Touring Plan Help Please...

[vicky33006]

Hi everyone!

So, we are heading to WDW in March, and right now I'm going with the assumption that FP+ won't effect us, but if it does... I guess I'll just have to go with the flow. Anyway, I'm trying to think up touring strategies for the family (me, my sister, and DS-6). My sister and DS have never been and I've only been once, and it involved absolutely no planning at all. This time, I want to have at least some type of plan, although we plan to stay flexible. Can any of you help?

I'll give you some general ideas of what we're thinking and maybe you experienced Disers can let me know if our plans are at all possible?

Day 1: March 10th- Sunday- We won't be able to do much of anything until the afternoon since our plane lands close to 1pm. We have an ADR at Sci-Fi for 5:45. We were thinking of taking it pretty easy, and DS was hoping to meet Wreck-it-Ralph, so I was hoping to at least get that done while we are at DHS for the night. We are not doing F! so we can get back early. I know we won't be able to ride any headliners, so I guess we just thought we would see what we could do and then head back to the room (POR).

Day 2: Monday- MK Day. We will be there for RD. This is the day I'm most confused about... I don't know a good plan for MK at all.

We are not planning to get into Enchanted Tales with Belle, so hopefully that will help us out. Here's what we would like to do:

ISSW
Aladdin
Philharmagic
Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor *
Peter Pan *
Space Mountain *
Tomorrowland
Under the Sea
Dumbo
Buzz *
BTMRR *

The *'s are for the ones that we really don't want to miss. We will be there from RD until we leave for a 6:15 ADR for HDDR (so we need to leave early) and we will have lunch in the park. Any good suggestions on what to do first?

Day 3: Tuesday- DHS- We will be there for opening. Now, I know we need to get over to TSM as quickly as possible. After that though...what then? ToT is not for us. I'm thinking my sister and me might want to ride RnR, but DS is too short (so we should maybe get FPs?). We would also like to do:

The animation studio
Star Tours
Backlot Tour

Besides those, we are just hoping to catch as many of the shows as possible and maybe catch a couple of characters. We will be there straight through until F! We have a dinner ADR at Mama Melrose at 5 with the F! package. It's going to be a long day, but we aren't planning a break. Can we get everything done?

Day 4: Wednesday- MK- We are sleeping in and won't be getting to MK until...well, until we feel like it (12 or 1ish). We are just hoping to do lunch, catch the 3pm parade, and then head over to Chef Mickey's for a 5:00 reservation. We plan to come back and do Wishes and all that. We know we won't be able to do much since we're coming in so late. Hopefully it's just a day to have some fun.

Day 5: Thursday- Epcot- We will be there for the opening. This is tricky for me too. I know we need to get to TT, Soarin, and Mission Space. DS is desperate to do all of those, so what's the best order here? I'm really hoping we can get to all of these. Besides this we are hoping to do:

The Seas with Nemo
Turtle Talk

We will probably go back to POR for a break, and then will have to be back for a 5:50 ADR at GG. After that, we are hoping to explore WS for a while and then watch Illuminations. Does this sound reasonable?

Day 6:- Friday- AK- We will be there for opening, and know that we need to get to Kilimanjaro Safari right away. DS wants to do Kali, but that will depend on weather. Those are really the only rides that are important, but we really really want to see FotLK and Nemo. We are hoping to catch the parade, but that's pretty much it for AK. We have a dinner ADR at T-Rex for 6, so we may grab a cab and go straight from AK...but I guess we'll see.

Day 7: We go home

So....I know this was long, and I appreciate the help from you guys soooooo much! I don't have the experience to know if this is all workable or not. Am I being too ambitious? I've planned this whole trip and want it to be great, but we plan to be really flexible. If we miss something, no one is going to cry about it. Can anyone help??

BTW, I did get a TouringPlans membership, but I'm finding the touring plans kind of useless I can't seem to customize them and am getting frustrated. It seemed easier to come to the experts here.

Thanks for any help!!!

Oh....and one last thing...the parks are expected to be busy..at least 8 all week. We are supposedly going to the best parks each day.

 

[Kimosabe]

Lots of questions, so I'll try to stick to just one or two. As for the MK days, we often watch Wishes from just inside the entrance to Tomorrowland and then hoof it directly into Buzz, where it is often a walk-on at that point...even to the point of being able to circle back around and do it immediately for a second or third time with virtually no wait. No promises on that, but I'd focus on your other must-do's earlier in the day and save Buzz for later with this in mind. With two MK days, you might be able to get easy FPs for all your asterisk'ed rides, so it might not be an issue.

If you are at MK at rope-drop on your first MK day...we did that recently and were able to ride BTMRR twice, Splash once and POTC once (and stop for a citrus swirl!) within about an hour and a half. In other words, you can knock out a few good options pretty quick if you're there early. From that point forward, it's just a matter of making sure someone in the group can run to the next FP dispenser as soon as your prior one allows you to get another one.

