EasyWDW or Touringplans crowd calendar?

[DCLMan]

I've tried both TP and easywdw and I preferred easywdw.

Josh explains why he chooses his best park and his blog is brilliant.

 

[scoobydooby]

Touring Plans for me. It has never let me down yet. That said, I'm finding their optimiser plan function a bit glitchy. Some if it just does not make sense. Have found the general touring plans ace though.

 

[bytheblood]

I like TourGuide Mike and then EasyWDW. TGM has a bad rep due to some past issues, but these things are being cleaned up and it is become the site it once was. Honestly, for the most part - TGM and EasyWDW mirror park crowds almost exactly without fail each month. I like TGM because the forums are friendly and helpful and there are never any trolls.

 

[MichaelColey]

I find Josh's crowd forecasts on easyWDW to be very accurate and helpful. Plus they're free.

I've never tried the others, so I can't compare.

The detail that Josh provides is also very helpful. A park may be Least Recommended, but that doesn't necessarily apply to the ENTIRE day. For instance, if Magic Kingdom is open from 8am to 11pm and has PM EMH, it'll probably be Least Recommended because it's going to be CRAZY from Noon on, but it can still be an EXCELLENT park to tour in the morning. You can glean that kind of information out of his detailed descriptions, where a list of recommended parks or crowd levels won't tell anywhere near the whole story.

 

[hugo]

We used easy wdw last year when we were there during Mardi gras/presidents week. It was pretty spot on.

Anybody not follow the plans when the crowd level is low. We are going September 12-20th this year. Most of the calendars show 2's or 3's for this time. Just wondering if it makes that big of a difference to follow the plan.

 

[maxiesmom]

Funny! Several people signed up to the Dis and have just one post to say to go with Josh/EasyWDW.

2 posters, from what I see. And there are way more votes for Easy than there are people who have posted.

 

[twinboysmom]

2 posters, from what I see. And there are way more votes for Easy than there are people who have posted.

You can vote without posting. I do it all the time. Anyway, I had no intention of posting but I will say that easywdw has NEVER let me down.

 

[WDWNext]

Usually they more or less match up.... but take a look at April 26th (I'll be at WDW).

EasyWDW and Undercover Tourist has Epcot as a park to Avoid.
Touringplans has it as a best park.
EP has evening EMH on that day....

Same day...
EasyWDW and UT has MK as best Park.
Touringplans has MK as a park to Avoid.

If you were me, what would you do ?

 

[Chrissyb8885]

Usually they more or less match up.... but take a look at April 26th (I'll be at WDW).

EasyWDW and Undercover Tourist has Epcot as a park to Avoid.
Touringplans has it as a best park.
EP has evening EMH on that day....

Same day...
EasyWDW and UT has MK as best Park.
Touringplans has MK as a park to Avoid.

If you were me, what would you do ?

We will be there april 26 also and have been wondering the same thing!!!

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

Usually they more or less match up.... but take a look at April 26th (I'll be at WDW).

EasyWDW and Undercover Tourist has Epcot as a park to Avoid.
Touringplans has it as a best park.
EP has evening EMH on that day....

Same day...
EasyWDW and UT has MK as best Park.
Touringplans has MK as a park to Avoid.

If you were me, what would you do ?

Depends how you feel about EMH.

Easy WDW will always avoid the park with EMH. that's why Epcot is is never recommended on a Friday.

Generally speaking, Easy WDW starts with avoiding the EMH at any park (those are red) and then sorts the green based on other factors.

 

[heidia]

I have used Tour Guide Mike, Touring Plans and EasyWDW. Maybe it was the time of year we went, but our trip last April (planned with EasyWDW) was by far the best. Never waited more than 10-15 minutes for anything. We did TSM 3 times in one day without waiting! (2 times at opening in standby and once with a FP)

Beyond the fact that his advice/info worked (and its FREE), I just enjoy Josh's sense of humor. Bonus points for near daily updates and tons of photos!

 

[Wendy31]

I love easywdw! And I really like Josh's blog that explains why he's chosen which parks for which days. I also like that it's free! His site is just a very nice service to WDW fans, so, thank you, Josh!

As a personal example, easywdw typically says to avoid MK on Sundays due to the evening EMH, but the evening EMH is the reason we go to MK on Sunday. But, w/ Josh's blog, I know the reasons why a park is recommended or not recommended, so I can take those things into consideration accordingly as I plan, if that makes sense.

