Military Side of Disney - Guest Author

Today we have a guest author, yes we know it is not Guest Author Sunday, but this is a special post due to the recent rumblings that Disney may eliminate the Disney Armed Forces special 4-Day Military Promotional Tickets, which are good through September 30, 2012. This is a little closer to our family as our two sons are both in the military, our oldest being in the Coast Guard for the last fourteen years and our youngest in the Air Force for the last eleven years.  Also my father was in the Marines for thirty-one years and my oldest brother is still in the Marines, well over twenty years .  We have used these tickets many times with my parents and with our sons, so I asked our oldest to write from the military’s side today, so here is our Guest blogger today, Chief Petty Officer Paul Roszkowski, USCG:

As a member of the military and a lover of Disney I have taken
advantage of the Disney Military Salute program several times. As a senior enlisted member I get paid a little more than the majority of the members of the military but I still have to save to go to one of my favorite places. I have some advantages as a military member when I visit Disney. We have our own hotel, The Shades of Green, where we can stay and we get a special price on tickets. The Shades of Green charges based on rank so junior members can receive significant savings on rooms. If Shades of Green is booked we receive discounts on other rooms at Disney hotels.


My job requires me to travel away from home for more than 160 days each year; other military members are gone for even longer. This program gives them the opportunity to be together with the ones they love in a magical place away from the stress of military life in an affordable way.

Tickets are discounted when you buy them through the Morale, Welfare and Recreation ticket office. While there are good savings, it is still a significant amount of money for a military member to bring their family to a Disney park on either coast. Many military members don't make a lot of money. As a senior enlisted member I make about $55,000 a year, a junior member makes about $20 to $30,000. I only have myself and my wife; many members of the military have families
made up of at least one child often more. The Disney Military Salute program brings the magic of Disney into reach for even the most junior members by giving them significant discounts on tickets, $138 for a four-day park ticket (For just $27 more, both the Park Hopper and Water Parks, Fun & More option may be added.) for themselves and up to five friends or family.

The original program offered a free ticket to the military member and then newer cycles of the program have increased the cost to the
member. Not a complaint, but slowly Disney has increased the cost to the member and decreased the benefits. And while I'm on benefits, a military member does not get to use the Disney Dining plan if they stay at the Shades of Green, nor do they get free parking at the parks anymore. The Shades of Green is an Army run hotel that is more like a golf resort than a Disney hotel. It is a great place to stay and is exclusively for military members and their families, you do get some Disney magic but it is not anywhere close to being the same as a Disney hotel and experience.

We have used the Disney Military Salute program several times since it premiered. Each and every time was a magical experience because it allowed our whole family to come to Disney when money was tight. Again, we saved for more than a year each time so we could go, but without this program it would have been even tougher and tighter.


We've been going to Disney since before I was born and each time new memories are created, old memories relived. The attractions may change, the lands expanded, old favorites may be lost to time but the experience with my loved ones in the magic is what matters. Please keep this program going. As a company Disney touts that "Heroes Work Here". I can only hope that Disney continues to recognize those who have given up being with their loved ones to serve their country and
continues to say "thanks" through this program.


Heroes work here http://disneycareers.com/en/working-here/heroes-work-here/


Shades of Green http://www.shadesofgreen.org/


https://www.facebook.com/#!/SaveTheDisneyArmedForcesSalute

My personal blog: Broom Closet Brewing http://broomclosetbrew.blogspot.com/ or
http://broomclosetbrew.tumblr.com/