How well do Touring Plans work?

[kcpinwdw]

I don't want to overplan but I always do. I like Touring PLans a lot. I set it all up and move things around until I have a schedule/outline that looks good. But in the parks, it is totally hit or miss if we end up following it. I really find that best benefit to making a complete Touring plan is the knowledge of the park it affords you, once you have that plan it is much easier to deviate without feeling lost. Sometimes I just want to sit on a bench for a while. Sometimes my kid is going to decide to have a meltdown. When I have a good plan in place it seems to let me be more flexible while still getting things done, which I know sounds weird, but works for us! I also plan in a three or hour break in the afternoon. If they are miserable I can leave and not feel like I am missing anything, but if they poop out in the stroller or are fine, everything we get to do in that time feels like a bonus!

 

[tink9702]

I agree that you will have things come up and go out of order/miss things etc. You do have to be flexible.

You can also copy/paste the touring plans into Excel and then highlight/color your must-do's or highlight the shows so you know to get there early etc.

 

[soniam]

I don't know how many of you have done the evaluate option. It takes the order you have specified and just gives the times, including waiting. It won't change the order. This might work for doing shows at a specific time and then putting in rides where they fit. You can also just do a break, even for a show.

Having used it for 4 vacations now, I have become familiar with some of the tricks and quarks. Play around with it. Make different plans for the same day using/not using FP+, etc. to compare and get a plan that you like.

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

Sometimes my kid is going to decide to have a meltdown. When I have a good plan in place it seems to let me be more flexible while still getting things done, which I know sounds weird, but works for us!

SAME. We were able to work around a meltdown and a last minute chickening out of a FP+ reservation and still had time to sit down and take a breather without anyone being upset about missing things.

 

[cigar95]

One thing to be aware of is that you can sign up for a *free account* at TouringPlans and still have access to personalized plans. The paid membership gets you other stuff, but personalized plans can be had gratis.

Then again, the paid membership is so inexpensive, why not?

 

[jrandall]

I don't want to overplan but I always do. I like Touring PLans a lot. I set it all up and move things around until I have a schedule/outline that looks good. But in the parks, it is totally hit or miss if we end up following it. I really find that best benefit to making a complete Touring plan is the knowledge of the park it affords you, once you have that plan it is much easier to deviate without feeling lost. Sometimes I just want to sit on a bench for a while. Sometimes my kid is going to decide to have a meltdown. When I have a good plan in place it seems to let me be more flexible while still getting things done, which I know sounds weird, but works for us! I also plan in a three or hour break in the afternoon. If they are miserable I can leave and not feel like I am missing anything, but if they poop out in the stroller or are fine, everything we get to do in that time feels like a bonus!

This is exactly what I am doing. I'm looking at the plan & trying to end my day around -3 or so for a break assuming we will not come back (or at least the little ones-my MIL is coming too so could watch them if we go back). Then I figure anything beyond that is added fun!

 

[jrandall]

A

I don't know how many of you have done the evaluate option. It takes the order you have specified and just gives the times, including waiting. It won't change the order. This might work for doing shows at a specific time and then putting in rides where they fit. You can also just do a break, even for a show.

Having used it for 4 vacations now, I have become familiar with some of the tricks and quarks. Play around with it. Make different plans for the same day using/not using FP+, etc. to compare and get a plan that you like.

Since you have used it how does it compare to what you actually encounter while at the park? Is it fairly accurate or really off as far as times & waits? I know it can't be perfect but just need an idea.

 

[cigar95]

A

Since you have used it how does it compare to what you actually encounter while at the park? Is it fairly accurate or really off as far as times & waits? I know it can't be perfect but just need an idea.

I find that it often overestimates wait times at park opening. Others have noticed something similar. Other than that, unless there are unusual weather situations, it works pretty well. (For instance, if it rains for three days and then we get a nice day, that fourth day is going to be more crowded with longer lines than TP predicts. They don't update the predictions that quickly.)
Have to give the caveat that I usually visit in January, early February, or September, among the lightest crowds of the year. I can imagine more swings during busier periods.

 

[soniam]

A

Since you have used it how does it compare to what you actually encounter while at the park? Is it fairly accurate or really off as far as times & waits? I know it can't be perfect but just need an idea.

At WDW, I find it to be very accurate and maybe sometimes a bit pessimistic. By the end of the plan, we are usually ahead of schedule. If it weren't so darn good, I wouldn't keep using it. We have only gone during the summer and Spring Break, usually crowd level 6-9.

 

[Case1096]

I loved it when I used it at WDW. But I have been having a technical issue for a few weeks for DL California Adventure Park plan not optimizing and their support team is non responsive. I've emailed them 3 times, wrote a note on Facebook, and tweeted them with no response. Not pleased with them right now.

 

[spacefly67]

The last time we visited my kids were 3 and 5. They aren't on schedules and my 3 yo would just fall asleep at the shows or dark rides. There were no FP+, so its probably a little different now.
We had 4 park days and non hoppers, so 1 full day in each park. We did a plan for the first half of the day. We went at RD each day and went straight to the headliners. We rode the must-do attractions within the first hour. Then we followed a loose plan that included 'characters' and 'shows' and 'stop and see this' until about lunch.
After lunch we had accomplished so much that we could take it easy and relax and do the rest of the things we wanted to do without rushing.
If you get all the things that have longs waits out of the way before the waits get long it makes your day easier. I guess with FP+, that would help too.

 

[Crystal824]

I love Touring Plans. I find the crowd calendar and wait times to be pretty good. We always use it to make personalized touring plans for our days. We don't always stick to it exactly, but it is really helpful as a guide.