Hi there, Nikki! Thanks for bringing your great question to us at planDisney.
There are so many reasons why I love
Walt Disney World Resort, especially the way it treats all of its Guests – including its service members! Eligible Service Members are active and retired members of the military and are offered great rates at select
Disney Resort hotels and on
theme park tickets. As a military spouse, we've greatly enjoyed this perk throughout the years!
From my personal experience, the best offers to members of the U.S. military are the
Disney Military Salute Tickets. These tickets are a great rate, though the only options are for 4 or 5 days. If you're looking for a 1-day ticket, Eligible Service Members also have the opportunity to purchase a
1-Day Magic Your Way Ticket with Park Hopper. This does provide a slight discount, though not as significant as the Disney Military Salute Tickets. It's important to know that tickets sold at a military rate can be purchased in advance either at your local base (through Morale, Welfare, and Recreation) or through
Shades of Green. Personally, we enjoy pre-purchasing our tickets through Shades of Green because they arrive activated and ready to be used! However, when purchasing tickets in advance at your base or through Shades of Green, you should be prepared to wait a few weeks for this transaction to be completed and for your tickets to arrive.
Nikki, if timing is a concern for you, you could also buy your ticket in person at Shades of Green. When you arrive at the ticket sales office, you'll sign in at a kiosk and wait until it's your turn to make your purchase. Since there will still be some waiting involved, I'd recommend doing this at least a day prior to your visit to Walt Disney World Resort! No matter how or when you get your tickets, you will also need to
link your tickets to your My Disney Experience account and
make theme park reservations. A ticket alone won't give you access to the parks and theme park reservations are an important step to reserve the parks you'd like to visit during your trip!
In my personal experience, I like to purchase my tickets in advance and make my theme park reservations right away. This way, I'm not risking my desired park being sold out for that day! If your trip is right around the corner, my best tip would be to purchase a ticket through the Walt Disney World Resort website to
purchase your tickets and make your theme park reservations before you arrive so you know you won't miss a minute of the magic.
I hope I was able to point you in the right direction today! If you have any other questions, please visit us again. After all, you've got a friend in me!
See ya real soon!
Michelle