Advice on Using TouringPlans.com

[RonNic]

I am planning a trip for my family in July 2014 and am concerned about the crowds. I signed up for Touringplans.com to use the personalized touring plans but the wait times that I am getting seem awfully low. Does anyone know if this website is usually pretty accurate? If so, the lines are going to be a lot shorter than I expected.

 

[MichaelaF]

We just got back and we used TP. My thoughts....

The park SEEMED a lot more crowded than the crowd levels indicated, as far as the number of people milling around. However, they seemed pretty accurate if you considered the standby wait times. While a couple of them were 60+ mins a few times, they weren't usually crazy long. And the current wait times on the app were always DEAD on perfect. I used that all day long in the parks and loved it.

 

[MichaelaF]

Oh, and I don't know what TP says about July, but I would just count on it all being super crowded with long lines, honestly. July is nuts there.

 

[RonNic]

Thanks for the reply. I know the parks will be crowded in July (and HOT!) but that is the only time we can go next year.

 

[ghtx]

I am planning a trip for my family in July 2014 and am concerned about the crowds. I signed up for Touringplans.com to use the personalized touring plans but the wait times that I am getting seem awfully low. Does anyone know if this website is usually pretty accurate? If so, the lines are going to be a lot shorter than I expected.

Give me an example of a wait time that you are getting that seems "awfully low" to you.

 

[Viva Las Disney]

I am planning a trip for my family in July 2014 and am concerned about the crowds. I signed up for Touringplans.com to use the personalized touring plans but the wait times that I am getting seem awfully low. Does anyone know if this website is usually pretty accurate? If so, the lines are going to be a lot shorter than I expected.

I'm using it for my first trip in December and had the same thought. I've heard so much about the hour long lines and according to TP most of my waits are 10 min or less, the time of the day seems to be the biggest factor on the wait times.

For example, touring plans lists my wait times on Tuesday Dec 3rd at MK from rope drop to lunch: Buzz 0, Space Mtn 0, Jungle Cruise 0, POTC 0, Splash 0, BTMRR 4. This is from 9am - 11am. After lunch most waits are still 5-10 minutes with majors showing 15-25 and then in the late afternoon most waits are 10-15 with the E-tickets in the 30-40 min range. By hitting the majors in the morning (and again with FP+ in the afternoon) and saving the less busy rides for the afternoon I have very few ride waits over 10 minutes.

I'm really hoping it's correct because it looks amazing on paper.

 

[ghtx]

For example, touring plans lists my wait times on Tuesday Dec 3rd at MK from rope drop to lunch: Buzz 0, Space Mtn 0, Jungle Cruise 0, POTC 0, Splash 0, BTMRR 4. This is from 9am - 11am. After lunch most waits are still 5-10 minutes with majors showing 15-25 and then in the late afternoon most waits are 10-15 with the E-tickets in the 30-40 min range. By hitting the majors in the morning (and again with FP+ in the afternoon) and saving the less busy rides for the afternoon I have very few ride waits over 10 minutes.

That sounds about right for early December, one of the lowest periods of the year.

 

[RonNic]

A couple of examples of the wait times that I am getting are:

July 11, Pete's character greeting in New Fantasyland, 15 minutes at noon

July 17, Haunted Mansion, 18 minutes at noon

July 17, Pirates of the Carribbean, 10 minutes at 10:00 A.M.

I was thinking that in the middle of the day the wait times would be a lot longer. I am definitely not complaining but I do not want to go in expecting these wait times if the lines are going to be longer.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[HappyGrape]

I did test few weeks ago and checked the waiting times on mydisneyexperience app and touringplans were completely inaccurate. I won't bother renewing my subscription

 

[ghtx]

A couple of examples of the wait times that I am getting are:

July 11, Pete's character greeting in New Fantasyland, 15 minutes at noon

July 17, Haunted Mansion, 18 minutes at noon

July 17, Pirates of the Carribbean, 10 minutes at 10:00 A.M.

