Do you get frustrated when people refuse a touring plan?

[JRawkSteady]

See the thing is that with a touring plan, EMH is not even necessary! Whichever park has EMH will be the one you DON'T want to go to because of the bigger crowds. The longest I have waited on a line was 15 minutes and that's only because Space Mountain was closed earlier when I wanted to ride and both standby and FP lines were pretty far back. But usually I only wait 5-7 minutes to get on a ride.

I have been to WDW many times, plus I had worked there for a year. I know the park like the back of my hands, yet I still create some sort of plan so we're not aimlessly wandering around. I'm not going to wake up in the morning and ask my DGf, so which park do you want to go to today?... That's just not smart. Plus, you can't make ADRs unless you have some plan, so dinner would be impossible as well.

 

[mking624]

But see even with a tourig plan, some people still want to do EMH. DH and I can get everything we want done during the day. But we still stay for evening EMH because we enjoy it.

It's not a necessity, it's a luxury. Like a dinner at Victoria & Alberts.

That's not what you said here:

but if there are certain attractions you must experience, a touring plan is necessary.

 

[CNMooner]

No, but I get annoyed when I TRY to help someone, they decline the help and then they come back and complain about long lines or inability to eat somewhere. It is sooo hard to not say "I told you so." With my better friends (and my baser instincts) I cannot stop myself.

One friend even called from her trip and asked to me to schedule the rest of it. Grrr.

Yes, this is what I'm talking about. If you won't want to use a touring plan, fine. But then don't complain that the lines were long/couldn't get into an restaurants/crowds/Disney isn't want it used to be.

 

[Eoywin]

As this trip I'm starting to plan is my first as an adult, I'm not sure about touring plans, or what the best way to use them would be.

I'm also pretty certain that my fiancee would think a touring plan is not needed in the least (and would probably look at me with an odd look for suggesting it).

 

[JRawkSteady]

That's not what you said here:

HA! I stand corrected

Okay, well, I don't think it's necessary, but I think it's incredibly helpful if you don't want to miss anything. (and if you HATE standing in lines.

 

[mking624]

But then don't complain that the lines were long/couldn't get into an restaurants/crowds/Disney isn't want it used to be.

Touring plan or not, people have a right to their opinion about their vacation.

 

[dolewhips]

As far as Disney "being like it used to be", here is something that has bothered me since FastPass came around. Did you ever wonder why, before FastPass, you saw saw virtually ZERO clocks in the park? Walt wanted it that way; I remember during my CM orientation for WDWCP in summer '97 (pre-FP), a specific point was made that one of Walt's intentions in building WDW was to have an escape for the hustle and bustle of the "outside" world, thus no clocks to keep to a schedule. Time would stand still, so to speak.

My family and I leave on Sunday for the week. Will we use FP? Yes. Do we have ADRs for every day? Yes. Do we pretty much have each day scheduled for which park we will go to? Yes. I do all these things begrudgingly because I feel like you either do it that way (with lots of schedules to keep), or as someone else said, "you wait 120 minutes for Soarin'".

This feeling of "having" to follow a schedule and use FP, in order to get on rides is what makes me, at times, wish for the old, more relaxed way of tour WDW from my childhood. When other people talk about it going back to the way it used to be, I think this is what they are talking about. Like I said before, I think the old way (no FP, ADRs, and touring plans up the ying-yang) was how Walt originally intended it.

-end of rant-

 

[JRawkSteady]

I must go off-topic for a moment too:

What really bothers me is the fact that there's lines for characters now. They used to wander around and you would find them and ask for their autograph. If many children surrounded that character, then so be it. The CMs liked it that way better as well. More interaction.. Now they just create long solitary lines, and destroy more of the magic... and more people get turned away this way. My DGf and I got turned away from at least 5 characters on our last trip. (because we don't have kids probably) It's very sad.

 

[kittythepoohbear]

No, it doesn't bother me when people refuse a touring plan since I never have used a touring plan at WDW. I can see how they can work for some, especially first timers, but I would rather meander. Besides I now go during off-season where the longest line is usually 15 minutes long. What does frustrate me are people who ask for advice as in a touring plan, meal suggestions, etc., don't' listen to what you tell them, and then complain to you about all the problems they had. Why did you ask for help in the first place?

 

[rhiannonwales]

I totally agree with the statement that if you don't like touring plans fine but don't complain about crowds.

I've got an even better one for you. I do WDW intinerary planning on the side through ebay to make extra money for our WDW trips. MY most recent client gave me this as her list of what she wants me to plan:
For mid Dec, no less
7 people aged 38 - 3
Every parade
Every fireworks show
Every character meet
all the thrill rides
All the kiddie rides
every park
MVMCP
Mickeys BBQ
Cindys breakfast
akershus princess meal
all this in 4 days
And oh yeah they staying about an hour away from WDW
?!?!?!
yeah, riiiiiiight

 

[rhiannonwales]

I must go off-topic for a moment too:

What really bothers me is the fact that there's lines for characters now. They used to wander around and you would find them and ask for their autograph. If many children surrounded that character, then so be it. The CMs liked it that way better as well. More interaction.. Now they just create long solitary lines, and destroy more of the magic... and more people get turned away this way. My DGf and I got turned away from at least 5 characters on our last trip. (because we don't have kids probably) It's very sad.

