SDFP: CHANGES COMING!! Beware the 7th of June?!

[kaybee1476]

* I've got a slew of extra ride photos in my PhotoPass account from those extra bands in my bag!

I bought cards from ebay for SDFP instead of extra bands. Will those work for getting extra ride photos too?

 

[BlueLion]

I bought cards from ebay for SDFP instead of extra bands. Will those work for getting extra ride photos too?

I would think only if the cards use RFID, which I'm unsure of, though I'm sure someone here can confirm. Either way, if you're wearing your regular magic band that will be enough to get the photos automatically added. The SDFP bands I had just added a bunch of extra dupes, which I went through and deleted.

 

[ScrapYap]

I bought cards from ebay for SDFP instead of extra bands. Will those work for getting extra ride photos too?

Definitely not. You can read about it on the first post of the thread along with warnings about other things that can go wrong when you use SDFP.

 

[BlueLion]

One other thing I meant to mention: similar to the apps and site, on the kiosks, each ride will initially show 3 times with an option to tap for details and more times. In multiple cases, when I tapped for more times the initial ones were gone. So if you see one that might work, I'd say grab it and then try to change it. A previous poster here had mentioned booking and then using modify to try for earlier/different times, and this definitely did help me out a few times, for regular FP on the app as well.

 

[marciemi]

Glad it worked well for you BlueLion. I have also found Philharmagic to have long lines a lot of the time since it's so central and for some reason HS just always seems to have lines (maybe they have fewer kiosks). Good point too on the kiosks - some of them work REALLY poorly on the touch screen. Try using your knuckle or your fingernail for best results, but on the one in Town Hall I frequently was hitting things I didn't mean to even making my best efforts. And another good point on grabbing something - for SDFP popular attractions and very soon times will be disappearing rapidly as people are checking from their phones and other kiosks through the park. Grab first and then think/modify later if you see any possibilities because if you stop to consider first when you see a 7D or a FPP that starts in 5 minutes, it'll likely be gone by the time you commit.

 

[jpwest]

Thank you! This is very helpful in planning out my touring strategies. I appreciate all the wonderful tips and help in this thread!!

Additionally, for anyone looking at purchasing additional bands, the shop parks app has 15% off and free shipping at $75. I have found magic bands are excluded from most promotions so this may be a good option if anyone is interested.

View attachment 188687

Naturally, the discount is only good on the expensive MBs. The plain ones are still full price. Thanks for posting, though.

 

[coachk34]

We have a reservation currently at the Fort Wilderness Campground. There are only 4 of us going, but you can make reservations for up to 8 people on a campsite. Can I use the other 4 bracelets for SDFP? They will not have tickets linked to them and I will make up ghost names for those bands. The second 4 bands have never been linked before, while the first 4 bands and individuals were used a couple years ago.

 

[ckelly14]

We have a reservation currently at the Fort Wilderness Campground. There are only 4 of us going, but you can make reservations for up to 8 people on a campsite. Can I use the other 4 bracelets for SDFP? They will not have tickets linked to them and I will make up ghost names for those bands. The second 4 bands have never been linked before, while the first 4 bands and individuals were used a couple years ago.

Absolutely

 

[Lisa F]

We have a reservation currently at the Fort Wilderness Campground. There are only 4 of us going, but you can make reservations for up to 8 people on a campsite. Can I use the other 4 bracelets for SDFP? They will not have tickets linked to them and I will make up ghost names for those bands. The second 4 bands have never been linked before, while the first 4 bands and individuals were used a couple years ago.

I own DVC so I can put up to 4 people in a room without incurring any additional charge. I am doing a split stay with one night at AKL, then my trip really starts and is split between BWV and the Poly villas. I added two additional people to my first night stay and requested magic bands for them. You can put whatever names you want on the inside of them too so ours are SDFPLisa and SDFPkiddo (subbed for the kiddo's name). They are different colors than our clone backups (we both have vanity MBs too) so we can easily differentiate and I think we are going to christmas them up with some decorations and they now have our MVMCP tickets linked to them as well. I declined MBs on the other two parts of our split stay so I figure disney is already ahead by 2 bands plus all of that postage!

