Military Ticket Question please.

[TnTWalter]

Can my dad activate all 6 military salute tickets and use his tickets before we arrive? or can he activate his 2 [he and mom] and then our 4 when we arrive 2 days later? Thanks.

 

[TnTWalter]

so my parents are going like the 24th or 25th of march. we are arriving the 26th....they leave the 27th or 28th...we leave the 1st or 2nd....

will this work or not?i feel like they have to activate them when they go and then the clock starts so we will lose days...

we can't go earlier and they don't want to go later...grrr....

 

[Order66]

In order to pre-book your fast passes at 30 days you need to purchase the tickets in advance. So your father should take care of that soon. I've always just ordered mine through the MWR office (2+ hours away from me so they mail them) and link them to my MDE account when they arrive. If purchased that way, they are vouchers that need to be activated upon arrival to WDW at any ticket booth or guest relations, but can be linked and used to make FP's right away. We've always just walked over together, but only once did the CM ask to see anyone's ID except mine (the military ID needed to activate). Your dad should be able to activate the tickets for both themselves and you at the same time even if you don't arrive for a few days. Once the tickets are activated, you are NOT need to be with him to use them. Worst case is he had to go to GR with you the first day to activate. After that they are good to go.

Another option is to purchase from Shades of Green. My sister-in-law purchased tickets for their trip this way and was told they would arrive already activated, so your dad should just be able to hand them off to you ready to use.

The tickets are good for 4 or 5 days (depending on which you buy) and his 2 days of park entry will not deduct days from your tickets. The "clock" is the end date expiry of the tickets or when the days are used up by each person they are assigned to.

regards

 

[jjskribs]

Shades of Green will e-mail your father a form to purchase tickets before his arrival. I am an annual pass holder so I have not purchased military tickets for a few years but when I did purchase them SOG sent me the numbers off of the tickets so that I could link them to MDE and make my fast passes 30 days ahead. We always had to activate the tickets at a ticket window but I believe that they have changed that and the tickets are activated. I think that they will actually send the tickets to your father ahead of his arrival.

You will not receive Magic Bands but you can purchase them if you really want them. There really is no need to have them as you can just use your tickets for your admission and your fast passes.

 

[TnTWalter]

I think I answered some of my own questions...

How do I activate the Armed Forces Salute Tickets?
Simply take the ticket or exchange voucher you received from your Base Ticket office to a ticket window at any of Disney's theme parks, the Disney Springs Guest Relations office, Disney Quest, or the 2 WDW water parks.

There they will check your military ID ask you a few questions and activate your tickets.

Learn more about the activation process

All members of the party must be present for activation. ... so my parents can't use their tickets until we come?? is this correct??

Does the military sponsor need to be with my guests at all times?
No, once the tickets are activated the party can split up. For example some go to Epcot and some to MK (or Disneyland / Cailfornia Adventure), or even use the tickets on different days. The Military ID is checked only upon ticket activation.

Do I have to use my tickets all at once or consecutive days in a row? [i was concerned they were consecutive]

No. You can certainly use them every day until they are finished, or you can spread them out over a longer vacation while taking a day or two off, visiting Universal Studios, Sea World, or Legoland. You can even use some days on one trip and the rest on a later trip as long as it is before the offer ends.

 

[TnTWalter]

oh my...didn't see any responses sorry. thanks for responding...i'll read now...

great thanks to both of you. very helpful...i think since my dad will be there before me and he's the military member, we are good to go...whew!!

 

[ConnecticutFlea]

We have bought the salute tickets at SOG three times. The first two times they needed to be activated. Last year the tickets were already activated and ready to go. We did not have to go to the park with the family members we purchased tickets for.

SOG will send your father an email with links to the forms needed to purchase tickets. After completing the forms, you will need to email them back to SOG. Within 72 hours they will email you back pictures of your tickets that you can scan into MDE. Then you assign the tickets to someone and you can make FPs 30 days in advance.

You said you have not used the new FP system. You need to download the My Disney Experience app which is free. You can do that now. You need the app or a computer to make FP selections.

You will not get complimentary magic bands if you stay at SOG. You don't need them. If the tickets were purchased in advance they will be waiting for you when you sign into your room. You can use the hard tickets to get into the park and the FP line. If you want to buy magic bands you can get them in the park while you're there or in advance on the "Shop Disney Parks" app.

