http://www.touringplans.com/ Anyone used?

[lentesta]

Thanks for the bump.

Couple of things to note: through June and July, there's no Early Entry day scheduled that also has an evening parade AFAIK. Also, as we'll be taking a mid-day break, we'll miss the afternoon parade. Once we finish talking about this touring plan, I'll do one that's not Early Entry but contains the evening parade.

Okay, here's the touring plan produced by the software. This is exactly what a guest would see:

----------------
- Touring Plan -
----------------
1. Arrive at the entrance to the Magic Kingdom 30 minutes prior to opening.
2. As soon as the park opens, ride Space Mountain.
3. Ride Buzz Lightyear.
4. In Fantasyland, ride The Mad Tea Party.
5. Obtain a FASTPASS for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
6. See Snow White's Adventure.
7. Ride Dumbo the Flying Elephant.
8. Obtain a FASTPASS for Peter Pan's Flight.
9. Ride The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
10. Ride Peter Pan's Flight.
11. In Frontierland, obtain a FASTPASS for Big Thunder Mountain RR.
12. Ride Splash Mountain.
13. Ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
14. Ride Pirates of the Caribbean in Adventureland.
15. Ride the Jungle Cruise.
16. Dine at The Crystal Palace at 12:00 noon.
17. Around 1:00 p.m., take a three-hour break.
18. Return to the Magic Kingdon and see the Country Bear Jamboree.
19. Ride the Barnstormer.
20. Ride It's a Small World.
21. Depart the Magic Kingdom.

I think the touring plan is fairly straightforward. Notice we start with the big Tomorrowland attractions. After that, we generally follow a counter-clockwise rotation through Fantasyland. We also are picking up FASTPASSes where we estimate it'll be helpful.

Note the acquisition of a Pooh FASTPASS before heading to Snow White and Dumbo. One of the important things we learned during data collection the past couple of years is that Snow White is very crowded in the afternoon. It sounds obvious, I know, but no source we checked picked up on it until we had the data. FASTPASS helps us see that attraction now while minimizing the wait for Pooh later.

After Dumbo, the FASTPASS for Pooh should be valid. In this case, on EE days, we expect the start of the FASTPASS window for Pooh to be about 25 minutes out from the time you obtain it (the actual data are not shown, but I've got 'em if you're interested).

Since the Pooh FASTPASS is valid, and we're near Peter Pan, we pick up a FASTPASS for Peter Pan. Then we ride Pooh. We assume that the Pooh FASTPASS line will take you no more than ten minutes to get through, and I think that's a safe assumption.

After you get off Pooh, you should have five or ten minutes until your Pan FASTPASS is valid. Enough time for a bathroom break or to grab a bagel Scuttle's Landing. Ride Pan, then it's off to Frontierland.

In Frontierland, we grab a FASTPASS for Big Thunder and ride Splash. The wait for Splash should be about 30 minutes - your longest of the day. But after Splash, you'll wait no more than 10 minutes to use your FASTPASS on Big Thunder.

Time for a recap: it's around 10:45 or 11 a.m.., and you've been in the parks maybe a little more than two hours and 45 minutes. You've seen nine attractions, including six headliners, with minimal backtracking. From this point forward, the rest of the day is easy. As you're headed towards the Crystal Palace for lunch, we've directed you by Pirates (there's not much wait). Hop on the Jungle Cruise for a quick ride before heading to the Crystal Palace.

After lunch, it's time for a three-hour break back at the hotel. You arrive back at the Magic Kingdom around four-ish. The crowds are beginning to thin, but just to be safe, let's head in to the air-conditioned Country Bears show to give more people another 30 minutes to leave. After that, we take advantage of the diminishing crowds in Toontown to ride the Barnstormer, and finish out our tour in Fantasyland at it's a small world.

Somewhere around 5:30 or 5:45 p.m., you complete the tour. The rest of the evening is yours to re-visit favorite attractions, catch some live entertainment, or just hang around and soak up the atmosphere. The Magic Kingdom is fantastic at night.

I imagine folks will have some questions about the plan, so I'll stop writing now. I'll post the non-EE plan with a parade shortly.

Sincerely,

Len

 

[Claire4dpins]

Len,

Thanks for doing this plan and for the insights into how the plans work!

I bought the Unofficial Guide in 1999 for our honeymoon trip to WDW and found the plans to be invaluable - I guess its time to buy a new one for our September 2003 trip!

Are the plans you do through your site based on the actual time of year people visit - this must affect the timing involved quite a lot? Do you get people ordering a number of plans so there whole visit is organised for them? I am from the UK - Have you had many orders from outside the US?

