Frequently Asked Questions About the Disney Military Salute for 2023

November 21, 2022April 5, 2023 Jennifer Heymont 2 Comments Discounts, Military Discounts

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Disney’s popular Military Salute program (also known as the Armed Forces Salute) offers discounts on tickets and rooms for members of the U.S. Armed Forces. We’ll run down answers to questions about eligibility, how to purchase tickets, how to use them, and discounts on other vacation expenses such as hotels or Memory Maker.

General Questions

Who Is Eligible?

Active, Reserve, or Retired members of:

Any of the 6 branches of the U.S. Military: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, and Space Force
The National Guard
The Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service (PHS)
The Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Spouses may use the benefit in place of the military member. Un-remarried widows of service members, 100% disabled veterans (US Military ID with DAVPRM marking), and foreign military assigned to US bases with US Military ID are also eligible; check this qualifying Military ID guide from Shades of Green. If in doubt consult your base ticket office or Shades of Green.

What Dates Is the Promotion Valid?

The 2023 Military Salute runs from January 1, 2023 through December 15, 2023. Although the start and end dates are the same at both Disney World and Disneyland, some dates at each resort are excluded from benefits.

Are There Similar Discounts For Other Disney Vacations?

Disney Cruise Line doesn’t have a specific program like the Military Salute, but they do offer special Military Rates from time to time. These offers are always for specific sailings, so check the offer page to see what’s currently available to book. Adventures by Disney does not generally offer any military discounts, although you can always check their special offer page just to be sure.

Military Salute Ticket Questions

How Much Are Military Salute Tickets?

The ticket offerings and blackout dates are different at Disney World and Disneyland. Prices below are what you’d pay at the ticket window; the actual prices charged by US military base ticket offices may be less. At both parks, a Park Reservation is required to visit in addition to the tickets. Tickets and options expire at the end of the promotion and can’t be used after December 15, 2023 even if they still have unused admissions.

Disney World

Disney World offers two different ticket types, the Park Hopper and Park Hopper Plus; each is available as either a 4 or 5- day ticket. (Walt Disney World Ticket Options: FAQ – Park Hoppers, Water Parks, and More) One very important difference between Military Salute and regular tickets is that Military Salute tickets do not expire 14 days after first use. You can purchase the tickets in January, visit for 2 days in March, and come back for 3 days at the Food & Wine Festival in October.

2023 Military Salute tickets have two blockout periods: April 2 – 15 (Easter) and November 19 – 25 (Thanksgiving).

4-Day Disney Military Salute Ticket
- With the Park Hopper Option: $349 plus tax
- With the Park Hopper Plus Option: $379 plus tax
5-Day Disney Military Salute Ticket
- With the Park Hopper Option: $369 plus tax
- With the Park Hopper Plus Option: $399 plus tax

The median price for a 4-day Park Hopper in 2023 is $592, and a 5-day Hopper is $638 — these prices are a significant discount.

Disneyland

Disneyland also offers two different ticket types; Park Hopper and Park Hopper with Genie+ included. Either 3 or 4-day tickets are available. Disneyland tickets are blocked out on April 2 through April 15, 2023. The same as at Disney World, the tickets do not expire a set time after first use; they’re good until the promotion ends on December 15.

3-Day Ticket
- Military Promotional Park Hopper Ticket: $245
- Military Promotional Park Hopper Ticket with Disney Genie+ Service: $320
4-Day Ticket
- Military Promotional Park Hopper Ticket: $280
- Military Promotional Park Hopper Ticket with Disney Genie+ Service: $380

Where Can You Buy Tickets?

One thing to remember when purchasing tickets is that you’ll want to have them on hand in advance in order to make Disney World or Disneyland park reservations. If you wait until the last minute to buy, you may find that reservations are no longer available on the dates you want to visit. (Disney World Park Passes: How Far in Advance?)

Tickets can be purchased at your local base Information, Tickets, and Tours (ITT) Office; be aware that they may sometimes need to be ordered so leave yourself a few weeks slack. You can also buy them directly from ticket windows at Disney World and Disneyland. If you don’t have a local base where you can purchase tickets, you can order them online from Patrick AFB ITT or Shades of Green, or over the phone from Camp Pendleton ITT.

How Many Tickets Can You Buy?

Each eligible member can buy up to 6 tickets per offer for use by themself, family, and friends – the eligible purchaser or their spouse must use one of the tickets. There’s a little bit of nuance here so let’s lay it out.

“Per offer” means that Disney World and Disneyland are separate offers. So 6 tickets can be purchased at Disneyland, and 6 at Disney World.

Remember that spouses are eligible to buy in place of the service member, not in addition to them. The exception is if the spouse has their own eligibility. In families where both spouses are members of the military, each can purchase 6 tickets per offer – 12 at Disney World, and 12 at Disneyland.

What if you need more than 6 tickets? If there are more than 6 people in the eligible members’ immediate family (that means spouse plus dependent children), Disney will allow the purchase of additional tickets as necessary.

Do the Tickets Work With My Disney Experience?

