Zero discount for Marine of 14 years!!

[Turn the Page]

I worked at a local ski resort this winter. The resort offered a $15 discount for active duty or retired service members only. I was surprised at the number of family members who complained that they didn't get the discount.

 

[focusondisney]

Have you offered to let him stay on your dvc points for the 4th night to thank him for his service? That would be a way to show your appreciation.

She is using her points for 3 nights. She wants a military discount for the 4th. So I assume that’s all the points she has available. I’m not clear if the BIL is staying on her points or if she just wants a discount on the 4th night for her family. Posted earlier:

Second we are all coming together for 4 nights, my husband and I are DVC members and are staying on our points for three of them. We wanted to use his discount for the four of us for one night only.

 

[cobright]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that the discount is though the military itself. For instance, Shades of Green is owned by the DoD. Perhaps it's not Disney who makes the rules.

The current Disney offered promotion prices a 6 day parkhopper ticket at $300.

Most of the issues I ran into at the insurance company were Vietnam soldiers who served 3 months, 6 months and then were done. Does that mean no one appreciated their service? Heck no we all did.

[Record scratch] I mean ... not everyone did.

No, he is not retired. He resigned. Quit. Left 100% of his own accord before serving the minimum length of time to be considered retired.

you can't change the definition of a term by surrounding it with quotation marks.

In the post you're linking here, the OP is clearly differentiating that two usages of the word "retire" are in use so that her using it in its more common sense is not mistaken for a claim that the BIL is retired in the military retirement sense of the word. In her original post, she made that clear.

The most common usage of the word "retired" is exactly how the OP is using it. I don't really agree with the OP's point, but being upset that a 14 year VFW does not rate the same discount as a Retired soldier that spent 20 years during the 80s and 90s in Schofield filing papers for USARHAW is kinda fair too.

the spouse or dependent of the former Marine

If one's argument hinges on the correct usage of a term, then one should understand that there is no such thing as a "former marine".

But I struggle with my friend who is an accountant in the military receiving pay nearly the same as in the private sector receiving discounts.

Can a private sector accountant be ordered to live and work in a desert on the other side of the planet for 3+ years of his life? Or be told he's not an accountant anymore but a janitor, or they're sending him to language school to learn Pashto? Those things happen. I worked with a marine who was working as an optometry tech one day and janitor the next while they lined him up for a spot in language school. He finished his enlistment riding with a unit that got shot at and hit IEDs.

I don't know that everyone who's ever served an enlistment term is a 'hero', but I do believe there is a difference between an army desk jocky and a guy doing the same job at a local bank.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

[Record scratch] I mean ... not everyone did.

I think you understood what I was saying but if it makes you feel better to get that in go for it I guess.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

He spoke to Disney and they told him he had to be either retired or active, being a veteran doesn't count.

If you are a veteran, aren't you... by default... retired?

 

[kaytieeldr]

If one's argument hinges on the correct usage of a term, then one should understand that there is no such thing as a "former marine".

Okay, fine. Former active duty Marine who quit the Armed Forces (many years) before his leaving could be consider retirement or "retirement".

 

[BrokeMack]

If one's argument hinges on the correct usage of a term, then one should understand that there is no such thing as a "former marine".

I'm Air Force and even I know only POGs say that.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I'm Air Force and even I know only POGs say that.

???

 

[cobright]

I think you understood what I was saying but if it makes you feel better to get that in go for it I guess.

I was a year old when Saigon fell, I wasn't there. If you can say everyone appreciated the service of returning Vietnam vets with a straight face then keep playing it straight.

I agree that setting a discount for active duty, active reserve, and retired is fair and makes sense from a business standpoint. I can see how a vet who is not one of those asking about a discount could make things awkward. It's kinda weird to me that you got quite so specific about Vietnam vets without any other context. I'm trying to picture what sort of vet gets to spend less than 6 months in Vietnam.

 

[cobright]

A marine is always a marine.

???

lol. I'm pretty sure BrokeMack means POG, Person otherthan Grunt. A grunt is an infantryman. I'm not. Never served. Tried to join the Air Force because that looked like the easier service (sorry Broke), but part of the med screening involved peeing in a cup while a guy stared at my gear. I legit, could not make it work. Not modesty, not hiding anything, not worried about drug testing, and not even any concious anxiety over the situation, but it would not go. They let me come back the next day and I had been holding it for a whole day and it still wouldn't work. So I figured I would do some community college for a semester and try again after that but the rest of my life happened instead.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I was a year old when Saigon fell, I wasn't there. If you can say everyone appreciated the service of returning Vietnam vets with a straight face then keep playing it straight.

I agree that setting a discount for active duty, active reserve, and retired is fair and makes sense from a business standpoint. I can see how a vet who is not one of those asking about a discount could make things awkward. It's kinda weird to me that you got quite so specific about Vietnam vets without any other context. I'm trying to picture what sort of vet gets to spend less than 6 months in Vietnam.

You seem to want a back and forth. Not sure why you want to argue over me saying "all did" when I'm positive other people fully got what I was saying. Heavens to besty it must be a slow night for ya.

It's kinda weird how you fixated on my comment and decided that I was apparantly not telling the truth but you're going to have to ponder my comment further alone sorry Have a great rest of your evening!

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

If you are a veteran, aren't you... by default... retired?

In the military, you generally have to serve for at least 20 years to retire. You can also be medically retired with less years in service if you have medical issues that prevent you from continuing service. If you are not retired in one of these two ways, then you're a veteran once you leave the service. It is not considered being retired from the military.

I'm Air Force and even I know only POGs say that.

