Touring Plans- Do they work?

[wrw0010]

I have bought the Unofficial Guide to WDW and was wondering if the touring plans are really as effective as they claim. It seems unlikely that someone can save 4 hours in queue time just by doing things in a certain order.

 

[OandA]

I have bought the Unofficial Guide to WDW and was wondering if the touring plans are really as effective as they claim. It seems unlikely that someone can save 4 hours in queue time just by doing things in a certain order.

Well by simply visiting Toy Story Mania early in the morning your wait time could be 5-10 minutes as opposed to over 4 hours during the middle of the afternoon.

Splash Mountain you can wait 1-2 hours in mid afternoon or wait 5-10 minutes in the morning or evening.

It's all about knowing which rides have the longest waits and doing those early in the morning or late in the evening.

Be flexible though. Don't follow it ride for ride.

 

[DaveStroem]

The main time saver in having a plan that includes a FP strategy. I personally prefer RideMax.com over a canned touring plan.

So yes, a plan can save you a lot of time. One other area that any plan will help with is the "what should we do next" moments. This can eat up 5 minutes between each ride and even more if you have to walk from one area to the next. We just did Kings Island yesterday without a plan (there aren't any plans out there) we spent an extra 15 minutes after lunch trying to convice some of our group that we should do the things in the area that we were eating instead of heading to the other side of the park for what she wanted to do right then. I finally had to say "THIS IS WHAT WE ARE DOING".

 

[CyndiLooWho]

We just did Kings Island yesterday without a plan (there aren't any plans out there) we spent an extra 15 minutes after lunch trying to convice some of our group that we should do the things in the area that we were eating instead of heading to the other side of the park for what she wanted to do right then. I finally had to say "THIS IS WHAT WE ARE DOING".

Ooh, I can't wait until school lets out and we get to go to KI. It's something my kids look forward to every year (they've not been to Disney yet). Last year was the first year we've missed since our youngest was a baby. With our move back to the US and my dh's month-long international business trip just 3 wks later, it didn't work out.

I'm really bummed that Dad's company axed the annual family trip to KI this year. It was costing them about $150K, so I understand it, but Dad always got extra tickets for all of us to go and we made it a 2 day event. Guess it'll be a one day thing in July instead.

Did you ride the big, new roller coaster?

 

[mmmears]

I have bought the Unofficial Guide to WDW and was wondering if the touring plans are really as effective as they claim. It seems unlikely that someone can save 4 hours in queue time just by doing things in a certain order.

Yes, it really makes a difference. The more crowded the parks are, the more useful the plans are. If the parks are pretty much empty, you could do it all the wrong way and not encounter 2 hr lines. Give it a try!

 

[Bagheera23608]

I've been wondering if I even need a big plan. We're going mid-September. I still plan to knock a couple of headliners first at each park, but I know the rest of my party would really like to relax and you know, come what may.

 

[wilde_oscar]

if you don't believe, don't use them

 

[Bagheera23608]

if you don't believe, don't use them

That was certainly helpful.....

 

[bowerphoto]

so does anyone what plans are the best? I have seen lots of them advertised but I can't find opinions on them other than on their own site

 

[wilde_oscar]

so does anyone what plans are the best? I have seen lots of them advertised but I can't find opinions on them other than on their own site

find the plan that fits your needs? The one that is best would be the one that BEST fits your needs?

 

[CyndiLooWho]

so does anyone what plans are the best? I have seen lots of them advertised but I can't find opinions on them other than on their own site

Take a look at a few and see if they seem doable. UG has them all at the very back of the book, so it's easy to plop down in a chair at the bookstore and red through them to see if they look doable. If you like them and buy the book, you get free access to the planning tools at touringplans.com and can customize one for your trip. do the same with the other books. It just means blocking out an hour or so to evaluate books at the bookstore (and picking a bookstore with a coffee shop to make it relaxing).

I don't know how you'd preview ridemax; I've not seen it.

I have UG. My plan is to try their plan the first full day in the park and work from there.

 

[Dizzy over Disney]

We love love love Touring Guide Mike. I had a book.. cant remember which one... I bought Touring Guide Mike for the same trip. Honestly, I did not think it was going to help that much... but I went a long with it. Holy CockroacheS! I would never think of going without it. His best thing in the whole world is the Red, Yellow and Green days .. which parks to go to which days and when. He gives you an order in which to hit the rides to avoid the waits. Incredible. My husband and I veered off the plan one day during our last trip and it bit us in the butt.
Touring Guide Mike is TOTALLY worth it!