Sorry for all the questions!
Claire

 

[lentesta]

Hi Claire,

Thanks for writing. I forgot to mention that the touring plan is designed for crowd levels typically seen on Early Entry days in June, July and August, excluding holidays. We have gathered wait time statistics for different times of the year, and we use the appropriate statistics when creating individual tours.

While we're on the subject, it's worth noting that we employ a professional statistician to do the data analysis. We're pretty pleased with the results.

To answer your other question, lots of folks ask us to come up with a schedule including the best days to visit each park, depending on their preference to use Early Entry. That advice is, as always, free.

Sincerely,

Len

 

[Bella2000]

Bump

 

[lentesta]

As promised, below is the first-hand account of someone who's seen ever attraction, show and special event in the Magic Kingdom in one day (a.k.a., the "Ultimate Magic Kingdom Touring Plan"). But first, a couple of interesting facts.

1) The Ultimate Magic Kingdom touring plan contained 41 unique attractions and shows, including the Frontierland Shootin' Arcade, the Junior Jungle Boats and Tomorrowland Arcade. That total doesn't count lunch, dinner or breaks.

2) There are approximately 33,452,526,613,163,807,108,170,062,053,441,000,000,000,000,000,000 possible touring plans for those 41 attractions.

3) The touring plan software took five minutes to come up with a touring plan that succeeded.

4) No FASTPASSes were needed for the touring plan.

To be fair, an E-Ride night in February is a great time to try this plan. The time of year (and weather) certainly helped.

Thanks to Dr. Ed Waller of Houston, Texas, for volunteering to try the plan, and writing up his experience. And now, the report:

------------- Quote ----------------------
Ultimate Magic Kingdom Touring Plan Results, Experiences and Observations

Official Ultimate Magic Kingdom Touring Plan Time = exactly 11 hours
I did not use Fastpass

Personal Background Information:
I am in relatively good shape and extremely light for my height and age. Thus, I am able to walk pretty quickly. I have been to the Magic Kingdom about 30 times. Most of these visits have occurred in the last 5 years. Thus, I don’t need to refer to the park map to locate attractions, restaurants, or facilities.

Travel Background Information:
Travel delays resulted in my arrival in Orlando at midnight the day before my attempt. I did not arrive at my resort room until 1:30 and did not retire for the evening until 2:30. I skipped lunch and dinner on my travel day because the previous day in the office had been hectic. I thought being delayed and skipping meals was a bad omen. However, both events worked to my advantage because I decided to be at the food court at opening (6:00) for breakfast because I had not eaten the day before and for coffee because I had little rest the day before. As a result, I was able to finish breakfast, purchase my e-night ticket and board the bus for the Magic Kingdom at 7:40.

Weather Background Information:
I was concerned about the weather before departure. The forecasts called for either scattered thunderstorms or showers. Ground fog was present at arrival and persisted into the next morning. The resort desk clerk told me that it had rained about 20 minutes the day before my attempt. While waiting for the bus the day of the attempt, a heavy shower began. The day was overcast with intermittent heavy showers. There were no showers from about 9:15 until 14:15. A heavy shower started at 14:20, but ended by 14:50. A constant drizzle began at about 16:30 with one heavier shower at about 19:45. In hindsight, I believe the weather was probably ideal for an attempt at completing the plan.

My day at the Magic Kingdom:
My past experience has been that resort busses would drop passengers at the Transportation and Ticket Center if the bus departed for the Magic Kingdom before 8.00. However, the bus that I boarded at 7:40 went directly to the Magic Kingdom. I was at the turnstiles at 8:00 and was the fourth person in line. I was admitted through the turnstiles at 8:30 and was the first person at the rope barrier. A heavy shower started at 8:30, but lasted only a few minutes. I was protected from this shower because I was standing under cover provided by the railroad station.

The rope barrier was placed across the pathways leading under the Main Street railroad station, i.e., between the turnstiles and the railroad station. I believe the crowd is held in this area now because of the character greeting show that opens the park. The show takes place on the railroad station platform above the entrance plaza. The opening show started at 8:45. The main street actors entertained the crowd between 8:30 and 8:45. The cast member at the rope commented that the opening show had started a few minutes late and speculated that the delay was due to the weather. The rope barrier was dropped at 8:55 and was not walked back, i.e., the cast member jumped out of the way and the teenage guests began their Space Mountain Morning Mini-Marathon.

