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Disneyland military discount

Our Trip to Disneyland Using the Disneyland Military Discount

January 14, 2022 by Julie Leave a Comment

It has been 3.5 years but I took my boys back to Disneyland the first week of 2022, and we had an amazing time!

We bought the 3-day military salute tickets, and here is how it went!

A trip to Disneyland

First of all, this is what we did to get the tickets and get ready for our trip. Now, as someone who grew up at Disneyland, the idea of reservations completely freaked me out. The idea of planning freaks me out. You don’t have to plan very much for Disneyland. You just show up. But things are different now.

  • I went to the travel office at Fort Campbell and purchsed four 3-day Disneyland tickets. I got a print out of each ticket with a bar code.
  • I then pulled up the Disneyland app and added these tickets to the app, and made reservations for the dates we wanted. As these are hopper tickets, meaning you can go to both parks, whatever park I chose was the park we had to start at and we could go to the other one after 1pm each day. We had a day starting at Disneyland, a day starting at California Adventure, and another day back at Disneyland. Ideally I would have loved to spread out our dates but since you can’t use the salute tickets from December 16-December 31st, we had to go three days in a row in January as school started back the 6th.
  • When we got to the park, we got in the front gate line. When we got to the front of that line, the guy was able to scan our tickets from the app, took our pictures, and gave us each a card to use for the rest of our trip. When we came back the next day, or when we switched parks, we just had to show the gate person that card.
  • Keep in mind that you have to purchase your tickets before you get to the park. This is a change from before when you could walk up and buy them that day. You also have to have a reservation for each day for every person in your party. You can check on the Disneyland website if your dates are avaliable. I do think most dates are and you are probably good as long as you don’t wait until right before your trip to reserve them.

That was basically it! If you want more of the details on the price, where to buy your tickets, and all that, head on over and read Disneyland Military Discount or for Disney World, Disney World Military Discount.

Now, let’s talk about our days at Disneyland!

Day one was Disneyland. My brother was able to go with us, which was so nice. It was great to spend that time with him, especially at a place we have a lot of childhood memories at. We had passes to Disneyland from when I was about 10 until I left for college. So many amazing memories. The best was when my mom would wake us up and surprise us with a trip to Disney.

Our Trip to Disneyland Using the Disneyland Military Discount

We got to Disneyland about 7:15 am, parking wasn’t an issue although it was $30. There were no trams so we had to walk, which really wasn’t a huge deal. It was kinda fun as we got more and more excited the closer we got.

There was a bit of a line at the front gate and then we were in. We knew where we were going to go first, the place everyone was looking forward to…Galaxy’s Edge, Star Wars Land! When we were at Disneyland in 2018, they had started building this new land and that got us super excited. Our plan was to head on over to the Rise of the Resistance. They did not have a virtual queue for the ride, so we had to wait the 90 minutes standby.

Our Trip to Disneyland Using the Disneyland Military Discount

You can read more about Galaxy’s Edge here!

After Star Wars Land we went back into regular Disneyland and did a lot of our favorite rides. The Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

We decided to have lunch at the Hungry Bear Restaurant. We always eat at least one of our meals here. Have since I was a kid. I LOVED bears as a kid and this place was perfect for a bear loving kid. They have burgers and chicken sandwiches.

https://soldierswifecrazylife.com/we-loved-galaxys-edge-at-disneyland/

After lunch, we split up a bit and went on more of our favorite rides. We headed back to Star Wars Land a few times. Everyone loved it so much, and that Blue Milk…we LOVED it!

One of the strangest things about our visit was the line for snacks was out of control. I have never seen them so long. Like 20 minutes for a churro. And I couldn’t seem to order any food on my app. I am not sure if it was the places I was trying to order from or something wasn’t working right but that was pretty frustrating.

Our Trip to Disneyland Using the Disneyland Military Discount

For dinner that night we had such a yummy fried chicken dinner at the Plaza Inn. So good!

We were planning to stay until midnight, but we only made it to 10 because well, two of us are in our 40s…but we gave it a good try. Our feet were so sore at the end of the night but all the walking was worth it.

The next day we were going to go to California Adventure, I let the boys sleep in and had breastfast with my parents and brother before we went so we ended up getting to the park at about 11. Our first ride was Guardians of the Galaxy, which is such a cool yet strange ride. And then we explored the new Avengers Campus. Very cool and we started talking about ways they could expand it.

