Crowd Calculators and Touring Plans?

[BudgieMama]

Has anyone here used either to help their planning before?
What has your experience been like? Were they helpful?

We've got a subscription to touringplans.com, mainly so I can use the Lines app when we get there, but I'm wondering if they are as good as they claim to be... Any thoughts from people who have tried them "in the field" as it were?

 

[2Tiggies]

I've been using Touring Plans (The Unofficial Guide in book form too) for about 6 years now.

Our first trip was smack in the middle of Easter weekend so we were dealing with level 10 crowds and MK was actually closed to capacity on some of the days over the long weekend. So think BUSY

We didn't know any better to have anything to compare it to so I figured it was easter and would be busy. I used the touringplans to the letter until we got to the stage of the day where we had done everything we wanted and then we did our own thing.

We never waited more than 15-20 minutes at most for anything. Although we've been that many times that I don't print out and follow an actual plan, it shaped our habits and patterns and I do still refer to them once every now and then. They were the ones who taught me how to milk the old FP system to the max and I shall be eternally grateful for that It was awesome while it lasted

Despite having made numerous trips already, I am pretty much in the same boat as a first timer for the next trip as FP+ is going to change the way we tour the parks dramatically.

To answer your question, I do follow the blog which I read daily, I keep an idea on the crowd calendar and I have been playing around with their new optimized touring plan for FP+

The blog is great and topics very current so I read that daily, I have tracked my days for next trip on the crowd calendar and get email alerts of any changes.

Another thing is the Lines app is very accurate. The MDE one seems to be pretty much similar although the advantage of Lines is that it shows the posted wait time (as does MDE) and then the estimated wait time. This little number is the one I pay attention to and from my experience, it is very accurate. The actual wait times can vary considerably from those posted above the attraction entrances so it's proven a valuable tool

In short, I wouldn't do a trip without Len Testa and his team. They are part of our travel party. Simple as that

A year's sub costs less than $10. That is about £6.50 a year. Money well spent me thinks. They get the from me

 

[BudgieMama]

A year's sub costs less than $10. That is about £6.50 a year. Money well spent me thinks. They get the from me

I thought the price was reasonable (we have the 2014 Guide Book, so got a discount on that too), which is why we signed up. I know the book has lots of praise, but its hard to know what to take with a pinch of salt, isn't it?

I like the idea of not having the "erm, where next?" discussion after every ride too... I think that will save us a heap of time in itself!

It's good to hear positive from a real person, as it were, not a book!

Thanks 2Tiggies

 

[chmurf]

I'm also a TP user.
I find them rather accurate, but so is Josh from Easywdw, and that's free

in my experience, I don't rely on just one crowd calendar or touring plan. I try to get my information from various sources and take what's best of each one.

TP does a good job, but when it comes to crowd calendars, I prefer Josh's explanations, in plain English, rather than cold numbers which is all you get from TP

As for Touring plans themselves, I have come to realise that they're good for the first day (first timer) in each park, and that, as soon as you get a good picture of the park, it's more and more easy to navigate and avoid that "errr what do we do next" thingy.

My biggest advice would be to allow for flexibility.
There are 4 ways to work with a park touring plan :
- stick to the plan and be miserable because in the end, that plan just doesn't suit you or your party
- stick to the plan and have the most wonderful of days
- be flexible and use the plan as a guideline, not a shcedule or timetable
- toss the plan in the trash as soon as you go through the turnstiles (that's what I end up doing on each trip)


and final word. There is no such thing as an ultimate touring plans that could be spit out of a website.
The best touring plan will be the one that will suit your needs best, and that will allow you to make changes on the fly to accomodate for all of those little "unexpected" things (from kids tantrum to sore feet to a dole whip craving when your miles away from aloha isle)

 

[Shazzie B]

Another lover of Touring Plans, great for planning. I'm like chmurf though, do all the research have a plan, but only really use it as a guide - following exactly to a set plan would seem like hard work.We have picked up loads of valuable touring tips over time though. I've seen people carry the book round with them, never done that. Did use on my iPad mini this year though, which was great

 

[Elise79]

I have used touring plans in the past but no longer subscribe however this isn't anything they've done wrong we just have changed our style.

We travel 2 or 3 times a year. I am past the stage of wanting plan anything We will decide in the morning or the evening before what we will do the next day.

We almost always hit the park at rope drop and hit our must dos. After that anything else is a bonus. I also know already which rides to hit first as the lines build and which can safely be left till later.