 

[PlutoFanClub]

Hi all - we have a weird scenario and have read the post and also the older ones many times but still a bit unsure - might you help?
My son and I have two MDE's (#1 and #2).

We have 3 sets of tickets:
1) old non-expiring tickets linked to MDE#1 with 7 days left
2) 2 new annual passes purchased online so linked to this #1 that are brand new and we could reassign, haven't gotten bands or cards for them yet
3) 2 seven day PH tickets from undercover tourist that we can link anywhere we please - still not linked - holding onto these for next year or 2018.

We are going to DW 3 times this year that I know of, and more times next year :
1) Oct 3 nights Swan/Dolphin on points, hoping to use old NE tickets
2) Dec 8 nts PO Riverside PH rate, hoping to use AP
3) March 6 nights Swan/Dolphin on points, continuing on AP
4) planning return for 8 days in Nov. 2017...hope to know the ropes by then!

Our lofty goal: 2 sets of 60 day out FP for each stay-day!

Wondered, if we stay 3 nts in Oct on old NE tickets (all linked to MDE#1), can we toggle two phantom guests which we have attached to the MDE#1 AP's and use purchased rogue bands attached to the phantom guests as well, all in order to obtain 2 additional sets FPs? (i.e., attach purchased bands to these guests then attach our AP tickets to them, not using the bands to get into parks but using them for FPs we made using your toggle-approach?)

For 2nd trip in Dec, if we start the AP ticket use in Dec, can we add these phantom's to our room for this trip (but remove them from the APs as we would need to reassign them to ourselves) and then add the new previously-unattached 7 day tickets to the Phantoms so we again can gain FPs in their names, not using their purchased bands to enter the parks, but only for FPs?

I may be over-planning, haha! Just trying to benefit from having 3 sets of tickets "on hold" - we also have rogue bands from our second MDE that I acquired after reading your post a few months ago - could use for SDFP I figured.

Have considered adding the AP's and the new 7 day tickets to MDE#2, but like better your newer posts of adding the tickets to phantoms then reassigning. Just trying to pull that off!

Final question - if I order my MagicBands that go with the APs, do they transfer as well, would they mail them, or pick up at park on activation only? I always "declined" the magicbands for our APs in the past as we already have so many bands, but that made me wonder - would ordering them STOP our ability to reassign our APs?

THANK YOU THANK YOU for this thread!! Have spent hours on it, still difficult but so hoping to make it work!

 

[ScrapYap]

Hi all - we have a weird scenario and have read the post and also the older ones many times but still a bit unsure - might you help?
My son and I have two MDE's (#1 and #2).

We have 3 sets of tickets:
1) old non-expiring tickets linked to MDE#1 with 7 days left
2) 2 new annual pasfses purchased online so linked to this #1 that are brand new and we could reassign, haven't gotten bands or cards for them yet
3) 2 seven day PH tickets from undercover tourist that we can link anywhere we please - still not linked - holding onto these for next year or 2018.

We are going to DW 3 times this year that I know of, and more times next year :
1) Oct 3 nights Swan/Dolphin on points, hoping to use old NE tickets
2) Dec 8 nts PO Riverside PH rate, hoping to use AP
3) March 6 nights Swan/Dolphin on points, continuing on AP
4) planning return for 8 days in Nov. 2017...hope to know the ropes by then!

Our lofty goal: 2 sets of 60 day out FP for each stay-day!

Wondered, if we stay 3 nts in Oct on old NE tickets (all linked to MDE#1), can we toggle two phantom guests which we have attached to the MDE#1 AP's and use purchased rogue bands attached to the phantom guests as well, all in order to obtain 2 additional sets FPs? (i.e., attach purchased bands to these guests then attach our AP tickets to them, not using the bands to get into parks but using them for FPs we made using your toggle-approach?)

For 2nd trip in Dec, if we start the AP ticket use in Dec, can we add these phantom's to our room for this trip (but remove them from the APs as we would need to reassign them to ourselves) and then add the new previously-unattached 7 day tickets to the Phantoms so we again can gain FPs in their names, not using their purchased bands to enter the parks, but only for FPs?

