How reliable is Lines/Touring Plans?

[sunb75]

I've mentioned before that this is our 2nd trip to WDW, but the first planned one. Our last trip was not that good (because I am a planner and I felt way too overwhelmed). I am hoping this one will go much better and we will be able to do more.

I have purchased the Touring Plans sub and installed the Lines app. I have made personalized plans with our ADRs and FP+ on them. I set the walking to relaxed (but honestly, we won't be relaxed walkers since we are all inpatient but I am hoping that it adds in some extra time if needed). I have moved attractions/events/etc around so we could do all the things in one area and then move on to the next. Luckily, we will have more than one day in each park so it won't be rush, rush, rush because we won't be back for a while (I hope).

After doing all that, I have to wonder, how reliable is the Touring Plans/Lines site? I know there will be shops we MUST stop in and bathroom breaks, etc, but do you think (barring weather and sore feet) we can follow the plan?

 

[phillipsjp2003]

We have used and followed touring plans/lines.com many times and they work really well. I find their wait times are the most accurate of other sites and their plans are quite good. They definitely can help newbies tour like a veteran.

I think the biggest key to a great trip is to remember no matter how hard you try you can't do it all. Just enjoy each moment and don't worry about things you may miss.....you can always come back......which I am pretty sure is a part of Disney's master plan

 

[glamfish500]

You'll get responses from "it's the best thing ever" to "waste of money" with this question. I'm personally in the 'best thing ever' catagory. We went on our first trip and had the subscription but didn't really use it much. Our second trip we stuck to it and were sold. We kept our pace relaxed on our plans and that kind of built in time for bathroom breaks and shopping. In my opinion it's totally worth the money if you want to get the best value out of our time. If you trust the plan it will work and you'll have a much better time.

 

[Yubbie]

I'll just say, "you can pay me a subscription fee and I'll pick lottery numbers for you". I don't just pick numbers at random. I use data of past numbers picked combined with advanced mathematical calculations to determine the best numbers to pick on any given day.

 

[sunb75]

Thank you both for your responses. I am excited to use it! I'm a planner and when there isn't a plan, I get anxious. I will be happy to have the plan and have already talked with my kids (also planner-type) about it and they are excited that we should be able to do quite a bit.

I've also been having the talk with them that if we are supposed to do A, B, and C today, we may only get to B due to circumstances beyond our control. It all sounds good in theory, let's just see how it all plays out!

 

[ElizabethDarling]

Thank you both for your responses. I am excited to use it! I'm a planner and when there isn't a plan, I get anxious. I will be happy to have the plan and have already talked with my kids (also planner-type) about it and they are excited that we should be able to do quite a bit. I've also been having the talk with them that if we are supposed to do A, B, and C today, we may only get to B due to circumstances beyond our control. It all sounds good in theory, let's just see how it all plays out!

This post actually helps me out I've been trying to decide if the app was worth it or not.. But hey I've spent $12 on dumber things.. But anything to help my obsessive planning, I'm into! Thank you

 

[Drusilla]

This post actually helps me out I've been trying to decide if the app was worth it or not.. But hey I've spent $12 on dumber things.. But anything to help my obsessive planning, I'm into! Thank you

There is a coupon code for 20% off which will save you $2, retailmenot has it listed.

 

[Richard M Nixon]

I'll just say, "you can pay me a subscription fee and I'll pick lottery numbers for you". I don't just pick numbers at random. I use data of past numbers picked combined with advanced mathematical calculations to determine the best numbers to pick on any given day.

That's a bit of a straw man you're building up there. The lottery is as close to truly random as you'll get in the real world, and trying to predict the outcome really would be a futile attempt.

Human behavior, on the other hand, is much more easily predictable. Especially the trends of thousands of people, and taking in to account the known impact of season, weather, holidays, etc. The statistical models that touringplans uses (which they provide great detail on) are well-known models with proven track records. On top of that, they archive historical data and collect new data daily from real people at the parks that are integrated into their models to provide continually refined figures.

Could they be improved? Well, yeah, of course. They have off days and can have wider margins for some attractions, but such is the nature of statistics. As a scientist, I feel comfortable with their reasoning and I plan to rely on the figures from the mobile app when I make my first trip.

Here are their stats from yesterday:

 

[Momma2PrinceNPrinces]

I'm in the mixed feeling category I used TP religiously for our first trip (2011) and it was spot on. Used it again for our trip last summer and it was pretty far off. This time I am mostly going by easywdw recs but have checked out TPs recs as well.

 

[ElizabethDarling]

There is a coupon code for 20% off which will save you $2, retailmenot has it listed.

Wow, how kind of you! thank you very much!!

 

[flortlebap]

Very useful and accurate IMO. They have got the crowd levels dramatically wrong on occasion, but their wait times are spot on and they seem to report ride closures quicker than MDE.

 

[snayak]

I do subscribe to TP when I head to Disney/Universal (about once every 2 years), so for $10-$12 its money well spent in my book.

I generally follow EasyWDW/Josh's plans and put them in the TP software to evaluate everything (including shows and breaks and all that). I really like that it has attraction duration, wait time, and walk time customized for your plan.

it really helps me to optimize my goal, which is having "Busy" time greater than or equal to "Waiting" time (more time in attractions versus standing in line for attractions). This isn't ALWAYS possible (A&E/7DMT without FP+ greatly increases Waiting time, for example.

I realize that nothing is perfect, but since we plan generous breaks for meals & shopping we certainly don't feel rushed, just that we're sneaking around the crowds and turning our must-do's into dones.

