Walt Disney World has released its 2024 Armed Forces Salute ticket and resort room discounts for military members. This post shares the details of these special offers, commentary about the savings, info & recommendations, and history of the company’s support for the military.
This continues the company’s 100 year tradition of honoring those who serve in the U.S. Armed Forces and their families. Of course, it all started with Walt Disney, who was distinctly patriotic. He strongly supported the U.S. military throughout his career, and even attempted to join the Army in 1918 but was rejected for being too young.
In order to serve, Walt Disney forged the birth date on his application for the Red Cross Ambulance Corps and spent a year in France during World War I. During the war, Walt’s brother Roy O. Disney was a petty officer in the U.S. Navy and his other two older brothers, Ray and Herbert, served in the Army.
Throughout the Walt Disney Family Museum (we highly recommend all fans visit), Walt Disney’s patriotism is reinforced repeatedly. Not just in a way that is convenient for the sake of his public image, either. (There’s none of that in the museum–it showcases Walt, the actual human, not the marketing mascot.)
Walt expressed envy to pivotal members of his studio who went to serve during World War II, devoted over 90% of the studio’s wartime output to publicity campaigns, and even embarked on a Latin America Goodwill Tour. Walt Disney walked the walk, and even the seemingly tallest of tales about Walt’s patriotism are actually true. He was the real deal.
Beyond Walt Disney himself, many veterans have made significant contributions to the Walt Disney Company throughout its nearly 100-year history, including Disney Legends Admiral Joe Fowler and General Joe Potter. These two were central to the creation of Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and like Walt Disney’s patriotism, the work ethics instilled in both via the military is well documented.
We’ve attended a number of D23 presentations where those who worked for Admiral Joe or General Joe share amusing anecdotes of how they ran things. If the stories are any indication, construction of the Florida Project and the early days of Walt Disney World seem to reflect a certain military sensibility, sounding dramatically different from today’s approach (would probably would not fly).
More recently, the Walt Disney Company has been named by Forbes as one of the Best Employers for Veterans. In part, this is thanks to the Heroes Work Here company-wide initiative to hire, train and support returning veterans that began back in 2012.
Heroes Work Here reflects the long history of respect and appreciation Disney has for the U.S. Armed Services. The Walt Disney Company recognizes the commitment and dedication it takes to serve, and values the leadership skills and sense of purpose the military has instilled in you.
A bit tangential, but that was all further reinforced for us this year on Independence Day at Disneyland. We spent the holiday watching Air Force and Marine Ceremonial Bands, seeing military marches, patriotic Disney characters, a special version of the flag retreat, and more. It was a poignant Fourth of July in the parks, reinforcing the reality that Disneyland and Walt Disney World are still distinctly patriotic places.
Anyway, thought it would be worthwhile to briefly reflect on that before delving into the details of the deals. There’s a lot of pessimism and valid negativity about recent decisions by the company and its direction as a whole. However, when it comes to the military, the company has strong bona fides.
Here are details & pricing for Walt Disney World’s 2024 Military Salute Ticket discounted tickets:
6-Day Disney Military Salute Ticket
Purchase now through December 15, 2024.
- With the Park Hopper Option: $409 plus tax
- With the Park Hopper Plus Option: $439 plus tax
5-Day Disney Military Salute Ticket
Purchase now through December 16, 2024.
- With the Park Hopper Option: $389 plus tax
- With the Park Hopper Plus Option: $419 plus tax
4-Day Disney Military Salute Ticket
Purchase now through December 17, 2024.
- With the Park Hopper Option: $369 plus tax
- With the Park Hopper Plus Option: $399 plus tax
Valid Admission Dates
Receive admission for 4, 5 or 6 days, valid for visits January 1, 2024 through December 20, 2024, subject to the following blockout dates:
- March 24, 2024 through April 6, 2024
- November 24, 2024 through November 30, 2024
Add Memory Maker for a Special Price
You can also purchase the Memory Maker product for a special price of $98 through December 20, 2024.
Park Reservations Required
Both a theme park reservation and valid theme park ticket for the same park on the same date are required for each person in your party ages 3 and up. Reservations are limited and subject to availability.
About the Park Hopper and Park Hopper Plus Options
You can purchase a Disney Military Salute Ticket that includes these options:
- Park Hopper Option: Visit more than one theme park on the same day after 2:00 PM.
- Park Hopper Plus Option: Visit more than one theme park on the same day after 2:00 PM. Plus, get a certain number of visits to a water park, golf course or miniature golf course based on the length of your ticket. This option is a combination of the Park Hopper option and the Water Park and Sports option.