I may be over-planning, haha! Just trying to benefit from having 3 sets of tickets "on hold" - we also have rogue bands from our second MDE that I acquired after reading your post a few months ago - could use for SDFP I figured.

Have considered adding the AP's and the new 7 day tickets to MDE#2, but like better your newer posts of adding the tickets to phantoms then reassigning. Just trying to pull that off!

Final question - if I order my MagicBands that go with the APs, do they transfer as well, would they mail them, or pick up at park on activation only? I always "declined" the magicbands for our APs in the past as we already have so many bands, but that made me wonder - would ordering them STOP our ability to reassign our APs?

THANK YOU THANK YOU for this thread!! Have spent hours on it, still difficult but so hoping to make it work!

Couple quick questions: what is the expiration date on the UT tix? Those aren't vouchers, right - but rather RFID cards? Right now, each MDE has 2 profiles? Are the two MDEs linked thru friend invites? And are the reservations already made and linked to #1 MDE? Are there phantoms on the reservation? And the APs - those are vouchers that expire in 2030?

 

[coachk34]

Absolutely

I own DVC so I can put up to 4 people in a room without incurring any additional charge. I am doing a split stay with one night at AKL, then my trip really starts and is split between BWV and the Poly villas. I added two additional people to my first night stay and requested magic bands for them. You can put whatever names you want on the inside of them too so ours are SDFPLisa and SDFPkiddo (subbed for the kiddo's name). They are different colors than our clone backups (we both have vanity MBs too) so we can easily differentiate and I think we are going to christmas them up with some decorations and they now have our MVMCP tickets linked to them as well. I declined MBs on the other two parts of our split stay so I figure disney is already ahead by 2 bands plus all of that postage!

Thank you for your responses. Our first 4 bands will all be bright colors, so I just got all 4 of the clone bands in the grey so they will be easy to identify.

 

[PlutoFanClub]

Couple quick questions: what is the expiration date on the UT tix? Those aren't vouchers, right - but rather RFID cards? Right now, each MDE has 2 profiles? Are the two MDEs linked thru friend invites? And are the reservations already made and linked to #1 MDE? Are there phantoms on the reservation? And the APs - those are vouchers that expire in 2030?

Expiration on UT: Don't see that they have one - they were purchased 1/20/16 before price hike, RFID cards.
MDE#1 has 2 profiles (son and me) and 2 phantoms, MDE#2 has 2 profiles - us with slight name changes, have NOT linked them thru friend invites.
Reservations are on MDE#1 with phantoms on the reservation for Dec.
APs are yes the vouchers that expire in 2030.
Thanks for looking at this!

 

[ScrapYap]

Hi all - we have a weird scenario and have read the post and also the older ones many times but still a bit unsure - might you help?
My son and I have two MDE's (#1 and #2).

We have 3 sets of tickets:
1) old non-expiring tickets linked to MDE#1 with 7 days left
2) 2 new annual passes purchased online so linked to this #1 that are brand new and we could reassign, haven't gotten bands or cards for them yet
3) 2 seven day PH tickets from undercover tourist that we can link anywhere we please - still not linked - holding onto these for next year or 2018.

We are going to DW 3 times this year that I know of, and more times next year :
1) Oct 3 nights Swan/Dolphin on points, hoping to use old NE tickets
2) Dec 8 nts PO Riverside PH rate, hoping to use AP
3) March 6 nights Swan/Dolphin on points, continuing on AP
4) planning return for 8 days in Nov. 2017...hope to know the ropes by then!

Our lofty goal: 2 sets of 60 day out FP for each stay-day!

Wondered, if we stay 3 nts in Oct on old NE tickets (all linked to MDE#1), can we toggle two phantom guests which we have attached to the MDE#1 AP's and use purchased rogue bands attached to the phantom guests as well, all in order to obtain 2 additional sets FPs? (i.e., attach purchased bands to these guests then attach our AP tickets to them, not using the bands to get into parks but using them for FPs we made using your toggle-approach?)