As I emerged into the Town Square end of Main Street, a Main Street vehicle was literally idling right in front of me. The vehicle was one of the small cars holding at most 5 (perhaps 6) guests. A family of three and I hopped on board and were at the central hub in just a few minutes. I believe that the trolley was down for rehab on the day of my visit because of work on the trolley tracks, but I am not certain. I arrived at the Tommorowland Speedway at about 9:04 and was the third person at the attraction. I had completed the first four attractions plus the Main Street vehicle ride by 9:31. While waiting in the queue for Dumbo (the fourth attraction on the plan), I realized that the weather might be the only variable that would keep me from successfully completing the plan.

After riding Dumbo, I went to Toontown to ride the Barnstormer. A rope barrier quickly reminded me that Toontown does not open until 10:00. I backtracked and experienced It’s a Small World and Snow White’s Adventure. As I exited Small World, I noticed that Peter Pan’s Flight was down. The cast member told me that he expected the attraction to be down for some time. No one was in the Peter Pan queue and the first Fastpass return time was around 12:30. I noted that I might have to work in Peter Pan later in the afternoon with a Fastpass and proceeded to Snow White and then Toontown.

The rope barrier at Toontown was dropped a few minutes late. As I proceeded into Toontown, I noticed scaffolding up at the Barnstormer. A quick check of the Times Guide revealed that the Barnstormer was down for rehab. Since the Barnstormer was out, I quickly decided to tour the Toontown Hall of Fame. I was the third person at the Hall of Fame and had completed my tour by 10:15. The cast members remarked that we were seeing a very eclectic group of characters that included Alice, the Mad Hatter, Cinderella, Suzy, Perla, Max, Goofy, and Wendy. Since there were very few guests in Toontown when I exited the Hall at 10:15 and since I was already ahead of the projected times in the plan, I immediately decided to tour Mickey’s & Minnie’s Country Houses and Donald’s boat. The interactive fountain at Donald’s boat was not operating. I have not observed the fountain at Donald’s boat operating since October 1999. I believe that Disney originally turned the fountains off to conserve water during central Florida’s drought. However, I believe that they remain turned off because of a rehab problem, because of a desire to reduce costs, or perhaps because of both reasons.

Since I thought there was a good chance that Peter Pan would still be down, I decided to enjoy Cinderella’s Carousel & walk through Ariel’s Grotto as I made my way back to the Peter Pan ride. The Carousel was loading as I walked up. I was able to complete a ride, walk through the Grotto and arrive at Peter Pan at 10:43. Incidentally, the interactive fountain in Ariel’s Grotto was also turned off. Since Peter Pan was operating when I arrived, I hopped in line and was back on the plan at the Haunted Mansion at 11:04.

Note:
At this point, I had completed a tour of all operating attractions in Fantasyland and Toontown, as well as the Speedway and the Main Street vehicles in 2 hours.

According to the plan, I saw the Haunted Mansion and toured Tom Sawyer’s Island next. Incidentally, Aunt Polly’s only serves dessert now. I was tempted to take a long leisurely lunch at the Pecos Bill Café, but I decided to continue touring since I felt great. Since I had already completed a tour of Toontown, I boarded the WDW Railroad at Frontierland for the grand circle tour of the park. The train was pulling out of the station as I arrived, primarily because I was delayed behind some slow-moving, stop-and-smell-the-roses, detail observers when exiting the raft from the island. However, the next train arrived in 6 minutes. After the train ride, I proceeded to experience the Tiki birds, Aladdin’s Carpet and the Pirates of the Caribbean

The next step on the plan was to see the afternoon parade. Since it was only 1:20, I went to the Jungle Cruise and experienced the Junior Jungle Boat arcade attraction after my cruise. Since it was only 1:43, I decided to explore the Swiss Family Treehouse next. After walking through the Treehouse, I noticed that I had enough time to complete both the Riverboat and the Hall of President before the afternoon parade. I arbitrarily decided to ride the Liberty Belle Riverboat first and boarded two minutes before the boat departed. Picking the riverboat first was a lucky break because a heavy shower started as I exited the boat. I was able to get out of the rain by heading into the Hall of Presidents next and saw the show after an eight-minute wait.

When I exited the Hall of Presidents, the rain had stopped and the marching bands that precede the Disney parade were making their way through Frontierland. I stood next to the Liberty Belle replica and watched the bands. I watched the Disney portion of the parade on the covered walkway between the Liberty Tree Tavern and the first passageway into Adventureland in case it started raining again. Since a crowd usually follows the rope barrier at the end of the parade, I cut through the first passageway into Adventureland, used the second passageway back into Frontierland and was able to walk into the Country Bear Jamboree and see the show with a 3-minute wait. After I beared the show (sorry), I rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority and played a game in the Tomorrowland Arcade.

