Is TouringPlans worth it???

[Jess30]

I will probably renew my subscription when my next trip gets closer. I liked putting together a rough TP and seeing the time estimates. It was also nice to have all of the info in one place and it was current. I used both easywdw and TP a lot when planning. I'm also a huge planner and can get obsessive. To me, I felt like I got my money's worth out of it, and it's really not expensive at all. I spend more than that at Starbucks a week.

 

[juliehoey]

Touring Plans is a VERY cheap investment to make into your trip. I mean what is it the cost of a cupcake or two?

That being said, easywdw is a free website that is more accurate, reliable, and thorough than touring plans. It's also completely free.

This

 

[glohoffman]

I wasn't planning on renewing my TP subscription, but I did it for the time estimates. Not how long the waits were projected to be, but because in their personalized plans, it'll calculate for you how long the walk is to your next attraction. And you can change your option for walking speed--I went with "Very Relaxed." LOL

That might not be useful for some, but we're visiting this summer with my husband's parents, and their mobility isn't great, so it was helpful for me to get a ballpark idea of how long it would take to get from one place to another. We've never really paid attention to that factor, so it wasn't something I was personally prepared to account for.

This is exactly why i was considering it. i have no idea how long it takes to get to each attraction, and how long the attractions may last for that matter. So i really dont have a realistic grasp on what i can fit into a day. And like a previous poster said, it is really cheap, i just wasnt sure how useful some of the features were to everyone who has tried it.

 

[glohoffman]

Doing alot of character breakfasts or lunches? Unless your breakfast ADRs are before the parks open (8 am), I suggest lunch. Don't waste that first hour sitting down eating Mickey Waffles watching the lines build around the park.

The value of what you get to eat for lunch is much better as well.

We are doing a variety of breakfast, lunch, and dinner for character meals. The only breakfast ones i have are the castle for 8:10 and Tusker house for 8"05, although i am considering changing tusker to a lunch because I feel like it would be a better value. who knows!

 

[glohoffman]

Every day is different and touring plans lets you set your list of to-dos and as you check them off you can reevaluate the rest of the day.

For instance it might say Peter then Dumbo then Ariel. Once you finish Peter it might say do Ariel before Dumbo. TP did this possibly because of a spike in wait time or because you selected you didn't want to walk as far and were more happy to wait than walk all over.

This is just a small thing but it can do your whole days wait list and be updated with the latest data for the day at any point.

Those who say a free schedule of what to do even stated they didn't even use TP when they got to the parks. If you actually use the smartphone ability to update and follow you schedule it's well worth it.

Also if you look at one of the days your going you can actually see projected wait times for each ride at each time during the day. This has been a little off as of late though it sounds but I would assume it's only going to get better as we move forward. *This is not generic like EasyWDW for a level 4 day but specific to that level 4 day

EasyWDW is a great site but TP just has more targeted specific info on it.

Oh i didnt realize the app had a checklist and would adjust like that, that is wonderful! It seems like it is pretty easy to customize, which is appealing to me.

 

[Crispity]

It's worth it to me because planning is half the fun of the trip, and I love being able to personalize our touring plans and easily adjust them as needed. I used the plans for our first trip last October and really liked them. The projected wait times were accurate for the most part, and I liked that the Lines app had our schedule on it, and so I had an easily accessable list of the attractions that we wanted to see. I did find that we were not able to accomplish things nearly as quickly as Touring Plans thought we would (even with specifying a "relaxed" walking speed, we just don't go anywhere very quickly with a toddler!), but I still really liked having the plans.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

We are doing the same...a two birds one stone kinda thing!

We have
7:30 Chef Mickey's
8:00 Akershus (not for A & E lol)
10:35 Crystal Palace (MK morning EMH day)
and we are doing the Pirates and Pals Cruise for Hook and Pan

We plan on doing rope drop each day (My family are morning people anyway, DS is up at 5 sharp EVERY day)

I do my own planning. The few times I've looked at free versions to compare, I found them inaccurate. However, I know my way around WDW quite well. I am my own touring planner.

Character meals and any buffets: traditional sit down meals are an opportunity to relax, to sit. Otherwise you may be on your feet much of the day. Character buffets are fun, but they are not remotely relaxing or quiet. Every member of your party is constantly getting up for food, pictures. They are all rather loud. They usually take about two hours! On top of that, unless you very careful, you will walk out stuffed. Character meals are more fun than standing in line for two hours, but I can't really call them a time saver. How you might otherwise spend that time is really up to you though, and how you choose to spend your day.

WDW is constant stimulation: sights, smells, noise, touch, and even taste. So a quiet meal can be much more than a meal.

Also, well. My family can only handle so many buffets in a row. You mention your character meals, but not the rest of your meals. If you have other buffet/all-you-can-eat type meals it might be too much. Also, the menu places/non character meals have better quality food, and better prices.

At WDW, each of us can only be on the go so much. Having fun is about choices. While I try to be in the parks each am by 9:15am. We don't beat ourselves up trying to arrive by rope drop. I personally find night hours far more useful, relaxing and enjoyable than the 8-10am park hours. Seeing the fireworks, lighting effects, and cool evening air are rather fun. Sometimes we go all day, sometimes we take an afternoon break/nap.

Having fun is realizing that you can't see every little thing. You can easily see most of the headliners, and much of the landscape, but not every character, show, animal feeding, etc. Go as much as you are happy being on the go. See as much as you can happily see. And whatever you don't see this trip....you can see next time.