Disney Salute, no rooms available 5 months from now??!?

[mackmack]

Just got off the phone with agent. They are telling me there are no rooms available at pop century in SEPTEMBER to apply the Salute room discount too. ???

Salute is a sliding scale od 30% off depending on availability. The agent(first time talking to them) said ALL MILITARY discounts are already accounted for. I find that super hard to believe.

This is for Sept5 btw, not exactly peak season or anything.

 

[Brett Wyman]

I don't know anything about that discount but its true that rooms are sold out at an unprecedented level for much of the remainder of 2021 right now.

 

[mackmack]

I don't know anything about that discount but its true that rooms are sold out at an unprecedented level for much of the remainder of 2021 right now.

Its not the rooms selling out. I can book it right now, in fact I can book any type of room for that date, all are available(pool, standard, preferred) a click away. It's that she is telling me the discount can not be applied because all the discounts have been exhausted for that date.

Let me just let you know about that discount, it is for ACTIVE DUTY military personal/20 year retired/and 100%disabled service connection. A very small niche group of people. It is based on a 30% sliding scale, the less rooms available the less % discount. She is telling me ALL rooms are accounted for. If that were the case, during Sept 5(one of the most off peak weeks) then the program essentially wouldn't exist because it would be so fringe and instantly booked day 1 nobody could use it. It makes no sense at all.

I told her I just wanted the room. No dining, no air, no transportation, no tickets. My thinking is that there is no juice at all for her in this and so she is just giving me bad information and hoping I go away. Going to try a different agent.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Its not the rooms selling out. I can book it right now, in fact I can book any type of room for that date, all are available(pool, standard, preferred) a click away. It's that she is telling me the discount can not be applied because all the discounts have been exhausted for that date.

Let me just let you know about that discount, it is for ACTIVE DUTY military personal/20 year retired/and 100%disabled service connection. A very small niche group of people. It is based on a 30% sliding scale, the less rooms available the less % discount. She is telling me ALL rooms are accounted for. If that were the case, during Sept 5(one of the most off peak weeks) then the program essentially wouldn't exist because it would be so fringe and installed booked day 1 nobody could use it. It makes no sense at all.

Yeah again based on the demand for Disney rooms in 2021 Im not surprised that they are used up. Do you have another source that can verify they are all taken?

 

[mackmack]

Ok updated for anyone researching this topic. It would appear the agent was correct. The Salute program(for anything other than tickets) is a complete joke red herring that my guess is that disney is floating out there to essentially virtue signal their support for the military. You literally cant get a room with this discount 5+ months out, the amount of rooms they offer are so laughably limited you are talking like 1% of people are getting to take advantage of this in any meaningful way. The saluted ticket discount is still good(unless you get annual pass then you literally get no discount at all on anything despite their advertising), but the Salute room discount is a complete joke and they should be ashamed of themselves for even advertising and then limiting availability to essentially nobody in the grand scheme.

Let me just reiterate, these are not booked rooms. All these rooms are easily available with a click, this is the DISCOUNT on those rooms that is not available. So this has nothing to do with people booking rooms, there are tons available 5 months out in Sept. Not surprised with the behavior from the park that sells bottled water for $4.50. Just a shame they get credit for supporting vets then behind the scene limited the quantities of the discount to basically nothing(congrats to the 10 people who got it this month, sure thats a big hit on Disney's bottom line), Thereby getting all the accolades and good will for doing nothing. Shame on them. Shame on Chapek in particular coming from the parks.

 

[Meglen]

I am sorry for the issues. Maybe just book where you want and hope for a regular discount. I don't give disney a free pass and it sucks if it's that limited but we have zero way to know that. My trip is in oct and hotels full hotels are falling off the site due to being full.

 

[DLgal]

This is how Disney has always allocated all their discount programs. Each resort has a limited number of rooms available with any given discount. Pop century is VERY hard to get with the military discount and often there are no rooms available for your dates at all. Flexibility (with regards to rooms and dates) is critical when trying to apply this particular discount.

We have been using the Armed Forces Salute room discount ever since they introduced it. We have stayed at the Grand Floridian, Beach Club,Coronado Springs, Wilderness Lodge, Contemporary (x2), Boardwalk Inn, and Yacht Club with a 35-40% discount. Pop has never been available, so I've stayed there using Disney discount offers instead. I have also stayed at the Dolphin and Swan, when I couldn't otherwise get the AFS discount.

We were able to use this discount for 10 nights over 4th of July week in 2018, so it's definitely not always that hard to do. We booked that trip 3 months out.

I'm sorry that you don't quite understand how Disney applies discounts, but it's no different from any other hotel chain that offers Govt/Military, AAA, Senior, or loyalty membership discounts. Often the discount you are looking to use is "unavailable for your dates." This happens to me all the time.

 

[DL1WDW2]

Don’ t forget... this area is great for retired military to live near WDW
(New VA Medical Center built in 2017 in nearby Lake Nona)... and believe they know exactly how and when to book for every weekend including Shades of Green.org and Disney property.
There will be a lot of people visiting this area because of WDW Anniversary and Remy Ratatouille Adventure and Universal Studios VelociCoaster Attraction opening very soon.
Disney is probably the #1 Let’s Celebrate Covid Vaccination location !

 

[KittyKitty]

You literally cant get a room with this discount 5+ months out,

I've had my room booked for 10 months, no discount. Now I'm hoping there will be one, but budget like there's not.
Reserve your room, then keep checking. Someone may cancel. I noticed Sept.5 is the day before Labor day. Did you check if you came in a day later?

