Military Discount with extra family question

[rebsie]

My family of 7, plus my retired veteran dad and mom are planning to go to Disneyland this summer. I know my parents can buy 6 military discounted tickets, giving 4 of them to us. My brother, who is also retired military, may or may not be joining us. If my brother cant go, could he still buy us the remaining 3 discounted tickets we need? Both of my parents would be there with military id (Dad a veteran, and mom a veteran's spouse). I'm really hoping he CAN go, but just wondering if he could still get them and we be able to use them if he cannot.

Thanks!
Rebecca

 

[lalasmama]

The rule is 6 tickets per service member or spouse/dependent, as you already know. In my experience, about half the time the name of the service member is printed on the ticket, so it could be caught at the gate that Brother Retired isn't there to show his ID to get into the park for those 3 tickets you would need.

The Disboards rules state we can't suggest you blatantly disregard a rule set by Disney. Furthermore, it is the feeling of many service members and their immediate families that people don't try to skirt the rules with the Salute tickets, because it would be a shame to see them go away because people were taking advantage of them in a bad way.

So, my general thought would be to plan to buy those last 3 tickets you need at regular price at the gates. If brother can come with, and buys the extra 3 for you, awesome, you have some extra spending money. If not, no rules are being broken and no chance not being able to get through the gates.

 

[rebsie]

ok thanks! We were just trying to figure everything out because we've never used military tickets before. I wasn't entirely sure how that worked, so thank you for the clarification. I wouldn't want to disregard any set rules. I'm really hoping my brother and sister in law can go! I haven't seen them for 4 years and we haven't been to Disneyland for 10. I'm hoping we get to see them either way!

 

[lalasmama]

ok thanks! We were just trying to figure everything out because we've never used military tickets before. I wasn't entirely sure how that worked, so thank you for the clarification. I wouldn't want to disregard any set rules. I'm really hoping my brother and sister in law can go! I haven't seen them for 4 years and we haven't been to Disneyland for 10. I'm hoping we get to see them either way!

You'll also want to make sure your parents (and brother, if he comes) have the right type of ID... A friend's dad was "medically retired" from the Air Force, and couldn't buy Salute tickets because he didn't have the right kind of ID; thankfully we discovered this before they went, so they could adjust the budget. If you search Google you should be able to find examples of the accepted ID.

At the first gate entry only, the service member or dependent will have to show the appropriate ID per the rules on the ticket. Thereafter, it shouldn't be needed, HOWEVER (BIG HOWEVER) I have been asked to show it multiple times, do you may want to plan to park-hop as a large group just in case.

 

[rebsie]

You'll also want to make sure your parents (and brother, if he comes) have the right type of ID... A friend's dad was "medically retired" from the Air Force, and couldn't buy Salute tickets because he didn't have the right kind of ID; thankfully we discovered this before they went, so they could adjust the budget. If you search Google you should be able to find examples of the accepted ID.

At the first gate entry only, the service member or dependent will have to show the appropriate ID per the rules on the ticket. Thereafter, it shouldn't be needed, HOWEVER (BIG HOWEVER) I have been asked to show it multiple times, do you may want to plan to park-hop as a large group just in case.

Thanks for the heads up! My brother has used them before so he should know. We will stay together most of the time anyway, at least when we cross parks. My dad and brother are both retired after the full 20 years (is it 20?), so I don't think it should be an issue. Thanks again

 

[smartlabelprint]

If you need to purchase other tickets last miNute travel club seems to have the best price.

 

[Malcon10t]

There is also a second type of military ticket that offers a discount (not as good) that you could use for the rest of the family. They are available on base also.

 

[lalasmama]

Thanks for the heads up! My brother has used them before so he should know. We will stay together most of the time anyway, at least when we cross parks. My dad and brother are both retired after the full 20 years (is it 20?), so I don't think it should be an issue. Thanks again

Sounds like they should have the right ID then!

 

[Bigrob37]

So this statement used to show up on Disneyland's website. For families larger than 6, Disney states "Exceptions should be made for immediate families larger than six people." While I don't see it anymore, I know Disneyland has recently allowed the purchasing of more then 6 tickets at one time. It could depend on who you get as a ticket agent.

 

[Malcon10t]

So this statement used to show up on Disneyland's website. For families larger than 6, Disney states "Exceptions should be made for immediate families larger than six people." While I don't see it anymore, I know Disneyland has recently allowed the purchasing of more then 6 tickets at one time. It could depend on who you get as a ticket agent.

"Immediate family" would include the veteran and his wife, and his children, but would not include his children's spouse or his grandchildren. So would not apply here.

It does apply to a military person with more than 4 kids.

 

[DLgal]

Your dad rates 6 tickets. If your brother isn't there with you, your dad cannot "vouch" for the additional 3 tickets.

Disneyland is VERY strict on checking the military ID on the first entry only. It is only a requirement on the FIRST entry...anyone who asks for a military ID after that first entry can be told "we already showed military ID the first time." The system prompts them "check military ID" every time, but CMs who know what they are doing will disregard that if there is already a photo on file (which gets taken on that first entry).

We use these tickets every year for extended family and they have gone back in without us many, many times. Sometimes they are asked for military ID, but as soon as they say it was already checked, it's fine.

I would plan to pay for any additional tickets you will need, and if your brother is able to join you, great! You can buy the salute tickets right at the Disneyland gates, so you can wait until the last minute to see what you need to do.

One thing...the person with the military ID has to PAY for the tickets, so keep that in mind. We have gotten around this by having my family members buy a Disney gift card ahead of time and giving it to us, and then we use that to pay.

 

[2plus2equalsus]

Thank you all for your input! This info was helpful for me as well.

 

[yesdnil]

DL & WDW handle the military tickets quite differently, in my experience. DL was way more flexible!!

On my last trip to DL, I bought my 6 ticket vouchers on post ahead of time, with a party of 4. Over the course of our visit, each person would need 2 tickets. So we were thinking we'd just buy the 2 tickets we still needed at regular price when we got to the park. When we checked in at the Grand Californian and asked about buying the last 2 tickets, the CM offered to sell them to us at the military price. They basically said that since we were only going to be activating 4 tickets at a time, it was fine. Activated the first 4 tickets at the turnstile that day, then the 2nd batch of 4 with my same ID a few days later with no problems!

In your situation, your father will still only be able to activate 6 tickets at a time, so you will be out of luck unless your brother also comes.