I was thinking that in the middle of the day the wait times would be a lot longer. I am definitely not complaining but I do not want to go in expecting these wait times if the lines are going to be longer.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

To me those sound about right.

Wait times are at their peak around 2-5. Noon is a bit before that, and 10am is certainly before that. Again, this is a low time of year. I think you'll be OK.

 

[RonNic]

Thats good news. I can plan around the lines. Now I just need to plan for the weather!

 

[ready123go]

I am planning a trip for my family in July 2014 and am concerned about the crowds. I signed up for Touringplans.com to use the personalized touring plans but the wait times that I am getting seem awfully low. Does anyone know if this website is usually pretty accurate? If so, the lines are going to be a lot shorter than I expected.

I've been using TP for about 4-5 years now. They have always been fairly accurate. Orlando doesn't do mornings - lol. Really. Everything in the morning is easier, from driving to shopping to groceries to parks. The earlier, the better. Lines and traffic are much lower then.

If I am planning quite far ahead (6 - 10 months) I do notice that sometimes the predictions change drastically. It's tough when trying to make dining reservations, but it has never become a problem.

 

[disneydad33]

I did test few weeks ago and checked the waiting times on mydisneyexperience app and touringplans were completely inaccurate. I won't bother renewing my subscription

Touring plans is usually more accurate than the app. That was my experience a couple of weeks ago in the parks. Posted wait times are not the same as actual wait times.

 

[TitaniumZ]

I used the Touringplans app last Christmas season, and spring break, and found it to be quite accurate. That was using it same day in the park though, not months in advance. One nice feature is that when a ride goes offline, you know quickly, and don't end up walking across the park to find it closed.

 

[kathy884]

I've been using Touring plans since the 1990s. Their advice and ride order is excellent (believe me there was a night and day difference with doing their order vs. doing my own the same time of year, both experiences getting there at rope drop. I'm talking about the week before Christmas and Christmas week.)

Good advice to update your plan a week or two before you go to get their latest predictions, take advantage of new data and data updates. I always do that.

In all my years of using their plans (decades really I guess) I only have had one park day where lines and wait times were considerably longer than their predictions (one spring break day at Hollywood Studios in 2010. Other parks days were just fine on that trip).

On that spring break trip there were four attractions in a plan that wasn't all that overly ambitious we were planning on doing that we just didn't have time to do, even being there between rope drop and closing. And things like a 45 minute wait for our Fantasmic package dinner reservation and slow service at the restaurant sure didn't help with the equation. But as we've been many times, that really wasn't that big a deal to us, but boy was the park crowded, way more crowded than I expected.) Our first ride Tower of Terror right at opening after getting our Toy Story Mania fast pass was 35 minutes instead of the predicted 15, giving us a clue this day was going to be rough. There was another ride too with an hour wait with a prediction of 25 minutes. Right when we got there a Brazilian tour group with think more than 100 fast passes all went in front of us. And, of course, that's valid. It just made a an even longer stand by wait for us. Just saying they can be off. I don't think that they had at that time fully accounted for limited nights for Fantasmic and how much busier a Fantasmic night would be. They predicted a busier park, but not as busy as it actually was. Unfortunately that show too was something DH really wanted to see and we didn't do park hoppers on that trip. Except for that one time, their predictions have really been close to actual experience for me.

I did a customized plan for Sunday October 20th this year 2013 (9-3 at the MK and 7-9 at Epcot), and wait times were amazingly spot on. Everything was within 5 minutes of prediction. I was really impressed.) It was wonderful and OMG did I love having their plan.

 

[RonNic]

It sounds like the touring plans are pretty accurate so I think I will give them a try this trip. If the lines are a little longer than I thought or a ride is down we will just adjust accordingly. My daughter is 11 and loves everything about Disney so if we are unable to accomplish one ride/show we will be just as happy to move on to something else.