Formal Touring Plan, Loose Touring Plan, or go with the flow?

[MaggieS79]

Hey! Visiting the parks in April. Have read the unofficial guide and have an idea of touring plans, or a general plan of attack prior to previous trips... is that enough? Haven't been to DLR since 2012 pre-Cars Land... so I know the plan is to head there first to ride or FP, etc., ... but... as long as we cover the headliners that we want to see first, that should be fine, yes? I'm looking up some touring plans and wondering if they really are *that* much more efficient, or if it will only save me 5 to 10 minutes plus cost me trekking my family through the park commando style!

Basically, my question is for those who have used them - helpful? Extremely or somewhat? Did you abandon them completely and live to tell?

Also some background: I'm aware of how to use the fast pass, travelling with (total) two adults two kids, one kid big enough to ride big rides (over 40"). Advice on how to use the child swap to the fullest also welcome. 5 days in the parks, hoppers - plenty of time. Staying off site, only one EMH for DL. Will be doing rope drop and naps in the afternoon.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Make the plan you think will fit your family best (and the "best" touring plan differs according to family), then be prepared to go with the flow. Even the most well researched plans can go awry for numerous reasons, so remaining flexible (with plans as well as attitude) will be a huge advantage. If your plans go well, terrific! And if your plans falter, you'll still have fun! And all the research you do in making your plans will benefit you and your family no matter what happens.
When we have family visiting, we plan by dividing all the rides and attractions into 3 categories: Must dos, Would like to dos, and Take it or leave it. Then we do our best to hit everything in category 1 at least once, cover whatever has short lines or is in a convenient location in category 2, and leave category 3 for fillers or down time. The DLR app has worked better for us than other paid plans.

 

[ADLFAN]

I like the idea of categorizing your rides based on priority, then being flexible enough to go on the next thing nearby that's on your list and has a low wait time.

I also love the Disneyland app and found it super helpful during our trip. You can even look at it before the trip to study crowd patterns, see what rides always have a short-ish wait that would be best to hit in the crowded parts of the day, see what rides have FP and when the current return times are, see what the nearby restaurants have on their menus and locate every bathroom and churro cart in the parks!

Aside from having general knowledge of which rides to prioritize early in the day and how to use Fastpass to it's fullest extent, I don't make much of a plan because when I tried, I found out that I'd want to abandon the plan in favor of the closest thing with the shortest wait!

One thing that I think we should have prepared for a bit better was dining, because I feel like we spent too long on our first trip trying to find places to eat where we would both enjoy something. Of course that was before the app and now that we've gone a few times, I'm much more familiar with what's available where and it's gotten a lot easier.

Have fun planning!

 

[cmpeter]

I like to plan the morning through lunch and then we sort of wing it after based on crowd levels, wait times for our favorite rides and our energy levels.

 

[hanna-nana]

We go with several kids. This time will be 5 kids. We've gone with 4, and 3 previously. I have to have a general idea of what we want/need to do because I get asked "what do you want to do next?" And have to have an answer. But....any plan I were to make ahead of time would get thrown out the window. So, I know where we will start each day. The kids will pick a show if they want and we will base other rides around that. In my mind I know where we should eat if we get hungry in whichever land. Other than that, we wing it. Could we do more with a better 'plan'? Sure! But it's not my DHs or kids style. We will pick a land and hit the rides there or split up if ds doesn't want to do the girls stuff. We will meet up for rider swaps eventually.

 

[Disney_Alli]

I'm a militant Touring Plans follower. I follow the plan from opening and we usually finish about 2pm but we're only touring with adults. They guarantee to save you up to 4 hours in line. Len Testa the creator of the plans says that the pre-written plans generally save you closer to 5 hours especially if you're going on a busy day. I've never waited more than 25 minutes for any ride on either coast while following their plans no matter how busy the parks are.

