Thanks!
doesn’t sound like much of a retirement, but then again I’m waiting for access to free classes as sr.
1 Like
So I asked my awesome Touring Plans TA for the benefits of bundling our Freedom Pass into a Universal vacation package.
As expected (I ask a lot of questions and haven’t stumped her yet lol), she had a detailed list of Universal package benefits:
“A Universal Package can include Freedom Passes and other options can be added on later like VIP tour, photo package, HP breakfasts, transfers between Disney & Universal, or anything else they offer.
There are no additional charges, taxes, or fees. It’s not costing you any more, it may actually be costing you less, and it allows you to cancel up until final payment date with no penalties vs. making a separate purchase of tickets that you’ll then be stuck with.
Packages require a $150 deposit (vs first night cost with the balance due 45 days before check-in.”
I did the math of the cost of a 3-day park pass included with our room would be $250.5 instead of 264.99.
The biggest benefit to us is that the cancellation policy would cover the package including the Freedom Passes, so if we have to cancel, we don’t have to eat the passes. This seems like a great benefits for military families traveling far to WDW.
1 Like
This is GREAT intel, thanks for sharing!!
We aren’t military, so don’t have access to these tickets.
But, I got all warm and fuzzy about Universal when I saw what a great deal they offered. I think I need to tell them that.
2 Likes
I just sent them an email. It ended up evolving into a general fan-girl letter mentioning things like how the employees told us how well they were treated post-lockdown.
2 Likes
I got a really nice reply to the email. I am certain it had snippets of form letter in it because it was very polished. But, it had personalized sections in it too.
I am really looking forward to Epic opening so that I have an excuse to go back.
3 Likes
New military member family here. We have visited Disney 10 or more times while our children were growing up. Now one of them is a member of the Army and are attempting to book a reservation for this year, 2022, through his military discount options. We have so many questions. I think the biggest is: Can I, as his mother, make the booking & reservations for him? OR must he be the one to call? As with most 20 somethings these days, he is not a phone talker. LOL So I am trying to gather all the information possible before I would have to get him to do it. He is out of state from us right now, which makes it hard for me to be on speaker with him to help make it easier.
ALSO, why is there a special phone line number to use if you just get lumped into the general cue anyway? Currently on hold, waiting my turn. Hold/Wait time is 2 hours.
1 Like
You can call and make the reservations. They will tell you that a military ID will be requested upon checkin at the resort. However, I’ve never been asked for one. And w/ online check in you can avoid the front desk altogether. I hope ppl are not gaming the system b/c military room discounts really help. All military reservations need to be made over the phone Walt Disney World Resort (go.com) 407.939.7830
Enjoy. Don’t forget you can get some REALLY good deals for tickets at Shades of Green ticket office, unfortunately w/ the new park reservation system you could miss out. Experiences :: Shades of Green
1 Like
We were going to try a family suite at Shades of Green, unfortunately with his girlfriend’s college course schedule, our only date options have no openings at Shades of Green. I did see that we can order our park tickets through there, by submitting through an order form. It looks like I can complete the order form for him, but he will be called to confirm his identity and make the actual purchase. Which he will just have to be a big boy and handle. LOL
He will be checking in with us at the same time, so showing his ID won’t be an issue at all. Looks like we will need to make use of that 3 room available booking option since the suites won’t be open for us.
2 Likes
If you are staying at SoG they will ask for a military ID (required). I’ve never had a Disney resort confirm our family’s military status however, I always use my Mil ID for everything at Disney, mainly b/c I don’t want them to know I’m a FL resident too. I’ve never ordered my tickets online before, I’d like to hear how that works. I’ve gone to the ITT office on base or the SoG in person, but since park reservations are necessary, I can’t see waiting.
When DH was still AD (DS still is) we had to cancel and reschedule many many trips due to last minute orders and deployments. The new park reservation system would have cost our family too much money in lost tickets. In the past we didn’t buy our park tickets until arrival day. You can still do that w/ Universal.
2 Likes
I guess that is an option, he could go to a base ticket office to purchase our tickets. Didn’t think of that. I am going to try the online form purchase first, and provide whatever help or details I can to you all. I love helping as much as possible. I was a travel agent for several years, up until recently. Decided to take a break and focus on health and family. And as many trips that I have planned for my family and others, this is the first time I take on anything with military services. It is very exciting the new information I am learning.
2 Likes
I think it’s awesome that you are willing to do all the foot work. It was and still is my role; I kinda’ like it. I don’t think it’s much different to navigate other than requiring calling in to receive the discounts. Good luck w/ all the planning.
the tickets are NON refundable, that’s why we waited until arrival. AND the military member or military dependent w/ Mil ID needs to be present to activate the tickets before first use. In other words, no one will be able to use any ticket w/ out the Mil mbr present (the first time). They only have to be present to activate the tickets and then everyone can be on their own. I hope that makes sense.
I think they’ve changed some of this though. Hopefully SoG will have good info on this. It depends on the type of ticket too.
We usually buy on our Military Salute tickets on base but this year we bought from SoG. Emailed an order request form (no credit card info) to get on a waitlist, then they called me to verify my military eligibility and took payment. They priority mailed our tickets the next day (Thu) and we got them 4 days later here in Hawaii.
Two big benefits that I never realized.
-
Since SoG verified military eligibility over the phone before selling us tickets, they sent us fully activated tickets not vouchers, so we can go straight to the turnstiles, no need to show an ID to pick up our tickets first.
-
SoG WDW tickets can be upgraded at their ITT but my local tickets could only be upgraded at the gate. SoG can add days, Park Hopper and even convert to AP (when AP is available).
They can only upgrade tickets not fully used or expired and they can only add days on tickets to max days allowed, so Military Salute only to 5 days and Magic Your Way tickets only to 10 max. I think they can upgrade any of their tickets to AP but not sure.
We were nervous about buying our tickets early too. APR for tickets can be made 4 months but we waited until 2 months out and had no problems booking the parks we wanted. For May, all parks were open at least 4 weeks out.
We bought trip insurance just in case to cover nonrefundable costs. It was $178 for a theme park vacation policy for 2 adults, 1 kid that covers two week trip, plane, hotel, tickets and other prepaid costs like tours. The 1 policy covers our whole trip which split between Universal Orlando and WDW.
Hope this helps.
5 Likes