We have watched Wishes and the water parade from the beach right across from HDDR and loved it. You might have too long of a gap after dinner to wait for that, but if you're taking the boat there (and back, which drops you again right at the MK entrance), then can you go back into MK after dinner and hit a few rides during the parade and Wishes...especially if you're going to see them a couple of days later. No better time to make up some time on rides than during these events while a big portion of the park guests are watching them instead of riding!

 

[SYDNCLAIRESMOM]

I use touring plans "Personalized Plan" optimizer and tweaked it as needed. Its very simple once you get the hang of it. Hit optimize once youve choosen all your attractions, meals, breaks etc... then if you want to move some things around you can drag it to earlier or later in the day then hit evaluate.

I used this last summer and it was bang on with the timing.
BTW it was worth the $10 and more IMHO. The website is very easy to use and very informative.

Good luck and have a GREAT time!!

 

[SYDNCLAIRESMOM]

Just now saw your comment about TP. Keep trying. I almost gave up until I figured out I could drag things to the time of day I wanted and saw the "add FP" option. Remember to hit evaluate and not optimize at the end if you change something. Thats was what kept confusing me. Dont give up!

 

[lborne]

You are already doing the best thing by getting there at RD. We found that we can either head to Tomorrow land or Frontier Land first and it really does not matter. Depends on what you want to do more than once (SM, Buzz) or (SP, BTMRR). Try to slow down at some point and just enjoy the details.

For EPCOT, here is what I did once. 2 adults (me and DW) + 1 DS

Got there at RP. DW and DS went on Sum of All Thrills while I ran to get FP for Soarin. Then I can back and I did SOAT with DS. Next we did Mission Space. Following that, we did Nemo, then Soarin and got fast pass for the Living with the Land ride. Went to Imagination and did the figment ride. Went back to do the Land ride. Had lunch at Mexico. Rode the 3 Amigos boat ride. Next we went to Norway and did that ride. Went back and tried sodas at club cool and then Spaceship Earth. Went back to room for rest. Back to EPCOT around 5:30pm. Did some of the things in Innoventions - piggy bank and 4D storm simulator. Next we did Ellens Energy Encounter (just before it closed). Walked over to Morocco and ate dinner at the Tangerine Cafe. Looked around Japan and shopped there a lot - bought some candy for DS and saki for us. Went to France and got ice cream and and chocolate crepe. Then we watched Illuminations, looked around the pub in England to let the crowds die down before we left. Don't forget that some of the main attractions may close early. If you skip the rest, you'll get to see more countries.

 

[JoePirate]

Where do I find this "Personalized Plan"?

 

[Stinky_Pete]

Well, according to some you can't call this a touring plan because you are asking advice and didn't pay for it. Sorry, earlier thread I was involved in and couldn't resist.

I admit I've not been on an "8" crowd level day, but here's the order I usually do these MK attractions.

• Space Mountain *
• Buzz *
• Peter Pan * (Grab fast pass for Under the sea)
• BTMRR * (and Splash if you're interested while on that side of the park)
• Enjoy other attractions without long waits until your Under the Sea fast pass time
• Under the Sea

Things I don't do and can't help you with. Maybe do these your 2nd MK day

• Dumbo (I don't do this, but would get the pager I've heard about)
• Aladdin (Don't do this myself)
• Tomorrowland
• ISSW (I don't know what this is)

These don't usually get "lines" when I am there as they are theater performances. The theaters can swallow up a lot of people. I usually just have to wait until the next showing, so can go anytime. Don't know what to tell you on an "8" crowd day.

• Philharmagic
• Monster's Inc.

Not sure why you can't get customized touring plans from Touringplans.com. I click on the drop down arrow at the top where it says "Touring Plans". The last option on the drop down menu is "Personalized Touring Plans". I just follow the steps and voila! Customized touring plan.

Hope this helps!

 

[vicky33006]

Lots of questions, so I'll try to stick to just one or two. As for the MK days, we often watch Wishes from just inside the entrance to Tomorrowland and then hoof it directly into Buzz, where it is often a walk-on at that point...even to the point of being able to circle back around and do it immediately for a second or third time with virtually no wait. No promises on that, but I'd focus on your other must-do's earlier in the day and save Buzz for later with this in mind. With two MK days, you might be able to get easy FPs for all your asterisk'ed rides, so it might not be an issue.

If you are at MK at rope-drop on your first MK day...we did that recently and were able to ride BTMRR twice, Splash once and POTC once (and stop for a citrus swirl!) within about an hour and a half. In other words, you can knock out a few good options pretty quick if you're there early. From that point forward, it's just a matter of making sure someone in the group can run to the next FP dispenser as soon as your prior one allows you to get another one.