Have a great trip!

 

[eliza61]

I have bought the Unofficial Guide to WDW and was wondering if the touring plans are really as effective as they claim. It seems unlikely that someone can save 4 hours in queue time just by doing things in a certain order.

I have mix feelings about plans. I tried TGM, did not find it to be any thing I couldn't get off of these boards for free. requested and recieved my money back. I'm not a huge "planner" just simply sucks the fun out of a vacation IMO if I'm locked into doing ride A at time X.
But if you enjoy reading Disney info (I do) and like to plan your trips out (I don't) go for it.

I will say I go in late August, the only plan I ever have is to know what time the parks are open and I have never waited more than 25 minutes for any ride in over 25 trips to WDW. I utilize FP (don't need a tour book to get that info)

 

[DaveStroem]

so does anyone what plans are the best? I have seen lots of them advertised but I can't find opinions on them other than on their own site

Here is large thread on RideMax. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2118681

If you like plans, you will love RM. I feel that RideMax was the best $18.95 that I spent on my Disney trip.

 

[jpkkld]

Just back and we used the UG 2-day plan for Families with 4 to 8 year old girls at MK, and 2-day guide for Epcot (plus an unplanned evening there), and the 1-day guide for AK (which we spread out over 2 days). And yes, it worked. In fact it worked too well. We did SO MUCH . . . SO EFFICIENTLY . . . and we were


SSSOOOO

TTTTIIIIIRRRREEEDDD!!!!!!!


by the 4th day! We've done Disney before, we're old pros with Fastpasses, but we've never done so much. We weren't planning to do much at Toontown or get any signatures other than the 1 princess breakfast we scheduled, but we had plenty of time for signatures and exploring all the walking paths around the Castle and the Tree of Life. We even had time to stake out front row spots for Spectromagic and Illuminations (waited about 1 hour for each - never done that before!) We rode every ride we wanted to, saw every show we wanted to, and had a sit-down meal every day. We also swam at the hotel every day and spent a few hours at Downtown one day.

So, yes, they work. My advice is, use them for a few days, then GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK! Do NOTHING for a day. Not even a meal reservation! Then go back to touring.

 

[Mickeygolf]

I'm with the PP who loves TGM. But I think all the touring plans offer some great information. For the price of any of these planning resources it's well worth what you can gain. Sure I can get a lot of the information on how to tour the parks from the DIS, in fact I have. But I trully believe the least crowded park days that TGM puts out are the best and as long as I believe that's all that matters to my family. Good luck on what ever planning guide you try. The bottom line answer is they can be very beneficial to how much you get done in the parks.

Good luck!!!

 

[WALTSAGOD]

That was certainly helpful.....

You must not believe.

 

[WALTSAGOD]

Splash Mountain you can wait 1-2 hours in mid afternoon or wait 5-10 minutes in the morning or evening.

I can't imagine anyone spending 1-2 hours in line for SM; at least not me.

 

[carolmp]

How do these work? I am new to this. Are they books, pamphlets or online updates or what exactly? Do I need to enter my specific dates, or do they have a general plan for a week?

It's been 5 years since we were last at WDW. I feel we do a good job with fastpasses. If I know my way around, will I get a lot of benefit from it?

TIA for your help!

 

[wilde_oscar]

How do these work? I am new to this. Are they books, pamphlets or online updates or what exactly? Do I need to enter my specific dates, or do they have a general plan for a week?

It's been 5 years since we were last at WDW. I feel we do a good job with fastpasses. If I know my way around, will I get a lot of benefit from it?

TIA for your help!

there are various plans for various groups; adults, kids, adults with kids, thrill rides, etc. find the one that fits you best, plug in the date and it will give you a list. there are sample plans on the website that you can see no problem. If you have a copy of unofficial guide, there are some in the book.

The basic idea is to hit the rides at the time of day when the lines are shortest. IE Dumbo is best first thing in the mroning, because it is slow to load, and has a small capacity. Where as Haunted mansion is continuous loading so you get more people on in less time. there is a lot of math and science behind how they make their choices... it is game theory and queuing theory, etc.