Military Family---best/cheapest way to go

[uk_wildcat]

The website for my ITT office shows that a 2 day base ticket is $173. It is a better deal to just get the $138 4-day park hopper unless there is another discount I am not aware of.

 

[JB2K]

The website for my ITT office shows that a 2 day base ticket is $173. It is a better deal to just get the $138 4-day park hopper unless there is another discount I am not aware of.

Yes, the Military Salute/4-day park hopper is a much better deal than any of the "base" tickets normally sold by ITT.

If you are considering purchasing the promotional deal from your local ITT, make sure you give yourself a little advance time, as the ITT has to order those passes directly from Disney (since SoG is already on-property, they will have the passes in stock).

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Having said that though, I personally find a lot of magic in the huge money savings, as long as they don't put me in a dump LOL. There is plenty of magic to be had at the parks.

I completely agree!

 

[kirrrby]

Can anyone tell me what the discount on tickets is with a military ID? I'm only doing two days, no hopper.

If you get the promo ticket for 138$ you'll significantly save and to my understanding you'd still have two days left on the ticket that you can use between September 30th, 2011 to September 30th, 2012. So if you decided to go back during the same promotion you'll still have two days left on your ticket.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

If I was only staying 3-4 nights, I wouldn't choose AFVC, although you don't have to stay the full 7 nights, you have to consider that you would still have to pay for parking at the parks and you would miss out on Extra Magic Hours, which is a big deal for us, we love the evening EMH's

I think 2 rooms at a Value Resort.

The Bonnett Creek Resort is on the AFVC website, but I believe it is more than the $369 but is still reasonable and it is technically on Disney Property, although you still pay for parking unless you use their shuttle.

The $138 for tickets can't be beat.

 

[tryinginaustin]

If I was only staying 3-4 nights, I wouldn't choose AFVC, although you don't have to stay the full 7 nights, you have to consider that you would still have to pay for parking at the parks and you would miss out on Extra Magic Hours, which is a big deal for us, we love the evening EMH's

I think 2 rooms at a Value Resort.

The Bonnett Creek Resort is on the AFVC website, but I believe it is more than the $369 but is still reasonable and it is technically on Disney Property, although you still pay for parking unless you use their shuttle.

The $138 for tickets can't be beat.

Excellent response! Thanks! I didn't know that about the Bonnett Creek Resort!!!

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Excellent response! Thanks! I didn't know that about the Bonnett Creek Resort!!!

Go to the AFVC website and click search at the bottom and put in Wyndham Bonnet Creek or Property ID # 6369 and it will pull up the resort for you.

If you are on Facebook, "like" them and every couple of months, they offer a $299 for 7 nights, that is a steal.

I talked to somebody that said that Silver Lake was a really nice resort and it isn't far from AK

 

[mel100204]

Floridays Orlando Resort was our best option. For a 3 bedroom with the military discount it came to 111/night before tax. SOG ends up being more expensive because of rank for us too. We need the separate bedrooms.

 

[princessfionasmom]

Do you have to use a TA to get military discount on SW?

This is how we're doing our December trip. We have two members with military i.d.'s in our party. Mine is a spouse i.d. from my pending divorce (we're in separation at the current time) that's still valid. The other is my boyfriend whom has an i.d. also.

Tickets: 4 day park hopper promotional tickets, 2 tickets per person (thus getting the maximum allowed per i.d. = 6 (3 people) and then the other person buys 2 on his i.d.
6 day tickets:
Tickets with Military promo = $1,104 (NO TAX!, if bought at ITT or SoG)
Stars and Stripes tickets = $1,396 (but includes water park fun and more tickets)
Regular WDW tickets at Rack rate = $1,256 (park hopper only)

We chose the promo tickets because it was easier to buy two sets and use them back to back instead of buying one set and then a two day ticket.

This is our final option that we decided to go with in December.

Two value rooms at All Star Sports (includes KTTW card, free parking, EMH, and all WDW perks. Military discount for Value resorts = 30% possibly 35% (that's what we got).
Total for room = 922.00 (with tax) 66.50 for weeknights, 73.50 for weekends.
Try to go during the week, weekend rates are higher!!!

The two rooms was a better deal because of the type of party we have, it's four adults and we like our space. Versus one room at SoG for 105 a night, or two rooms at SoG for 210. PLUS the parking.

and purchase tickets at SoG upon arrival. If you choose to purchase the military promo tickets at the gate you will pay tax on them. If you purchase at ITT or SoG you will not pay tax.


