Official 2012/2013 Disney Military Promotion - Updated Post #187

[buffettgirl]

i read this whole thread, but i am still confused!

i'm planning on surprising my best friend with a trip to wdw in oct. i'd been waiting on the military promotion but was convinced that they weren't doing it anymore lol so i went with a regular disney vacation package. now, both of my parents are retired army; i'm not in the military whatsoever and i don't have an id anymore as i've aged out.

can they get me two tickets? where do you activate them? AT disney or like on base here? does one of them need to be there?

thanks!

If they are not going to be physically present in Disney then they can't activate them for you. They can buy them on base, but they're no good unless they're activated. This is the same as in previous promotions.

 

[saturdaygirl]

If they are not going to be physically present in Disney then they can't activate them for you. They can buy them on base, but they're no good unless they're activated. This is the same as in previous promotions.

rats! my mom would never fly to florida for one day LOL

and no random military person could do it? i'm grasping at straws now

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

rats! my mom would never fly to florida for one day LOL

and no random military person could do it? i'm grasping at straws now

I'm afraid not. It would use up some of that servicemember's quota.

You can either invite your parents to come along on your trip, or you can stay with the package you've already booked. No way around it, sorry.

 

[swimchick1984]

Well I guess it is a good thing that we are dual military, since they have put out that you can not use the four day passes back to back. Guess I will get 2 tickets with my ID will get two tickets. Then I will get 2 tickets with my DH ID.

 

[mckryan]

Cheshire Figment, may I message you privately to ask specific questions about the military salute tickets or would you rather I post it here? It's about multiple trips, friends using tickets without us there, etc.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The key is a service member may activate no more than six tickets during the entire promotion. If six are activated, one must be for the service member. Once the tickets are activated the service member does not have to be present for use.

The name, date of birth, address and telephone number of each person must be entered in the Automated Ticketing System at the time of activation.

Some of the pointws are not yet clear. For example, the Press Release says all must be activated at the same time, and it con only be done once during the promotion. The internal information implies that activation can only be done once. There are still other points which require clarification.

 

[mckryan]

Understood. I know the first few weeks of the promotion all the details are still shaking out. I read on the Disney Military Tips Q&A that two 4-day tickets cannot be used back to back. So, if we are coming for a 9 day trip and wanted to buy four 4-day tickets for the two of us for 8 days of park visits, am I to understand we will not be able to do that with this promotion? I know we were able to do that with previous promotions.

ETA: the DMT page said that you had to wait a minimum of seven days between using two 4-day tickets for one person.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Understood. I know the first few weeks of the promotion all the details are still shaking out. I read on the Disney Military Tips Q&A that two 4-day tickets cannot be used back to back. So, if we are coming for a 9 day trip and wanted to buy four 4-day tickets for the two of us for 8 days of park visits, am I to understand we will not be able to do that with this promotion? I know we were able to do that with previous promotions.

ETA: the DMT page said that you had to wait a minimum of seven days between using two 4-day tickets for one person.

Yes, you are correct, there is a 7 day waiting period between ticket uses.

 

[mckryan]

On the official Disney rules and regs page, there is nothing stated there about a seven day waiting period. This is why I wanted to find out specifically from someone that works with tickets.

 

[SpudNut]

I can't seem to find the answer to this anywhere:

My husband (retired Army) and I are going to Disneyland in Oct and WDW in Dec. Can we buy the Armed Forces Salute tickets for both parks? Do we have to purchase both sets of tickets at the same time? Can we buy WDW tickets at Disneyland?

I guess what I'm asking is, can we use the discount at both parks during the 2012-2013 promotion?

Cheshire Figment, any thoughts?

TIA!

 

[Steve TLT]

Understood. I know the first few weeks of the promotion all the details are still shaking out. I read on the Disney Military Tips Q&A that two 4-day tickets cannot be used back to back. So, if we are coming for a 9 day trip and wanted to buy four 4-day tickets for the two of us for 8 days of park visits, am I to understand we will not be able to do that with this promotion? I know we were able to do that with previous promotions.

ETA: the DMT page said that you had to wait a minimum of seven days between using two 4-day tickets for one person.

Hi everyone,

The info I'm posting on my site is what I've been told by Disney through official Disney media channels. But as Cheshire Figment says "Some of the points are not yet clear." Which has happened during the early stages of previous salutes. And the policies that Tickets uses are what really matter.

I'm anxiously awaiting the real "boots on the ground" info from CF, as you all are.

 

[mckryan]

Hi everyone,

The info I'm posting on my site is what I've been told by Disney through official Disney media channels. But as Cheshire Figment says "Some of the points are not yet clear." Which has happened during the early stages of previous salutes. And the policies that Tickets uses are what really matter.

I'm anxiously awaiting the real "boots on the ground" info from CF, as you all are.

I'm really hopeful that there is not a waiting period of 7 days in between 4-day ticket use. That will make a big difference for our trip.

 

[catiesmom]

My FIL is retired military and coming with us to WDW in April. Our plan is for him to get 6 passes. But I'm a little confused as the actual use of the passes. FIL will purchase the passes at the base and then we'll be together for activation.

However, we won't always be together at the parks. We have young children that will need to nap in the afternoon while a couple of the adults stay at the parks. DH and I may try to get in a date night and leave the kids with the grandparents. Based on what I've read, it seems like we will need to be together every time we enter a park. Is that correct?

Thanks!

