Disney's Armed Forces Salute 2009

[jrpersinger]

I am on hold right now with Disney. I am confused about something. For Reserves and Guard, it says you must present orders that you were activated during 2008. Well, my DH is in the Reserves, and he did his 1 weekend a month, 2weeks a year, which makes him active Reserves. He can get orders saying that. But it almost sounds like you had to be on orders for deployment or something. He has been on medical hold for the last year so he hasn't went anywhere but their 2week AT.

I don't know, it seems like Reserves and Guard might get shafted in this deal if thats the case.

[ginger19]

There is some conflicting information here and I am trying to puzzle it out. Maybe Melanears can shed some light on it.

The promotion is supposed to go through Dec 2009 but her first post under the details says that the first day of use has to be by June

The thread says you can get the tickets from the base, shades of green etc where as the disney military discounts link says "Tickets must be purchased at the theme park ticket windows "

And again the thread seems to say that you can be either Active or retired but the disney military discounts link says "Military personnel must have been active for any length of time between Jan. 1, 2008 and the end of Dec. 23, 2009." Is this only applicable to reservists? Or ar they trying to restrict the offer to those active and who were at least active in 2008?

Confused and bemused and I havent even done the TeaCups yet.
Any input for clarity would be appreciated

I believe the June park ticket is applicable to Disneyland while Disney World goes out through december.
My understanding now on tickets is that you get the one free one from SOG or your local base and a voucher with that for the other tickets which you would take to guest relations at the park for the other tickets.
I'm not sure about reservists part at all.

[jrpersinger]

I don't think Disney even knows what they are doing. I can definately tell you the people at Disney Military Sales are not even certain whats going on.

I called Disney when I was posting a few min ago, they said they had no idea exactly what is going on with the Reserves/Guard. They told me to call Disney Military Sales, which I did. I don't have a local ITT so I had to call the Navy number on the site. The guy told me there as long as you have proof you were active during 2008 and 2009, then you are fine. Active defined as Active Duty, And Reserve and Guard doing their 1 weekend a month, 2 weeks a year. But then, he said thats how they would sale them.... So, I guess it may end up who you are talking to and where you are. I am waiting on SoG ticket office to call me back since that is where we had planned to purchase our tickets.

This is all to confusing. Their wording and lingo leaves alot open for interpretation. The word "activated" alone could mean alot of different things.

[deedeenmickey]

I am considering booking a trip with the armed forces 40% off moderate and $99 - 5 day ticket + $25 to make it a hopper + Wp & more. I would like to get the dining plan as well. Does anyone know if this is possible?

[Disney Addiction]

Unless things have changed over the last year... everybodys military ID is the same... for example.. I'm in the Army Reserve... but my Military ID just says Army.... they have no way of knowing if your reserve or NG based on your ID

[Marilyn Michetti]

I just talked to Luke AFB, ticket sales, and they told me if you are currently active, you qualify.
As for the upgrades, I was told that I get five free days - if we stay for seven, I need to buy three more days, and can pay an extra $25, (I think) for hopper passes.
Dependents can't buy the five days unless the active or retired veteran is physically present. I can get a free five days and buy five days for DH, and will get a voucher that will be exchanged for actual tickets at the parks.

What I think is.......before this is over, the "spam" is going to hit the fan. Veterans are getting excited thinking, O.K., I was in the Navy for four years - Disney is giving me five days in the parks. It's so cloudy, and when it's all sorted out, tempers are going to be raw.

SOG is taking messages, but aren't answering questions right now. Hmmm, wonder why?

[Marilyn Michetti]

Didn't mean to leave out retired - that's usually 20 years.

[joelkfla]

Some additional info now up on the internal Ticketing site:

Companion tickets may be purchased only one time during the offer. So you can't buy 2 tickets at the base, and then 3 more when you get to WDW.

The complimentary tickets cannot be upgraded in any way -- that means no extra days. Companion tickets cannot be upgraded to add extra days, but the value can be applied towards the purchase of annual passes in the usual manner.

There is a limit of 5 Companion tickets per military member, but this limit will be waived for immediate families larger than 5 (e.g., a family with 6 children.)