J,
While i do understand you views from an adult perspective i do think that in a way it benefits the kids more. I remember going as a child, and i was small for my age and i was ALWAYS getting pushed back by bigger kids AND their obnoxious pushy parents. SO i got turned away alot as well. I think that this ways is a little more fair to them.
Sherrie

 

[disneymama73]

I totally agree with the statement that if you don't like touring plans fine but don't complain about crowds.

I've got an even better one for you. I do WDW intinerary planning on the side through ebay to make extra money for our WDW trips. MY most recent client gave me this as her list of what she wants me to plan:
For mid Dec, no less
7 people aged 38 - 3
Every parade
Every fireworks show
Every character meet
all the thrill rides
All the kiddie rides
every park
MVMCP
Mickeys BBQ
Cindys breakfast
akershus princess meal
all this in 4 days
And oh yeah they staying about an hour away from WDW
?!?!?!
yeah, riiiiiiight

Yeah, good luck with that.

I take it this is her first trip?

 

[Karnak]

I simply cannot imagine visiting Walt Disney World without some idea of what I'd like to do while there. It is true that I visit a couple of times a year, live a four or five hour drive from WDW, know the parks well, and usually visit solo these days; but to simply wander around the parks, backtracking, running here and there ... that's not my cup of tea.

I attempt to predect which park will be the least crowded each day I'll be there, make a personal itinerary for each park, make meal reservations that jive with my plans and don't require backtracking. I allow myself plenty of time between attractions so that I always have extra time during the day. And most of all ... I

Enjoy!

 

[rhiannonwales]

"Yeah, good luck with that.

I take it this is her first trip?"

Shes says no, but at the same time she tried to get me to plan for the wishes fireworks cruise with Peter Pan thats only available to Grand Gatherings. She saw it on the website
When i explained to her that she didnt qualify because she was :
1: not staying on site, and
2: not 8 or more people
She was less than happy. I honestly offerered her her money back because i didn't want the headache, but she insisted i keep going.

 

[robinb]

I can understand why you're frustrated. You give people advise and all they do is complain about the lines which could have easily been avoided if they had listened to what you had to say. It's happened to me and when I ask "What time did you get to the MK?" they say "11:00 AM". Sheesh. You will have lines at 11:00 AM on the least busy day of the year!

We go at the very busiest times of the year: summer and New Years Eve. We *always* have a plan. We have been to WDW often enough that we already know to do Dumbo, Peter Pan and Pooh first and save Small World for later ... no matter how much my DD begs for it when we get off of Pan with no wait. We also know to FP something on our way into the park ... Pan or Space Mountain. It's my job to watch the FP times and be the "runner" for the next one.

*sigh* I wish we could go in mid-May again. That was the *best* time of year. The FP machines were not even open!

 

[disneymama73]

"Yeah, good luck with that.

I take it this is her first trip?"

Shes says no, but at the same time she tried to get me to plan for the wishes fireworks cruise with Peter Pan thats only available to Grand Gatherings. She saw it on the website
When i explained to her that she didnt qualify because she was :
1: not staying on site, and
2: not 8 or more people
She was less than happy. I honestly offerered her her money back because i didn't want the headache, but she insisted i keep going.

You poor thing! I'm sorry you have to deal with that. Sounds like a huge headache.

 

[robinb]

I do WDW intinerary planning on the side through ebay to make extra money for our WDW trips.

I just looked up your listings out of curiosity. You need to charge more!

 

[starflower]

I don't usually use a "touring plan" per say, but I get a clear idea of what I want to do in each park before I go. I also am all about the Fastpasses because no one likes waiting in line (well... except I do at the Tower of Terror, but that's because I love the queing area). I've gone with two different boyfriends so far and both of them whined that they didn't want to plan anything because they wanted the trip to be more relaxed. After the first day both of them changed their minds pretty quickly when they realized that they needed to have some forethought or they'd become stressed because they couldn't do everything they wanted.

 

[JRawkSteady]

I totally agree with the statement that if you don't like touring plans fine but don't complain about crowds.

I've got an even better one for you. I do WDW intinerary planning on the side through ebay to make extra money for our WDW trips. MY most recent client gave me this as her list of what she wants me to plan:
For mid Dec, no less
7 people aged 38 - 3
Every parade
Every fireworks show
Every character meet
all the thrill rides
All the kiddie rides
every park
MVMCP
Mickeys BBQ
Cindys breakfast
akershus princess meal
all this in 4 days
And oh yeah they staying about an hour away from WDW
?!?!?!
yeah, riiiiiiight

Yikes.. hmm, well, with the exception of the meals, it's more than doable. This depends on what you consider a kiddie ride and a thrill ride.
I could do, Pan, Snow White, Dumbo, Carpets of Aladdin, Small World, Buzz, Pooh, Barnstormer, and all 3 mountains before noon. But I'm assuming she thinks that anything a child can go on is a kiddie ride. In that case, GOOD LUCK!

 

[Disney Ella]

I also would not like the structure of a touring plan. We plan which park to go to on which day and ride the most popular rides first. Works fine for us.
The last thing I want is a schedule on vacation.