Military ticket questions

[pepperderr]

Advantages vs. disadvantages of getting military discount tickets? We were told to book a resort and ticket package through Disney and then once we get military tickets we can link them to our cart and get rid of the original ones. So if we got the military tickets right now, we would have to pay for 5 people's tickets upfront. Most likely only 3 or 4 people will go. I don't know how the refund would work or even if we can get a refund through the military for the tickets. Does anyone have recommendations on military tickets or pricing and how it will work? I don't see a military forum anywhere here to ask the question.

 

[starry_solo]

Advantages vs. disadvantages of getting military discount tickets? We were told to book a resort and ticket package through Disney and then once we get military tickets we can link them to our cart and get rid of the original ones. So if we got the military tickets right now, we would have to pay for 5 people's tickets upfront. Most likely only 3 or 4 people will go. I don't know how the refund would work or even if we can get a refund through the military for the tickets. Does anyone have recommendations on military tickets or pricing and how it will work? I don't see a military forum anywhere here to ask the question.

That seems like a lot of work of doing a ticket + room package and then having the tickets removed at a later date (that would require calling a CM and waiting on hold to modify it).

You also only pay the deposit for the tickets, not the entire amount up front if you do a room + ticket package.

But if you do a room only and get the military tickets, the military tickets have to be paid in full. I don't know anything about refunds though for those tickets, but usually Disney tickets are non-refundable but never lose their value so they can be applied to another ticket purchase even after expired.

 

[lanejudy]

Under normal circumstances I don’t believe military tickets are refundable. You do pay upfront for tickets when purchasing.

A WDW resort+ticket package requires a $200 deposit with the balance due 30 days prior to check-in. You may make changes (resort, room type, number of guests, number of ticket days, etc.) with no penalty up until that 30-day point. After that may incur a $50 change fee.

 

[pepperderr]

Under normal circumstances I don’t believe military tickets are refundable. You do pay upfront for tickets when purchasing.

A WDW resort+ticket package requires a $200 deposit with the balance due 30 days prior to check-in. You may make changes (resort, room type, number of guests, number of ticket days, etc.) with no penalty up until that 30-day point. After that may incur a $50 change fee.

That is what I thought so really the military discount is not worth it for us. I think I will just call Disney and see if we can get any military discounts with a package through them instead of getting tickets at a military base or staying at Shades of Green. We stayed there for our last Disney vacation and it was a horrible experience! Thanks!

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

Disney has pretty amazing room only discounts for military. They can be limited, though, so a particular resort/room type isn't guaranteed a discount (for instance, when I have booked/tried to book Port Orleans or CBR, only the pirate/princess rooms were discounted). But if you are booking for 2022, the discounts aren't out yet, so if you call when they first come out, there will be more options. We never have an issue getting a military discount on value rooms, and one time there was a 40% off deal on Saratoga Springs that I booked but later changed my mind and cancelled to stay in a bigger, cheaper room off-site.

I don't think military tickets are refundable, but we have always found them to be the best deal, unless we were only going 1 day. A 4 day military salute ticket is cheaper than a 2-day park hopper, and the tickets are good all year, so we've used some of the days early in the year and used the rest of the days later in the fall.

 

[jthornton94]

When are you planning on going? I don’t believe military ticket deals for 2022 have even been announced yet. if you plan to stay on property, the options you have for 5 people, depending on age, is a lot slimmer than for smaller groups. Price wis, nothing will beat the military salute tickets.

 

[subtchr]

That is what I thought so really the military discount is not worth it for us. I think I will just call Disney and see if we can get any military discounts with a package through them instead of getting tickets at a military base or staying at Shades of Green. We stayed there for our last Disney vacation and it was a horrible experience! Thanks!

You must have a healthy budget if the discount is not “worth it” for you. The tickets are about half price, and the room discount, when available, is 25-40%. We literally saved thousands of dollars on our last trip.

You can’t get a military discount on a package. You have to book the room with the discount, and then buy the military tickets separately.

If it is for 2022, the military discount details have not yet been released. Hopefully they will release them late September, as they were for the years before Covid.

 

[subtchr]

Breaking down your original post a bit...

Advantages vs. disadvantages of getting military discount tickets?

Advantages: You save a LOT of money. A 5-day military park hopper is $312. From Disney, that same ticket is $550-650 for the rest of this year, depending on the specific date. So if you have 4 people, that would be at least $950 saved on tickets alone. There are other advantages, too, like being able to spread the use out throughout the entire use window, and not being tied to any dates. The price is the same for the entire promotional window, too.