If the military member is unable to visit WDW during the offer period, 5 Companion tickets can be purchased by the spouse. The same requirements for presenting military ID and reservist orders apply.

If eligible guests have already purchased MYW tickets, the value of unused tickets can be applied towards the cost of Companion tickets, but the purchase cost must be more than the value of the tickets being traded in.

[jrpersinger]

I just talked to Luke AFB, ticket sales, and they told me if you are currently active, you qualify.
As for the upgrades, I was told that I get five free days - if we stay for seven, I need to buy three more days, and can pay an extra $25, (I think) for hopper passes.
Dependents can't buy the five days unless the active or retired veteran is physically present. I can get a free five days and buy five days for DH, and will get a voucher that will be exchanged for actual tickets at the parks.

What I think is.......before this is over, the "spam" is going to hit the fan. Veterans are getting excited thinking, O.K., I was in the Navy for four years - Disney is giving me five days in the parks. It's so cloudy, and when it's all sorted out, tempers are going to be raw.

SOG is taking messages, but aren't answering questions right now. Hmmm, wonder why?

So the answer you are getting is basically the way SoG operates. If you are Active Duty, Reserves, Guard, 100% Disabled or 20 Year Retired at the time of the purchase, then you are good to go. But if you are a Vet who did your 4 and are done, then you do not qualify.

Thats what I am getting now from calling several people.

And.... SoG still has not called me back either. Yeah, they are in hiding right now.

[vicster]

Bravo to Disney for doing something for military families. As a former Army Brat I know how hard it is for military familes especially during a war. Thanks to all for their service!!!

[skram79]

Military IDs are different colors depending on your status.

Active Reservist is someone who has done MORE then 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year. If you have been to an A school, C school (navy term for training schools) or bootcamp this should do the trick for you.

I am not sure about widow status, if your husband was retired when he left you, you should still ahve an ID. In which case you can use that ID to purchase a voucher on base or a ticket at the window.

I have talked to SOG ticketing. I hope some of this information helps.

[jrpersinger]

Military IDs are different colors depending on your status.

Active Reservist is someone who has done MORE then 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks a year. If you have been to an A school, C school (navy term for training schools) or bootcamp this should do the trick for you.

I am not sure about widow status, if your husband was retired when he left you, you should still ahve an ID. In which case you can use that ID to purchase a voucher on base or a ticket at the window.

I have talked to SOG ticketing. I hope some of this information helps.

Not true, Active Reservist are the ones of who do 1weekend a month, 2 weeks a year. AGR is listed differently, which are the Reservist and Guard who are fulltime (just like active duty army, 365 days a year). DH has been in the Reserves since 2001, he has been a active reservist the entire time, but his active status changes based on what he is doing. I.E. Deployment, TDY, etc...

And maybe for different branches the IDs are different. In the Army, the members all have the Drivers Licenses looking white ID and the the dependants have the red looking color. You could not tell the difference in them from Regular Active Duty Army to Reserves unless you looked where is says USA/Res. Even then, there is no way to tell if it means he is fulltime reserves or regular active reserves as all it says is USA/RES. I have had IDs for all 3, DH was active duty for 6 years, then has been both full time and regular reserves since he joined in 2001. The only time my ID has changed is from USA to USA/RES, the experation date, the issue date and my weight.

[Melanie]

What I think is.......before this is over, the "spam" is going to hit the fan. Veterans are getting excited thinking, O.K., I was in the Navy for four years - Disney is giving me five days in the parks. It's so cloudy, and when it's all sorted out, tempers are going to be raw.

I don't know, I could be wrong, but I don't think someone who served four years back in the 80s would expect to receive this. This is pretty much the same offer they gave back in '03, and a 4 and out vet didn't qualify then either and I don't remember an outcry.

This is a 'salute' to those who are serving now during this tough time, and those who gave a significant portion of their life (20+ year vets) serving our country.

[skram79]

I have a blue retired ID. Reservists when I served had red ones, active duty green. This is how it has been since I served in the Navy and I get my ID on an Air Force base. It may be different in the Army. Mine says US Navy Retired, you are probably going to need active duty papers that they are talking about with a reserve ID card.