Our Trip to Disneyland Using the Disneyland Military Discount

We had lunch in Cars Land which I think is so fun, and then used the single rider line for the Radiator Springs Racers. If your kids are old enough to ride by themselves, always do the single rider line. It was only about 10 minutes and the regular wait time was about two hours.

We went on a few more rides but I started to get pretty frustrated. It was so crowded. I don’t even think it was that crowded when I went in previous years July. I found that so weird because I thought one of the reasons for the reservation system was fewer people. I just wanted to go back to Disneyland.

Our Trip to Disneyland Using the Disneyland Military Discount

We decided to head to Downtown Disney for a bit, my middle son got a cool Lego set at the Lego store, and then we took the Monorail back into Disneyland, which my kids have never done before so that was fun. We split up again, I headed to the Starbucks because I really wanted a Disneyland Starbucks cup, and the boys headed into Tomorrowland.

We met back up, did Toon Town, and back to Star Wars Land. We headed home about 7 and got dinner on the way home.

Our Trip to Disneyland Using the Disneyland Military Discount

The next day we got to Disneyland about 9 or 10 and decided to start with Fantasyland. That was fun because I haven’t been on a lot of those rides in a long time. We ended Fantasyland with It’s a Small World and then had lunch in Star Wars Land. It was SO good! More about that in my Star Wars Land post.

We started the afternoon with Indiana Jones and the Jungle Cruise, which we all loved. Then we had a plan to wrap up our visit. We would do Splash Mountain, then head on over to Star Wars Land to ride Rise of the Resistance one more time. But, when we got there…they were shut down! Oh no!

This kind of broke our hearts a little so we had an early dinner at Hungry Bear again and decided to round out the trip with one last ride on Pirates of the Caribbean. That ride always makes me feel so good and I love the smell. Yep, the smell. If you know, you know.

Our Trip to Disneyland Using the Disneyland Military Discount

By the time we were done, I was done. I was good. I had my fill of Disney and don’t feel like I need to go back anytime soon. I am not sure if it is because I am older, or the crowds, what is going on in the world right now, or what but I just didn’t feel like I normally do after a visit. I had such a good time and made some amazing memories with my boys but not sure when we will do it again.

We decided not to pay for Genie+ even though I know that could have saved us time in the lines. I am not sure how I feel about Disney charging for a fast pass type system. Maybe it is just going to be one of those things we have to do at Disney, cost or not. We will see.

Our Trip to Disneyland Using the Disneyland Military Discount

Have you ever been to Disney? When do you plan to go again???

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Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Disney, Disneyland, Disneyland military discount, Military Discount, military life

The Amazing Disneyland Military Discount You Must Use On Your Next Visit

August 9, 2018 by Julie

The Amazing Disneyland Military Discount You Must Use On Your Next Visit

For updated 2021 information on the Disney Military Discount, please visit my article on Disneyland over at My Military Benefits.

We just got back from California, and during our time there we went to Disneyland using the amazing Disneyland military discount that they have going on right now. We went to Disneyland with the discount last summer, and although the price went up just a little bit, we were able to get the discount again.

The Amazing Disneyland Military Discount You Must Use On Your Next Visit

How much were the Disneyland military discount tickets?

We paid $168 for each of our tickets. This is the price for adults and children. While the regular Disneyland tickets have a lower rate for those between the ages of 3-9, this is not the case for these special tickets.

Normally, a three-day hopper ticket would be $330, so you can see what type of deal this is. Even if you get one and can only use the ticket for two of the three days, the discount is worth it. A two-day park hopper is $260.

We bought the three-day pass, but you can also buy a four-day pass for $188.

Now, what happens if you can only go to Disneyland for two days in August but know you will be back in November? Well, you do have until December 19th, 2018 to use those other two tickets. You don’t have to use them in a row. If there is any chance you can come back, go for the four-day pass and plan to use what you can’t now later in the year.

The Amazing Disneyland Military Discount You Must Use On Your Next Visit

Can you buy tickets for other people?

Yes, you sure can. You can buy six each year. This is either you or your service member spouse. If your spouse is deployed, you can use your ID to get them.

What you can’t do is both get six tickets for a total of twelve. You only get six. And you can give them to friends or family members. They do have to be with you the first day you activate them. Then they can return the other two or three days without you.

The Amazing Disneyland Military Discount You Must Use On Your Next Visit

What is the buying process like?

Well, we got to the pack, went up to the ticket window and bought them. She got all of our names, and each ticket had one of our names on it. I did have to show my military ID, and then we made our way to the front gate.