At this point, I realized that I could work in all of the shows as well as the attractions. I saw Storytime with Belle at 4:15 and used the passageway by the Wishing Well into Fantasyland when the Belle’s show ended at 4:30. My plan was to see the Sword in the Stone ceremony at 4:30. When Merlin had not appeared by 4:35, I checked the Times Guide and realized the show was not performed on Fridays. I made my way to the Castle Forecourt by using the path on the Liberty Square side of the castle. As I arrived at 4:40, an enhanced character meet and greet was substituted for the show because of the weather. Since this was a show substitute, I stayed and participated in the meet and greet until shortly before 5:00. At this point, I made my way to Town Square and watched the Flag Retreat, used the Discover the Stories Behind the Magic Interactive Kiosks and retrieved my wristband for e-night. The Flag Retreat was minimalist. A security detail lowered the flag and marched it off without fanfare.

At this point, I took my first real break of the day and ate at Casey’s Corner. I choose Casey’s Corner because I wanted to see if Cinderella’s Surprise Celebration was performed at 5:40. Once again, an enhanced character meet and greet was substituted for the show at 5:40. After a few minutes with the characters, I headed to Tomorrowland and experienced Alien Encounter and Buzz Lightyear before returning to the Castle Forecourt to see if the 6:40 showing of Cinderella’s Surprise Celebration would be performed. Again, a 20 minute character meet and greet was substituted for the show at 6:40. Since it was almost time for the fireworks, I participated in the meet and greet again and waited for the fireworks in the Castle Forecourt. Even though there was a relatively constant drizzle at this point, Tinker Belle’s flight took place as scheduled at 7:00, followed by the fireworks.

Notes:
I agree with the assertion in the Unofficial Guide that Tinker Belle’s flight is a nice effect. However, you may wish to make readers’ aware of the tradeoff. The best view of Tinker Belle’s flight is from the Castle Forecourt. However, the castle will obstruct your view of the fireworks. My opinion is that the best view of the fireworks is from Fantasyland between the Carousel and former Submarine Lagoon. However, you cannot see Tinker Belle’s flight or hear the musical accompaniment to the fireworks very well from this area.

As e-night began, I had four attractions to experience to complete the plan. I experienced Space Mountain and the Astro Orbiter in Tomorrowland as per the plan. On my way to Splash Mountain, I stopped and played the Frontierland Shootin Arcade. I experienced Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain to complete the tour.

Official Ultimate Magic Kingdom Touring Plan Time = exactly 11 hours
I did not use Fastpass

Post-Plan Touring:

After completing the plan, I sat through two more complete circuits on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad without exiting the train. I do not know why I did this. It may have been due to exhaustion, inertia, or both. I then experienced Splash Mountain, the Haunted Mansion, and Space Mountain again. The extra attractions took exactly one additional hour to complete. I shopped in the Main Street Emporium and departed the Magic Kingdom at 21:30.

General Observations:

Crowd conditions were extremely light and contributed to my success. The best example of how light the crowd was occurred when I was waiting for the turnstiles to open. A hostess from the Crystal Palace made periodic trips to the turnstiles in an attempt to find guests willing to come to the character breakfast. I believe the weather also contributed to my success because it affected attendance, particularly as the day progressed. I was also quite comfortable because of the weather. In early afternoon, the temperature was in the 70s. The temperature dropped by about 5 to 10 degrees after a front passed through in mid-afternoon. Because of the light crowd and the weather, I felt very good and was able to engage in continuous, expeditious without prolonged breaks for rest or refreshment until almost evening. At the end of the day, I was tired. However, I was not exhausted.

I believe that this plan is an interesting and fun challenge for guests who have experienced all of the Magic Kingdom’s attractions and shows on prior visits. I do not believe that first timers, guests with small children, guests with special needs, or parties with large numbers of guests should attempt this plan. I do not believe that first timers would enjoy this plan or have success with this plan because my success was a function of touring success during the first two hours that the park was open. During this time, I relied on my prior knowledge and experience in the park, particularly experience with typical Magic Kingdom crowd behavior, to make adjustments to the plan when I encountered broken attractions and attractions unexpectedly closed for rehab. I believe that prior experience in the park is invaluable in terms of making touring plan adjustments that will continue to save time. I do not think that guests with small children, guests with special needs, or parties with large numbers of guests would enjoy or be successful with the plan because one must engage in continuous, expeditious touring to complete the plan. Unlike other Unofficial Guide plans, continuous, expeditious touring is not confined to the morning with this plan. You must be prepared for continuous, expeditious touring without prolonged breaks for rest and refreshment for most of the day to complete this plan. If you are in good physical condition, attempting to complete this plan is fun and challenging under the right conditions. In hindsight, I believe that conditions for me were nearly ideal because the crowed was light and the weather was comfortable.