 

[mckryan]

My FIL is retired military and coming with us to WDW in April. Our plan is for him to get 6 passes. But I'm a little confused as the actual use of the passes. FIL will purchase the passes at the base and then we'll be together for activation.

However, we won't always be together at the parks. We have young children that will need to nap in the afternoon while a couple of the adults stay at the parks. DH and I may try to get in a date night and leave the kids with the grandparents. Based on what I've read, it seems like we will need to be together every time we enter a park. Is that correct?

Thanks!

Once the tickets are activated, your FIL will no longer need to be with you to enter the park.

 

[catiesmom]

Once the tickets are activated, your FIL will no longer need to be with you to enter the park.

Excellent! Thank you

 

[ILuvTinkerbelle]

Sorry if this has been answered already:

We are going in January of 2013....we were unable to get the military discount on the resort we wanted...which was fine, it was only a small bit higher then another section.....we are hoping that we might get free dining....I asked the CM about the ticket discount and how that relates to the free dining, which you need to have at least 2 day ticket to get.....she said that once the free dining is announced, we would need to rebook as a package, get our military tickets and then upgrade?

I am very confused....we are there 7 night but only want to do 4 days at Disney so the military offer was great for us....will I be forced to get a 2 day pass for each of us in order to get the dining as well if it is offered for free?

Does this question make sense? I know I am just speculation on the free dining but other threads have said it will be announced soon for that time of year......thanks for any help!

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Sorry if this has been answered already:

We are going in January of 2013....we were unable to get the military discount on the resort we wanted...which was fine, it was only a small bit higher then another section.....we are hoping that we might get free dining....I asked the CM about the ticket discount and how that relates to the free dining, which you need to have at least 2 day ticket to get.....she said that once the free dining is announced, we would need to rebook as a package, get our military tickets and then upgrade?

I am very confused....we are there 7 night but only want to do 4 days at Disney so the military offer was great for us....will I be forced to get a 2 day pass for each of us in order to get the dining as well if it is offered for free?

Does this question make sense? I know I am just speculation on the free dining but other threads have said it will be announced soon for that time of year......thanks for any help!

First, you can't "stack" discounts - you can only have one. So, you can EITHER get the military rate on the room and pay for dining OR you can pay rack-rate for your room and get "free dining." You can't do both. So, you have to look at what level of resort you want and what the military discount is (30% values, 35% mods, 40% deluxes). Then, you figure out how much the dining plan will cost you and decide which offers the greatest savings.

If you run the numbers and decide that getting your dining plan for free is a better deal than the room discount, then you can book that package. You will have to buy a 2-day ticket for each person. A 2-day base ticket (at current prices) is $176 for adults and $164 for children. The new Military Salute tickets are $156 for 4-day park-hopper or $156 for a 4-day base ticket with the Water Parks & More options, or $184 to get both options. Since the $156 military ticket is cheaper than the regular 2-day base ticket, you might not be able to "upgrade" those. I think the ticket you "upgrade" to (specifically for the Military Salute) has to be more than the ticket you're trading in. So, you'd have to get the Military Salute ticket with both options. Or you could just save the 2-day tickets for another trip.

If you're planning to stay Value and would want the regular dining plan (one CS, one TS, one snack) you'd have to pay the difference to upgrade that from the QSDP which is generally the one offered with "free dining." Make sure you include that in your cost analysis.

Hope this helps and wasn't too confusing!

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

Sorry if this has been answered already:

We are going in January of 2013....we were unable to get the military discount on the resort we wanted...which was fine, it was only a small bit higher then another section.....we are hoping that we might get free dining....I asked the CM about the ticket discount and how that relates to the free dining, which you need to have at least 2 day ticket to get.....she said that once the free dining is announced, we would need to rebook as a package, get our military tickets and then upgrade?

I am very confused....we are there 7 night but only want to do 4 days at Disney so the military offer was great for us....will I be forced to get a 2 day pass for each of us in order to get the dining as well if it is offered for free?

Does this question make sense? I know I am just speculation on the free dining but other threads have said it will be announced soon for that time of year......thanks for any help!

Claire explained it perfectly, I will give you the short answer. If you do the free dining deal, you MUST purchase 2 day base tickets for eveyone in the party that requires a ticket.

In my experience, the Military deal is the best one out there. The dining plan isn't going to be a great deal next year, I guess unless you can get it for free. I have always run the numbers for all available discounts and the Miltary one comes out on top. But, we are also a party of 2 adults and usually only go for 3 to 4 nights.

 

[anc876]

I can't seem to find the answer to this anywhere:

My husband (retired Army) and I are going to Disneyland in Oct and WDW in Dec. Can we buy the Armed Forces Salute tickets for both parks? Do we have to purchase both sets of tickets at the same time? Can we buy WDW tickets at Disneyland?

I guess what I'm asking is, can we use the discount at both parks during the 2012-2013 promotion?

Cheshire Figment, any thoughts?

TIA!

This is what I was wondering, too. We want to take trips to both DL and WDW next year. The response I received from Military Disney Tips indicated that the two parks are disconnected, so military should be able use the tickets at both parks. I still don't understand if the 6-ticket limit is across the board for both parks or each park has a separate 6-ticket allowance. I will have to call my local ITT office but they are closed right now.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The WDW and DLR ticketing systems do not talk directly to each other. People at one location in Guest Relations can look at the other system's tickets, but this is only done to confirm validity of tickets if there is a crossover situation.

The Armed Forces Salute limitations are separate for the two locations. And you cannot purchase tickets for one coast from the other.