Has anyone used these touring plans???

[PhotobearSam]

Has anyone used the touring plans that are in the Unofficial Guide to WDW???

How did they work?

Would you recommend them???

Do you "tweek" them to meet your needs?

Do you hate them?

Have they saved you any time?

Which ones did you use?(i.e. 1 day, 2 day ,Dumbo or die...etc)

Worth it for couples?

Thanks for any info

 

[ChisJo]

I tried using the books recommendation the last time we went, and they didn't seem to work as well as I thought. Then, I found this board, and you can get any information you want, with a simple question. I have 3 books for WDW, and ever since I have found these boards, I haven't even looked at them. The other thing you have to remember is how many other people are using the exact same touring plans???? I would recommend one thing for plans and that's this board.

Joline

 

[ncbyrne]

On the few trips that DH and I have been to WDW without kids, the touring plans helped to save us a lot of time. First of all, we never go during "on" season, but rather like to go in early Spring or Fall, when the lines are not as long. The touring plans do work, but we don't follow them stringently. If we get distracted, we just follow our nose for the moment....and get back on track later on. Between the touring plans and the DIS you'll be among the most knowledgeable tourists in WDW...you can't help but save time and money, and have a WONDERFUL time.

 

[PhotobearSam]

We are going for 11 days in October and want this to be extra special for my fiance because he has never been and is a BIG kid!!!

I'm just overplanning but loving it...!!!!!

 

[Floundering Crab]

Use the plans, but be flexible when you actually get there. The books actually have some very good tips (which way to enter a certain park or how to navigate when you get in them), but also use your own planning style. I found the old Birnbaum's books touring plans to be about the best, but we're pros now & make our own plans so I can't blame anyone but myself when I mess up the schedule. Be sure to make your PSs at the "must do's" restaurants, then go and have a ball!

 

[PamCo88]

I have used the tour plans for adults in Sept from the unofficial guide. What I found was They start out great and get you rolling thru the park. We we able to get thru the first half of the "must Do" list by 11 o'clock by going comando. The afternoons we went at a slower pace and enjoyed everything we missed by running from E ticket to E ticket ride. If you haven't been in a long time, I would suggest reading the book and adjusting the plan to better suit what your favorites will be. I think the ride descriptions were excellent.

Good Luck

 

[MaryT]

The touring plans in the Unofficial Guide used to work great. I followed the spirit of them, even if I didn't follow them to the letter. I find that the plans don't work as well since the introduction of Fast Pass.

 

[Pumbaa_]

I read the unofficial book before I went for the first time. I felt that because I had read the book, I was very prepared for the trip. We went in the off season, so we did not need to follow the plans precisely. But it was very helpful to know when to go to a ride, when it would be less crowded, what not to miss, and what was definately a miss.

I would definately recommend reading one of the books before a first trip. It helps to get an idea of the scope of the place, and a great description of the different attractions. It woul dbe okay to use the touring plans as a guideline, or maybe during heavy times, but the rest of the time, suggestion, probably not. (and it can make you nuts!)

 

[LKS]

I wonder if the 2002 unofficial guide will have new plans that implement fastpass. It seems obvious that the old plans couldn't be the best strategy now. My old book is a '97 so I will probably pick up the 2002 when it comes out. Should be in a month or two.

 

[apagano]

I have the 2001 edition of the Unofficial Guide, which does in fact include FastPass in the touring plans.

 

[minster22]

The first time I used these plans we really followed them very closely since it was Easter week and very, very crowded. It was a few years ago and boy they were a lifesaver. I don't think we would have had as much fun as we did without them. They worked like a charm! Of course now there is Fast Pass which changes things a bit. Also my son was young then and there were certain things we did not want to miss. Different circumstances call for different strategys and I think having lots of info so you can decide for yourself works best. Although we don"t go commando style anymore, having that adrenalin pumping first thing in the AM as you run to Space Mountain is more fun than most grownups ever have!!

 

[Stinky_Pete]

Then, I found this board, and you can get any information you want, with a simple question. I have 3 books for WDW, and ever since I have found these boards, I haven't even looked at them.

The only trouble is that when you ask a simple question on these boards, you often end up with as many different (often conflicting) opinions as there are responses to your post.

We swear by the UG's tour plans. When just the two of us have gone (off-season) we followed the first half of each plan and never waited longer than 10 minutes for anything, including the "biggies." After getting the "biggies" out of the way we'd slow down, have lunch, then do whatever we felt like doing.

Since then we've gone twice with families with young children, and since it took so long to get everyone going in the a.m. we never managed to get to the parks at opening. Then some attractions on the plans weren't appropriate for the kids, so we just "winged it." We wasted so much time standing in lines! Plus we didn't see half what the two of us were able to see by following the plans.

This time we're going with two other adults who won't have too many days, so we'll insist on using the plans for their own good. I'll be sure to point out the posted 45 minute waits on attractions we walked onto with no wait.

 

[Kermit]

I like the charts that say the best time for each ride more than the actual plans. We ride a few "big" rides when we arrive at park opening, and then we ride less popular rides when the parks get crowded. The other big rides get saved for night or another morning, or we use FP.

 

[RaySharpton]

When I first visited WDW, I followed the tour plans commando style. Now, I take my time, but I still plan.

I arrange Priority Seating and the parks that I want to visit or the parades or fireworks. But I usually just use it as a guide and I'm always open to do other things.

Ray

 

[apagano]

I went to WDW as a teenager with my extended family. I had it all planned out according to Birnbaum's book (this is back when Mr. Birnbaum was still alive). After about two rides, everybody stopped listening to me and we stopped following the touring plan. Grandma wanted to go one way, mom wanted to go the other way, my aunt wanted to stop and eat, and so on. I tried to explain to everyone that I had done a lot of research and knew the best way to tackle the parks, but to no avail. My mother's argument was "we're on vacation, we don't need a schedule." Nobody wanted to wake up early so by the time we arrived at the already packed parks it was time for lunch. Needless to say we spent a lot of time in lines and very little time actually experiencing the attractions. Next month I'm taking my wife for her first ever Disney visit, and we are definitely following the UG's touring plans. We might not do it to the letter, but we will definitely have a framework in mind before we arrive. My advice would be to go over the plans with everyone in your party, select the ones that make the most sense for your situation and use them as a guide but not a bible. Find the happy medium between being on a military time clock and standing around trying to figure out where Space Mountain is.