 

[GillianP1301]

Add me to the list of TP fans. I don't always follow the touring plan to the T, but when I have, it's been pretty accurate. Even if you don't want to follow it to the minute, it's a great planning tool for figuring out how long it takes to get from point A to point B and how long each attraction lasts, etc... I also like, now that I'm more familiar with park layouts, that I can either have it optimize a schedule or, force a schedule based on the order I want to do attractions. The subscription is a nominal fee and well worth it, IMO.

 

[JZCubed]

Touring Plans is a useful tool to those who have less experience traveling to Disney.

What you learn after using TP a few times is which attractions get longer wait times, and how that might ebb and flow during a normal day (based on predicted crowd levels).

For instance, Country Bears may be a 'must-do' for your family, but no reason to take precious morning touring time until you've completed things like Splash and/or Space Mountain, Peter Pan, Big Thunder, etc.

What I do not like about Touring Plans is their application might still have you crisscrossing a Park somewhat needlessly. But then this comes to the notion mentioned by another Post - you might not get to do it all.

Only you and your family can decide if it is better to scurry across Magic Kingdom to get to Buzz Lightyear, or stop and buy another t-shirt or Spicy Chicken Waffle.

The best piece of advice that just about every 'seasoned' planner can tell you - the earlier you arrive at the Park, the less lines will be backed-up. Apparently, with FP+, this has become even more pronounced. Of course, FP+ is also a way around long stand-by lines if you are not able to get to a Park near rope drop.

These ideas become more ingrained the more trips you make to Disney. But along the way, Touring Plans is a useful tool. Also, as others have mentioned, EasyWDW provides people who are planners with an idea of which Parks are 'Recommended' and which Parks are to be 'Avoided' for a typical day.

Also, if it rains all day, the Magic Kingdom will be crowded the following day - no App can predict that for you.

For the record, I stopped purchasing TP after 5 years of travel and 10 trips to Disney World.

Last thing, we also have the luxury of knowing we are returning and missing an attraction is something that even my school age child has come to accept.

 

[sethschroeder]

Lines app is the best for the reason it takes all decision making out of your hands unless you want it.

Optimize is the key button

Example:
Your walking to Barnstormer in MK when you smell the sweet smell of turkey legs. You think to yourself why don't we all stop for a leg..... A normal plan is now behind schedule but with line apps you hit optimize. Oh guess what Barnstormer is at 45min wait but the app has now optimized to have you go to pirates next because of a shorter wait and a shorter walk to your FP+ at splash mountain.

If you use the app in the park just hit optimize after each ride you complete and you will be fine as the data is updated throughout the day and if TP thought it was a level 5 day but turns into level 7 the app knows this and adjusts when optimized.

 

[Kristie911]

So has anyone used this who isn't a planner?

I'm NOT a huge planner, schedules tend to stress me out a little bit. I want to be sold on TP because I want to save time but I feel like it will have us rushing to get here and there and that I will freak if we're running late for something because my son decided he HAD to have a funnel cake and my daughter has to pee. KWIM?

So I'm just looking for someone who doesn't usually do schedules to say, "Yeah, it wasn't stressful at all and worked great." LOL

 

[Dan Murphy]

I find it quite helpful, a part of the various planning tools available to us all out there on the Net.

 

[sethschroeder]

What I do not like about Touring Plans is their application might still have you crisscrossing a Park somewhat needlessly. But then this comes to the notion mentioned by another Post - you might not get to do it all.

I don't know if this is a valid point or not but there is a way around going all the way across the park (there is an in app setting to do less walking but) you just don't go across the park. You look down your list pick one that is close and ride it. Mark it off complete and optimize your schedule again.

That's one big benefit of TP over a written tour plan for anyone who doesn't go all the time. It gives you an order of attack but you can audible all you want. I can see how the poster is correct though that if you go a lot the app would become useless as you know a normal course of attack.

 

[snayak]

So has anyone used this who isn't a planner?

I'm NOT a huge planner, schedules tend to stress me out a little bit. I want to be sold on TP because I want to save time but I feel like it will have us rushing to get here and there and that I will freak if we're running late for something because my son decided he HAD to have a funnel cake and my daughter has to pee. KWIM?

So I'm just looking for someone who doesn't usually do schedules to say, "Yeah, it wasn't stressful at all and worked great." LOL

You can do certain things like set your walking speed (very relaxed all the way to fast, its a sliding scale).

Basically you pick the attractions you want to do, add shows, breaks, dining whatever. If you hit optimize it will automatically do it for you and suggest what FP+ to book. If you're happy with that plan, then I see no reason for it to be stressful...just know that you're going to wait about XYZ minutes in line at PotC.

If you want to hit EVERY attraction and the Mountains 4x which makes time much more of a factor then I think it'll be stressful no matter which way you do it. Plenty of people go to WDW with no preset touring plans at all (except maybe now they have booked FP+).

I always find it useful to refresh the plan a couple days before just so its using the latest predictions and all that...but I preselect my touring plan based on what I want to accomplish in the day, just use the TP as a guide.

 

[sethschroeder]

So has anyone used this who isn't a planner?

I'm NOT a huge planner, schedules tend to stress me out a little bit. I want to be sold on TP because I want to save time but I feel like it will have us rushing to get here and there and that I will freak if we're running late for something because my son decided he HAD to have a funnel cake and my daughter has to pee. KWIM?

So I'm just looking for someone who doesn't usually do schedules to say, "Yeah, it wasn't stressful at all and worked great." LOL

I am a planner from the knowledge part like reading about FP+ but outside that the only thing I planned for our trip in September is 3 ADRs over 12 days. TP lets you deviate all you want and just hit optimize in their app to get the plan re oriented to you and not the other way around where your running behind all day.