Hi there, Cassandra! Welcome to planDisney!
Oh boy, I'm so excited to hear that you're thinking ahead to your
Walt Disney World Resort vacation next January. In fact, sometimes I have almost as much fun planning the vacation as I do being on the vacation, itself! Also, I want to sincerely thank you for your military service. I know service members and their families truly understand the meaning of commitment and sacrifice. As a military spouse, I have seen how valuable quality time together is and I can't think of a better place to spend that time than at The Most Magical Place on Earth!
Cassandra, Walt Disney World Resort loves to salute its military families with
Special Offers on select
Disney Resorts Collection hotels and
theme park tickets!
Military Salute Tickets can either be purchased through Morale, Welfare, and Recreation from your local base or purchased through Shades of Green. My husband and I enjoy ordering our tickets from
Shades of Green because they get mailed to us activated and ready to be used! However you order your tickets, you'll want to make sure you
link your tickets to your
My Disney Experience account, then make your theme park reservations through the
Disney Park Pass system.
I know you mentioned being a little worried about the availability of theme park reservations for the dates of your trip since there isn't a huge amount of time between purchasing your tickets and your vacation, itself. I've been in similar situations where I've purchased my tickets only several weeks before my trip, so I understand the feeling! In my experience, I've never had a problem making the theme park reservations I wanted to have, even with only several weeks' notice. I think you will have a similar experience as long as you book your theme park reservations as soon as you're able.
Here's the other good news, Cassandra - Military Salute Tickets come with the Park Hopper option included! This means that, in the rare occurrence that your desired park is unavailable for one of the days of your trip, you could always hop to your first-choice park after 2:00 PM. This is a great way to multiply the magic on your vacation! In fact, my husband and I often take advantage of this Park Hopper option while we visit Walt Disney World Resort. We love waking up early to jump on our favorite rides, such as
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in
Magic Kingdom Park, then hop over to
Animal Kingdom Theme Park to explore the bioluminescent plant life of
Pandora - The World of Avatar at night!
Cassandra, when you visit Walt Disney World Resort next January, there is surely magic waiting for you around every corner. I'm wishing you all the faith, trust, and pixie dust that you have the best trip ever! If you have any other questions, please visit us again.
You've got a friend in me!
Michelle