For 2nd trip in Dec, if we start the AP ticket use in Dec, can we add these phantom's to our room for this trip (but remove them from the APs as we would need to reassign them to ourselves) and then add the new previously-unattached 7 day tickets to the Phantoms so we again can gain FPs in their names, not using their purchased bands to enter the parks, but only for FPs?

I may be over-planning, haha! Just trying to benefit from having 3 sets of tickets "on hold" - we also have rogue bands from our second MDE that I acquired after reading your post a few months ago - could use for SDFP I figured.

Have considered adding the AP's and the new 7 day tickets to MDE#2, but like better your newer posts of adding the tickets to phantoms then reassigning. Just trying to pull that off!

Final question - if I order my MagicBands that go with the APs, do they transfer as well, would they mail them, or pick up at park on activation only? I always "declined" the magicbands for our APs in the past as we already have so many bands, but that made me wonder - would ordering them STOP our ability to reassign our APs?

THANK YOU THANK YOU for this thread!! Have spent hours on it, still difficult but so hoping to make it work!

My priority would be to keep everything on the same MDE so I wouldn't have to be signing in and out between two MDEs. And you already have a set of handy phantoms on MDE #1.

There are a number of ways to arrange your tickets on the MDEs. Ideally, it might have been best to figure it out before making reservations. You could have swapped identities with your phantoms (by changing both sets of names) and reassigned the APs so the NE tickets wouldn't be on the same profiles as your APs. You could still do that, but it would mean that the real you on the reservations wouldn't be the same real you using your APs. And this is all confusing enough already. So probably just set that scenario aside for now. But in the future, you could swap things around - because you'll still have four days left on the NEs after October.

To start with, look at one set of GLFP in addition to your primary FP. The simplest scenario would be to assign the UT tickets to the two phantoms on MDE#1 - since you won't be using those tickets for admission in October, the phantom names can be (and should be) very distinct from your real names (don't forget you can always change names on profiles).

You'll be able to prebook FP for your real profiles (with the NE tickets) at 60 days (now?) and umbrella the same window over the two ticketed phantoms.

Be sure to visit guest services in Oct. to confirm that the prioritized admission media will be the NE tickets - and you don't activate the APs (which are on the same bands/cards) inadvertently. (If something like that ever happens, guest services can fix it.)

What kind of APs are they?

So you'll use some of your collection of cloned MBs to enter the parks with the NEs in October. You'll use the UT RFID cards to enter the FP attractions. Use a thick Sharpie to write UT on the front of the UT cards. You won't need bands for the phantoms because you have the cards.

In October, you'll prebook FP (real profiles with APs) and GLFP (phantoms with UT) for the December trip. Again, you'll use bands for park admission (now with APs) and UT cards to enter for FP attractions. Same thing for the March trip - with FP and GLFP booked in January.

If you wanted to look at a second set of GLFP (giving you three set of prebooked FP) for October, you could - but two prebooked sets is a lot, and probably all you'll need or want. Unless you're going to be there on very busy days. So if you want that option, you could set up two more phantoms on MDE #1 (again with very distinct names). Assign the AP vouchers to them. Prebook for October along with the UT phantoms. Now you have to buy MBs for those phantoms to access the GLFP.

Alternatively, you could issue and accept friend invites between your two MDEs. (First change the names on MDE#2 to include the number 2 in their names.) Link the APs to the MDE#2 profiles. Because the two accounts are now friends, you'll be able to reassign the APs over to MDE#1 later (by signing in through MDE#2). For now, you can use the bands from MDE#2 to access the GLFP from the APs. (Sharpie a #2 onto the bands so you'll have a visual reminder not to use them for park admission.)

A problem with assigning your APs temporarily to phantoms is that the 60-74 days GP booking window for Dec might overlap the October trip - and you won't be able to book for your real profiles right away because the APs will be on the wrong profiles until after the Oct. trip. If that's the case, then stick with one set of GLFP for the UT tickets and leave the APs on your primary profiles.

You're not going to be able to order AP bands with vouchers. You'd have to activate the APs first - which means you couldn't reassign them anymore.

 

[PlutoFanClub]

You have amazing info, thank you!!!
I hadn't picked up on switching our profile names, so am looking into that as it seems to perhaps be a better option if I can swing it! Our APs are Platinum Passes as we don't live in FL - I did buy them with our Dis Vac Acct - hope this linkage won't be a problem... ?

