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

[Koz]

I've not been seeing 60 day windows for Halloween or Christmas party for resort guests. You're better off getting advance FP at 30 days for the phantoms for the party day since your selections will be better than if you just used those cards for SDFP.

Wait, I'm sorry, can you please confirm the process with party tickets? We are 24 days out from our trip at this point, intending to go to Xmas party 2nd week of Nov. If I was to purchase the tickets today and have cards mailed to me, what exactly could I use those physical tickets for in terms of SDFP?
Thanks for keeping me informed- you guys are awesome!

 

[ScrapYap]

Wait, I'm sorry, can you please confirm the process with party tickets? We are 24 days out from our trip at this point, intending to go to Xmas party 2nd week of Nov. If I was to purchase the tickets today and have cards mailed to me, what exactly could I use those physical tickets for in terms of SDFP?
Thanks for keeping me informed- you guys are awesome!

At the time of purchase, you'll be asked to identify which guests on your MDE the tickets are for. So you'll want to set up a phantom for each of the party tickets to be assigned to. As soon as the entitlement is on those phantom profiles on your MDE, you can choose advance FP for them for the day of the party only. If you are going to the parks in the morning with your other passes, you can have a separate set of advance FP on those tickets - which you'll use to enter in the morning. You'll use the party ticket for admission later in the day. The phantom FP will be associated with that separate admission.

For all the other days of your trip (except the day of the party), you can use those cards you'll receive in the mail for SDFP by tapping them at a kiosk as detailed in the first post of the thread. These will not be booked in advance via the MDE. Only same day at a park kiosk.

 

[Koz]

At the time of purchase, you'll be asked to identify which guests on your MDE the tickets are for. So you'll want to set up a phantom for each of the party tickets to be assigned to. As soon as the entitlement is on those phantom profiles on your MDE, you can choose advance FP for them for the day of the party only. If you are going to the parks in the morning with your other passes, you can have a separate set of advance FP on those tickets - which you'll use to enter in the morning. You'll use the party ticket for admission later in the day. The phantom FP will be associated with that separate admission.

For all the other days of your trip (except the day of the party), you can use those cards you'll receive in the mail for SDFP by tapping them at a kiosk as detailed in the first post of the thread. These will not be booked in advance via the MDE. Only same day at a park kiosk.

Scrap thanks so much. And to confirm, those phantoms can be on my original MDE account, just separate from the original family members, correct? No need to create a separate MDE account for purposes of CP tickets? Thanks again!

 

[Rich M]

Ahhh thanks. Too late. Everything is linked in terms of original traveling party and original reservation. Screwed up on that one as I simply asked my travel agent to add the extra day for us. Looks like I will have to purchase new bands upon arrival @ WDW, and we are 23 days out. Thank you for responding!

I bought my SDFP Magic Bands off of Amazon. I got some really nice ones for not bad prices at all. All came unlinked and I was able to link them to Phantoms very easy. Worked really well and I was even able to get a limited edition Haunted Mansion one.

 

[ScrapYap]

Scrap thanks so much. And to confirm, those phantoms can be on my original MDE account, just separate from the original family members, correct? No need to create a separate MDE account for purposes of CP tickets? Thanks again!

You can do it either way. The phantoms can be on your original MDE or you can start a new MDE with a different email address for the phantoms. Due to a new way the kiosks function (requiring you to uncheck the primary MDE profile), it might be easier at the kiosks if you start a new MDE for the phantoms now, but you don't have to do that. I know it's complicated. Since you're going fairly soon, the kiosks will probably still have this little glitch, so if I were you, I'd set up a new MDE for the phantoms - then you won't experience the kiosk glitch. If you decide to keep them all on the same MDE and feel confused at the kiosks - don't hesitate to ask a CM for help.

 

[ScrapYap]

I bought my SDFP Magic Bands off of Amazon. I got some really nice ones for not bad prices at all. All came unlinked and I was able to link them to Phantoms very easy. Worked really well and I was even able to get a limited edition Haunted Mansion one.

Glad it worked out. It doesn't always - sometimes bands from Amazon or eBay can't be linked (or are already linked to someone else). Disney guests should be sure that any listing specifies that the bands are unlinked - which may make the return process easier if it's necessary. And remember it is always a gamble to buy MBs from Amazon or eBay, though it's great that it worked for you!

