When we took our break, we left the park (here come the flames
). We did not take a break in the park. Though, I like the idea of taking a break by riding the train. That seems like a good plan. We did not visit Tom Sawyer's island, so I cannot say if that would have been a good place to rest. We also didn't worry about things like parades. My D really wasn't interested in them and we were able to use that time for children's rides.
We also didn't ride Dumbo at all. The line was always extra long and she really didn't care. We also FP'd Pooh, and, after we rode it, she said she could have skipped that one. We did not ride the speedway thing (the cars that you drive). We do that at our local theme park and the Disney one really doesn't offer anything more than we have here at Dorney Park, so we skipped it. In essence, we skipped some of the slow-loading attractions that smaller kids seem to like. I think that helped with getting us through faster. At one point, we had FPs for Jungle Cruise, but never used them bcus my DD said she didn't want to. After I described the Jungle Cruise ride, she said it sounded boring.
As for how I came up with my plan (and it WAS NOT from TGM - Disney is not the only major theme park that has a Fastpass-type system so this can be used for other non-Disney parks, as well), here is what I did: I used an excel SS to list the rides into 3 categories...headliner, middle (a ride that is somewhat popular, but not a headliner) and a bottom (something that most people will skip or ride last). Then I marked everything that had a Fastpass with a star. Then, I started to shift things around on the page. I had to spread FP rides out to allot for the timing. It was critical for me to get a FP as soon as I entered each park, so that the return time would be as soon as possible and I could get another Fastpass quickly.
First thing in the morning, I tried to line up the rides so that I maximized Fastpass Voucher retrieval AND rode headliners. I switched to the bottom rides just after lunch so that I was riding the most non-popular rides in the middle of the day. Then I switched back to the "middle" rides later in the afternoon. The system had me moving around the park a bit...not going land by land. This was done so that I collect vouchers for rides and ALSO ride headliners that were close-by.
In other words, just because you are in Tomorrow-Land does not mean you should just try to do ALL of the tomorrow land rides at that point.
IMO, You really don't need a "tour plan" IF you can visualize the categories and have an idea of what is popular and what isn't. I never once glanced at a tour plan because I didn't have one with me. I had one done, but accidentally grabbed the wrong papers off of my printer before I left (in a hurry) and had nothing with me except the "best parks" list from TGM. So, having the 3 categories in my head that
*I* came up with (I was able to rememebr them since I had done that work-up myself), we made 3 or 4 sweeps of the entire park.....and rode various things depending on what time it was.
In some cases, we also jumped on things that we wanted to and that had short lines. I don't think anyone ever recommends riding HM in the early morning hours, but we did! There was no line and we walked on...and I happen to really like that ride.
Again, I think the most important thing is to be at the rope so you can FP right away. Do not ride first. FP first! Then ride...even if you FP and ride the same ride, if you like it that much, as we did for SM. We worked the plan around being able to FP as much as possible. We did not let time pass between the ride time on a Fastpass and collection of the next Fastpass.
Also, what helped me: There were only 2 of us. Larger families or groups will be slower in getting around. I had no stroller, no small children who walk slowly, nobody who needed extra time. We used the bathroom as we passed them...not waiting til we needed to go. If you wait til you need to go, you'll need to search them out. Using them as you pass will maximize your time.
I also used the UG book quite a bit, so credit also goes to them.
Hope this helps some of you have a better time.
).
Yep, that sums it up for some!
I can tell you I didn't learn any special secrets from your post. I hope that the contraversy doesn't prevent you from posting about how much you accomplished at each park....... But I sure can understand why it would.......
...once again thanks for the help and if you still are willing to help out let me know about the Tom Sawyer thing. Thanks 
, but I just subscribed.
