with someone, you're not always together the whole time. I think your sister would be fine using the unused portion of the ticket on a later trip. That would probably be my sister's plan too--it's what she's done in the past.

These rules always start out at the beginning sounding way more complicated than they end up actually being. What did seem different is that on the official offer, it sounded like the military member or spouse had to use one of the six tickets, if you bought six. In this Q&A session, it sounded like the military member has to use one if you're buying six. My AP runs out before my DH's, so I was thinking I could use one of tickets if we bought six. Guess not.

Can't wait to get feedback when people first start using the tickets. We won't be using them until 2013, since just DH and I are going in Oct. and I already have my DD and DGD's tickets for next week. Can't wait--an all-girl trip!

The earliest I will probably be able to plan a trip for is December (we're still in South Korea awaiting orders back to the States) and it's probably more likely that we won't go until January, or later, so I too can't wait until people start dealing with it.
My sister is trying to get her husband to agree to spend money on Disney at all. Apparently, he's not a huge fan of Disney, so even $156 for 4 days and a free place to stay (his parents have a house there) isn't all that appealing to him. She said that he'd be more likely to pay the $300 for them all to have 1 day in Universal than $450 for 4 days at Disney.
I'm not sure if being able to use additional entitlements later on would help, or not, but I'm sure my sister's in-laws would appreciate the possibility of my sister bringing her kids down there to visit them as much as she chose.

 

[Alice28]

I'm excited for the new salute! This will be the third or fourth time my family has been able to benefit from this huge money saver. SO THANK YOU DISNEY!

My specific question is- in the past I have always bought my tix at SOG cause we were either staying there, or we had a rental car and could easily get there. My galpals and I are going for just a four day weekend in October and we're staying at WL (and getting there via ME). So I want to buy our passes for us at Magic Kingdom. My question is------do I have to go to the TTA to buy military tickets for MK? Or can I go to the Guest Services window right by entrance to MK? I'm pretty sure I can go to Guest Services, but i want to waste as little time as possible! Thanks for any help---

Robin

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Yes. You can buy the tickets at any Park ticket or Guest Relations window. You just cannot buy them at the Resorts.

 

[buffettgirl]

I'm excited for the new salute! This will be the third or fourth time my family has been able to benefit from this huge money saver. SO THANK YOU DISNEY!

My specific question is- in the past I have always bought my tix at SOG cause we were either staying there, or we had a rental car and could easily get there. My galpals and I are going for just a four day weekend in October and we're staying at WL (and getting there via ME). So I want to buy our passes for us at Magic Kingdom. My question is------do I have to go to the TTA to buy military tickets for MK? Or can I go to the Guest Services window right by entrance to MK? I'm pretty sure I can go to Guest Services, but i want to waste as little time as possible! Thanks for any help---

Robin

but don't forget, if you buy them outside of SOG you'll have to pay tax on the passes.

 

[JavArmy]

I'm excited for the new salute! This will be the third or fourth time my family has been able to benefit from this huge money saver. SO THANK YOU DISNEY!

My specific question is- in the past I have always bought my tix at SOG cause we were either staying there, or we had a rental car and could easily get there. My galpals and I are going for just a four day weekend in October and we're staying at WL (and getting there via ME). So I want to buy our passes for us at Magic Kingdom. My question is------do I have to go to the TTA to buy military tickets for MK? Or can I go to the Guest Services window right by entrance to MK? I'm pretty sure I can go to Guest Services, but i want to waste as little time as possible! Thanks for any help---

Robin

If you decide to go to SOG to get the tickets, just remember that it is a not too long walk across the street from the Poly. If I remember correctly, there may be a boat that goes from WL to the Poly. Someone correct me if i'm wrong.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

If you decide to go to SOG to get the tickets, just remember that it is a not too long walk across the street from the Poly. If I remember correctly, there may be a boat that goes from WL to the Poly. Someone correct me if i'm wrong.

There's no boat directly from WL to Poly, but there's a boat from WL to the Contemporary. From there, you could get the monorail to Poly, then walk to SOG. It's not a bad walk. However, I'm not sure that the time involved is worth $9 tax per ticket. You will also have to wait in line at MK to activate them.

If you live near a military base, call and find out if they stock the tickets. I've bought them at our local Navy base, no tax, and they also sell them at a discount (like $5/ticket). You still have to activate them.

 

[JavArmy]

There's no boat directly from WL to Poly, but there's a boat from WL to the Contemporary. From there, you could get the monorail to Poly, then walk to SOG. It's not a bad walk. However, I'm not sure that the time involved is worth $9 tax per ticket. You will also have to wait in line at MK to activate them.

If you live near a military base, call and find out if they stock the tickets. I've bought them at our local Navy base, no tax, and they also sell them at a discount (like $5/ticket). You still have to activate them.

Aha! That's right, from the Contemporary, sorry. I got confused since we stayed at the poly last time, but now that you say so, I remember taking the monorail over to the contemporary before taking the boat! Thanks for clearing that up! Sorry for the bad advice!

 

[Alice28]

No bases are in Oregon. Shipping from ft Lewis in Washington costs $22 with fedex. I think I'll just eat the tax in Disney.

SOG is a good 10+ minute walk from polymonorail. If it's hot it's the longest 10 minutes of your life. I know, cause I've done it many times. The hassle of WL boat to contemporary, then monorail to poly, then walk to shades, then walk back to poly and mono or boat to MK is not worth the $10 in tax I would save for my one ticket. IMO of course.
Not to mention I will have just flown a redeye flight from Portland Oregon. I think its best to just boat it to MK gate and buy at guest relations.

Can't wait! I think I'm at 55 days.

 

[saturdaygirl]

i read this whole thread, but i am still confused!

i'm planning on surprising my best friend with a trip to wdw in oct. i'd been waiting on the military promotion but was convinced that they weren't doing it anymore lol so i went with a regular disney vacation package. now, both of my parents are retired army; i'm not in the military whatsoever and i don't have an id anymore as i've aged out.

can they get me two tickets? where do you activate them? AT disney or like on base here? does one of them need to be there?

thanks!