 

[Silock]

It's not that 4 MBs will have MDE accounts and 4 won't. The phantom 4 will show up on your primary MDE account along with your own profile. It's just that they don't have their own individual MDE accounts. You're right that the 4 phantoms will have no tickets and no advance FPs. Note that when you tap them, you may see your primary FPs on the kiosk screen and have to look at the profiles and uncheck your own before proceeding. Maybe Marcie will get photos of those screens for us - hint, hint, Marcie?

Okay, cool. So, what you're saying is that my plan will work . . .

 

[ajenks22]

Question about pulling SDFP: We are going the week of Christmas, which is SO busy. I am really counting on some SDFP to help with the crowds (thanks in advance for this education!).

We will arrive to the parks at Rope Drop most days, and I will want to get SDFP right away. Do you know if I have to wait until park opening to visit the kiosks? Or are there parks that allow (or is there a strategy) getting to kiosks before the park actually opens (such as "I have to visit guest relations"). I just don't want to waste valuable RD time at a kiosk.

 

[marciemi]

Question about pulling SDFP: We are going the week of Christmas, which is SO busy. I am really counting on some SDFP to help with the crowds (thanks in advance for this education!).

We will arrive to the parks at Rope Drop most days, and I will want to get SDFP right away. Do you know if I have to wait until park opening to visit the kiosks? Or are there parks that allow (or is there a strategy) getting to kiosks before the park actually opens (such as "I have to visit guest relations"). I just don't want to waste valuable RD time at a kiosk.

There is not a way unless you have a pre-RD dining reservation which "might" work in some of the parks (it does at MK with the Town Hall kiosks but reports have been mixed in other parks and other areas of MK). In general my guidance is for all parks other than Epcot, do the first ride or two at RD and then do the SDFP's at the kiosks. Or, if you're willing to skip a ride, have other family members ride while you figure out the SDFP's (this works better at say MK where you could all do 7 Dwarves and Peter Pan right at RD, then they could do something like Winnie the Pooh without you). The RD time is more important for the critical/big rides than getting a SDFP will be. My only exception would be if you're going to Soarin' at RD at Epcot to stop quickly at a kiosk on the way (since they are directly on the way) and look only quickly for a Tier 1 (since they'll certainly be gone by the time you ride). Still if I were going to Frozen, I wouldn't stop. Christmas week will be tough either way, and all the good/early rides are likely to be gone early in any case. I'd set your expectations lower that you maybe using SDFP to get late afternoon (at best) times and lower level rides, but still, having a SDFP for something like Jungle Cruise or Buzz that week will save you a lot of waiting later! I really only think it will be of great use at MK - Epcot is very unlikely to have any Tier 1's available no matter when you go that week and for the other parks you may be getting mostly show SDFP's late in the day. However, I was turned away from the Nemo show last year during Christmas week (about 10 minutes before showtime) so that week those shows will fill and the FP's will be helpful even if not needed at many times of year. Plan your main FPP's for the rides you really want and just plan to take anything you get via SDFP as a bonus!

 

[marciemi]

Okay, a couple more tests for @ScrapYap ! Went to AK yesterday. First test was to "unlink" a band I had previously had linked to a profile on my MDE. This was for someone (Richard) who only visited once and has no valid ticket media so the MB has just been used to make SDFP's in the past. I unlinked it on my MDE (I managed his account - he didn't have his own). Even though it shows as unlinked in my MDE, it still worked the same at the kiosk as any other card/band would.

Next, I got a few pics of what came up. Interestingly, I had made 2 FPP's in advance for me and my husband for a couple rides at AK. When I scanned Richard's band, since I manage him (but he's not friends with my husband), it only pulled up "my" FPP's for the day (ie it only showed 1 of the 2 people who had that FPP):



Then, it still showed I could make 1 FPP (since I'd only made 2) but when I clicked New Fastpass, it only gave me the ability to select for me and Richard (and not my husband). I un-selected my name and proceeded as normal with just Richard:



However, I do see where this could get really confusing if you had a lot of names and profiles and some were managed on your MDE (like children) and some had their own MDE accounts that were simply "friends". If mom and dad each have their own account but mom manages the 2 kids and adds 4 phantoms, then if she scans a phantom, only the phantoms and "her" MDE people (her and 2 kids) would show up, not dad. Either way, mom and the 2 kids would have to be unselected before choosing another FPP (if less than 3 were made) or you'd have to go through the "Some members of your party are eligible for additional FPP's" option (sorry, I didn't have enough FPP's to get a pic of this - will try next time!). So I'd really recommend just putting the phantoms on a completely separate MDE to avoid confusion. Especially when you used to be able to make changes to them and even recently when you could at least view them, it made sense to keep them on the same MDE. But now I think there's just too much risk of checking or not checking the right people each time and I'd just keep the SDFP account totally different and take screenshots and/or have a browser window open or a different family member keep track of those rather than trying to view them on the app on the main MDE account.

