Category — Military Families at Disney World

DISNEY MILITARY SALUTE RENEWED FOR ANOTHER FISCAL YEAR

Steve at MilitaryDisneyTips.com has broken the news today that the Disney Military discounts have been renewed for another year, into September 2014.

I’ll update the various material on this site related to this new deal shortly!  But for now–and always for the full details–see Steve’s post and its links here.

SPECIAL DEAL FOR AND ACCESS TO “MNSSHP” AND “MVMCP” FOR MILITARY FAMILIES

My friend Steve has posted about military discounts on the two late 2013 Magic Kingdom special parties, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP).

For his scoop on military family deals on the Halloween Party, see this, and for his scoop on the Christmas Party, see this.

Steve has also worked with Disney staff to make sure that these parties don’t turn military families away because of being sold out. The details are in the links–and thanks, Steve!!!

MEMORIAL DAY 2013

And on Memorial Day 2013–God bless our fallen defenders…especially those from our local 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines…

From a different war, I ran across this yesterday from a soldier’s last letter to his mom:

“How often you will have me near you when wood smoke drifts across the wind, or the first tulips arrive, or the sky darkens in a summer storm… Think of me today, and in the days to come, as I am thinking of you this minute, not gone or alone or dead, but part of the earth beneath you, part of the air around you, part of the heart that must not be lonely.”

–Caleb Milne, killed in the Tunisia campaign May 11, 1943, quoted in An Army at Dawn.

Thank you, and God bless…

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My friend Steve has a great post here to help military families choose between the great deals available to them for most of September 2013 vs. the September free dining deal available to the general public.

The short version is that you need to do the math, as the final cost to you varies depending on family size, ages, and which hotel you are targeting!

Check out Steve’s post here.

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My friend Steve  is celebrating the fifth birthday of his site MilitaryDisneyTips.com.

Steve opened his site just about a month after this one opened, we soon discovered each other, and we’ve been helping our mutual readers ever since.  Just this year, he became the moderator of this site’s military comments!

So wander on over to his site to help him celebrate, to hear his thoughts on the renewal of the Disney Armed Forces Salute, and just to say thanks!

And from me–Thanks, Steve, and happy birthday to your site!

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ADULT SUPERVISION FOR MATERIAL ON MILITARY FAMILIES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Longtime readers of this site’s comments (that is, my mom) will know the name “Steve from MilitaryDisneyTips.com” as that of an expert who helps out all the time when I’m over my head on some of the complexities that military families face at Walt Disney World.  See for example this.

Disney World has a variety of great opportunities for military families, but since they exist at the intersection of two of the world’s great bureaucracies, sorting out who is eligible for what when can be a trial.

Steve has helped this site’s readers with these and other issues for years now, and now we’ve agreed to formalize this relationship and he’s become the “official” moderator of comments and questions on this site’s military family pages!

ABOUT STEVE

Steve brings both Disney World and military expertise.

His Disney World background began even before the Magic Kingdom opened, as he and his family began their Disney World story with a visit to the old Welcome Center.

Soon they visited the Magic Kingdom itself, and that’s been followed by dozens of visits since to Walt Disney World.  Moreover, Steve also worked for years as a Magic Kingdom cast member!

His cast member experience was preceded and followed by stints in the Air Force, from which he retired as a Chief Master Sergeant in 2012.

There’s nothing quite like the combination of being both a former very senior NCO and a former Disney World cast member for bringing insight and compassion to military families planning their Disney World visits.

Steve’s been combining these two skill sets for almost five years on his site Military Disney Tips and its associated blog.

I first ran across him, I think, in 2009 when I was expanding my material for military families and realized that my readers would often be better served from me just linking to his pages rather than writing a lot about stuff I only partially understand.

Since then we’ve become tight collaborators and friends, and, in trying to help our readers as best we can, we have sent tens of thousands of them to each other’s sites.  And he’s always been willing to take the time to help out when I’m over my head!

So I was happy as a clam when he said he’d be willing to formally take on the role of moderating this site’s military family comments!

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On this Veterans Day, just a note to thank all of those who have put their lives at risk so that the rest of us can be free.

My favorite veteran is my dad–that’s him above during the Korean War.

Next favorite is my wife’s dad–that’s him above, on the right, during World War II.

After him, my next favorite is my sister’s husband, who served with the riverine Navy in Vietnam.

And another favorite is Steve (above) from MilitaryDisneyTips.com, a retired Air Force First Shirt who does a great job keeping military families up to date on great Disney World deals and other important info.

And all the millions of the rest of you are my favorites too!  Thank you for your service, and God bless! Wherever you are, and whatever you do, my gratitude goes with you.

LINKS FOR MILITARY FAMILIES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

• Military Families at Walt Disney World
• Deals and Discounts
  • Military Discounts and Deals
  • Other Walt Disney World Discounts and Deals
• Shades of Green
  • Review of Shades of Green
  • Splitting Your Stay Between Shades of Green and Another Resort
  • Overflow Rates at Shades of Green
  • Shades of Green website
• Other Resources for Military Families
  • DisneyMilitarySales.com
  • Disneyworld.com/military
  • MilitaryDisneyTips.com