The other thing travelling frequently has done for us is that if the queue is over 20/25 mins we will skip it knowing we can ride another day/trip.

The other thing is the times of year we travel are Easter/July/December. I know Easter & July will be 10/10 days and December will be after the week before Christmas. On those days hitting rope drop and touring effectively has proven more efficient than picking the right park!

 

[MrRomance]

I subscribe to Touring Plans (discounted by buying the Unofficial Guide every year) but I don't really follow any of the set plans. I use it to assess crowd levels and the Lines App.

I think FP+ has thrown a little spanner in the works. Things are going to change as a result of FP+ and the changes in the old FP system. Having said that many people waste a lot of time discussing and debating their next move and/or zig zagging all over the place. Not only does it waste time, it also plays havoc with your legs and feet!

In general, touring plans are really useful as a guide but you need to tweak them for your own style and favoured attractions.

 

[2Tiggies]

Having said that many people waste a lot of time discussing and debating their next move and/or zig zagging all over the place. Not only does it waste time, it also plays havoc with your legs and feet!

In general, touring plans are really useful as a guide but you need to tweak them for your own style and favoured attractions.

+1

It's not so much having a plan as such, as it is having some form of structure. We have always tweaked and TP recommends that if you aren't interested in something on the plan, you simply skip to the next step.

I agree with FP+ messing things up for us a bit because we developed a system based on our original following of specific TP's which is now going to have to be completely reworked. I may very well try out one 'to the letter' plan with the FP+ addition for 1 day per park next trip to see how we go with it. Chances are that it will work for us, and I anticipate that we will be changing things up but it comes back to what you stated: Having a plan saves you time over having no plan

 

[BudgieMama]

It's not so much having a plan as such, as it is having some form of structure. We have always tweaked and TP recommends that if you aren't interested in something on the plan, you simply skip to the next step.

I think that will come into play a lot for us. We don't have kids, so there's stuff we won't bother with, plus I'm not bothered if we skip rides that are like ones at any theme park (teacups, probably Dumbo unless there is no queue)

 

[2Tiggies]

I think that will come into play a lot for us. We don't have kids, so there's stuff we won't bother with, plus I'm not bothered if we skip rides that are like ones at any theme park (teacups, probably Dumbo unless there is no queue)

For an adults only trip I would do one of the adult touring plans. DD and I dont' bother with Fantasyland anymore. We take a walk through to look at it every year and I stand by while she does her spin on the teacups but there is nothing really that appeals to us there. It will be different with the new fantasyland which opened a week after we left last year (timing!) and we will certainly go and experience the new offerings at least once each

 

[tinks_1989]

I have used easywdw.com for our last two trips and will use him for our future trips. There was a vote on one of the main boards and he was voted the best even over the paid for services.

 

[arieliwish]

I signed up to TP, Tour Guide Mike for our trip this year. I also used easywdw and tried to collate all their advice into an excel sheet. I was amazed at the amount of differing advice given between them, but managed to come up with an idea of which was the best park to head to each day.

While there we used the TP app and found it quite accurate, we also submitted some times on there as we went along. I had read that some rides post longer wait times deliberately and in our experience the waits were rarely what was posted and in a lot of cases much less (The exception was Toy Story Mania which said 40 mins and it was actually over an hour!). We were in MK on Labour Day for breakfast in the Crystal Palace and expected to leave a heaving park right after breakfast. Instead we headed to BTM, Splash, Pirates, and Haunted Mansion, and they were all walk ons. The CM's commented on the lack of crowds but thought it was maybe because the parks were opening late that night (3am!). As we left at lunchtime the crowds were starting to come in but we were amazed at what we had gotten done.

I think with a little insider knowledge and an understanding that the parks will get busier from lunchtime you should be fine. (They should also quieten down later in the day!).

 

[zavandor]

I'm a big fan of easywdw. I used to subscribe to touringplan, but Josh is free and as much accurate (and sometime more). And I enjoy to read his posts. He has a "caustic" sense of humor, something not everyone likes. I love it.

 

[flortlebap]

Old thread, but I am a huge TP fan. Generally speaking, they are very accurate. The Lines app was worth the subscription cost alone - the MDE app was nowhere near as accurate with wait times.

There were a couple of occasions when TP got it REALLY wrong (recommending MK as a best park on a Stage 4 closure day for example) but generally I have found them excellent.