Yes, the tickets can be linked in My Disney Experience just like a regular ticket. This is important because you need to have a ticket in MDE before you can make Park Pass reservations. Although your tickets will need to be activated onsite at the parks before you can use them to enter, you’ll be able to make park reservations as soon as you link the tickets to your account.

How to Link WDW Park Tickets to Your My Disney Experience Account
How to Make a Disney World Park Reservation

How Do You Activate Tickets?

Before the tickets can be used for entering the parks, they need to be activated at a ticket window or Guest Services at one of the theme parks. Disney World tickets can also be activated at Guest Services in Disney Springs. Everyone who will use the tickets needs to be present when they are activated, along with the eligible member or their spouse who will need to show their valid Military ID. But since they don’t expire until the end of the promotion, the tickets don’t need to be used immediately once they are activated. You can activate them on your arrival day even if you’re not visiting the parks until later in your vacation.

Military Salute Hotel Questions

Are There Room Discounts?

Yes, there are! At Disney World, discounted rooms are available at Disney World Resort Hotels for stays most nights between January 1 and December 15, 2023. The longest valid stay is 14 days, but there is no limit to the number of times this offer can be used. Some resorts and room types are excluded. At Disneyland, discounted rooms are available at all three resort hotels and up to two rooms can be booked per reservation. Again, some room types are excluded. At both Disney World and Disneyland, the eligible member or their spouse must stay in the room and provide a valid Military ID during check-in.

How Can You Book A Discounted Room?

You can book directly with Disney by calling (407) 939-7830 for Disney World or (844) 776-0015 for Disneyland and asking for the Military Salute room-only discount. Or, a Disney-specialist travel agency such as our own TouringPlans Travel can book these rooms for you.

Bonus Question!

Have you heard about a Memory Maker discount? At Disneyland, digital photo downloads are included with the Genie+ version of the ticket. But at Disney World, eligible members or their spouses can purchase Memory Maker for only $98, up to two times throughout the year. (FAQ Walt Disney World PhotoPass and Memory Maker) The discounted Memory Maker can only be purchased at theme park ticket windows.

Bruce Gilliland

November 28, 2022 at 10:37 am

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I took my daughter and her spouse to WDW in September. Because I am retired from the Army Reserve, we stayed at the Shades of Green. I was able to reserve two rooms (among the largest in WDW resorts) for less than one room at the Contemporary. I ordered my tickets through the Shades of Green ticket office. I got actual plastic tickets in the mail. Had I gone through one of the military installations, I would have gotten just a voucher. I think that is where the “activation” comes in. Once I got my tickets and entered them into the MDE (and our Magic Bands), I never had to do another thing. I estimate the tickets were about a third less, maybe more, than the average regular price of tickets for September. Even though we didn’t go until September, I had reserved my rooms and bought the tickets in early 2022.

We stayed in the wing that is attached to the parking deck. We could walk directly from our rooms to our car on the same level in the deck. Try that in any other Disney resort!

One mistake I made was in setting up my hotel confirmation number in the MDE. I associated it with me, but NOT with my daughter and her spouse. As a result, I was not able to make any ILL reservations at 7 a.m. (Shades of Green has this benefit) for all three of us. I had to wait until we got to the parks.

Some have said that some of the basic resorts can cost less than the Shades of Green. That may be true some days of the week or during certain weeks, but none can match the convivence of the SoG’s location and room size.

There is no question that access to the Shades of Green resort and the discounted tickets saved me several hundred dollars. Of course, it took nearly 28 years of service. If you are eligible, the Military Salute program is the way to go.

2 thoughts on “Frequently Asked Questions About the Disney Military Salute for 2023”

Mike
November 22, 2022 at 8:41 am

A great gift to those who serve and have served. Too often their vacation time is so limited. This at least allows them a cheaper way to make memories.
Bruce Gilliland
November 28, 2022 at 10:37 am

I took my daughter and her spouse to WDW in September. Because I am retired from the Army Reserve, we stayed at the Shades of Green. I was able to reserve two rooms (among the largest in WDW resorts) for less than one room at the Contemporary. I ordered my tickets through the Shades of Green ticket office. I got actual plastic tickets in the mail. Had I gone through one of the military installations, I would have gotten just a voucher. I think that is where the “activation” comes in. Once I got my tickets and entered them into the MDE (and our Magic Bands), I never had to do another thing. I estimate the tickets were about a third less, maybe more, than the average regular price of tickets for September. Even though we didn’t go until September, I had reserved my rooms and bought the tickets in early 2022.

We stayed in the wing that is attached to the parking deck. We could walk directly from our rooms to our car on the same level in the deck. Try that in any other Disney resort!

One mistake I made was in setting up my hotel confirmation number in the MDE. I associated it with me, but NOT with my daughter and her spouse. As a result, I was not able to make any ILL reservations at 7 a.m. (Shades of Green has this benefit) for all three of us. I had to wait until we got to the parks.

Some have said that some of the basic resorts can cost less than the Shades of Green. That may be true some days of the week or during certain weeks, but none can match the convivence of the SoG’s location and room size.

There is no question that access to the Shades of Green resort and the discounted tickets saved me several hundred dollars. Of course, it took nearly 28 years of service. If you are eligible, the Military Salute program is the way to go.