Disney is probably the #1 Let’s Celebrate Covid Vaccination location !

I totally agree.

 

[olwyngdh]

In 10 years of staying at Pop I have only not been able to get the military discount once, but I track that thing like socks from combat boots crawling under my bed--the day they are released I call and book or call to apply to a vacation I already had booked. The only time I wasn't able to get it was when we had to move a vacation because the Army decided we had to PCS a week before our scheduled Disney vacation and there weren't any room discounts available for a couple months later.

 

[mackmack]

Well I am new to this and I learned my lesson on this on works. I guess people are pretty savvy and book anyways then just call and get the discount afterward which is pretty smart.

 

[DLgal]

Well I am new to this and I learned my lesson on this on works. I guess people are pretty savvy and book anyways then just call and get the discount afterward which is pretty smart.

This only works if there are available rooms allocated for the offer, though. It does help to call the DAY this offer is released every year for the following year. You stand a much better chance of getting what you want. The discount is never available at all resorts for all days though. It's still extremely limited. One time I called on release day and my only options for the week I was traveling, 9 months later, were a 2 bedroom villa at Animal Kingdom Lodge or Club Level in a Magic Kingdom View room at the Contemporary. I was looking more along the lines of a moderate or value for that particular trip, so that is when I booked the Dolphin using their military rate (through Marriott).

 

[Pooh's World]

Airplane flights are the same. I looked at prices for Sept and October on Frontier and they aren't discounting them. It's in the $86 range one way. Whereas you can find $15 flights for April/May on certain days. It seems like they know that there's going to be a massive amount of travel once the pandemic is over so they have no incentive to slash rates.

 

[McMonsters]

We have been blessed to qualify for the Salute discount for the past decade. The rooms allocated for it go very quick which is difficult when trying to plan with an active duty member. Its very difficult to get a value room less than 6 months out. I just booked ours at exactly 6 months out and could only get Saratoga for our dates. Sometimes you have to ask for the cast member to look for dates around your requested arrival/departure as the discounts are for a specific amount of time and/or dates. I also tend to check availability at Shades of Green to gauge military interest during the dates we will be traveling. For our upcoming trip SOG is sold out so that is why there are fewer available discounts at the Disney resorts. It also pays to keep calling back, I have been able to find a discount closer to our dates because someone cancelled and the room was added back to inventory. It takes some work but a little research and patience goes a long way with planning a Disney vacation.

 

[DebLovesPooh]

The salute discount has traditionally been announced at the end of September for the entire following year. So, on Sept 2019 they released it for all of 2020. I called in September 2019 for a Dec 2020 trip. If this were a normal year, you would have been around 6 months behind when everyone else was booking that discount. Unfortunately, with this discount, active duty members who cannot plan far out are at a disadvantage.

 

[RabFlmom]

Also just a thought..... Sept. 5 is not a slow day. That is Labor Day weekend! So lots of locals will be there- because it is a 3 day weekend -including me, but not staying as military or at Pop. Also the DW corp is giving CMs a free night at a Disney hotel and I bet a lot of the CMs got a night in September. They do not get to choose where or when is what I hear, but not sure if that is true.
Maybe try for different date?

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

Just got off the phone with agent. They are telling me there are no rooms available at pop century in SEPTEMBER to apply the Salute room discount too. ???

Salute is a sliding scale od 30% off depending on availability. The agent(first time talking to them) said ALL MILITARY discounts are already accounted for. I find that super hard to believe.

This is for Sept5 btw, not exactly peak season or anything.

Wow! We were able to get a discount on a Pop room Labor Day weekend of 2019, booking maybe 6 months out. But it was a month before the Skyliner opened. Also, people may be trying to balance waiting out the pandemic with tickets that expire September 26. Shades of Green is really nice, though not Disney themed, great location, and comparable to Disney value rack rate, if they have availability.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

I've had my room booked for 10 months, no discount. Now I'm hoping there will be one, but budget like there's not.
Reserve your room, then keep checking. Someone may cancel. I noticed Sept.5 is the day before Labor day. Did you check if you came in a day later?


I totally agree.

If you book a room without discount, will that mean there is a lesser possibility of discount later? Like they only discount harder to fill rooms? Just wondering, because I noticed that POR would sometimes have Princess rooms military discounted, when cheaper room types weren't discounted.

OP, are your dates flexible? I have never had problems getting mid-week Salute discounts at All-Star resorts. However part of the problem may be All-Star Music and Sports are still closed. AoA Little Mermaid rooms don't qualify for the discount, so when discussing Salute rooms, half the value resorts are closed.

 

[KittyKitty]

If you book a room without discount, will that mean there is a lesser possibility of discount later? Like they only discount harder to fill rooms? Just wondering, because I noticed that POR would sometimes have Princess rooms military discounted, when cheaper room types weren't discounted.

I book the resort I want, then wait to see what room discounts come out. Once one comes out , I call and see if my res can be changed. Most times it can be.

I don't know about Military, but from reading this thread, Military discounts are already out for 2021(till Sept.?). So if it's not available, it's not available.

There maybe another discount that comes out, right now only one I see. Have to book by tomorrow, and good for trips thru Sept. 25th
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/special-offers/2-extra-ticket-days/
I would contact Dreams Unlimited to see what they can do. They own Disboards.

https://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/reservations/index.htm

 

[GlowTheWeird]

We have had issues getting some of the ‘salute’ allotted block of rooms at Disneyworld resorts about 50% of the time, we don’t get our first hotel choice because of it. No matter how early we book etc. Disneyland hotels, NEVER an issue for any of the hotels, last minute etc