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

[ScrapYap]

OP, this is a brilliant post and I have re-read it several times and laugh every time. What a funny post!! I'm taking a risk and I bought magic bands on ebay. The seller said they are already linked so I'm trusting they were not stolen. Wish me good luck that this will work out okay, I am a little worried since I'm not sure how old these bands are, but I'm reading on another post that the bands should work forever, at least for the intent of scanning them at a fastpass line.

Hey travelingmom-of-very-cute-avatar-baby, thanks for the nice post. You could try to link those bands to phantom profiles. It can't do any harm - even if they weren't purchased. You could do this in order to see the error message produced. It will probably say that the bands have already been linked to someone else - in which case you'll know in advance that the eBay seller was telling the truth. Just don't mistakenly use a real profile to "test link" them -- in the unlikely event that they were purchased but never linked before (and you don't want them cloned if that's the case).

Have a great trip!!

 

[travelingmom4]

Hey travelingmom-of-very-cute-avatar-baby, thanks for the nice post. You could try to link those bands to phantom profiles. It can't do any harm - even if they weren't purchased. You could do this in order to see the error message produced. It will probably say that the bands have already been linked to someone else - in which case you'll know in advance that the eBay seller was telling the truth. Just don't mistakenly use a real profile to "test link" them -- in the unlikely event that they were purchased but never linked before (and you don't want them cloned if that's the case).

Have a great trip!!

Thanks for the tip, it didn't even occur to me I could try this. I'd much rather be disappointed now than standing in front of a kiosk at WDW, if it doesn't work out, but thinking positive thoughts. Thanks!

 

[ScrapYap]

Thanks for the tip, it didn't even occur to me I could try this. I'd much rather be disappointed now than standing in front of a kiosk at WDW, if it doesn't work out, but thinking positive thoughts. Thanks!

Let us know what happens! Chances are, they'll work. Most bands on eBay are leftover from guests' vacations. Though there is a risk!

 

[marciemi]

Good suggestion from ScrapYap. Also, yes, they will work pretty much forever at a direct contact point (entry, kiosk, FPP) but if they're more than about a year or two old they probably won't pick up the long rage RFID for pics so for rides like 7D and FEA (that don't have touch points), be sure to have one of your "real" MB's on (I realize it's unlikely to get those same day but stranger things have happened) and for any other rides with pics, I would touch your regular MB to the pic point at the end of the ride, just in case.

 

[travelingmom4]

Good suggestion from ScrapYap. Also, yes, they will work pretty much forever at a direct contact point (entry, kiosk, FPP) but if they're more than about a year or two old they probably won't pick up the long rage RFID for pics so for rides like 7D and FEA (that don't have touch points), be sure to have one of your "real" MB's on (I realize it's unlikely to get those same day but stranger things have happened) and for any other rides with pics, I would touch your regular MB to the pic point at the end of the ride, just in case.

Good to know, thank you!

 

[biochemgirl]

Hey travelingmom-of-very-cute-avatar-baby, thanks for the nice post. You could try to link those bands to phantom profiles. It can't do any harm - even if they weren't purchased. You could do this in order to see the error message produced. It will probably say that the bands have already been linked to someone else - in which case you'll know in advance that the eBay seller was telling the truth. Just don't mistakenly use a real profile to "test link" them -- in the unlikely event that they were purchased but never linked before (and you don't want them cloned if that's the case).

Have a great trip!!

I'm waiting on bands from ebay. Thanks for the tip! I'll try to test link them before going to the parks.

 

[ajenks22]

Just reporting back that I used SDFP this week and they worked beautifully! We had 4 extra MBs and 3 old cars tickets (set up on a different MDE account). We ended up with lots of extras at MK, AK, and even got RRC SDFP on two different evenings. We took another family and the FP were super helpful considering they had a 5 year old who could not ride the thrill attractions. Not having to wait in long Standby lines made it far more enjoyable. Between SDFP, rider swap, and getting to the parks at Rope Drop, we had an amazing trip!

Thanks for all the help with this!

 

[anomamatt]

Got back yesterday from a short WDW trip and SDFP et al. worked out incredibly well. We had three sets of bands. My kids are 2.5 and 4.5, so long standby lines were not going to happen... thanks to SDFP the only standby lines we did were attractions without FPs. Thanks again for this great thread!

Going again in Feb/Mar and hope the "loopholes" have not been patched by then... I would assume this is done infrequently enough that it's not worth WDW's effort and strain on the systems to check each FP to see if the band was used to enter the park. Well, I hope that is true... either way, SDFP is amazing!

 

[robinb]

Can I change a SDFP on MDX? I tried today but I kept on getting an error.

 

[Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL]

Can I change a SDFP on MDX? I tried today but I kept on getting an error.

Unfortunately no. You have to return to a kiosk to make changes.