Our Dec res window DOES overlap the 60 to 74 with our Oct res as you suspected - I had totally not thought of that, thank you! That changes everything it seems!

So, following your cool suggestion about changing names, I tried to make that work, though not fully understanding it (wasn't sure what you meant by changing BOTH sets of names - ? We now have to check in for Oct with original names so was afraid to change them - maybe that is what you meant should have arranged BEFORE - not sure how to have all under one MDE if names are not similar for reservations - ?):

I made new identities on MDE#1 with names similar to our own (for check in purposes in Dec), then reassigned our APs to these new names on our MDE#1, then booked a new reservation for Dec with these "new" identities (still a cool room on AP discount) and have new link-it-later bands on the way to add to the new identities for the primary FPs and room res - these will be our "new primary identities" for Dec, will use cool new bands to use for park entrance (and could be a set of GLFP for Oct using bands I believe if we umbrella?). I did worry about having our profiles merged as you said, though...?

I then added our 2 phantoms to our Dec res with the new identities (though it didn't seem needed as I could umbrella them?) - will link UT tickets to phantoms and use UT RFID cards for 1st set of GLFP for Dec (or another set for Oct?)

Then will try to make a 3rd set of FP/2nd set of GLFP for Dec using 4 days remaining on our NE tickets under our original names and NE tickets using our old magic bands, adding 5th day then 6th day then 7th day the night before if possible as you described in the early posts...

We will still have our rogue bands from MDE#2 to use for SDFP, though likely won't ever need them.

My only worry is that we could "mix things up" on entry or someone could merge our profiles, so still toying with using only 2 sets FP/one GLFP on the rfid cards as you suggested - would be easier for sure!

You may not have time to review this I know, so wanted to say MANY thanks to you for adding extra pixie dust to our trips!

 

[ScrapYap]

You have amazing info, thank you!!!
I hadn't picked up on switching our profile names, so am looking into that as it seems to perhaps be a better option if I can swing it! Our APs are Platinum Passes as we don't live in FL - I did buy them with our Dis Vac Acct - hope this linkage won't be a problem... ?

Our Dec res window DOES overlap the 60 to 74 with our Oct res as you suspected - I had totally not thought of that, thank you! That changes everything it seems!

So, following your cool suggestion about changing names, I tried to make that work, though not fully understanding it (wasn't sure what you meant by changing BOTH sets of names - ? We now have to check in for Oct with original names so was afraid to change them - maybe that is what you meant should have arranged BEFORE - not sure how to have all under one MDE if names are not similar for reservations - ?):

I made new identities on MDE#1 with names similar to our own (for check in purposes in Dec), then reassigned our APs to these new names on our MDE#1, then booked a new reservation for Dec with these "new" identities (still a cool room on AP discount) and have new link-it-later bands on the way to add to the new identities for the primary FPs and room res - these will be our "new primary identities" for Dec, will use cool new bands to use for park entrance (and could be a set of GLFP for Oct using bands I believe if we umbrella?). I did worry about having our profiles merged as you said, though...?

I then added our 2 phantoms to our Dec res with the new identities (though it didn't seem needed as I could umbrella them?) - will link UT tickets to phantoms and use UT RFID cards for 1st set of GLFP for Dec (or another set for Oct?)

Then will try to make a 3rd set of FP/2nd set of GLFP for Dec using 4 days remaining on our NE tickets under our original names and NE tickets using our old magic bands, adding 5th day then 6th day then 7th day the night before if possible as you described in the early posts...

We will still have our rogue bands from MDE#2 to use for SDFP, though likely won't ever need them.

My only worry is that we could "mix things up" on entry or someone could merge our profiles, so still toying with using only 2 sets FP/one GLFP on the rfid cards as you suggested - would be easier for sure!

You may not have time to review this I know, so wanted to say MANY thanks to you for adding extra pixie dust to our trips!

