Military Salute Tickets/activation

[HeyMickeyUSoFine]

I was unable to find a concrete answer regarding ticket activation. I realize the service member does have to be present to activate the ticket but does the entire party have to be present at activation and does the 14 day rule apply. Here's our situation....my mom is retired military. She will be going to Orlando next month. She was going to purchase all 6 tickets at that time. However, we'll be going in June and she and my step-dad will be arriving about 5 days later. Can she activate all the tickets next month even if they won't be used until the summer? If so, can we go ahead and start using the tickets before she arrives?

Thanks guys

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

We were both there when we activated, so I don't know the answer to that.

However, they had to be used in fourteen days. I'm not sure if that's from first visit or from activation. Guest services should be able to answer.

 

[Mommyof2Boos]

My mom and I were just talking about this, so I called. The answer I got was no. The ID card holder must be there to activate, and once activated they will expire in 14 days. She can purchase all 6, and only activate however many she needs, but she cannot activate the extras for use this summer because they will expire.

 

[POOHsie]

I was unable to find a concrete answer regarding ticket activation. I realize the service member does have to be present to activate the ticket but does the entire party have to be present at activation and does the 14 day rule apply. Here's our situation....my mom is retired military. She will be going to Orlando next month. She was going to purchase all 6 tickets at that time. However, we'll be going in June and she and my step-dad will be arriving about 5 days later. Can she activate all the tickets next month even if they won't be used until the summer? If so, can we go ahead and start using the tickets before she arrives?

Thanks guys

If you're talking about the AFS 4-day tickets, they don't expire in the normal way that Disney MYW tickets expire. AFS 4-day tickets come from a year-long Military-Disney discount program, and they expire at the end of the current year period -- Oct 3, 2015. You have until that date to use all the assets on the ticket. So for example, you could use 3 days now, and a day in September.

I think confusion about expiration arises because the military sells different types of Disney tickets. There's the special AFS 4-day ticket that expires Oct 3, 2015. There's the regular Disney MYW ticket that expires 14 days after first use. The Military also sells a Stars and Stripes MYW ticket, and it is discounted and completely loaded with every ticket option you could want. The S&S ticket is a length-of-stay ticket. It expires at the end of consecutive days of use -- for example, a 10-day ticket that has started use, is expired 11 days later.

The MYW tickets don't have to be activated in any way. They are already active. The AFS 4-day tickets do have to be activated because of the steep discount and potential fraud abuse. I'm no expert on whether or not all people receiving tickets have to be physically present at activation. But during activation, the service member has to furnish name, address, phone, & date of birth for each dependent or guest who is being issued the ticket. The service member has to furnish military ID, and base where assigned and email address. So have that info ready for the activation process.

Here's a write-up from a Disney ticket seller. It's a little old but still relevant. http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29574052&postcount=17

Here's a description of the AFS ticket program from Military Disney Tips. http://www.militarydisneytips.com/Disney-Armed-Forces-Salute.html

 

[appleorchard]

Your mom can activate them all at the same time, when she goes. You can then use them when you get there; she does not have to be there. They do not expire in 14 days, they're good until the end of September. You don't even have to use all the days on the same visit, you could use two days in March and two in September, for example.

There's a lot of confusion about these tickets, but we've been using them ever since they were first offered and have the ins and outs down pretty well now.

 

[ellie05]

In our trip in nov the cm requested to see every member of our party before activation. But all the times before they didn't do this. The other thing to keep in mind is they can ask for the military ID whenever they are being use I would think it might be more of a chance of that happening if the ticket was activated months in advance. "Tickets and options expire and may not be used after October 3, 2015. Valid military identification will be required for purchase and use." That is from the Disney website. I only heard once of someone being ask for an id randomly.

 

[appleorchard]

You can activate the tickets without everyone being present, but the CM will ask for everyone's name, address, and date of birth. If your mom gets a CM who gives her a hard time about not having everyone there, have her ask for a supervisor, not every CM has a good understanding of these tickets, as evidenced by the misinformation people get when they call Disney.

Employees at the base don't understand them well either, one told someone buying them when I was there last time that they could use more than 6. True, but only if you have more than one military member in the family OR you have more than 4 dependent children--not grown children or grandchildren, only dependents.

Since the tickets can be used for family and friends, the chances of EVER being asked for a military ID are virtually nil. OP, you will be able to use the tickets without any problem. If you ever have a problem, ask for a supervisor.