We have watched Wishes and the water parade from the beach right across from HDDR and loved it. You might have too long of a gap after dinner to wait for that, but if you're taking the boat there (and back, which drops you again right at the MK entrance), then can you go back into MK after dinner and hit a few rides during the parade and Wishes...especially if you're going to see them a couple of days later. No better time to make up some time on rides than during these events while a big portion of the park guests are watching them instead of riding!

Thank you so much! This is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for! It's the kind of stuff I would just never know since I'm so inexperienced at Disney.

 

[vicky33006]

I use touring plans "Personalized Plan" optimizer and tweaked it as needed. Its very simple once you get the hang of it. Hit optimize once youve choosen all your attractions, meals, breaks etc... then if you want to move some things around you can drag it to earlier or later in the day then hit evaluate.

I used this last summer and it was bang on with the timing.
BTW it was worth the $10 and more IMHO. The website is very easy to use and very informative.

Good luck and have a GREAT time!!

Just now saw your comment about TP. Keep trying. I almost gave up until I figured out I could drag things to the time of day I wanted and saw the "add FP" option. Remember to hit evaluate and not optimize at the end if you change something. Thats was what kept confusing me. Dont give up!

I hit optimize every time. No wonder I'm having so many problems! Thank you! I thought I wasted my money on that one. I'll go back and try again!

 

[vicky33006]

You are already doing the best thing by getting there at RD. We found that we can either head to Tomorrow land or Frontier Land first and it really does not matter. Depends on what you want to do more than once (SM, Buzz) or (SP, BTMRR). Try to slow down at some point and just enjoy the details.

For EPCOT, here is what I did once. 2 adults (me and DW) + 1 DS

Got there at RP. DW and DS went on Sum of All Thrills while I ran to get FP for Soarin. Then I can back and I did SOAT with DS. Next we did Mission Space. Following that, we did Nemo, then Soarin and got fast pass for the Living with the Land ride. Went to Imagination and did the figment ride. Went back to do the Land ride. Had lunch at Mexico. Rode the 3 Amigos boat ride. Next we went to Norway and did that ride. Went back and tried sodas at club cool and then Spaceship Earth. Went back to room for rest. Back to EPCOT around 5:30pm. Did some of the things in Innoventions - piggy bank and 4D storm simulator. Next we did Ellens Energy Encounter (just before it closed). Walked over to Morocco and ate dinner at the Tangerine Cafe. Looked around Japan and shopped there a lot - bought some candy for DS and saki for us. Went to France and got ice cream and and chocolate crepe. Then we watched Illuminations, looked around the pub in England to let the crowds die down before we left. Don't forget that some of the main attractions may close early. If you skip the rest, you'll get to see more countries.

Thanks so much! This is great! I just want to do the best we can...and I've heard RD is essential for that, so we will be up early almost every day. Thanks for all this! I will use all of it for sure!

 

[vicky33006]

Well, according to some you can't call this a touring plan because you are asking advice and didn't pay for it. Sorry, earlier thread I was involved in and couldn't resist.

I admit I've not been on an "8" crowd level day, but here's the order I usually do these MK attractions.

• Space Mountain *
• Buzz *
• Peter Pan * (Grab fast pass for Under the sea)
• BTMRR * (and Splash if you're interested while on that side of the park)
• Enjoy other attractions without long waits until your Under the Sea fast pass time
• Under the Sea

Things I don't do and can't help you with. Maybe do these your 2nd MK day

• Dumbo (I don't do this, but would get the pager I've heard about)
• Aladdin (Don't do this myself)
• Tomorrowland
• ISSW (I don't know what this is)

These don't usually get "lines" when I am there as they are theater performances. The theaters can swallow up a lot of people. I usually just have to wait until the next showing, so can go anytime. Don't know what to tell you on an "8" crowd day.

• Philharmagic
• Monster's Inc.

Not sure why you can't get customized touring plans from Touringplans.com. I click on the drop down arrow at the top where it says "Touring Plans". The last option on the drop down menu is "Personalized Touring Plans". I just follow the steps and voila! Customized touring plan.

Hope this helps!

Thank you so much for this! This is exactly what I needed. I just sort of need an order to go in...but I'm going to go back to touringplans and try that again now that I see people are telling me what to try. Hopefully that helps, so thank you!

OH...and it was supposed to say IaSW...It's a Small World....Sorry for the typo!

I am worried about the crowds, but we just want to have fun and be realistic about what we can and can't do. I'm not under any illusion that we will see and do it all, just hopefully enough for DS to have a magical experience

 

[SYDNCLAIRESMOM]

Where do I find this "Personalized Plan"?

Its a perk of joining touringplans.com. You subscribe to the website ($10ish) then click on touringplans and you can either follow one of their plans or make your own. I had alot of fun doing this myself this past summer.
and it worked out perfectly for us.