For resorts, the availability is limited, and is typically 25% off value resorts, 30% moderates, 35% deluxe.

Disadvantages: Each eligible military members may only purchase 6 salute tickets each year, and must use one for themselves, and show military ID to activate them before the first use. (If you get them from Shades of Green, they are already activated). Also, they cannot be used the last two weeks of December.

We were told to book a resort and ticket package through Disney and then once we get military tickets we can link them to our cart and get rid of the original ones.

Who told you to do that? It's not the way it works. You can't link military tickets "to your cart", if you mean a vacation package. The way it works is that you book the room, with or without a military discount, then purchase the tickets separately, and link them to each individual in MDE. Typically now when booking with a military discount, the room will be booked as a "basic package". It's just a like a room only reservation, but the deposit is $200, and the balance is due 30 days before checkin. If dining plans return before your visit, you can add that to a basic package.

So if we got the military tickets right now, we would have to pay for 5 people's tickets upfront. Most likely only 3 or 4 people will go. I don't know how the refund would work or even if we can get a refund through the military for the tickets. Does anyone have recommendations on military tickets or pricing and how it will work? I don't see a military forum anywhere here to ask the question.

So you are booking for 5 but only 3 or 4 are going? Sorry, that confuses me. Tickets are not refundable, military or otherwise. It is true that if you book a vacation package including tickets with Disney, that can be modified up to 30 days before checkin, but honestly, I'd try to get firm commitments from the people going on the trip. I personally would not pay so much more only to gain some flexibility.

 

[pepperderr]

Breaking down your original post a bit...



Advantages: You save a LOT of money. A 5-day military park hopper is $312. From Disney, that same ticket is $550-650 for the rest of this year, depending on the specific date. So if you have 4 people, that would be at least $950 saved on tickets alone. There are other advantages, too, like being able to spread the use out throughout the entire use window, and not being tied to any dates. The price is the same for the entire promotional window, too.

For resorts, the availability is limited, and is typically 25% off value resorts, 30% moderates, 35% deluxe.

Disadvantages: Each eligible military members may only purchase 6 salute tickets each year, and must use one for themselves, and show military ID to activate them before the first use. (If you get them from Shades of Green, they are already activated). Also, they cannot be used the last two weeks of December.



Who told you to do that? It's not the way it works. You can't link military tickets "to your cart", if you mean a vacation package. The way it works is that you book the room, with or without a military discount, then purchase the tickets separately, and link them to each individual in MDE. Typically now when booking with a military discount, the room will be booked as a "basic package". It's just a like a room only reservation, but the deposit is $200, and the balance is due 30 days before check-in. If dining plans return before your visit, you can add that to a basic package.



So you are booking for 5 but only 3 or 4 are going? Sorry, that confuses me. Tickets are not refundable, military or otherwise. It is true that if you book a vacation package including tickets with Disney, that can be modified up to 30 days before checkin, but honestly, I'd try to get firm commitments from the people going on the trip. I personally would not pay so much more only to gain some flexibility.

I chatted with WDW online. You know how the chat box pops up when you are searching for a room or to buy tickets. I asked them about getting tickets at a military base cheaper than buying them through WDW online. The way I understood what I was told is that I should book our hotel and tickets for as many people as we think might go, which is 5. They said that I could change that any time up to 30 days and not be charged and that it was easier to get rid of a room or tickets we didn't need than to try to add them at the last minute. I asked if we did that but then were able to get military tickets cheaper what do we do. She said we would link our military tickets and after they were linked to each person in our account, we would then get rid of the tickets that we bought online through the WDW package.

We know 3 of us will go...me, my husband, and my youngest son. My oldest son was wishy-washy about whether he wanted to go but now last night he finally said yes he definitely wants to go. My mom also really wants to go but it is a year from now and right now she is having health issues that might prevent her from going. That is where the 5 comes in instead of 3.

I didn't realize that the price was that much different. That is what I am in the process of trying to figure out now before I book anything. I know that the last time we went we got our tickets at SOG. We stayed at SOG for some of our last trip and absolutely hated it. I don't remember the process I went through to pay for anything or to get the tickets other than that we picked them up at the SOG hotel before we went to the park. There were no magic bands or anything to link them to back then. I am so glad I asked about it here! Thanks for the info.