Finally, I have never observed as many characters in the parks as on this visit. By my count, I saw or interacted with at least 31 characters during the day.

 

[Bella2000]

Don't forget to check for refurbishments - i.e. Winnie the Pooh is closed until the 27th I think. Len, I really appreciate you posting this info.

 

[campinggal]

I'm impressed! Both with your customer service, Len, and the plans!

I'm going to check out your site for our trip in October. My first trip back in 20 years so a plan certainly sounds like it will come in handy!

 

[cruisnfamily]

I'm sold! I too am very impressed with the software. Lentesta replied to another thread of mine (If the MK opens at 9am...) and showed me just exactly how custom these plans can really be. They can schedule around anything! They can be very tailored to your exact needs. I thought they would just drop and add rides and rearrange but it's more than that. We are repeat visitors and have never considered needing a "touring plan" but after seeing what he(and his software) can do, I'll be getting a plan for every park for our next trip.

Has anybody on these boards used his plan that wants to give us a review. Was it workable for you?

Thanks Len!

 

[cinmell]

Bella2000, thanks for posting about touringplans.com! I had never heard of it before and it looks pretty good.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Wow, the plans look great!!

DS and I will only be in the parks for 5 days in October. I'm going crazy working on our schedule. I want to do as much as I can in each park. MK isn't a problem because we're attending 2 MNSSHPs and we'll get one EE at MK during our trip. However the other 3 parks are driving me nuts.

I think getting a tour plan will make things easy for us. Thanks for sharing with us.

 

[Bella2000]

I am beyond psyched. I received my plans from Len. If these flow even half as well as the service I've received from Len so far I won't be able to be around myself I'll be gushing so much about them!
Seriously I can't begin to tell you what an unstressful experience planning could be. One area of my work is project management - I project manage my way through everything - Disney, my wedding, childbirth..it's pretty sickening I'll also always try something once but I'm not really one to rave about things unless I am 100% sure in my gut. My stress level went from 100 to 0 after I took a look at the plans and interacted with Len. It was unreal. I'm also all about customer service and his is just incredible (I'm gushing again - I'm trying not to.. honest). It's those little things that fell outside of the actual plan creation - here's one - I had fun filling out the form and I tongue in cheek added a stop in Adventure land for my Dole Whip and he not only caught it and built it into the plan - he recommended a flavor Gotta have my Dole Whip! I also honesty didn't think he'd be able to accomodate my park hopping and rests (yes we live by them) without killing us - but he did. I'm truly amazed.

If anyone is interested in trip info - this trip is a last minute (made reservations 3 weeks ago) long weekend. I have a longer trip scheduled for December where I will again use the plans - different audience with DH. My only wish with the plans would be if he could create one in conjunction with DCL. LOL

 

[Selket]

I'm wondering if Len could advise whether the touring plans are worth obtaining when you have a 1 year old. I don't know how to schedule around him because of his nap times. I can go by his nap times now but somehow I think that it is likely with all of the excitement and noise he may not stick to that schedule! The rides are less of a problem (because I could leave the toddler with the husband who isn't a big ride fan and go off with my older son) as trying to plan when we would be able to eat lunch. It could be noon, it could be 1:30. We would all like to eat lunch together!

Or what if you want to spend a morning at the MK and afternoon elsewhere (say EPCOT) ...will the touring plan take that into account.

Thanks!

 

[Bella2000]

Originally posted by Selket Or what if you want to spend a morning at the MK and afternoon elsewhere (say EPCOT) ...will the touring plan take that into account.

My whole trip this weekend is parkhopping.I actually have MK/Epcot in my touring plans. I didn't think it could be accomodated but it can be. I also have breaks between the time I leave one park and head back to my hotel to rest/nap and then return to the other park built in. DD has never been a consistent napper however we have built in the rest time away from the parks and sure enough she always has crashed in the past (so do we). Also I noticed that you are going with two different aged children - we also have that this trip which brings different ride dynamics (he wants mountains, she wants Fantasyland) so I looked at what each wanted and the schedule he built reflects that info. I'm sure Len can give you more insight. Good Luck!