I had to show my military ID one more time, but that was it for the rest of our trip. Everyone I bought a ticket for was with me and had to have their photo taken. This is so only that person can use the ticket the rest of the days. You can’t share a ticket in any way.

The Amazing Disneyland Military Discount You Must Use On Your Next Visit

So what does a park hopper ticket mean?

This means you can go to Disneyland and California Aventure, on the same day. You could start your day at Disneyland, head to California Adventure after lunch and back over to Disneyland for Fantasmic in the evening.

The Amazing Disneyland Military Discount You Must Use On Your Next Visit

So what is the Disney PhotoPass Collection listed on the Disneyland website?

Okay, so my plan was to buy this. With the military discount, you will pay $49, and you will receive all of your digital downloads, a voucher for a dining print package, and 350 high-resolution professional photos from around Disneyland. Sounds like a good deal right? Yes, and no.

When I went to go buy this, the cast member told me that if I was getting the pass for all of my digital downloads, I should just get the MaxPass. This is pretty new, I think it came out late last summer and I was so confused by what the MaxPass was, I wasn’t going to mess with it. But I am glad he told me this because I ended up saving money going with the MaxPass.

The Amazing Disneyland Military Discount You Must Use On Your Next Visit

So what IS the MaxPass?

The MaxPass is $10 a person right now (this could go up in the future.) This pass will allow you to use the FastPass system on your Disneyland app. You don’t have to go to each ride to get the pass. The other thing the MaxPass gives you is access to all of your digital photos.

So, if you only want the MaxPass for the photos, only one person in your party needs to get it. Since we were going three days, it would have cost me $30 total, which is much cheaper than the $49 I would have paid for the Disney PhotoPass collection.

The first day we were at Disneyland, I just got the MaxPass for me, and we were able to get the photos.

On the second day, I was just with my 13 and 11-year-old, so I decided to get the MaxPass for all three of us to use the FastPass option. I wasn’t sure if it would save us time or if the MaxPass would be worth the cost. I ended up paying $30 that day.

We were able to get our FastPasses from the app. In the past, we would have to go to each ride to get one, but this time we didn’t have to do that. We could get our next FastPass while in line for the previous one.  This saved us a lot of time and rushing around. We were also able to get a FastPass for rides at Disneyland while in California Adventure, and vice versa.

So is the MaxPass worth it when it comes to FastPasses? I am going to say that depends. Would I have spent $50 for all five of us? I don’t know. That adds up. And the first day, when all five of us went, we used the free FastPass system, and that was fine. Getting the MaxPass just helps you save time and we really didn’t have to wait for many rides. But I also think we were able to go on plenty of rides only using the paper FastPass system.

The Amazing Disneyland Military Discount You Must Use On Your Next Visit

So how do the digital photos work?

So whether you have the MaxPass or the PhotoPass, you will have access to any photos that a cast member takes for you, or that you get on the ride. As you walk around the park, you will see cast member photographers that will take your photos. They might be in front of the castle, or near the characters.

When you have them take your photo, you either give them a pass with a code that they scan, or they can scan from your app. When you get off of a ride, take a photo of your ride photo as there is a code on there you can enter into your app later. Having this access allows you to have some pretty amazing photos when you are at the park.

The Amazing Disneyland Military Discount You Must Use On Your Next Visit

How does this differ from the military discount at Disney World?

Well, I am not sure how this all works at Disney World. That is a different experience from going to Disneyland and seems to take a lot more planning. For example, you book your FastPass tickets before you even get there. But here is the Disney World military discount page if you are looking for that information.

I am so glad we took advantage of this amazing military discount. Hopefully, they will renew again for 2019, and those rates will be released soon.

The Amazing Disneyland Military Discount You Must Use On Your Next Visit

Have you had had the chance to visit Disneyland this year? Are you hoping to use this Disneyland military discount to do so?

2019 Update: This post was written in 2018 with 2018 rates. You can see the 2019 Disneyland and Disney World rates on their website.

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Filed Under: Military Life, Travel Tagged With: Disneyland, Disneyland military discount, Military Discount

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About Soldier’s Wife, Crazy Life

Soldier's Wife, Crazy Life

Welcome to Soldier’s Wife, Crazy Life! I am so glad you are here.

My name is Julie and I have been a military spouse for 16 years!

My husband of 19 years has served in the active-duty Army and now the Army National Guard. We have lived in Germany & Tennessee during our time as a military family.

We have three boys and have been through four deployments together.

I hope that you can find support for your own deployments, PCS moves, or anything else military life brings you 🙂

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