Welcome BACK, Margaret!
It's so good to see you again asking another great Walt Disney World Resort vacation planning question to us hEAR at the Disney Parks Moms Panel!
Mine is a Military family too and I'd love to help clEAR things up for you today! Disney defines 'Eligible Service Member' for both the wonderful
U.S. Military Promotional Theme Park Tickets as well as the special military rate for
Memory Maker, which is a
PhotoPass Product, as available to all Active, Reserve or Retired (20+ years of service or 100% disabled) members (or their spouses) of the U.S. Military, National Guard, U.S. Coast Guard, the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service and the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. You can find all of the details for both sets of these offers in the same
Military Promotional Ticket link. Do note that Military Ticket Sales Offices have also brokered special ticket rates that are only sold on bases/posts, so some individuals outside of the above qualifiers can still buy other discounted tickets that are only sold on military installations, but not at Disney. (I'm thinking specifically of those who now qualify for base access under the Disabled Veterans Equal Access Act of 2018.) Either way, the helpful staff at your base ticket office would also be able to determine if you qualify for the Military Memory Maker rate.
Bonus Tip: If you are able to purchase the Memory Maker at a special military rate, you'll receive all of the benefits of the 'starts immediately' option where photos can be saved right away, which is good since this discounted package can only be purchased once you've arrived at Walt Disney World Resort. And really neat, if you're like me and are always running late, you can also purchase this plan once your visit to Mickey's house has already started (either by a few hours or a few days, but before you leave to go back home), and any photos that you've already scanned to your
My Disney Experience App, photo
card or MagicBand will still be included!
Bonus-Bonus Tip: The U.S. Military Memory Maker special rate can be purchased at the gates of all four Disney Theme Parks and the two Disney Water Parks, but I prefer to purchase our Memory Maker at the
Guest Relations location at the same time that I validate our U.S. Military Promotional Walt Disney World Resort Theme Park Tickets. I really like the location at
Disney Springs as I usually head to this dining and shopping oasis after I get settled at my
Disney Resort Hotel. But I also like this location as it's usually open pretty late.
I hope this helped to better plan your upcoming Disney Days, Margaret, and if you have any more Walt Disney World Resort vacation planning questions, We're All Ears!
~Kristen