 

[emmybee]

I do my planning around food, lol! So for that, I like to have one reservation for a must-do dining location daily. Next, I make a rough outline of what shows/parades are playing on a particular night so I can be sure to catch a must-see show early on. We do 5-day hoppers, also, and like to take it easy. I really like the FPs and found the mobile Disney app very useful.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I'm a militant Touring Plans follower. I follow the plan from opening and we usually finish about 2pm but we're only touring with adults. They guarantee to save you up to 4 hours in line. Len Testa the creator of the plans says that the pre-written plans generally save you closer to 5 hours especially if you're going on a busy day. I've never waited more than 25 minutes for any ride on either coast while following their plans no matter how busy the parks are.

No plan works the same with kids in the mix.

 

[bakerudall]

I do my planning around food, lol! So for that, I like to have one reservation for a must-do dining location daily. Next, I make a rough outline of what shows/parades are playing on a particular night so I can be sure to catch a must-see show early on. We do 5-day hoppers, also, and like to take it easy. I really like the FPs and found the mobile Disney app very useful.

I like to plan the morning through lunch and then we sort of wing it after based on crowd levels, wait times for our favorite rides and our energy levels.

These two combined.

I plan which park to start in each day (the opposite one from everybody else), the best days/times for each show, important meals, and then the first few hours of each day. If the parks are open late, I'll also have a plan for after fireworks to close. FP return times and a lot of other factors will vary in the afternoon and evening.

No Touring Plans membership necessary. TP does have some good information that can be searched for free, like the ride and show durations, that can be helpful in planning, but it's better to learn about average wait times and crowd patterns from the Disneyland app and here on the DISboards. Then you'll be able to make stress-free decisions on the fly throughout the day. It will look like you're "going with the flow," but literally going with the flow means waiting in the longest lines for rides and food all day.

 

[MaggieS79]

Thanks everyone for all the responses! I was getting overwhelmed with trying to figure out whether I should work for the touring plan or if the touring plan should work for me... who's the boss here?? haha!

emmybee - I totally agree! I have my dining (and maybe even my actual menu items!) planned!

theluckyrabbit - I like the categories.. maybe I will think about that! It is enough to juggle splitting up with each kid this time that my plan is to do everything we want, at some point.

ADLfan - I've got the food thing covered. My husband is SO tired of me asking him where he wants to eat in April!!

cmpeter - yes, that's as far as I've gotten! Lunch and then all bets are off!

hanna-nana - I like how you roll! your family sounds a lot like my family - 'what's next mom?!?'

Disney_Alli - I'm sure they are fantastic (I have read/reviewed both the WDW and DLR books and plans prior to visiting).. however it's true - with small kids we need to minimize walking and be ready to go when the kids are hitting their max... thankfully we have never waited longer than 25 mins either, on either coast, so we must be doing something right!

smartlabelprint - oh so true!

bakerudall - well said re: literally going with the flow. I have been stalking the DIS and the app for long enough that it's probably impossible to go with the flow completely! I can't un-see all the helpful advice on this board.

Thanks again!

 

[kathy884]

I follow my touring plan to the T, am usually done by 4 p.m. or so and then do my own thing or leave after that. We are adults only. This helps us get in what we really want to do. Please note too that I typically just do one Disney park day a year, so am paying big dollars for the day and want to get the most out of it. January of 2017 will be two days for us (WDW vet) doing one day at Disneyland and one day at California Adventure (me, my sister-in-law, and my 20 year old). It will be so much fun. I already got my touringplans.com subscription and put in custom plans. I've been using these plans at WDW since 1989 (I use one for every visit) and am a huge fan of the plans. // And when I say to the T, if something cool comes up we don't hesitate to deviate (listen to the Dapper Dans, etc.). Plus we also sometimes decide we'd just assume skip an attraction too and go to the next thing on the plan instead. // Where these plans are particularly wonderful is when you have a large group -- none of that gosh what do we do next. We put together a plan ahead of time instead, which really works out well. And people can do the plan with the core group or their own thing. I do lots of extended family trips to the parks with 10/12 people.