 

[biochemgirl]

After I've read the whole FAQ, I have a question. I have a Magicband from my May trip that is Inactive and plan to get a Ticket card for admission. If I link my Ticket card to my account, Would I get the additional FP from my magicband? It is on my account, but Inactive.Staying off site due to it being at Star Wars Celebration.

The card and band cannot be linked to you in the same account. Instead, get a new account to use for your next trip and link the card to the new account. You'll have two separate identities in the FP system! and get the extra SDFP.

 

[marciemi]

Can I change a SDFP on MDX? I tried today but I kept on getting an error.

As Party said, no, you can't make changes. For awhile you could only in a web browser, then for a short time you could make them there and on the app, but since about last May you haven't been able to without going to a kiosk. You can cancel them though which is nice since sometimes I make SDFP and don't end up using them all so while I probably wouldn't go back to a kiosk to cancel, it's easy to do from my phone. All this assumes of course that they're tied to an MDX account you have access to (not just bought used bands from someone else from ebay or whatever).

Editing to add that you can search for FPP's though through MDX but it just won't let you get to the last step of confirming. This can at least let you see the availability and whether it's worth going to a kiosk or not.

 

[robinb]

As Party said, no, you can't make changes. For awhile you could only in a web browser, then for a short time you could make them there and on the app, but since about last May you haven't been able to without going to a kiosk. You can cancel them though which is nice since sometimes I make SDFP and don't end up using them all so while I probably wouldn't go back to a kiosk to cancel, it's easy to do from my phone. All this assumes of course that they're tied to an MDX account you have access to (not just bought used bands from someone else from ebay or whatever).

Editing to add that you can search for FPP's though through MDX but it just won't let you get to the last step of confirming. This can at least let you see the availability and whether it's worth going to a kiosk or not.

Thanks. The bands were on my MDX and I was able to cancel FPs on the app. I was only able to get 2 Jungle Cruise FPs yesterday and i was watching the app hoping for a single one to overlap. The FP kiosk lines were crazy busy so i wouldn't wait in line there a second time.

 

[AZMermaid]

We received unused 3 Magic Bands for Christmas yesterday. Am I reading correctly that if I don't link them to MDE... I can use them for SDFP in the park? Do I need to do anything with them besides take them out of the package? Not sure if I want to "not use" the cute designed ones (including a Dooney one)... but tempting!

 

[ScrapYap]

You have to link the new bands before they'll be ready to be used in the parks.

If you're not an AP holder, you could just set up a new MDE for the new bands and link your 2017 tickets to that new account, make your new resort reservations on the new MDE - and prebook your FP on that account. Then you could use the special MBs for park entrance, your resort room door, etc. You'd use your old MBs from your first MDE for SDFP. To avoid having the two MDEs merged, you could change the names on the old MDE to fictitious names.

 

[Mrspeaks]

I successfully managed an extra set of bands for my trip last year. I kept the second set in a ziplock bag in my purse and handed them out before the ride. We only had one mishap of having the wrong band, but it was not a big deal. How much harder is going to two extra sets, so three sets total?

 

[biochemgirl]

I successfully managed an extra set of bands for my trip last year. I kept the second set in a ziplock bag in my purse and handed them out before the ride. We only had one mishap of having the wrong band, but it was not a big deal. How much harder is going to two extra sets, so three sets total?

I'll let you know how it goes with 3 total sets after our trip in March We are a party of two so I think that will make it simpler.

 

[biochemgirl]

Our extra bands will not be linked to our account since they belong to other people. Please tell me your strategy for keeping track of SDFP. Do you write it down, take a picture of the kiosk screen? Also, will Touring Plans app let you add them into their lines app?

 

[anomamatt]

I successfully managed an extra set of bands for my trip last year. I kept the second set in a ziplock bag in my purse and handed them out before the ride. We only had one mishap of having the wrong band, but it was not a big deal. How much harder is going to two extra sets, so three sets total?

We used 3 sets on our first ever visit to WDW and it worked out fine. Just make sure you are organized! Our main set of bands are differently colored and then we have a set of gray and a set of green. I kept them in zip locks. I had a print out for each day that specified the color of bands needed: main, green, or gray (easier to look at that than figure out who has the FP+ in MDE and then figure out the corresponding band).

The only issue I had was that one kid didn't want to swap his pink band for a "yucky" green (or gray) band. =)

 

[Mrspeaks]

We used 3 sets on our first ever visit to WDW and it worked out fine. Just make sure you are organized! Our main set of bands are differently colored and then we have a set of gray and a set of green. I kept them in zip locks. I had a print out for each day that specified the color of bands needed: main, green, or gray (easier to look at that than figure out who has the FP+ in MDE and then figure out the corresponding band).

The only issue I had was that one kid didn't want to swap his pink band for a "yucky" green (or gray) band. =)

Wow, three sets on your first trip. I think I could do it. Did you stop at a kiosk first thing in the parks? What was your strategy for you original linked bands? I usually set my fps up for the afternoon when it is more crowded. With three sets, maybe I should go for later?