Have a great trip!

 

[DisneyLove2015]

I was able to activate tickets in September 2016 (at MK) and Nov 2015 (DTD) without the others present. However, I've had one year a few years prior where they had an issue with two of our party members not being present (they were minors arriving the next day). They ultimately let me do it since they were minors and I had the info they wanted for them. I don't know if I'd bank on this since each time I was prepared to have everyone there (they were there, just doing something close by)

To avoid this concern, you can order directly from SoG and the tickets from there come already activated.

 

[DVC4US]

Disney's policy states everyone must be present to activate the tickets but my dad has activated all 6 tickets without everyone present. If your dad cannot activate all the tickets at once he can activate the 2 for him and your mom when they get there and activate the others when you arrive. Also, there is no clock on Armed Forces Salute you have the number of days (4 or 5) and these can be used anytime until they expire in Dec 2017.

Here is a great website for all things Disney and military and Steve is great at answering questions.
http://www.militarydisneytips.com/Military-Discounts.html

As others have previously stated, if you haven't used the new FP system, I would definitely do some homework. There is a thread here on the DIS that answers a lot of questions about the FP+ system.

 

[ellie05]

Can my dad activate all 6 military salute tickets and use his tickets before we arrive? or can he activate his 2 [he and mom] and then our 4 when we arrive 2 days later? Thanks.

1. Yes your father can activate their tickets and use his tickets before you arrive. Each ticket is individual so it doesn't deduct days from your ticket. The ticket days get deducted when you use it not when you activate it.

2. If he buys tickets at SOG then he doesn't need to activate them if he does somewhere else then he can try to activate all of them but the CM might or might not do it because everyone is not present. If the CM doesn't do it no big deal just do it when you arrive . He can still activate their an use them .

I think I answered some of my own questions...

How do I activate the Armed Forces Salute Tickets?
Simply take the ticket or exchange voucher you received from your Base Ticket office to a ticket window at any of Disney's theme parks, the Disney Springs Guest Relations office, Disney Quest, or the 2 WDW water parks.

There they will check your military ID ask you a few questions and activate your tickets.

Learn more about the activation process

All members of the party must be present for activation. ... so my parents can't use their tickets until we come?? is this correct??

Does the military sponsor need to be with my guests at all times?
No, once the tickets are activated the party can split up. For example some go to Epcot and some to MK (or Disneyland / Cailfornia Adventure), or even use the tickets on different days. The Military ID is checked only upon ticket activation.

Do I have to use my tickets all at once or consecutive days in a row? [i was concerned they were consecutive]

No. You can certainly use them every day until they are finished, or you can spread them out over a longer vacation while taking a day or two off, visiting Universal Studios, Sea World, or Legoland. You can even use some days on one trip and the rest on a later trip as long as it is before the offer ends.

I am not sure why you think your parents can't use their tickets until you come explanation above.

 

[BeerMe]

2. If he buys tickets at SOG then he doesn't need to activate them if he does somewhere else then he can try to activate all of them but the CM might or might not do it because everyone is not present. If the CM doesn't do it no big deal just do it when you arrive . He can still activate their an use them .
.

We have always been able to activate all tickets without family being present, but it does depend on the CM you're dealing with. Salute tickets are a great deal. Thanks Disney.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

Ticketing CMs were recently re-trained to only activate Salute tickets for people who are physically present. Apparently a lot of us were making too many exceptions to this rule.

 

[sharonabe]

Ticketing CMs were recently re-trained to only activate Salute tickets for people who are physically present. Apparently a lot of us were making too many exceptions to this rule.

I can understand this. If all tickets are activated, those tickets could then be sold to anyone to use anytime during the year. Having people present doesn't completely prevent that, but it makes it more of a hassle. However, I still don't understand why SoG can and is selling already activated tickets. That's just too wide an avenue for misuse to me.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

I can understand this. If all tickets are activated, those tickets could then be sold to anyone to use anytime during the year. Having people present doesn't completely prevent that, but it makes it more of a hassle. However, I still don't understand why SoG can and is selling already activated tickets. That's just too wide an avenue for misuse to me.

I don't understand it either. I would imagine that if abuse becomes a known problem, they'll revert to making us put demographics (names/birthdays/addresses) in for every single ticket again, the way we do for annual passes and some Florida resident tickets. We used to have to do that for Salute tickets prior to 2015.

