Agree it IS an interesting strategy. I do not know how they could track it. The CM stressed they think the crowd will lighten after the second parade. (3:00 pm he said). I took the offer and was allowed to call back with the three FP+ requests at the alternate park later. And yes, it was legit, or the person I talked to has hacked WDW with the power to go into my MDE account, scrub our existing FP+ and add three “select up to three experiences” in their place.
I did not have the wits to ask about tiering restrictions at the alternate park but will report back when we get the other three FP+ booked.
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That’s pretty interesting.
How will they know if you were to arrive before 5pm? Can they/will they lock your ticket access until after 5pm? I mean, you wouldn’t have FPP to use until after 5pm, and presumably you’d be at that other park using the extras (maybe, unless you had them early in the day). I’m just curious how they would know whether you honored your end of the deal.
This seams odd to me. I can’t help but wonder if this has more to do with testing the FP system than actual capacity. I would gladly be a guinea pig 
And what if OP arrives at 5PM and the park is at capacity? Unlikely, I know, especially during the Spring Break kidfest, but what if?
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Not sure what OP is, but since we are resort guests they would have to be on defcon 4 to turn us away correct? In any case here’s how it went down when I called back to set the other three FP+ : Tiers applied, (boo) we went back and forth looking at options for EPCOT and Studios. The three 'gifted ’ fast passes are just like I booked them myself showing with specific time windows for the attractions. Can be changed like any other, but due to capacity we are pretty well locked in. I’m looking at the bright side and planning to enjoy the three extra attractions on an otherwise miserable high capacity day. PS: I confirmed with the cast member the three FP+ granted to us at MK in lieu of our original FP+, are good at any attraction, no restrictions, no tiers.
We intend to arrive late afternoon at MK as promised, but there appears to be no lock on the MK FP regarding time. It says “choice of experiences 8:00 am-12:00 AM.” We received something similar last year during the disastrous Polynesian Resort studios opening week when we had MAJOR Magic Band issues. They are good anywhere anytime, just walk on. I’m not too proud to take it. 
Cheers ,
John
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OP is original poster.
Thanks, I’m out of practice on the board/forum etiquitte.
This is amazing. I’ve never heard of it happening. @jdpk do you still have the original voicemail? And thanks very much for posting this!
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Len,
Geeze, some how I got the attention of the big guy! I do have the voice mail. Happy to share, just let me know how we can connect. It’s short and to the point. The discussion with the two CMs was a little more interesting. It didn’t sound like they do this a lot.
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jdpk: Yes, thus why I said “Unlikely.” Not a probability, but a possibility to be considered before one agrees to give up half her day at MK.
This is also interesting to me as we will be at WDW during the same week but will be in DHS that day. Interesting too that they are worried about capacity yet this is the first Easter break since we’ve been traveling at that time (since 2007) that they haven’t scheduled early EMH for the MK every day plus early openings for DHS and AK as well. Hmmm…
Also someone in DIS was called regarding 3/30 and asked to arrive no earlier than 5 in exchange for 3 additional FP+ per person at another park.
I just want to say that I find this all truly remarkable. Can you imagine the man hours involved to contact enough people to make a difference? And that they are relying on pinky swears to control the crowds? This is truly fascinating, and a terrible plan. I know that Disney employs better Industrial Engineers than this. I can’t wait to watch wait times to see if it works!
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Are they pinky swears, or do they have an unpublished way of restricting hours of entry at the swipe stations?
I’m sure that they are able to put that stipulation into the tapstyle algorithm, but I can only imagine it would be a nightmare if someone “changed their mind.” I haven’t been a part of one of these conversations, but I don’t know of anyone who had been told that they "can’t " enter. It seems that what has been reported is that “we’ll do x if you promise to do y.” That sounds very pinky swear to me.
I am trying to recall the exact language the Cast Member use during our conversation. It was a simple proposal to make our experience a better one by arriving later— Specifically after the second parade when they expected some people to leave. Maybe it was easier for me to swallow because our original strategy for the day was to get-in get-out regardless of other circumstances with three Fast Passes then bolt for Bay Lake Tower to scam a seat for the earIy fireworks. I may not have mentioned before: our original FP+ schedule was late day to begin with, starting around 3-ish. We had no intention of being rope droppers. This was another reason we were surprised to be asked to make a seemingly minor adjustment to our plan…and just the five of us??? And yes, it was a pinky promise. Maybe if we try to enter at 4:55 we’ll be denied. I didn’t go that far with my conversation. As stated before, we intend to honor it…there was no implied rule of ‘don’t try to come earlier’. I’ll leave it to the experts viewing to hash out the reasoning. But please tell this poli-sci guy what the tapstyle algorithm is?
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Hahaha! I’m sure you know what an algorithm is. A decision making tool. Typically you see them written with a question in a box with one line marked yed going to another box with a question and a line marked no leading to yet another box with another question. The questions are answered until a final decision is made. The questions being answered in the tapstyle algorithm in this case would start with “does this mde account have valid ticket media?” There would be more to this question, but you see the point. Presumably, the system is constructed to allow for funny little additions like not being allowed into 1 specific park before a certain time. I would THINK though that they would be using some pretty specific language in the calls to make that perfectly clear (almost like a legal disclaimer at the end of the call). Otherwise you would wind up with very angry guests if they weren’t allowed in 5 minutes early like you are describing. Also, this would require a high level of communication to the GS folks and the greeters to make sure everyone knew what was going on. This is certainly not Disney’s strong suit.
Sorry for geeking out on you, but I really appreciate your description of the phone call you had!
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@len. How many people would need to accept this offer for a real difference to be seen in numbers? I know that your models aren’t crowd control, but are line related, but can you estimate? I mean, we are talking thousands of people would be necessary, right? 10,000? Do you have any idea, statistically, how the number of reports here correlate to the total number affected?
My apologies…I’ve been a modeling geek for nearly 2 decades. That’s why I love it here!
I find this entire thing fascinating! I fell like it must be a test because as others have pointed out, it would require so many people to do it to make a difference, but I can’t help but wonder if it is a sign of things to come. I can see this in the future being controlled via email & My Disney Experience, with actual algorithms in place to take out the “pinky promise” aspect, which would allow Disney to move the kind of crowd numbers it would take to make a difference.
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This is what I find most interesting. If they are going to make a verbal contract with the guest, the ticket should be restricted until that hour.
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