That said, I do normally compare touringplans & easywdw - just to see & then make decisions using/comparing both sites & the way we tend to tour the parks.

I wasn't going to renew our subscription to touringplans this year, but DH wanted me to because he likes the app for his phone. I also was interested in their one-day touring plan for some friends who are taking their small children for the 1st time for 1 day this July. (However, after I got to looking at their one-day plans, I'm not really happy w/ them & don't think they'll work very well for my friend's family, but that's another post! LOL!)

So I guess my answer is I use both, but I like easywdw better.

 

[disneyboy123]

does easyWDW have actual touring plans or just the crowd calendar and explanation?

 

[CaFeeney]

EasyWDW all the way for us. Just got home yesterday from a fantastic 10th anniversary vacation. This is probably the 3rd vacation we have taken following Josh's advice. I find it pretty similar to Tour Guide Mike before it all went so badly. Josh's style is great - I know some don't appreciate it but he really does have a unique perspective on time in the parks.

Really, if you pick the recommended #1 or # 2 park, get there at Rope Drop and head to the headline attractions first then you really are in good shape. If you really want EMH's then go to the park for a few hours and then bug out. We were at MK on Thursday from 8-10 and got a TON of stuff done. As we were walking out the crowds were streaming in. As TGM used to say "Pity them, don't BE them"!

So, for our family we honestly didn't have much of a wait time on anything. Walked on to TSM and pulled FP's to ride again, 15 minute wait for ETWB, walk on at Test Track , 10 min wait for Kilimanjaro Safari's - all during a very busy Spring Break time.

We also take a midday break and head out in the evening to other parks.

The longest line we had was trying to get into Wolfgang Puck's at DTD on Saturday night! DTD was packed!

 

[North of Mouse]

We make our own plans, and use our common sense - don't need to use anyone else's touring plans. Have always done just great.

 

[ghtx]

does easyWDW have actual touring plans or just the crowd calendar and explanation?

I think there are touring plans somewhere in easywdw.com, but it is hard to find them. They might be buried somewhere in the forums or in previous posts, but they are not organized and easy to access like the ones at touringplans.com.

 

[siskaren]

does easyWDW have actual touring plans or just the crowd calendar and explanation?

In this post Josh gives ideal morning touring plans for each of the parks.

 

[ghtx]

I think there are touring plans somewhere in easywdw.com, but it is hard to find them. They might be buried somewhere in the forums or in previous posts, but they are not organized and easy to access like the ones at touringplans.com.

In this post Josh gives ideal morning touring plans for each of the parks.

Thanks.

But, like I said, it's kind of hard to find that. Much easier to find the touring plans on touringplans.com.

 

[MichaelColey]

Really, if you pick the recommended #1 or # 2 park, get there at Rope Drop and head to the headline attractions first then you really are in good shape.

That's my "plan" all the way. That first 60-90 minutes is the only part where you really need a plan, hitting the headliners, starting the FP collection, etc. For the rest of the day, you can focus on the FP rides and the attractions that don't have much of a wait.

I've said it other places, but there are three basic things that affect how much of a crowd you'll face:

1) What time of year you go.

2) The relative crowd level of the park you choose to go to.

3) Your own touring plan or style (which can be either a detailed plan or general guidelines).

Worst case, you can go to MK on New Years Eve, not get there until 11am, and wait in lines. Best case, you can pick a low crowd time to go (February, May, October, early December, etc.), go to the most recommended park, and hit rope drop. More realistically, you'll be able to control at least 2 of the 3 factors.

easyWDW helps tremendously on the first 2 factors, and generally on the third. There are detailed plans, but they're certainly not the emphasis.

 

[WDWNext]

Usually they more or less match up.... but take a look at April 26th (I'll be at WDW).

EasyWDW and Undercover Tourist has Epcot as a park to Avoid.
Touringplans has it as a best park.
EP has evening EMH on that day....

Same day...
EasyWDW and UT has MK as best Park.
Touringplans has MK as a park to Avoid.

If you were me, what would you do ?

Depends how you feel about EMH.

Easy WDW will always avoid the park with EMH. that's why Epcot is is never recommended on a Friday.

Generally speaking, Easy WDW starts with avoiding the EMH at any park (those are red) and then sorts the green based on other factors.

Today,
AK is not recommended by TP, and the times are reasonable.
MK is recommended, and the posted times are over the estimates.
None of them have EMH.
AK is recommended by EasyWDW and Undercover tourist.