Kenny The Pirate Character Locator vs Touring Plans

[Michaelsch]

I already have TP but I just learned about the Character Locator today. Will the character locator help in ways that TP won't and is it worth the $10 even though I already have TP? We will be traveling with our 4 year old.

 

[anomamatt]

As the name implies, Character locator is good for character-centric interests. And if you are really interested in characters, the relatively small cost is worth it (in addition to touring plans). TP has enough general tools (custom touring plan optimizer, reservation finder, etc) that if you had to pick only one planning resource, I would pick it 12 times out of 10. But there are indeed unique resources to KtP's Character Locator that can make it worth the money (interests depending).

 

[SaintsManiac]

If you are planning to do a lot of character meets it's a must. His maps are also the best while you're in the park. I know he added wait times, but we still use TP Lines app anyway.

I like having both.

 

[GillianP1301]

I've got both. I really only use KtP for meet & greet info and Touring Plans for everything else and that's mostly because I find the KtP site very jumbled and not that user friendly, but the character info is top notch.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I've had Character Locator for the last few years for my DD who loves meeting characters. The first year I found it really useful because it showed all the individual sets when MDE would just tell you that the character would be there from 10 to 2. MDE now has more precise info on sets so I don't find CL that helpful anymore. It does give general guidelines about how long you'll have to wait for each character which is useful (TP only has wait times for characters with FP and a handful of others).

 

[AngiTN]

I've got both. I really only use KtP for meet & greet info and Touring Plans for everything else and that's mostly because I find the KtP site very jumbled and not that user friendly, but the character info is top notch.

Same, I do both. Even though we are more or less done with characters. I just go ahead pay for both. Cost is so minimal even if I only use either once or twice I've gotten my monies worth. And I never know when a new character will come out that we'd like to catch.

 

[Michaelsch]

I just subscribed to Character Locator. I've been looking at it and it seems to have identical information to what is already in the WDW app. Looks like I could have saved the $10. Am I missing something?

 

[JETSDAD]

I just subscribed to Character Locator. I've been looking at it and it seems to have identical information to what is already in the WDW app. Looks like I could have saved the $10. Am I missing something?

If you're into characters then there are schedules for characters that are not on MDE. The chat room can also be valuable for finding out about certain meets and rare characters being out. There are more things available that I don't personally use but others do (things such as listings of all the Magic Shots). Wait times are also more accurate than the app.

 

[AngiTN]

I just subscribed to Character Locator. I've been looking at it and it seems to have identical information to what is already in the WDW app. Looks like I could have saved the $10. Am I missing something?

A lot.
First of all, MDE rarely puts the set times in. They'll list the beginning and ending hours but not the individual sets as characters rarely meet the entire window of time. (ETA - It does look like MDE has added set times, they did not used to be there). They don't however, list pop up character locations, only scheduled characters. Kenny will list where you can find pop up M&G
Second of all, MDE never tells you tips for Interactions with the characters.
Third, MDE does not tell you the best time to line up for a shorter wait or what characters have long times and what ones have long lines.
Just to name the top 3

 

[AngiTN]

Oh, and it's not character related but I like his calendar lay out. Not really for his crowd levels or park recs, though that's nice info for those that are looking for that info, but I like seeing the hours and times for shows for all 4 parks all in 1 spot. His shows 1 week at a time so it's easy to glance at them all on 1 page when you are curious about times and do you want to go to X today or Y tomorrow, based on show times.

 

[Surgie2]

I have both and find both helpful. The cost of both is such a teeny percent of the overall vacation.