 

[pepperderr]

Disney has pretty amazing room only discounts for military. They can be limited, though, so a particular resort/room type isn't guaranteed a discount (for instance, when I have booked/tried to book Port Orleans or CBR, only the pirate/princess rooms were discounted). But if you are booking for 2022, the discounts aren't out yet, so if you call when they first come out, there will be more options. We never have an issue getting a military discount on value rooms, and one time there was a 40% off deal on Saratoga Springs that I booked but later changed my mind and cancelled to stay in a bigger, cheaper room off-site.

I don't think military tickets are refundable, but we have always found them to be the best deal, unless we were only going 1 day. A 4 day military salute ticket is cheaper than a 2-day park hopper, and the tickets are good all year, so we've used some of the days early in the year and used the rest of the days later in the fall.

My head is already spinning reading all these replies. I am so glad I asked the question but obviously, I don't understand how it works like I thought I did. Yes. We want to go at the end of August 2022. One son is graduating high school and the other is graduating college. If they put out the discount tickets like normal, will it only be a 5 day or less ticket on discount? We want to go for 8 days. Right now all I see is up to 5 day tickets I think. So would I order the military tickets ASAP so they can be linked the account and then call WDW to get a room only military discount? Right now the plan is to stay at AoA. Thanks.

 

[subtchr]

I chatted with WDW online. You know how the chat box pops up when you are searching for a room or to buy tickets. I asked them about getting tickets at a military base cheaper than buying them through WDW online. The way I understood what I was told is that I should book our hotel and tickets for as many people as we think might go, which is 5. They said that I could change that any time up to 30 days and not be charged and that it was easier to get rid of a room or tickets we didn't need than to try to add them at the last minute. I asked if we did that but then were able to get military tickets cheaper what do we do. She said we would link our military tickets and after they were linked to each person in our account, we would then get rid of the tickets that we bought online through the WDW package.

We know 3 of us will go...me, my husband, and my youngest son. My oldest son was wishy-washy about whether he wanted to go but now last night he finally said yes he definitely wants to go. My mom also really wants to go but it is a year from now and right now she is having health issues that might prevent her from going. That is where the 5 comes in instead of 3.

I didn't realize that the price was that much different. That is what I am in the process of trying to figure out now before I book anything. I know that the last time we went we got our tickets at SOG. We stayed at SOG for some of our last trip and absolutely hated it. I don't remember the process I went through to pay for anything or to get the tickets other than that we picked them up at the SOG hotel before we went to the park. There were no magic bands or anything to link them to back then. I am so glad I asked about it here! Thanks for the info.

You're welcome!

That explanation from the chat CM does make some sense, but often the cast members are not super familiar with the military details. I'd never recommend to a military family that they include regular tickets with a package.

What was it you hated about Shades of Green? We haven't stayed there in quite a few years, because we prefer Disney resorts, but we thought it was nice enough. Many people love it.

My head is already spinning reading all these replies. I am so glad I asked the question but obviously, I don't understand how it works like I thought I did. Yes. We want to go at the end of August 2022. One son is graduating high school and the other is graduating college. If they put out the discount tickets like normal, will it only be a 5 day or less ticket on discount? We want to go for 8 days. Right now all I see is up to 5 day tickets I think. So would I order the military tickets ASAP so they can be linked the account and then call WDW to get a room only military discount? Right now the plan is to stay at AoA. Thanks.

In 2020, military promotional tickets were offered in 4-, 5-, and 6-day versions, but that was the only year that a 6-day was offered. Typically it is only 4- and 5-day tickets.

If you need an 8-day ticket, your best bet will be a regular Magic Your Way ticket from a military travel office (Shades of Green or any base). These are regular tickets, sold at a much smaller discount than the salute tickets, but the savings can still add up. An 8-day park hopper from Shades of Green is $566.25. That is cheaper than two 4-day salute tickets. One benefit is that you could buy those now, for an August 2022 trip. They are good through the end of 2022.

There isn't any huge rush to buy the tickets, but a couple reasons why you might want to buy them sooner rather than later. First of all, it seems that park reservations are here to stay, and you can make park reservations as soon as you have tickets linked. The likelihood of park reservations "selling out" for late August, especially for next year when capacity limits hopefully will not be a factor at all, is pretty much zero. So other than just having them done and linked and not having to think about it again, that's not a deciding factor. But ticket prices can, and probably will, increase by then. Once they are purchased, any future price increases do not affect you.