Also, if you're going to fly. Delta and Southwest have military discounts. (I would talk to your ITT about that though)

Military discounts for Resorts go like this = 30-35% Values, 35% Moderate, 40% Deluxe. You don't get much difference in space except a few more sqft going up in classes. Mostly just about location. Also, book ahead in time, resorts have a limited number of military discounts they can give out.

Not sure about DDP, never used it. We like paying OOP for meals.

Hope this helps.

 

[tryinginaustin]

Do I "like" AFVC or Bonnett? I do "like" AFVC.

 

[JB2K]

Do you have to use a TA to get military discount on SW?

No - you can also do it by calling Southwest, directly...

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Military discount airfares are usually much higher than the regular discount fare. I wouldn't bother.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Do I "like" AFVC or Bonnett? I do "like" AFVC.

"Like" AFVC.

 

[kirrrby]

Military discount airfares are usually much higher than the regular discount fare. I wouldn't bother.

That depends on what part of the country you're coming from, and what time of year. The Military discount through Delta has always been cheaper than any other fare we've found. This was flying from RDU (raleigh durham airport) to MCO (orlandos airport). We got a base fare of 125 round trip. This was back in April, after spring break, before the memorial holiday. So we were in between peak airline fares. I have personally never flown with Southwest, but if the fares are good debate on whether having no baggage fees is good too. Some airlines charge up to 50 bucks per extra bag. If you're like me, I fly with more than one suitcase and a carry on because of my medical supplies, but they still make me check it.

 

[Local_Girl]

I would also recommend checking out AFVC, as we've gone with them or Skyauction for condos a few times (they have similar inventory). It really depends on when you're going as to what the availability will be like though. If you're planning to go during a busy week such as Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter or during the summer months, you might be out of luck. Their best inventory is for slower times of the year. And you really do need to do your homework about which resorts are better so you don't get stuck in something less desirable. We've stayed at Hilton Grand Vacation Club, Cypress Pointe, Orange Lake, and Silver Lake and have had good experiences at all of them.

BTW, PrincessSuzanne, thanks for the tip about Bonnet Creek on Facebook! I'd love to snag a stay there!

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

I would also recommend checking out AFVC, as we've gone with them or Skyauction for condos a few times (they have similar inventory). It really depends on when you're going as to what the availability will be like though. If you're planning to go during a busy week such as Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter or during the summer months, you might be out of luck. Their best inventory is for slower times of the year. And you really do need to do your homework about which resorts are better so you don't get stuck in something less desirable. We've stayed at Hilton Grand Vacation Club, Cypress Pointe, Orange Lake, and Silver Lake and have had good experiences at all of them.

BTW, PrincessSuzanne, thanks for the tip about Bonnet Creek on Facebook! I'd love to snag a stay there!

It's actually AFVC on Facebook that regularly offers the $299 for a 7 night stay and I don't think Bonnet Creek is part of that.

 

[andi220]

If you don't mind staying off property, you can try the armed forces vacation club. Very cheap and nice rentals not far from disney. We still bought our tickets and such at SOG.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

If you don't mind staying off property, you can try the armed forces vacation club. Very cheap and nice rentals not far from disney. We still bought our tickets and such at SOG.

That is what we have been discussing

 

[wed100105]

We are military and owners at Wyndham Bonnet Creek so we stay there. There are often owners like myself who rent out 2 bedroom deluxe units for $100 a night, $700 for the week. I'd highly recommend renting through an owner instead of going through something where you don't know what you'll get. This year we're trying to trade into DVC and I am actually thinking I might not want to. When I total up that the DDP isn't as big of a savings for 2012 as it was in year's past and that I'll have to pay for internet, I'm starting to reconsider. We love Bonnet Creek and if you have a car, it really can't be beat!

I use my timeshare and stay at Bonnet Creek. Here was our budget for last March. HTH

Park Tickets $138 x 2 (DH and myself; DD was free)
Food $800 (ate several TS, some CS, made two grocery runs, HDDR)
Flights $280 x 3 (DD was 2 so she needed a ticket)
Souviners/Snacks $300 (didn't spend nearly that much)
Rental Car/Gas/Parking $300

~ $2500 for 2 adults, one free child (but not free souvenirs, etc!), 2 bedroom deluxe (not counting my points though) during a busy spring break week

We also went to Sea World for the day since they had free tickets once a year for military. We really enjoy Sea World.

We actually ended up staying 8 nights and it was much better since our flight DEPARTS at 8:10 am. (It's a very early morning for us, but we're home by 10:30 AM our time.)

HTH!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

It's actually AFVC on Facebook that regularly offers the $299 for a 7 night stay and I don't think Bonnet Creek is part of that.

I found BC on getravelop.com

I "liked" them - so hopefully they'll post similar deals. I work for the treasury.