Military Discount Tickets

[capegirl]

We will be purchasing the Universal military discount tickets at Shades of Green resort where we will be staying. I know that we will need to activate the tickets at Universal, and I was trying to get an idea of how long it will take us to accomplish this. Our first Universal day will be
July 20, and the park opens at 8am for those not staying at a Universal resort. We are driving, so we plan on leaving Disney property at 6:30 am so we'll be at Universal by 7:00 am. We're very excited, but out of the loop
when it comes to Universal, so I've been scrolling through the threads in an attempt to educate myself. I fear that we will be the 'confused family' looking at park maps all day.

 

[macraven]

www.universalorlando.com

Read about the rides, shows, eateries, locations of restrooms , first aide , etc in each park and city walk

Study the layout of the parks so you have the idea of what is in the parks

Use the single rider lines when available for shorten ride waits

You will see crowds and lines in July for the parks

Just read thru the UO website and make note on the basics and you will do fine

When you enter the park tAke a look at the sign for any ride closures for the day

The guide maps you pick up in the park are preprinted and won't reflect last minute updates on closures in the park

Have a great time at the darkside

 

[angryduck71]

I got my tickets at an installation. If I remember correctly, there was nothing to it -- they just scanned the tickets basically. I also went to customer service and then upgraded those tickets to Annual Passes. It was easy. Just a tip: if you can, military installations have cheaper tickets than even Shades of Green do I have found. Might try to get some there. I even called the one nearest me (Ft. Leavenworth) -- I am a DOD civilian -- and had them shipped to me. The shipping cost was $10 but it was still lower than the Shades of Green cost. You can see the cost Shades of Green will charge at shadesofgreen.org if you did not know that.

 

[Lulubelle17]

We did it last year and we activated our tickets at the ticket window. It all depends on how long the line is because there is no dedicated line. It took us about 20 minutes.

 

[capegirl]

I got my tickets at an installation. If I remember correctly, there was nothing to it -- they just scanned the tickets basically. I also went to customer service and then upgraded those tickets to Annual Passes. It was easy. Just a tip: if you can, military installations have cheaper tickets than even Shades of Green do I have found. Might try to get some there. I even called the one nearest me (Ft. Leavenworth) -- I am a DOD civilian -- and had them shipped to me. The shipping cost was $10 but it was still lower than the Shades of Green cost. You can see the cost Shades of Green will charge at shadesofgreen.org if you did not know that.

I had no idea tickets were less at installations, I will certainly check this out. The Disney planner in me is kicking in, and I'm heading into uncharted waters at Universal.
Thanks to everyone for your helpful replies!

 

[ConnecticutFlea]

We stayed at Lowes Royal Pacific, so we were able to enter the parks at 8. It only takes a few minutes to activate the tickets which we did around 7:45. There were no lines at that time.

 

[angryduck71]

I had no idea tickets were less at installations, I will certainly check this out. The Disney planner in me is kicking in, and I'm heading into uncharted waters at Universal.
Thanks to everyone for your helpful replies!

You can also usually get cheaper Disney tix there too -- well, if you're active military, they may be the same for that 4-day salute ticket thingy I'm not eligible for.

 

[ConnecticutFlea]

The four day salute tickets are for WDW. Shades of Green also had a special 3 day (both parks) Universal ticket.
If you or anyone in your party has a military ID, you are eligible. You can find information and prices at shadesofgreen.org.

 

[pcstang]

Email your MWR for prices and then you can compare to SOG pricing.

 

[tracygraves1]

For Discounted Military tickets you purchase at the Military Installation, do you need you military ID to enter the park too? If my boyfriend buys them and decides to golf that day instead will I be able to use them?

 

[ConnecticutFlea]

If you're talking about the 4 day military salute tickets, they need to be activated prior to entering the park. Your boyfriend would need to be there for that. Once activated, you can go to any park you want without him.

If you buy them at SOG they are already activated.

 

[Lynne G]

If the tickets are just tickets and not the ones that are restricted to military (the 4 day WDW ones) anyone can use, whether the military person uses one or not. I have bought universal tickets for my kids from MWR/ITT and never for my military DH. He doesn't come because of work/can't ride anything. I have an AP, and I've never been asked to show military ID or other at Universal when my kids use the tickets. I bought a regular WDW ticket at my base too, and again, if not the salute, I've never had to show military. Cute story, we do use the military salute tickets sometimes, and those I have to use one of, and each time, we are thanked for our service. So nice of the WDW and DL CMs.