As for a resort, there are no discounts for next year of any kind available now. I would book a resort you think you'd like, at the current rate. Then watch for discounts, military or otherwise, to be released, and call to check about modifying the reservation to reflect the discount. Do that right when the military discounts are released (hopefully late September 2021), for highest availability. You should be able to find something, especially if you are able to be flexible with your resort choice or room type.

So the bottom line is that for your family, I would:

1. Book a resort that would accommodate your whole (potential) party. That can easily be modified later if the number of people change or a discount is released.

2. If it is in the budget now, buy four 8-day Magic Your Way park hopper tickets from your local ITT office, if you have one, or to be shipped to you from Shades of Green or another ITT office (Orlando ITT is super efficient for this). Buy the fifth one when/if your mom makes the final decision to come. If you want to spread that cost out, or want to wait for other reasons, that's fine. Just be aware the price may increase.

 

[pepperderr]

I talked to another cast member online after I read some of the comments. She said that they have military discounts on rooms all year round so I can do that any time and then just get the military discount tickets and link them as soon as I can so I can make the park reservations. So are the prices from military bases or Orlando ITT or SO all going to be the same so I can just choose which one I want to go with? I am still trying to learn what I can about all of this.

As far as why we didn't like SoG, I don't remember what all of the issues were because it was back in 2012 but for one thing, they didn't seem very friendly. Every time we planned to order food or go to one of their restaurants, they were closed or had some kind of issues. I remember eating ice cream there one time because that was all they had as an option even though we wanted a regular meal. We probably eventually ordered delivery. There was a spill in the lobby and the lady that caused the spill stood there for quite a long time because no one was coming to clean it up. We saw this as we were waiting to check-in. I think the rooms were okay. We didn't like having to walk up and down a big hill and crossing a highway to get to I think another resort to get on a bus. I think it was Poly. We couldn't just get on a bus at the hotel and go to a park. It was not fun at all walking up the long hill at the end of the day in the summer heat after just walking all day at the parks, especially since my 62 yo mom was with us at the time. I believe they told us we could get someone to pick us up in a golf cart or something to take us up or down the hill or maybe even to the other resort but every time we tried that, no one came. It was NOT an enjoyable time at that hotel. Hopefully they have changed for the better since then.

 

[starry_solo]

You can purchase up to six tickets at the discounted price. If there are three definite, see if it is cheaper to purchase the tickets through the better military discount. Six four day tickets (2 for each of the three), then for the other tickets, get the regular 8 day tickets at the regular military discount.

 

[subtchr]

I talked to another cast member online after I read some of the comments. She said that they have military discounts on rooms all year round so I can do that any time and then just get the military discount tickets and link them as soon as I can so I can make the park reservations. So are the prices from military bases or Orlando ITT or SO all going to be the same so I can just choose which one I want to go with? I am still trying to learn what I can about all of this.

Sorry, but you received more bad info, or there was some miscommunication.

The military resort discounts are offered all year, until mid-December, but there is a new discount released each year. The current promotion ends 12/17/21. So right now you could not book August 2022 with a military discount. You will have to wait until the 2022 discounts are released, which we are hoping will be late September (as it was for the years prior to the craziness that was 2020/21).

The prices for tickets at ITT offices and Shades of Green are generally the same, although they may differ by a few dollars. But some offices also charge a small service fee, and if you are having them shipped to you, there is a delivery fee of $10-12 (per order, not per ticket). Overall the differences are small enough that you should choose whichever source is most convenient.

You can purchase up to six tickets at the discounted price. If there are three definite, see if it is cheaper to purchase the tickets through the better military discount. Six four day tickets (2 for each of the three), then for the other tickets, get the regular 8 day tickets at the regular military discount.

One 8-day ticket from a military travel office costs less than two 4-day salute tickets. About $566 for the 8-day park hopper, $586 for two 4-day salutes. And the MYW tickets have no blackout dates. If they don't need the park hopper, the savings is even more; an 8-day MYW military base ticket is about $483. So it's best to get the MYW tickets for everyone.

 

[pepperderr]

You must have a healthy budget if the discount is not “worth it” for you. The tickets are about half price, and the room discount, when available, is 25-40%. We literally saved thousands of dollars on our last trip.