Pluto, I was definitely NOT suggesting that you swap identities with the phantoms now. You would need to have arranged that BEFORE making the new reservations. Which is why I said keep it in mind for the future. Not now. You could try it - but you're pretty likely to cause yourself problems, so I wouldn't if I were you. You don't ever want to try to make something work without fully understanding it. Too much at stake, with a Disney trip.

Since your Dec reservation overlaps with the October trip, you need the APs linked to your real profiles - which will be the names on the resort reservation.

You did not need to add phantoms to your Dec reservation. Not sure what your intention was there.

You said you already had two phantoms on your MDE#1. The phantoms for UT tickets should NOT have names similar to those of the real profiles.

You need to make sure the profiles on the resort reservation have the same names that appear on the reservation. You have two reservations - the profiles have to be the same on both.

Keep track of which profiles are on which reservation (if they are not the same) sounds like a problem waiting to happen.

Note that the plans you detail in your most recent post make it seem as though you didn't read my previous post - because nothing about what you did matches up with any of the suggestions.

 

[PlutoFanClub]

Pluto, I was definitely NOT suggesting that you swap identities with the phantoms now. You would need to have arranged that BEFORE making the new reservations. Which is why I said keep it in mind for the future. Not now. You could try it - but you're pretty likely to cause yourself problems, so I wouldn't if I were you. You don't ever want to try to make something work without fully understanding it. Too much at stake, with a Disney trip.

Since your Dec reservation overlaps with the October trip, you need the APs linked to your real profiles - which will be the names on the resort reservation.

You did not need to add phantoms to your Dec reservation. Not sure what your intention was there.

You said you already had two phantoms on your MDE#1. The phantoms for UT tickets should NOT have names similar to those of the real profiles.

You need to make sure the profiles on the resort reservation have the same names that appear on the reservation. You have two reservations - the profiles have to be the same on both.

Keep track of which profiles are on which reservation (if they are not the same) sounds like a problem waiting to happen.

Note that the plans you detail in your most recent post make it seem as though you didn't read my previous post - because nothing about what you did matches up with any of the suggestions.

 

[PlutoFanClub]

Oh my, I'm just missing something, I truly read it over and over - somehow I thought with the NEW reservation I was making it happen. Thank you so much, will reread just leave the usual thing for now. Many thanks!

 

[GrnMtnMan]

Report Back
We would all love to hear about your SDFP experiences, so do report back after your trip.

I'm back and following directions.

I was just at the Poly for 8 nights, followed by 1 night at the Dolphin. I did GLFPs, not SDFP. It worked beautifully. We had 6 FP pre-booked most days. I was able to make a rolling 4th FP on both accounts, and even though my un-used GLFP tickets were not park hoppers, I was able to book the 4th FP in a different park than I was in.

I took the approach of creating a secondary MDE account, and populated it with the ‘extra’ tickets that I was not going to use to enter the parks this trip. I think adding them to a single MDE account as ‘phantom’ profiles would have been better. I used the MDE app on my phone to manage my primary FP, and used a phone/mobile browser to manage the secondary FP. The mobile browser was more buggy then MDE app, and I had to login pretty much every time I tried to do/check anything. And having to toggle between the MDE app and MDE on the web was a little cumbersome.

I also had the last day day solo where I used my wife and kids’ FP allotments. Between 10 AM and 9 PM I was able to do:

TSMM x 2
ToT x 2
Star Tours

Soarin x 2
Test Track x 2
Frozen
SSE
(plus a bunch of stuff in World Showcase that we didn’t get to as a family)

If I had more energy I could have headed over to the MK and done more, but at around 7:30 PM, I hit a wall and was pretty exhausted.

Thanks again for teaching us about this.

 

[Lisa F]

I think right now I am all set with my SDFP situation. I have one day in AKL and 4 people in the room - 2 real 2 phantom. I have disney set to send me 4 MBs for that leg of the trip and have declined MBs on the other two parts of my stay. I have regular tickets assigned to my primary (AP for the kiddo) and MVMCP tickets assigned to the phantoms. Is it at all appropriate to post my FP+ plans here including SDFP goals and plans for feedback? maybe there is some stuff I should switch around, some stuff that might be better at 60 days etc (obviously things like 7DMT will be but there are tons of others). Thanks