My thoughts on touring plans

[mshanson3121]

So, now that our trip is over I thought I'd share my thoughts on TPs. Before leaving I was more or less told that the only way to have a successful trip in the summer is to use touring plans. I now realize that all depends on your definition of successful - if your goal is to do it all, no matter what, then yes, they're necessary.

But otherwise, midway don't worry about them. In hindsight all that was really needed was to look at a map of the park and see what you want to do. IMO the best plan is to have 3 days at MK, and do rope drop all three days- one day for each area: Adventure/Frontierland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. Get the major rides done first, and then - just follow your children's lead.

I spent countless hours working on touring plans. And it was a waste. Not once did one day go to plan. One day the kids cared far more about meeting characters than rides. Another day, they cared more about rides.

One day when I was trying to follow our touring plan, my 8 year old said, "Mom, why do you have to plan everything?" I never looked at it again after that.

And it was great. Our trip was so much better than my plans. We did meet and greets we would have otherwise missed. We had fun moments that were unplanned because we weren't worried about following a schedule - like my kids sword fighting with the royal trainers. or having magic shots done by the photographers. Like trying the sword in the stone - several times, lol.

Sometimes Mother Nature interfered. When we should have been watching MSEP, we were instead huddling on a porch hiding out during a storm. Our daughter painted all our finger and toenails with silver sparkles - yup, my husband's included. That is a priceless Disney memory.

So... Don't worry about the touring plans too much. Don't try and do it all. Don't waste too much time on them. Your best plan is to let your children lead the trip.

 

[sprousehouse]

Thanks for sharing. We are traveling with grandparents and this group is notorious for not making decisions (they could look at the map for 30 minutes before choosing something!) so I figure the touring plans will at least get us going each day and will keep us from weaving all over. I grew up going to DL so we know our way around there no problem but WDW is so much bigger that I know having at least a loose plan will help. Glad you had a wonderful trip!

 

[mshanson3121]

[QUOTEehouse, post: 53975760, member: 520588"]Thanks for sharing. We are traveling with grandparents and this group is notorious for not making decisions (they could look at the map for 30 minutes before choosing something!) so I figure the touring plans will at least get us going each day and will keep us from weaving all over. I grew up going to DL so we know our way around there no problem but WDW is so much bigger that I know having at least a loose plan will help. Glad you had a wonderful trip![/QUOTE]


I was pleasantly surprised at how easy MK was to navigate. The hardest IMO was HS due to layout. But AK felt the most crowded.

 

[itchin2go]

Thanks for sharing. We are traveling with grandparents and this group is notorious for not making decisions (they could look at the map for 30 minutes before choosing something!) so I figure the touring plans will at least get us going each day and will keep us from weaving all over. I grew up going to DL so we know our way around there no problem but WDW is so much bigger that I know having at least a loose plan will help. Glad you had a wonderful trip!

I agree with the above. I always research the touring plans, sometimes make customized ones, but rarely really use them past the first couple of rides/attractions. The thing is, you can't underestimate the value of the information you absorb in looking at touring plans and making them. They are not necessary, but you will learn a lot if you familiarize yourself with them. There are other ways of learning the same information certainly.

But our general M.O. is to have a good idea of the first 3 or so rides/attractions and then play it by ear, but again, we know generally that we should head to X before Y because the lines build faster at X.

I think there's a happy medium between being a wide-eyed innocent with no knowledge or plans, and having a rigid touring plan that you will not deviate from.