Help with Military booking

[JaxCon]

We haven't been to WDW in years but daughter wants to go for HS graduation gift. We have never used my husbands military discount before but money is tight with college looming. I don't really get the best vibe from SOG. Would I be much better of there than using discount at other resorts? We have only stayed at POP before and I would like to go one step up at least. And when I look at tickets, it doesn't look like a huge savings to get them from military, but maybe I am doing something wrong. Where is the best place to start for planning with military discounts? (we are planning to go last week in June, and husband has partial disability from military, not 100% or active duty) Thanks.

 

[plutolovr]

Because your husband is not 100% disabled or retired, then he would not be eligible for Disney's military discount program. This is only for active duty, retired and 100% disable vets. If you are looking to book something with a discount you may have to wait until the summer discounts are released.

 

[Dar-VM]

If husband has an active ID card than you can get the discount. The ID card is for disabled, active and retired best way to say it is if he has a card that allows him to visit or shop on a military base that's the card you need

 

[MrJT]

I highly recommend Shades Of Green. You pay a little more than the values, and you're in a deluxe.

 

[gwynne]

http://www.shadesofgreen.org/saluteveterans.htm
Shades will have a salute to veterans offer in Sept 2015. The details are at the link. Hope this helps!

 

[Mommyof2Boos]

If you are close to a military base get your tickets from there. We paid $177 per 4 day hopper pass as opposed to the cost of regular tickets costing $369 each for 4 days with hopper option. We did not do Shades of Green because my husband did not want to be around only military affiliated people on our vacation while in the hotel. We also chose a Value which was quite a but cheaper for us because SoG is based on rank, not to mention the theme of the hotel will be better suited to our daughters. I do want to mention that when I asked about a military discount for the hotel reservation that the room I wanted (Little Mermaid at AoA) is NOT included in the military discount. The first lady that priced out a vacation for me did not tell me she changed our room to a suite at AoA to get a military discount, yet our cost went up almost $1500 from the standard to the suite. We booked a package through Disney without tickets, bought the tickets at the nearest tourism and ticket office on base and linked them to our MDE. You can only book a ticket-less package through the phone, not online.

I hope this helps, sorry it is so long winded.

 

[disnygirl55]

Shades of Green is fabulous - it doesn't feel like a military hotel, and actually used to be the Golf Club Resort (a deluxe resort), owned by Disney. The military now leases it back. We used to stay there many times - so if you're eligible (you can call and provide them with all the details to find that out) - I highly recommend it. In many ways, you are treated like you are staying on property. Transportation is easy, the gift shop is cheaper, and the grounds and pools are beautiful. They sell a version of the military tickets right in their lobby, which you are welcome to just stop in and buy if you're eligible, even if you stay elsewhere. They are comparable to the ones you can get from the base / post, but even better, because you can buy them for the exact amount of days at the park you need. They also sell the Universal Studios military discount tickets there. As my husband advanced in rank, it wasn't so important to stay there any longer (it got to be more expensive, as the rate is based on rank), but we have always enjoyed it there. The rooms are among the largest you will find, and it's easy walking distance to the Grand Floridian (and Polynesian, too, if I remember correctly) to hop on the monorail. It has been a few years, so I don't remember about how other benefits worked - like ADRs - and now Fastpass+ (eek!) but I'm sure the Shades website has information in a FAQ section.

All that said - I usually just call Disney reservations with the dates of my trip and ask what type of military discounts they are offering at that time. Have a couple of different properties in mind (deluxe, moderate - doesn't matter). I've never stayed club level before, but for our upcoming trip in May, the "military discount" deal for a Club Level Lagoon view at the Polynesian made it affordable enough to give it a try. As a previous poster said, it's typically around 40% off. I just recently called reservations to make sure that was still the best deal for the dates, and it was still $700 less than their spring special for the week. And there are only a certain number of rooms for the military discount, so it is imperative to check as soon as possible. We booked our May deal in October.

Good luck with your search - there's a wealth of information out there!

 

[ellie05]

Shades of green will be your best chance but I am not sure if you qualify. http://www.shadesofgreen.org/eligibility.htm . Was you husband retired or medical separated ? If you don't qualify for shades of green then you won't qualify for disney military resort discount. Also without a valid ID you won't be able to activate salute tickets.

 

[clambert1273]

wow I am 100% disabled through VA... I never knew this existed!

Which this reminded me to go get my ID card - which I always forget to do lol

 

[jeepnjudy]

I concur with Shades of Green (SOG) being a GREAT place to stay and most reasonable for that level of accommodations if you are eligible to take advantage of staying there. We love SOG and have stayed there many times!

 

[sh00tfire]

I have used the military tickets both at SOG and at a disney resort All Star Movies(ASM). Staying at SOG is definitely a better room, it is also a more inconvenient. The buses don't run as often as they do for the other resorts (every hour vs every 20 minutes). You also can't take full advantage of the Magic Bands that a disney resort offers.

Here is what my family did for our recent trip: We purchased the 4 day hoppers via mail from Camp Pendleton (because they were a few dollars cheaper and less to ship it.) That way we had our tickets in advance to link to the Magic Bands so we could make our fast pass reservations months before our trip.

I suggest you visit the site http://www.militarydisneytips.com/blog/ It was sure helpful in planning our last trip.

 

[verleniahall]

Go on base and get your tickets thorugh Leisure & Travel. Then call and book your miltiary discounted room & dining package only. They will help you link your tickets to My Disney Experience. SOG is usually more expensive than the miltiary disocunt, plus you cannot get the dining plan.

As long as your DH has a military ID card, you can use the military discount.

 

[LoveToTravel2001]

We've stayed at SoG several times and I will say that you would not know it has a military affiliation other than the buses run on military time, the gift shop is duty free and you can get your military discounted tickets to Disney, Universal... at the ticket desk. True the busses do not run as often but they do run on a schedule so if the MK bus is posted to leave at 13:00, it leaves at 13:00. The pool was recently done over and has zero entry, the rooms are bigger than average and includes a fridge, the options to eat are fair but I feel that's true throughout all disney resort except the true deluxe resorts. It's very relaxed and a nice opposite to the hustle and bustle of disney in your face all day.
If you qualify, I feel it's totally worth it.

 

[DVCTiff]

I believe there are Veteran's discounts twice a year. Sounds like your husband would at least be eligible for that. (Don't get me started on Disney not honoring Veterans enough. We get $100/trip on Princess Cruise Lines).

 

[JaxCon]

Thanks everyone, I will keep looking. He is retired and partially disabled, he has a card and can shop on base, we just never use these things. And I think it will reconsider SoG