Note: Beginning January 9, 2024, Guests with a ticket with Park Hopper benefits will be able to visit another theme park at any time of day during park hours (subject to capacity limitations). So really, the above Park Hopper “rules” only apply for those taking advantage of the Armed Forces Salute offer January 1-8, 2024. For everyone else, that’s irrelevant.
Not irrelevant, apparently, is that those with Armed Forces Salute tickets must make a theme park reservation for each date of your visit. Walt Disney World is also dropping park reservations for most ticket types starting January 9, 2024. Based on the verbiage of the announcement from Walt Disney World, these Armed Forces Salute tickets are not among the “most” ticket types that includes.
Given this, we’d also expect Florida resident and other special ticket offers to retain reservations throughout 2024. It’s also likely that Walt Disney World will offer other promo tickets without reservations, using that as a distinction and selling point for certain ticket types.
This is a frequently-offered discount, extended every year since (at least) 2009. These tickets may be used by themselves, family members (including spouses) or friends. These tickets are by far the cheapest that Disney offers, so if you qualify, jump on this deal.
This is a great price for a 4-day or 5-day park ticket. If you’re eligible for these tickets, buy them, as they are without a doubt the best deal you’ll be able to find. None of the authorized third party sellers or other advice in our Discount Walt Disney World Ticket Tips advice applies for those who are eligible for the Armed Forces Salute. This is your best deal, period.
Next up, the Armed Forces Salute room-only discounts at Walt Disney World. These are valid most nights from January 1, 2024 through December 20, 2024. Military personnel (active or retired) receive better room-only discounts than the general public, Floridians, or Annual Passholders. Call (407) 939-7830 for rates and to book.
Precise percentage savings is not published online, and varies by season, resort popularity, and room category. Typically, the Disney Dining Plan is not included with these discounts, but may be added at full price. (The 2024 Armed Forces Salute discount doesn’t mention the DDP one way or the other, but that’s probably because it hasn’t been relevant for the last several years. We’d expect it to be available if you so desire.)
The number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited, and has a maximum stay of 14 nights. Valid military ID will be required upon check-in and military member (or spouse) must stay in the room.
Offer excludes the following Disney Resort hotels: The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, The Campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, Disney’s Pop Century Resort and Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort.
Offer excludes the following room types: 3-Bedroom Villas, Suites in Moderate and Deluxe Resort hotels, Cabins at Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, The Little Mermaid Standard Rooms at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, and Bungalows at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows.
The Disney Military Salute Room Discount is for active or retired US military personnel, including active or retired members of the National Guard, Reservists, the US Coast Guard, the US Space Force, the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health Service (PHS), and the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Spouses of Military Service Members also qualify if they are able to present valid and active US Military IDs in the absence of active or retired Military Personnel or Commissioned Corps Members.
Even with these excellent savings, you might instead check out our review of the excellent Shades of Green Resort. My dad is retired military, and we typically stayed at Shades of Green (once it existed) when I was growing up. We’ve stayed there again in the last several years, and it was looking great thanks to its last overhaul.
My parents have stayed at Shades of Green even more recently, and my dad still loves it. He prefers to stay there for the camaraderie and since (how to put this delicately…) children tend to be more disciplined there, and he has some strong opinions on that. He doesn’t really do rides anymore, so I’m pretty positive he wouldn’t want to visit Walt Disney World if it weren’t for the hotel!
Shades of Green is located in the Magic Kingdom area, but sadly is no longer walkable from Disney’s Polynesian Resort. Since Shades of Green used to be a Disney-owned Deluxe Resort, its rooms are significantly larger than Value or Moderate Resorts. Additionally, the food is much more reasonably priced. Prices at Shades of Green are based upon military-ranking.
Ultimately, it’s good to see Walt Disney World renew the Military Salute ticket and room discounts for 2024. It seems like the last few years it’s been released later it was in the past, and the Armed Forces community has been a bit anxious and disappointed by that. Totally understandable there.
I’m glad Disney continues to offer this, and think it would be a terrible decision to discontinue it–at a time when they don’t need any more negative PR own-goals. The U.S. Military Salute is deserved, appropriate, and generates goodwill among not just members of the military–but also those in the general public who appreciate the fact that the Walt Disney Company continues to live up to its historic legacy of honoring service.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Do you have any thoughts on Walt Disney World’s 2024 Military Salute ticket or resort discounts? If you’ve called to price out a room, anything worthwhile to report in terms of availability, rate, etc? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