Umm, not really. Every Marine I know (and I am a Marine, so I know a lot of them) will say, "I am a Marine" not "I'm a former Marine." It's a Marine Corps thing and has nothing to do with job title, time served, or how many times someone got blown up. It's about the brotherhood, the comraderie, and a way of life that does not end just because your enlistment is up.

 

[smokeyblue]

You seem to want a back and forth. Not sure why you want to argue over me saying "all did" when I'm positive other people fully got what I was saying. Heavens to besty it must be a slow night for ya.

It's kinda weird how you fixated on my comment and decided that I was apparantly not telling the truth but you're going to have to ponder my comment further alone sorry Have a great rest of your evening!

To be fair, it is historically well known that Vietnam soldiers were not treated well by the public upon their return. They were spat on and called baby killers. Many soldiers tried to hide their service to avoid being ridiculed or in some cases they couldn't get work because of their service. I think that may be what @cobright might be reacting too.

 

[BrokeMack]

In the military, you generally have to serve for at least 20 years to retire. You can also be medically retired with less years in service if you have medical issues that prevent you from continuing service. If you are not retired in one of these two ways, then you're a veteran once you leave the service. It is not considered being retired from the military.



Umm, not really. Every Marine I know (and I am a Marine, so I know a lot of them) will say, "I am a Marine" not "I'm a former Marine." It's a Marine Corps thing and has nothing to do with job title, time served, or how many times someone got blown up. It's about the brotherhood, the comraderie, and a way of life that does not end just because your enlistment is up.

Just a bit of inter-service rivalry, that's all. Want to get a marine riled up? Call him /her a POG.

 

[BrokeMack]

A marine is always a marine.

lol. I'm pretty sure BrokeMack means POG, Person otherthan Grunt. A grunt is an infantryman. I'm not. Never served. Tried to join the Air Force because that looked like the easier service (sorry Broke), but part of the med screening involved peeing in a cup while a guy stared at my gear. I legit, could not make it work. Not modesty, not hiding anything, not worried about drug testing, and not even any concious anxiety over the situation, but it would not go. They let me come back the next day and I had been holding it for a whole day and it still wouldn't work. So I figured I would do some community college for a semester and try again after that but the rest of my life happened instead.

No offense taken. You get your junk looked at a lot in the AF and it is easier. Here's my second favorite military joke and the AF is the butt of it :

A man was conducting an All Service member briefing one day, and he posed the question: “What would you do if you found a scorpion in your tent?”
A Sailor said, “I’d step on it.”
A Soldier said, “I’d hit it with my boot.”
A Marine said, “I’d catch it, break the stinger off, and eat it.”
An Airman said, “I’d call the concierge and find out why there’s a damn tent in my room.”

 

[RamblingMad]

Can a private sector accountant be ordered to live and work in a desert on the other side of the planet for 3+ years of his life? Or be told he's not an accountant anymore but a janitor, or they're sending him to language school to learn Pashto? Those things happen. I worked with a marine who was working as an optometry tech one day and janitor the next while they lined him up for a spot in language school. He finished his enlistment riding with a unit that got shot at and hit IEDs.

I don't know that everyone who's ever served an enlistment term is a 'hero', but I do believe there is a difference between an army desk jocky and a guy doing the same job at a local bank.

I'm just saying that companies like Disney need to find somewhere to draw the line for discounts. Otherwise, they will be giving discounts to everyone. Disney's rules seem pretty fair.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

To be fair, it is historically well known that Vietnam soldiers were not treated well by the public upon their return. They were spat on and called baby killers. Many soldiers tried to hide their service to avoid being ridiculed or in some cases they couldn't get work because of their service. I think that may be what @cobright might be reacting too.

Seriously folks the comment was about people not being eligible for a discount as if that meant people didn't appreciate one's service because they weren't technically retired. We got a lot of people yelling at us and the OP clearly was upset as well thinking that because someone didn't qualify for the discount it meant people weren't appreciated for their service and I mean this in the global sense. It was NOT about some in-depth deep thinking.

I understood what the poster was getting at, I also think they understand what I was saying and was I guess bored. There's nothing that needs to be clarified just someone looking to pick a fight-that's not aimed at you. If they wish to ponder more about the comment to make some reason why it means more than it does they can have at it but I won't be engaging further.

(Edited: spelling)

 

[smokeyblue]

Seriously folks the comment was about people not being eligible for a discount as if that meant people didn't appreciate one's service because they weren't technically retired. We got a lot of people yelling at us and the OP clearly was upset as well thinking that because someone didn't qualify for the discount it meant people weren't appreciated for their service and I mean this in the global sense. It was NOT about some in-depth deep thinking.

I understood what the poster was getting at, I also think they understand what I was saying and was I guess bored. There's nothing that needs to be clarified just someone looking to pick a fight-that's not aimed at you. If they wish to ponder more about the comment to make some reason why it means more than it does they can have at it but I won't be engaging further.

(Edited: spelling)

I was not clear to me that is what you meant either. I interpreted it the way that Cobright did and looking back it could be interpreted both ways.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I was not clear to me that is what you meant either. I interpreted it the way that Cobright did and looking back it could be interpreted both ways.

Now ya know no nefarious meanings

 

[VandVsmama]

My brother in law did three tours, two of them during the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. He did not officially "retire" because of personal financial reasons. Still he served for our country for 14 years.
Because he "only" a veteran but not a retired veteran, or actively enlisted he does not qualify for the military discount...
Is Disney for real!!?? Is there a way he can qualify for this discount?

It sounds like this really upsetting for you. I'm sorry about that.

Disney makes the rules for who qualifies for military discounts at WDW and DL parks. Your BIL could try to ask for an exception. The worst thing that will happen is he's told no.

By the way, all military veterans get in free at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA usually on Memorial Day and Veterans Day. It's a 20-30 min drive from Disneyland.