So who's tried a personalized touring plan?

[Lovetherodent]

I'm going to give it a whirl. Did you find you were able to stick to it? Did you get as much done as predicted? I'm trying to maximize two evenings in MK since this is a short trip.

 

[ekatiel]

I'm going to give it a whirl. Did you find you were able to stick to it? Did you get as much done as predicted? I'm trying to maximize two evenings in MK since this is a short trip.

We never travel without them. We were big believers in Ridemax for our first few visits, but have since switched to TouringPlans version (mostly because it's free, but also because they include some details that Ridemax does not). The plans used to be super accurate back in the old "get the fastpass and save it for the afternoon/evening" days. Now, I think they are not quite as accurate, but they still give you a good guide as to how your day will flow. I love following them-- no "So, what do we want to do next?" looking around and wasting time trying to figure it out. Everyone's favorites are already on the plan, and we're ready to go.

 

[IrishNYC]

I haven't actually implemented them yet, but I planned our trip using touring plans. It made it a lot easier for me to plan FP+ times, and flow. We probably won't stick to it precisely, but it will give us a good direction for our days, especially in MK.

 

[livingthedream]

Every time I have visited WDW I have had a plan. The first time I visited I even went so far as figuring out how far it was between attractions and how long it would take to get between them because I had never been there before and this was important planning information!

I have always stuck to the plan. Sometimes things didn't always work out exactly as I imagined, but if you keep going you eventually end up getting back on track. Its sort of like a weather prediction. They can't always say for certain that rain is going to start falling at 3:13pm, but they are usually right within an hour or two either side of that time.

Following a plan is sort of like that. You know you are going to ride Space Mountain. You know there are going to be stand-by lines. You try to predict how long those lines will be based on the anticipated crowd level. But sometimes you predict too much time, and sometimes you don't predict enough time. Ultimately, though, it all evens out and you get done what you wanted to on any given day.

Have fun!

 

[chelseabun76]

I had a personalized touring plan for all 7 park days. I stuck to my personalized plan for not a whole lot other than fp+ times and adr's. lmao!!! But I still carried them around with me every day, because it still gave us a general idea of what rides made the most sense to seek out for where we were at the time.

 

[hpriamson]

I did personalized touring plans back in April 2013, before FP+, using the touringplans app. It worked great - would even recalculate things on the fly when we hopped onto an unscheduled Haunted Mansion stop because the line was short. My only complaint was my phone battery wouldn't make it through the whole day.

 

[ghtx]

I am obsessed with the touringplans.com personalized touring plans. I use them for every day of my trip. Obviously, you will not be able to stick to the schedule minute-by-minute, but it is a good guide for an idea of what you can get done and how long you can expect to wait.

And yes AFAIK they are still free (you have to pay to access the pre-made touring plans and the real-time ride wait times, but the personalized plans are free).

 

[Hootch]

If you are concerned about maintaining the touring plan, you can opt for the lines app. It is designed to reconfigure your plan if something comes up unexpectedly.

 

[kcpinwdw]

I use touring plans prior to the trip and rough out an outline of the day. BUt in the parks I definitely break free of the plan pretty quickly, because I have toddlers, so plans go out quickly. I use it as a guide/rough estimator. I use it to convince my husband why rope drop is so important. I use it to plan around my ADRs and FPs, also, and always load those in there. I do like the lines app, though I rarely found I Would update on the go.

 

[ksinniger]

I used them for our week long stay in November, more to help me get a grip on how much we could expect to get done in a 2-hour period at, say, DHS. Could we make a specific show if we wedged a ride on StarTours in first? It was helpful because it helped me set my expectations. That said, I think the personalized plans can still be off considerably -- I've got some for a upcoming trip and it's calling for rope drop wait times that are twice as long as I think they should be, and they don't account for the fact that rope drop often occurs before the posted opening time. But, I make notes after the steps where I think they'll be off, so I can add in things on the fly without having to hem and haw about it for too long.

 

[Lovetherodent]

I am obsessed with the touringplans.com personalized touring plans.

You mean like making multiple versions for each day named things like Tuesday-with Tomorrowland, Tuesday-Adventurland/Fronteirland. I don't know what you could be talking about!

If you are concerned about maintaining the touring plan, you can opt for the lines app. It is designed to reconfigure your plan if something comes up unexpectedly.

Really? Does this work with the personalized plans, too?

 

[snayak]

We used customized plans to block out what could be reasonably accomplished in a set amount of time.

I set it to very relaxed walk speed and minimize walking - then based my FP+ selections on the attractions with the longest waits (so, do it well before your FP+ window so you can tweak it). I pulled attraction order from eWDW touring plans and modified for my group.

This turned out pretty good - we were unable to bank on 4th+ FP availability (eWDW TPs kind of use this for the afternoon in MK) but we got everything we wanted done in our desired time frame.

I very highly recommend it, but I am a fanatical planner in all aspects of life, so this was just business as usual for me.

 

[Hootch]

According to their site it does.

Free Customized Step by Step Disney World Touring Plans
You tell Lines which rides you want to see, and Lines will display a step-by-step itinerary showing when to see them to avoid long lines. Lines can even update your plan while you’re walking around the park! It’s like having a GPS for Disney World.

http://touringplans.com/disney-world-app#

 

[Lovetherodent]

Freaking Amazing!

My kids are already telling me I need "help." They are going to have me committed when they see this thing. Imagine what we could accomplish if could all keep up with youngest (college sprinter) and could set the walk speed to fast!

 

[Kodachrome_Dreams]

Glad to read that these get positive reviews. I will check out that website soon and start figuring it out. I am about halfway through that Unofficial Guide brick-- I mean book-- and since ours will be just a three day trip I am definitely wanting to pack in as much as possible.

 

[CinderElsa]

I like TouringPlans.com but I think FP+ hurt its accuracy. I still use it, though, and if you're going to Universal, it's really a great resource.

 

[ruthies12]

I'm curious to where people are seeing a free personalized touring plan? When I go to touringplans.com it says I must be a subscriber to do a personalized touring plan?

 

[soniam]

I use the TP personalized plans for every trip. We used them very successfully in late July with FP+. I don't get anxious if we don't match to the minute. However, by the end of the plan, I usually find that we have finished before the time the plan predicted. They are incredibly efficient and fairly spot-on. Remember to re-optimize right before your trip, in case times have changed. They are always incorporating new data. Also, if using EMH, especially AM, make sure your selected start time reflects that. Sometimes I find that it didn't get selected, probably used error.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I tried one of these (Ridemax) about 15 years ago. My wife freaked out when I actually tried to follow it to the tee when we arrived. I ended up only using it as a very general guide to determine the order that we would ride attractions. Even that was too regimented for her after a few days, so for us it was a waste.

I learned that my wife requires spontaneity in her vacations.

 

[Lovetherodent]

I learned that my wife requires spontaneity in her vacations.

So does my H--a key reason why this trip is "Girls Only."