Do I really need a touring plan for September??

[jle323]

Hi everyone!
I am going to the world this Sept with DH, DS (18 months), and my parents. I'm having trouble constructing a touring planl My parents and DH and I will all go to the same park each day, but we plan on splitting up. Part of the day we'll have DS, part of the day they'll have him. I have touring plans for traveling with small children - but those don't include all the adult rides. The touring plans for adults don't include kiddie rides. I'm not sure at what point we'll have DS and what point my parents will have him. The last time we went to WDW was a few years ago in Sept, and the crowd level was very low, but I'm nervous that with the free dining it will be more crowded. Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Lora]

I would either try to plan ahead with your parents which times you'll take your son and which times they will. If you can't do that, then just make general "with DS" and "without DS" plans for the different parts of the day (opening, late morning, afternoon, evening, etc.) You can have small pieces of a plan that you can fit together as you need to. The most important thing would be to know which time of day to ride/avoid certain rides. You don't want to end up with DS in Fantasyland at 11 am or something. Even if it's a lower crowd level, it doesn't hurt to have a list of the main things you want to do. You can always make changes once you're there.

We'll be there in Sept. for our fourth Sept. trip. I love that time of year at Disney, but I do make touring plans. Ok - I think once I didn't and I was a mess.

 

[srgibbs]

Even though the crowds are lower you should still do some planning. Make sure you or parents take DS to fantasyland in the am and are done by 11:00 until evening. Fantsyland gets really crowded around 11 even in Sept. Peter Pan usually has 90 minute waits in the afternoon when you can just walk on and off in the mornings. Also if he would ride Splash Mountain or Big Thunder Railroad we have found a good time to do those is during the afternoon parades with little to no wait times. Also, Fantsyland has Magical Beginnings 3days a week where they open that area 1 hour early and have lots of games and characters out to play with the kids. It's a great time to ride rides and let the kids visit with Peter Pan, Snow White, ect. Check Disney's Website for which days they do that. You don't have to stick to a schedule but do make one just to make sure you have some sort of plan and most of all Have Fun!

 

[dizzi]

NO!!!!!!! Just go and have FUN!!!!!!!!

 

[JeanfromBNA]

Seconding or thirding the notion that you should do some planning - hey, this is the Dis - you didn't think that we were gonna say, "Nah, don't worry about it!?"

One thing that stuck out in my memory was how empty Fantasyland was in the early AM when we were there in September 05 during the first dining promotion. All of the rides we went on were near walk-ons. Of course we didn't do the teacups or flying Dumbos, so no idea about those rides.

I would plan to be wherever you want to go at rope drop at least a couple of mornings.

Besides, what are you going to do until September if you don't have anything to plan?

 

[tribus121]

we went last september and found no need for a touring plan the longest we had to wait for any ride was 30 min for Soaring the only planing we did was around some shows and our adr's

 

[tasha99]

I'm thinking you will need a plan. We ditched our plans last September but noticed that the little kid areas were very crowded--Space Mountain was walk on, while Peter Pan had a 45 minute or longer wait.

 

[BlindTyldak]

Last year people were saying that the crowd levels varied widely during free dining . . . some days the parks were near dead, others they were packed to the gills. I say make a plan and then if you don't need it that day because the levels are low, scrap it. You definitely won't go wrong by having your ADR's at the very least.

 

[fAnnF]

I always would suggest planning. My dad and I are going in September this year, and I have a plan. If we don't need it that's fine, but it's there.

 

[corgi_monster]

I was in WDW during the middle of September 06 and didn't feel that we needed to follow a strict plan.

I think that if you can get to the park at openning time and ride all the major attractions in the morning, you can do as you please for the rest of the day. You should also plan your meals if you are going to be dining in restaurants. ADR's are a MUST at this time of the year.

Last year, we didn't know any better and usually chose to spend the entire day in the park that had EMH evenings. The crowds were not unbearable, but I would suggest going to a non-EMH park. Epcot on Friday night during EMH was very busy. The good news is that with the exception of Saturday, the crowds were never very big and the lines were never more than a few minutes wait.

In fact, we loved it so much, we're going back again this September!

 

[ziggybaby]

It helps to have some sort of plan.

We'll be there this September, every day of the 3 weeks is planned

​

 

[jle323]

Thanks everyone! Your responses were pretty much what I expected
I guess I'll just bring 2 separate touring plans for each park. It's stressing me out not knowing exactly what we're doing, but my parents are not planners. They just want to go with the flow.

It's good to know that Fantasyland gets crowded early - I didn't realize that. We're planning on doing the Little One's EMH, so we'll just leave Fantasyland when it starts getting crowded.

 

[dizzi]

well you dont have to let parents know that you even have a plan, just be the boss.

We always have a plan, because....................
1. We feel we spend way too much money to stand in the middle of the park , and go, duhhhh what do we do now.

2. eliminates ANY AND ALL arguing as to what we are going to do, as far as kids go.

3. I know what we are going to need to pack in a back pack each day, as far as snacks or extra clothes etc.

4. We get so much done and dont feel stressed.

5. We get great seats for parades and dont fight crowds.

 

[benamin]

On this site you will only get one answer! We all plan which shoe lace to tie up first while in the WORLD!

Benamin

 

[southernbohemian]

I would suggest asking your parents if you can plan on switching off your son during lunch. During the AM go to Fantasyland and ToonTown with your son and get that done while your parents can do what they like. Meet somewhere for lunch and hand off your son. Then you guys do the more adult stuff while your parents bring your son on the Riverboat, to character greets, the afternoon parade, or even goes back to the hotel for a nap. That way its not planned for your parents, but you know what you should get accomplished during the am and pm.

 

[blue_eyes5212]

It helps to have some sort of plan.

We'll be there this September, every day of the 3 weeks is planned

​

THREE WEEKS!!!!!!!!! I'm so jealous!!!!!!!

 

[jle323]

I would suggest asking your parents if you can plan on switching off your son during lunch. During the AM go to Fantasyland and ToonTown with your son and get that done while your parents can do what they like. Meet somewhere for lunch and hand off your son. Then you guys do the more adult stuff while your parents bring your son on the Riverboat, to character greets, the afternoon parade, or even goes back to the hotel for a nap. That way its not planned for your parents, but you know what you should get accomplished during the am and pm.

That's a really good idea! That would make me feel so much better, knowing what to expect. Thanks!