How accurate are Touring Plans, timing wise?

[gigem_aggies]

I have custom touring plans for our 5 days through Touring Plans and I'm curious how accurate their software is, time wise. I know it can't be 100% accurate the whole time because park crowds and wait times are going to fluctuate, but generally speaking are they pretty close?

I'm asking because the added hours in August have allowed us to make some changes to our 2 days in MK. We have basically split the park in half, doing a side on each day. With the added hour to our morning on day 1, it has us completing our whole plan before noon! We are good with that since we plan on leaving the park every day for pool and naps, but I'll need to make plans for the evening when we come for the parade and wishes!

 

[markmcalear]

I used it twice and found it to be very accurate. I ended up not following it religiously as a heavy shower suddenly shortened queues massively. Also a couple of FPs that I had didnt need to be used due to short wait times on the regular line so I switched on the fly and obvously this disrupted my plans a little.

 

[Tomh]

Largely, they work well, unless something unforseen happens. Weather events for instance, or a sudden surge in the line caused by a large tour group etc.

I think the MAIN advantages of touring plans are:

1) They give you a clear idea of what you can, and can not fit into a day in the park
2) They give you a way to know if you are running on time, ahead of time, or behind time, so that you can make adjustments in order to assure you see the things that are really important to you.

So, my advice, use your touring plan as a guide, not as martial law. If you find you have lots of extra time, smell the roses, ride Haunted Mansion again, what ever. If you find you are running short of time, look ahead, and cut out some things that aren't as important so you know you will have enough time to do the stuff that matters most to you.

 

[mshanson3121]

For most things they work well, for others they dont. Theyre very inaccurate for Test Track and do not allow for the time you spend in pre or post design. They also only allow 15 minutes for The Seas, when most people report spending 30-60 minutes there. There were a couple other inaccuracies I found, but for most stuff they were accurate.

 

[Mainemama]

I agree with above postings. When we can keep up the pace, they have been accurate for us, especially when following rope drop plans. However, we make unplanned bathroom breaks, etc., so find we deviate from plan at times. I think they are most useful as a general agenda.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

We use them for the morning to get a couple of good, efficient hours in (and we find they're pretty accurate then). We take a break in the afternoon, have ADRs for dinner and then wing it for the evenings. It allows us to have scheduled time to make sure we see important things and unscheduled time for sanity.

 

[gigem_aggies]

Thanks, everyone! Good to know.

 

[Clifton Tesh]

I used the TouringPlans line times app and will say that it had about a 90% accuracy.

There were only 2 lines when the times were more than 5 minutes off. Other than that it was always with in 5 minutes of the posted time.

If you paid for a touring plans account, download the app. It was the best $10 I spent.

 

[thepicklebee]

I haven't used the app but the plans worked well for us on our last trip.

Side note: Gig 'Em! Class of 04

 

[ekarlberg]

I have found that several days they have us done by lunch and assumed I was missing something. I hope they are correct but fear they aren't. At least we got FP+ for most of the rides we wanted so if the plans are off we will still get the big things in.

 

[blemon]

I just got back and my plans were accurate within 2 minutes. I am not joking. It was our first visit in many many years, first time using the plans and app. I was amazed.

 

[FortForever]

I'm been using Touring Plans since 2002 and find them to be extremely accurate. When you make custom plans, just allow extra time for things that are open-ended, like The Seas, as stated above. We tend to linger in there every time.

As far as ride times and lines go, the accuracy is right on.

 

[megster1123]

How do you work in time for meeting characters? Unless I'm completely blind I haven't seen options for adding these in. For example the kids want to meet Alice in the UK and Donald Duck in Mexico on our Epcot day but I haven't been able to figure out how to add that time into the plan.

 

[Jenis]

How do you work in time for meeting characters? Unless I'm completely blind I haven't seen options for adding these in. For example the kids want to meet Alice in the UK and Donald Duck in Mexico on our Epcot day but I haven't been able to figure out how to add that time into the plan.

I add them in as an in park break. List how much time I expect to wait and interaction.

 

[megster1123]

I add them in as an in park break. List how much time I expect to wait and interaction.

Thanks. I did that for BBB on another day, figured that would have to be the workaround for the characters also.

Good to know the plans are accurate - mine has us completing way more in a shorter time than I had thought would be possible.

 

[blemon]

How do you work in time for meeting characters? Unless I'm completely blind I haven't seen options for adding these in. For example the kids want to meet Alice in the UK and Donald Duck in Mexico on our Epcot day but I haven't been able to figure out how to add that time into the plan.

I recommend that you get in line early for these types of characters. For example, we got to Belle the first time and the CM said she was not seeing any more people. So we had to go back at her next visit. We got in line about 20 minutes early and waited. If we had gotten there right when she was scheduled to begin, we would have waited much longer and might not have been able to see her. Maybe try to ask around to see how long they meet for or just get there early if it's someone you really want to see.

We did not wait more than 3 minutes to see Donald as Mariachi. He seems to be there much longer than the other characters.

That Mexico boat ride is cray. It was so bizarre. I have never seen anything so weird in my life. Don't miss it.

 

[Andrea Wright]

I used them in Disneyland and they were GREAT. We changed the settings to walking at a "very relaxed" pace, which, because we do not walk at a very relaxed pace ;-), allowed us to do potty breaks without it really affecting our plan. I would also update the app at lunch time to see if they recommended a different order. Subscribed for Disney World this time for our Oct. trip and I hope it works as well!

 

[soniam]

I have found that we are usually ahead of the TP schedule, at least at WDW, which means they may be a little pessimistic, especially at rope drop. Granted, we are usually some of the first people to enter the park and get to the ride quickly. I love it. I have found issues when doing a lot of shows, like at DHS. I think that's more my issue, thinking I can make it out of one show and get to another really quickly; whereas, TP ends up putting in free time, because it knows I'm not that fast We also do optimized plans. I have used it on every trip since our first family trip.

 

[soniam]

I used them in Disneyland and they were GREAT. We changed the settings to walking at a "very relaxed" pace, which, because we do not walk at a very relaxed pace ;-), allowed us to do potty breaks without it really affecting our plan. I would also update the app at lunch time to see if they recommended a different order. Subscribed for Disney World this time for our Oct. trip and I hope it works as well!

We found it to be even more accurate at WDW than Disneyland. You won't be disappointed.