Do I need a touring plan?

[OnePrincessMom]

We will be arriving mid afternoon on 8/31 and have a five day hopper through Friday 9/4. Do I need a specific touring plan or should we be able to see/do everything in that time? Thanks!

 

[figment_jii]

Five days is a fair amount of time, so I don't think you need a specific/detailed touring plan. I would still get a sense of what things you want to do the most, so you don't miss anything, but I would mostly opt to go with the flow (especially in the first part of your trip). Note that you might see an uptick in crowds towards the end of the trip because of the Disneyland Half Marathon that starts on Friday, September 4.

 

[millie0312]

I think it depends on what you are wanting to get done and what kind of touring you prefer. We always have a plan and then if we have to change it because of rides down, crowds, kids needs, etc- it's ok. However, if you are wanting certain things done (headliner rides or shows) I think its good to have a loose plan at least. Certain rides have lines that are longer or shorter at various times (the park apps can help you figure out some of that) or some you almost have to hit at rope drop in order to not wait 60+ minutes (like PP). If you don't mine waiting in SB a lot or don't mind how much you get done, I wouldn't worry about a plan. However, if you have a list of "must do's" or like to maximize your time/FP's, I would recommend at least a loose plan of attack to make sure you make the most of your time, FP's and get your list done- either way you will have a great time I'm sure

 

[Angrose]

Here's what we like to do: we make a list of all the attractions/shows we want to do during the entire trip. We try to do the absolute must-do's on our first day. Each day we cross off what we've done and see what's left to tackle the next day, and so on. If we have time, then we do repeats or like on our last trip, we spent practically a whole day just doing pressed pennies, shopping and only a few rides! I also take into consideration the evening entertainment and try to do those early on in the trip. This is a good idea because F! and the parade can be cancelled due to weather or fireworks can be cancelled due to high winds (which may not be apparent to the guests at ground level). You wouldn't want to leave those to the end of the trip and miss out completely. Also, the evening entertainment usually means late nights, so it's usually harder to do that and get up early the next day as your trip progresses.
To me, planning is part of the fun, so I do subscribe to Touring Plans just to play around with things to see what a day may look like. With 5 days though, you should have plenty of time to do everything you want. Have fun!!

 

[ADLFAN]

I like to plot out shows and entertainment but not really rides. I know that at some point I will want to sit down and enjoy Aladdin, Mickey and the Magical Map, the Pixar Play Parade, the new World of Color, Fantasmic! And the new Disneyland Forever fireworks. So I draw my little schedule out and assign one or two performances to each day, and mentally build my ride schedule based on what is in route to the areas. Like, Toontown right before Mickey and the Magical Map, with Small World after. Or the Tower of Terror before we get in line for Aladdin.

Five days is the perfect amount of time to cover most things, hit your favorites 3-4 times, and miss just a few things to tempt you to come again! See if I am wrong!

 

[DisneyloverinWA]

I don't think you need a touring plan for Disneyland. If you can study the maps and the show schedule before your trip, you should be able to determine what you want to get done and make your own agenda. Disneyland is so much smaller than Disneyworld and requires less planning, IMO.

 

[figment_jii]

OnePrincessMom, I think it really depends on what you mean by a "specific touring plan". I was answer in terms of a very detailed Touring Plans/RideMax style plan which says where you should be down to the minute (e.g., 11:03 am Toy Story Midway Mania, etc.). However, if you meant a more general plan, like do "this" today and "that" tomorrow, type thing, then that's probably a good thing to do. The biggest thing to note is that F! is likely only presented on Fri, Sat, and Sun at that point in the year (but fireworks and PtN should still be nightly, as well as WoC and Diamond Mad T Party). So if you want to see F!, that is one thing I would "schedule".

 

[elaine amj]

I used Ridemax - but found that things would keep happening and Ridemax never really worked out for us. I guess I like a little too much control and could never let go and trust the program? I tweaked so much that we pretty much rarely ever followed the ridemax plans. Like other said, do fireworks early. We did WOC on our first day and were rained out of F!, Fireworks AND parade for the next 2 nights. Quite nerve wrecking. Thankfully all went smoothly on our last 2 nights and we were able to fit everything in. I was a little worried we would have to miss something. I personally do like a touring plan and would suggest it - especially for a WDW vet. I often found myself disoriented and would sometimes foolishly expect the same wait patterns. e.g. Star Tours has CRAZY lines and FPs run out fairly early. And I hadn't realised Splash would have a 40 min line all the way until closing.