 

[William Ades]

The tickets (each individual ticket) expire 14 days from the first use, so unless you are staying longer than 2 weeks, you should't have to worry about it anyway. That being said, he can activate his 2 and use them and then activate the other 4 when you arrive. Only difference is his will expire 2 days prior to yours. We used them last June and everyone had to be present to activate them. My wife and daughter were not feeling well when we went in the morning to acitvate the tickets, and they would only activate the tickets of the people that were physically present. We activated theirs later that day with no issues. We asked as to the reason for that, and it was exactly as sharonabe mentioned. It prevents fraud, misuse, and abuse of this particular ticket option. Which everyone would agree is pretty phenomenal!

 

[DLgal]

The tickets (each individual ticket) expire 14 days from the first use, so unless you are staying longer than 2 weeks, you should't have to worry about it anyway. That being said, he can activate his 2 and use them and then activate the other 4 when you arrive. Only difference is his will expire 2 days prior to yours. We used them last June and everyone had to be present to activate them. My wife and daughter were not feeling well when we went in the morning to acitvate the tickets, and they would only activate the tickets of the people that were physically present. We activated theirs later that day with no issues. We asked as to the reason for that, and it was exactly as sharonabe mentioned. It prevents fraud, misuse, and abuse of this particular ticket option. Which everyone would agree is pretty phenomenal!

Salute Tickets do not expire 14 days after first use. They are good until mid December, when the offer period expires.

 

[subtchr]

I can understand this. If all tickets are activated, those tickets could then be sold to anyone to use anytime during the year. Having people present doesn't completely prevent that, but it makes it more of a hassle. However, I still don't understand why SoG can and is selling already activated tickets. That's just too wide an avenue for misuse to me.

I don't understand it either. I would imagine that if abuse becomes a known problem, they'll revert to making us put demographics (names/birthdays/addresses) in for every single ticket again, the way we do for annual passes and some Florida resident tickets. We used to have to do that for Salute tickets prior to 2015.

I agree with both of these comments. We have been using Armed Forces Salute discounts in some form since 2000, and we appreciate them. I am wary of any policy that leaves them open to misuse, with the concern that the program might be affected if it becomes a problem.

So Ravenclawtrekkie, right now is there anything in the system that would catch someone trying to use more than 6 salute tickets in a year? Or is that done at the point of sale, not the activation? When you actually sell the tickets, do you input the name and info in that case?

 

[wilkeliza]

I can understand this. If all tickets are activated, those tickets could then be sold to anyone to use anytime during the year. Having people present doesn't completely prevent that, but it makes it more of a hassle. However, I still don't understand why SoG can and is selling already activated tickets. That's just too wide an avenue for misuse to me.

I think SoG does it because it is an honor code thing. I know not every military retired or active will bother with the honor code but is selling a couple Disney tickets for profit really worth the potential consequences. Please correct me if I'm wrong but my brother was lead to believe that if he resells his military discounted purchases for a bigger profit he can get in quite a bit of trouble not just Disney tickets but say he buys a t.v. at a place that lets him stack his military discount on another discount and he turns around and sales it online for double what he paid that could get him in trouble. If that true then I can't imagine ones military career is worth a couple hundred bucks made (if that) on Disney tickets.

 

[crostorfer]

If I found a CM that wouldn't activate my tickets without everyone present, I would politely say thank you, and then find another CM at another booth. The only thing consistent with CM's is that they are chronically inconsistent. I've never had everyone with me when I do, I'm the only one that doesn't mind standing in line and waiting around forever for them to be active.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

So Ravenclawtrekkie, right now is there anything in the system that would catch someone trying to use more than 6 salute tickets in a year? Or is that done at the point of sale, not the activation? When you actually sell the tickets, do you input the name and info in that case?

When Salute tickets are sold or activated, we create what's called an "association" record - there's a new list for Salute each year. The information recorded is the military member's name, their DOB, their base or installation, and the number of tickets. That's how the 6 maximum is enforced.

But, the process is subject to CM error - people don't know what a spouse ID looks like, for example, so they create a record with the spouse's name/DOB and not the sponsor's. Or they create a new record for someone who's already activated 3 tickets previously because they didn't bother to check existing records first. Or they input the name in a way that isn't how it appears on the ID, so the next CM looking that person up doesn't find it and creates a new record. There are people who do go through and audit this behind the scenes, though.