 

[Disney_Alli]

Disney_Alli - I'm sure they are fantastic (I have read/reviewed both the WDW and DLR books and plans prior to visiting).. however it's true - with small kids we need to minimize walking and be ready to go when the kids are hitting their max... thankfully we have never waited longer than 25 mins either, on either coast, so we must be doing something right!
I can't unseen all the helpful advice on this board.

Thanks again!

This is why I love the Lines app with the Touring Plans - you can import your plans (custom or pre-made) then you can optimize them to minimize walking. If something comes up you can skip steps, move steps or just throw it away and start over right in the app. It's super easy to choose to minimize walking over minimizing lines, I usually split it down the middle. Following suggestions from Lines with their wait times worked for us this passed August in WDW with an 8 week old too (I guess now that my nephew is around I can`t say we tour with only adults anymore) But I will fully admit that aside from an 8 week old who just wanted to be kept cool I`ve never had to take kids and their opinions in to play.

 

[TinkLoverSam]

As the mom of the 8 week old @Disney_Alli mentioned I will definitely say touring plans saved us time but my dh doesn't like having to have a plan so we ended up winging it or just using our fps a lot and then leaving but this was August at wdw and it was HOT!

 

[MaggieS79]

This is why I love the Lines app with the Touring Plans - you can import your plans (custom or pre-made) then you can optimize them to minimize walking. If something comes up you can skip steps, move steps or just throw it away and start over right in the app. It's super easy to choose to minimize walking over minimizing lines, I usually split it down the middle. Following suggestions from Lines with their wait times worked for us this passed August in WDW with an 8 week old too (I guess now that my nephew is around I can`t say we tour with only adults anymore) But I will fully admit that aside from an 8 week old who just wanted to be kept cool I`ve never had to take kids and their opinions in to play.

That does sound pretty awesome! We are from Canada, so data is expensive... I can't say that I want to spend my vacation using apps or my phone. I know - I'm completely old fashioned, I'll own it... I love the maps and the paper, regardless of how 'disconnected' it is from rapidly changing information (like wait times!).

A lot of my fondest memories of our last trip with my daughter when she was almost 3 are her smiles or her laughs, watching her experience rides or interactions with characters... she still tells people she went underwater in the Ariel ride .... so part of me (ok most of me!) wants to put the technology away and be present for these moments more than anything (while keeping a plan of what's next in the back of my mind!). I agree there is a way to make the most of the magic with plans, apps, strategies, and fastpass runners... But I love disney for the Magic, it is a total escape to my happy place. Thanks for the advice! Maybe when my kids are older they will appreciate crowd tracking and touring plans, and will want to give the plans a try!

 

[choirboy501]

I've found the Touring Plans app to be a big help. I do custom plans, based around dining reservations and show plans, and use the optimizing feature.

Probably the biggest advantage for me is the plan is that it keeps me on track and helps prevent me missing attractions I want to see that visit.

 

[Disney_Alli]

That does sound pretty awesome! We are from Canada, so data is expensive... I can't say that I want to spend my vacation using apps or my phone. I know - I'm completely old fashioned, I'll own it... I love the maps and the paper, regardless of how 'disconnected' it is from rapidly changing information (like wait times!).

A lot of my fondest memories of our last trip with my daughter when she was almost 3 are her smiles or her laughs, watching her experience rides or interactions with characters... she still tells people she went underwater in the Ariel ride .... so part of me (ok most of me!) wants to put the technology away and be present for these moments more than anything (while keeping a plan of what's next in the back of my mind!). I agree there is a way to make the most of the magic with plans, apps, strategies, and fastpass runners... But I love disney for the Magic, it is a total escape to my happy place. Thanks for the advice! Maybe when my kids are older they will appreciate crowd tracking and touring plans, and will want to give the plans a try!

I totally understand. We`re from Canada too so I feel you on the data. I got a US SIM card for my phone this summer that gave me unlimited data. I think I`ll get one again this summer because I like having all that stuff at my fingertips but absolutely everyone is different and one touring style can`t work for everyone. Have fun