As far as Active Reservist, I meant to qualify for the special. In the navy we used to call them TAR, temporary active reserve or training active reservist. I don't remember exactly what it stood for, but we had the same thing then as well. I retired in 1993.

[ginger19]

I am considering booking a trip with the armed forces 40% off moderate and $99 - 5 day ticket + $25 to make it a hopper + Wp & more. I would like to get the dining plan as well. Does anyone know if this is possible?

I was told it was possible to add the dining plan to the package.

[skram79]

Color Coding
The Form 1173 ID card is color-coded to denote the status of the person it is issued to. Possible colors are:

Green - Active duty and Reserve Components
Tan - Dependent of active duty personnel or retiree.
Red - Dependants of Reserve Components.
Blue - Retiree (or other honorably discharged Veteran with benefits).

I see that Reserves are now green with AD, that has changed since I served. My dependents have a Tan card.

[jrpersinger]

Color Coding
The Form 1173 ID card is color-coded to denote the status of the person it is issued to. Possible colors are:

Green - Active duty and Reserve Components
Tan - Dependent of active duty personnel or retiree.
Red - Dependants of Reserve Components.
Blue - Retiree (or other honorably discharged Veteran with benefits).

I see that Reserves are now green with AD, that has changed since I served. My dependents have a Tan card.

It must be different because DH hasn't had a Green ID since 2003. He has only had the White card that doubles as his CAC Card.

And YES, The Reserve and Guard who do the 1 weekend a month and 2 week a year CAN get the deal. Call the ITT at Orlando, they will confirm. As will disneymilitarysales.com Just like we can use SoG.

[Marilyn Michetti]

There is some conflicting information here and I am trying to puzzle it out. Maybe Melanears can shed some light on it.

The promotion is supposed to go through Dec 2009 but her first post under the details says that the first day of use has to be by June

The thread says you can get the tickets from the base, shades of green etc where as the disney military discounts link says "Tickets must be purchased at the theme park ticket windows "

And again the thread seems to say that you can be either Active or retired but the disney military discounts link says "Military personnel must have been active for any length of time between Jan. 1, 2008 and the end of Dec. 23, 2009." Is this only applicable to reservists? Or ar they trying to restrict the offer to those active and who were at least active in 2008?

Confused and bemused and I havent even done the TeaCups yet.
Any input for clarity would be appreciated

HEY, WELCOME TO INTERCOT !!

I just noticed this is your first post here

[buzznwoodysmom]

I definitely understand that vets who only served a few years and were out don't qualify for these discounts, but with the reserves and national guard it gets tricky. For instance my husband who is in the National Guard is only 6 years away from retirement, was in the Army for 4 years, has served in Iraq in the past and will be serving in Iraq in 2010, but since he won't have activated orders for Jan. 08 - Dec. 09 he doesn't qualify. That just seems rediculous to me. I feel that my husband and family deserve this discount. Lucky for us it seems we may be able to get the discount anyway. He was on active duty orders for officer schooling in Dec., will be on active duty orders for officer schooling in June, and was on federal active duty orders for the hurricanes. Unfortunately I think there may be many families who don't have these schools or hurricane duty to fall back on, but who really deserve these discounts. My husband called somewhere (I don't know who or where he called) and they were most positive that he qualifies because of the active duty papers he has for above mentioned schools/hurricanes. I hope everyone is able to get what they are hoping for.

[jrpersinger]

Denise,

You will be able to use it. As long as he was in the Reserves/Guard and drilled he will be able to use it. Call your local ITT office or the ITT office for the Orlando area. The can confirm and tell you how to go about purchasing your tickets. If you need the number, PM me and I will send it to you.

I spent half the morning trying to find out for certain. Disney referred me to disneymilitarysales.com, which then referred me to the Orlando ITT office since I don't have a local base which told me I could buy them. They can even be bought by mail/phone.

The way the wording was released by Disney has everything messed up. But if you contact the locations used to dealing with Military they can fix you right up.