You can’t get a military discount on a package. You have to book the room with the discount, and then buy the military tickets separately.

If it is for 2022, the military discount details have not yet been released. Hopefully they will release them late September, as they were for the years before Covid.

Maybe I am misunderstanding something again. I picked my days on the WDW website and asked for a regular 8-day ticket for 4 people. It was $2111.88 with tax. I went to the SoG website to look up different ticket prices. An 8-day ticket for 4 people was $1931. That is a $180 difference. That is why I say it might not be worth it when the military tickets are not refundable and the WDW website ones are. I don't see how the tickets are half price???

 

[pepperderr]

Sorry, but you received more bad info, or there was some miscommunication.

The military resort discounts are offered all year, until mid-December, but there is a new discount released each year. The current promotion ends 12/17/21. So right now you could not book August 2022 with a military discount. You will have to wait until the 2022 discounts are released, which we are hoping will be late September (as it was for the years prior to the craziness that was 2020/21).

The prices for tickets at ITT offices and Shades of Green are generally the same, although they may differ by a few dollars. But some offices also charge a small service fee, and if you are having them shipped to you, there is a delivery fee of $10-12 (per order, not per ticket). Overall the differences are small enough that you should choose whichever source is most convenient.




One 8-day ticket from a military travel office costs less than two 4-day salute tickets. About $566 for the 8-day park hopper, $586 for two 4-day salutes. And the MYW tickets have no blackout dates. If they don't need the park hopper, the savings is even more; an 8-day MYW military base ticket is about $483. So it's best to get the MYW tickets for everyone.

Thanks for the info. I don't know how anyone can figure all this stuff out without using the DisBoards! That is exactly what they told me. I even told her we were going in August of 2022 and she never said I would have to wait. How will I know when the new discount is available? She said the only way to get the discount is to call WDW.

 

[subtchr]

Thanks for the info. I don't know how anyone can figure all this stuff out without using the DisBoards! That is exactly what they told me. I even told her we were going in August of 2022 and she never said I would have to wait. How will I know when the new discount is available? She said the only way to get the discount is to call WDW.

She was right about only being able to get it by calling Disney directly.

Watch Disboards or keep an eye on the Disney website to know when the discounts are released for 2022.

I am currently working on a writeup about the military discounts to post here, and I will keep that updated, too. I hope to finish it later this week.

 

[KerryCM]

Another good website to check is https://www.militarydisneytips.com. Steve has great information and will post when the new discounts come out.

 

[subtchr]

Maybe I am misunderstanding something again. I picked my days on the WDW website and asked for a regular 8-day ticket for 4 people. It was $2111.88 with tax. I went to the SoG website to look up different ticket prices. An 8-day ticket for 4 people was $1931. That is a $180 difference. That is why I say it might not be worth it when the military tickets are not refundable and the WDW website ones are. I don't see how the tickets are half price???

When most people mention the military tickets, they are talking about the military promotional tickets, also referred to as salute tickets. Those are $296 for the 4-day park hoppers, $315 for 5-day hoppers, for 2021. Those prices are about half off or even more compared to Disney prices (depending on the date), but they are only sold in 4- or 5-day versions, and only as park hoppers or park hopper plus.

Since you want 8-day tickets, you can't use those salute tickets. But the discount on the regular tickets can still add up, especially considering they are tax free. And the other advantage is that you don't have to choose dates when you buy military MYW tickets. That means if your dates change, your tickets will still be valid.

If your priority is retaining flexibility, then booking a package with Disney may be your best strategy. It all depends on what is important to you. There are times Disney offers general public discounts and promotions in late August, too, so you can see what the best deal is for your family.

 

[pepperderr]

I am seriously about ready to throw in the towel and forget about going to Disney! It is just one misunderstanding after another. I feel so stupid. So, if I just go book a room package today with tickets. Can I cancel everything within 30 days of my trip and still get a 100% refund? The latest cast member told me that tickets are non-refundable once you buy them even from Disney so the only thing I guess I would get a refund on would be for the hotel. The first cast member I asked about that said go ahead and make the reservations now because you get it all back if you cancel before 30 days. So really it would make no difference between if I got the cheaper military tickets or the tickets from Disney, I would lose the cost of them if something came up and we had to cancel. I have only been trying to plan for a few days but it sure has not been fun. I guess I would have to make the reservations through Disney and if we had to change our plans the tickets would be used at a later date. Is that correct?