All that said, I also should have just done a WDW-style itinerary for our family. I didn't and we got really really tired even though I kept the pace slow. I didn't have a carefully planned itinerary balancing early mornings, late nights, sleep ins, etc like I normally do and burning the candles at both ends for 5 days in a row exhausted our family (especially as this was the 2nd half of a 2 week vacay). For WDW, I plan that out carefully (since we go for 10-12 days) and we are usually well-rested.

 

[figment_jii]

I didn't have a carefully planned itinerary balancing early mornings, late nights, sleep ins, etc like I normally do and burning the candles at both ends for 5 days in a row exhausted our family (especially as this was the 2nd half of a 2 week vacay). For WDW, I plan that out carefully (since we go for 10-12 days) and we are usually well-rested.

It's worth noting that the park hours are likely to be shorter when the OP goes in late August/early September. For the weekdays that are now posted (8/31 to 9/3), the hours are 10:00 am to 9:00 pm (DL) and 10:00 am to 8:00 pm (DCA), so those are markedly shorter than the 8:00 am to midnight for DL in the peak of summer.

 

[jeffg4]

It's always good to have a touring plan. Even though I do my research ahead of time and have a good idea of what to expect, I use TP and Ridemax just so I have something to work from. As Elaine mentioned, you will invariably need to move away from your plan, but it still provides you with a base from which to work.

 

[jammyjam25]

I like to plot out shows and entertainment but not really rides. I know that at some point I will want to sit down and enjoy Aladdin, Mickey and the Magical Map, the Pixar Play Parade, the new World of Color, Fantasmic! And the new Disneyland Forever fireworks. So I draw my little schedule out and assign one or two performances to each day, and mentally build my ride schedule based on what is in route to the areas. Like, Toontown right before Mickey and the Magical Map, with Small World after. Or the Tower of Terror before we get in line for Aladdin.

Five days is the perfect amount of time to cover most things, hit your favorites 3-4 times, and miss just a few things to tempt you to come again! See if I am wrong!

This is what I do as well, build my days around the entertainment I want to see that day. You don't realize at first how much time can be taken up just by doing one show (Mickey and the Magical Map, for example) and one nighttime show/parade!

The other thing I build into my "plan" is any dining reservations I might have. It really helps to see where you've got blocks of time in your day for hitting the rides!

 

[Symon]

We are going the exact same days, OnePrincessMom. I use both touringplans and Ridemax, but not necessarily because we need it, but because I really enjoy the planning part of a trip - it makes the trip last for months . It also gives me a starting place each day, so we don't wander aimlessly. I have used it to plan meals and shows, and I have entered the rides into the plan, but it seems like there is a lot of time and I can do a lot of rides several times if I follow the plans. When we actually get there I may relax the plans, but I feel better knowing I have them if I need them.

 

[tarheelalum]

Five days is a good amount of time so I don't feel you need any hour by hour daily plans. But what you must do to get the most out of Disneyland is get there early every day. In the first hour or 2 the park opens you can do a lot of rides and other cool stuff that later in the day would take forever to accomplish. I cannot stress enough getting there before rope drop and being ready to move. After those first few hours, take it all as it comes and take your time enjoying things. Too many people rush around all day and never take the time to sit down and enjoy the happiest place on earth. Have a great time.

 

[jeffg4]

This is what I do as well, build my days around the entertainment I want to see that day. You don't realize at first how much time can be taken up just by doing one show (Mickey and the Magical Map, for example) and one nighttime show/parade!

The other thing I build into my "plan" is any dining reservations I might have. It really helps to see where you've got blocks of time in your day for hitting the rides!

I actually do the opposite - I try fit in the meals and entertainment after prioritizing the rides. It often works best to schedule your breaks and meals during off-hours. But I have teenagers that want to spend more time on rides than on shows and dinner reservations. Both strategies will work depending on your priorities.

 

[lvdis]

To piggy-back on this, we will have 4 park days (Sunday 12/6 - Wed 12/9) with parkhoppers. I would like to put together a loose plan of sorts, but I struggle with how to divide out the rides/shows over each day. What is a good approach to that? I'd like to do all the nighttime shows (at least once) and the special Christmas related offerings along with lots of rides!