How important is crowd calendar/touring plan?

[caribou47]

Looking at the crowd calendar for our dates (Nov. 15 - 22), how important is it to follow the recommendation about parks to avoid on certain days? Like, Sunday the 16th we would have gone to Magic Kingdom, but it says NOT to -- Sundays are too crowded I guess? The crowd calendar recommends AK instead.

The crowd levels are higher than what I would have guessed for a school week with no major holiday -- all 5,6,7 mostly. When can you go when it's a 1 or a 2??

It also says the touring plan is FIVE times more important than the day of week. I have an idea of which rides we want to go on and which we're skipping, and I even have a little spreadsheet of which ones take FastPass and the HR if any, but is it really that critical to follow a plan exactly?

I'm happy to follow the recommendations of the book/web site and stick strictly to a touring plan if it's really going to make a major difference in wait times, but I wanted to be sure it was worth the trouble first.

Laurie
Huge WDW fan but first time with kids in tow -- a 2-year old and almost 5-year old

 

[Darcy03231]

I just got back and followed TGM & Touring Plans on the recommended days and had a touring plan. The longest line we waited in was 20 min. Most lines were less than 10 minutes. I've read other people's trip reports for the same week we were there and people have said how crowded it was and how long the lines were. That wasn't my experience at all so I think the recommended days and tour plans really helped a lot.

 

[amandaraye]

I should know the answer to this, but can someone tell me where to find these guides? Sounds very useful!

 

[magchavez]

We too were there last week and followed TGM and Touring Plans and never waited longer than 15 minutes for any ride. We also used both of them last August when it was super crowded and again, we never waited longer than 20 minutes. I would highly recommend them.

I used The Unofficial Guide book (along with touringplans.com) to find out which days are best and I also used the touring plans in the book. Then I used tourguidemike.com to find out which park is better in the am, and which park is better in the afternoon.

 

[Elmo888]

I should know the answer to this, but can someone tell me where to find these guides? Sounds very useful!

TGM is Tour Guide Mike...http://www.tourguidemike.com/

The book titled The Unofficial Guide to WDW has touring plans in the back and a crowd calendar on their web site. And you can get more tailored touring plans on their subscription web site. The web site is usually *** on Disboards, but you can just google "Unofficial Guide" and find the web site.

I've only used the Unofficial Guide's touring plans, so I have a question for those of you who have used both...which do you like better and why have you used both? I've considered trying TGM just for kicks, but the UG touring plans have been terrific.

For the OP, in the UG, there is a key to how important each factor is for the crowd calendar. If it is simply a day-of-the-week factor, that, if I remember correctly, was rated low on how much it affects crowds. If there are other factors, that might be your answer. Have a great trip!

 

[nextidiot]

I absolutely 100% recommend Tour Guide Mike. If you spend the time to read the articles and follow his advice, it will pay in dividends you can never imagine.

Having said that, I wouldn't totally upend your schedule just because MK may be more crowed on Sundays or something. Just arrive for the rope drop, get out after lunch, and return after the afternoon parade and you should have no trouble. Just be prepared for a slightly larger crowd and slightly longer wait times.