 

[jillyh]

So glad I set up another MDE from the beginning! Will use my phone for main FPP and DH's phone for SDFP

 

[ScrapYap]

Okay, a couple more tests for @ScrapYap ! Went to AK yesterday. First test was to "unlink" a band I had previously had linked to a profile on my MDE. This was for someone (Richard) who only visited once and has no valid ticket media so the MB has just been used to make SDFP's in the past. I unlinked it on my MDE (I managed his account - he didn't have his own). Even though it shows as unlinked in my MDE, it still worked the same at the kiosk as any other card/band would.

Just to clarify - when you say "unlinked" you just mean "deactivated," right? The only way to unlink it (remove it altogether from your MDE) would be to ask for help from guest services.

Interesting that the deactivated band would still work at the kiosks - because they no longer work for guest room doors or park admission. Probably they'll stop working at kiosks next. (You can always just reactivate them if you want to use them!)

I think you're right about using a second MDE for phantoms until this resolves. Not sure when the next system update will come, but my guess is that this glitch will disappear - and it will again be true that the easier way is to have the phantoms on the same MDE!

For now, two MDEs is the way to go.

Thanks for the report!

 

[philbrody]

My own MDE has gotten so crowded with friends and family it's gotten real hard to manage anymore. We're the planners so basically everyone we have ever gone with is in there

Different question though. We have a 10 day ticket lined to immediate family accounts. We made all the FP for the upcoming trip and now are going to upgrade the tickets with the new AP deal being offered. If this violates the terms and conditions please delete, but when we upgrade the tickets then technically the tickets we used to make the FP are not the ones we are entering the parks with. I called WDW earlier and got a whole lot of 'i dont understand' so thought I'd ask opinion here.

 

[hiroMYhero]

My own MDE has gotten so crowded with friends and family it's gotten real hard to manage anymore. We're the planners so basically everyone we have ever gone with is in there

Different question though. We have a 10 day ticket lined to immediate family accounts. We made all the FP for the upcoming trip and now are going to upgrade the tickets with the new AP deal being offered. If this violates the terms and conditions please delete, but when we upgrade the tickets then technically the tickets we used to make the FP are not the ones we are entering the parks with. I called WDW earlier and got a whole lot of 'i dont understand' so thought I'd ask opinion here.

Once you upgrade to AP, the AP links to the Profile/line where the FPs also link.

It is not a TOS violation to use the FPs that are linked to the same Profile as the AP that was used for park entrance.

 

[Kate'sDad]

ScrapYap - Thanks for all this great info. I have a question about MVMCP and a second MDE. I had gotten an answer on a different post that appears to conflict with what I understand from your info about transferring party tickets but it may be because I was not asking it correctly.

I have MBs, a Swan hotel reservation, and 7 day PH tickets all associated to my primary MDE and have all my FP+ booked. I also have MVMCP electronic tickets associated with my primary MDE and my family(so I never received plastic tickets). My original question had been that I wanted to create phantom names on my original MDE and transfer the Xmas party tickets to the phantom family members so I could make FP+ with the party tickets. From reading your info I think I now see that would not work because I would still need some other media to attach the entitlements to other than my original MBs.

But now my question is this - Can I create a second MDE that I will purchase and link new MBs to use for SDFP and also transfer my Xmas party entitlement from my original MDE to the new MDE so I can also pre-book 3 FP+ for the 4-7 timeframe on the party day? And if so I assume I need to somehow link the 2 MDEs as family/friends in order to do the reassignment?

 

[ScrapYap]

ScrapYap - Thanks for all this great info. I have a question about MVMCP and a second MDE. I had gotten an answer on a different post that appears to conflict with what I understand from your info about transferring party tickets but it may be because I was not asking it correctly.

I have MBs, a Swan hotel reservation, and 7 day PH tickets all associated to my primary MDE and have all my FP+ booked. I also have MVMCP electronic tickets associated with my primary MDE and my family(so I never received plastic tickets). My original question had been that I wanted to create phantom names on my original MDE and transfer the Xmas party tickets to the phantom family members so I could make FP+ with the party tickets. From reading your info I think I now see that would not work because I would still need some other media to attach the entitlements to other than my original MBs.

But now my question is this - Can I create a second MDE that I will purchase and link new MBs to use for SDFP and also transfer my Xmas party entitlement from my original MDE to the new MDE so I can also pre-book 3 FP+ for the 4-7 timeframe on the party day? And if so I assume I need to somehow link the 2 MDEs as family/friends in order to do the reassignment?

You've got it right. If you transfer the party tickets to phantoms, you'll have no way to access the tickets.

You can certainly set up a second MDE for the phantoms. Issue and accept friend requests between the two accounts. Then reassign the party tickets to the new MDE phantoms and link MBs to those phantoms. (You have to be signed into the MDE with the profiles currently holding the tickets to see the option to reassign.)

Having the phantoms on a separate MDE makes it easier to use the bands at kiosks for SDFP, since you don't have to uncheck the primary profile (see Marcie's photos above). However, I believe that the operation of the kiosks will change before your trip, and the unchecking won't be necessary. Personally, I like having all entitlements on the same MDE when possible because it will be easier to make adjustments if there is any kind of snafu on the night of the party. There shouldn't be. But I like knowing I can reassign the tickets from within my primary MDE at all times.

So it's basically six of one, half dozen of the other in terms of where you set up the phantoms.

One small adjustment to your synopsis - you can prebook 3 FP for the day of the party at any time during that day (if you have a separate ticket for earlier admission). You won't violate TOS as long as you enter the park with the party ticket on that day.

 

[hiroMYhero]

@ScrapYap: Kate'sDad already has phantoms set up in his MDE. Should he still try to link up another MDE?

So I just looked and I didn't actually do hard tickets. Looks like I did e-tickets. I have an email with tickets that I can print out. Does that change things? Maybe I can do the whole re-assign thing to Family #2 and then when I get my MBs and PHs link them to family #1 that is on the hotel ressie so still have the 60 day window? Sorry for the confusion.

You can add on Family #2 and link the party tickets to them in your MDE - no need for another MDE account.

 

[marciemi]

Just to clarify - when you say "unlinked" you just mean "deactivated," right? The only way to unlink it (remove it altogether from your MDE) would be to ask for help from guest services.

Interesting that the deactivated band would still work at the kiosks - because they no longer work for guest room doors or park admission. Probably they'll stop working at kiosks next. (You can always just reactivate them if you want to use them!).

Yeah, sorry, I meant deactivated. My internet has been out pretty much since yesterday so I've been trying to do stuff on the phone and wasn't looking at MDE at the same time. But I had deactivated it in MDE first and as far as I could tell, it worked exactly the same at the kiosk as when I've used it while activated and when I've used old cards that don't have tickets attached any more. (Except for the changes we were discussing about the current MDE FPP's coming up). I guess I just hadn't realized if it was someone "managed" on my MDE that anyone they weren't linked directly to also wouldn't come up. That just made it doubly confusing to me.

My own MDE has gotten so crowded with friends and family it's gotten real hard to manage anymore. We're the planners so basically everyone we have ever gone with is in there

This is exactly my problem. Anyone I've just met up with at the park who had their own MDE I've "unfriended" and that reduces it some. But so many people who have come to visit (friends, my kids' girlfriends, inlaws, nieces & nephews, etc.) don't want to deal at all with planning so I've just made them profiles under mine and now can't delete any of them. Biggest mistake was a friend coming for a conference who asked if I could make FPP for her and a handful of other conference-goers. Now they all come up each time and I don't even know half these people. Yes, I realize I can call and get them removed and it'll probably come to that at some time!

 

[ScrapYap]

@ScrapYap: Kate'sDad already has phantoms set up in his MDE. Should he still try to link up another MDE?

Either way will work, and both ways have the disadvantages I mentioned. I like to keep all entitlements on my primary MDE - but other people may prefer not to see the longer list of guests (when phantoms are together with the real profiles).

 

[5DisneyNuts]

@ScrapYap, @hiroMYhero, @marciemi and all the others that have posted info here, thank you! I have learned so much from the posts of the 3 of you especially.

I had an issue last year where a helpful Guest Service CM linked my and my husband's accounts which did away with SDFP etc. since everything was cloned at that point. Since then and because we had so many "friends" from previous trips linked through email invites, I use this account for SDFP only and have a new account for current reservations. I have unused tickets linked to the original account, but any discussion of that is a violation of the new TOS I believe.

Anyway, my question is, I have new magic bands coming. To avoid issues and confusion should I deactivate current active MB and cards? I remember in the beginning the system had a problem if you had too many devices set to active.

Thank you!