Touring plan times vs Disney app times

[PMGuernsey]

Curious if anyone has info on which is more accurate. We used touring plans prior to Disneyland app. Seems Disney is manipulating times to direct traffic. Going for first time in 2 years next week and considering buying touring plans.... Any suggestions or thoughts?

Please use url when referring to other websites: https://touringplans.com/

 

[skittles67]

I really like Touring Plans. Their lines app is way more accurate. I also used their touring plans. Just input what I want to do and it would optimize my day. I haven't been to WDW since October, so I haven't used Genie+, but from what I have read or vlogs I've watched most people do not like it.

Please use url when referring to other websites: https://touringplans.com/

 

[COASTIEandMATE]

Yes, we have used Touring Plans!! We have used their advice since 2005 when it was available in book form!! Saved us a lot of time and still is the best advice out there!!

Please use url when referring to other websites: https://touringplans.com/

 

[808blessing]

I’ve used Touring Plans for about a decade. Love them!!

Please use url when referring to other websites: https://touringplans.com/

 

[PMGuernsey]

Made the purchase will report back next week

 

[senoragilbert]

Made the purchase will report back next week

Please do! Would love to hear what worked and what didn’t!

 

[ColoradoLime]

Following along to hear your report as well. I'm trying to figure out the exact benefit of using them is outside of wait times. Seems like a lot of the other stuff they offer is already available online for free.

 

[Critter3]

Made the purchase will report back next week

Do you have an update for us ?

 

[senoragilbert]

Do you have an update for us ?

I'm not the person you were addressing, but I did use the TP app a lot for "realistic" wait times since we felt the DL app times were way inflated. We made a touring plan but ended up mostly using it to figure out what to rope drop and do in the first hour or so and then did what we wanted to (this is the huge benefit of G+ at DL). If we would have had more full days, we would have done touring plans instead of G+, and after the first full day and over 30K steps, we did watch more carefully where we were going and what our plan was for the whole day, so TP helped us figure that out. Since I already have the TP WDW and UOR accounts, the $7 or $8 was an easy choice. Just keep in mind that it won't help too much if you choose G+ and ILL$ since those tend to work well enough on their own that you don't need much of a plan. I hope that helps someone else!

Please use url when referring to other websites: https://touringplans.com/

 

[mdmost]

The only downside to them is you can't really take Genie+ into account on it yet. When we used it in WDW last year before Genie+ went into effect, it was a godsend. I think it's best to use it now to gauge how realistic your plan might be. You just have to be flexible since it can't really account for Genie+. If you plan to use Genie+, I think it can help you gain more time onto your day as it will help you decide when might be the best time to ride one of the non-Genie+ rides. It's a tiny investment, IMO, and can give you a more realistic look at how things are going. Granted, Genie+ and less capacity have made things a lot different. I like to tinker with my plans so I'll put it what we think we might want to do and just see what they say could be the outcome. I'm a weird one though as I like to shadow my plans with the Disneyland app just see how things might play out.

 

[Critter3]

The only downside to them is you can't really take Genie+ into account on it yet. When we used it in WDW last year before Genie+ went into effect, it was a godsend. I think it's best to use it now to gauge how realistic your plan might be. You just have to be flexible since it can't really account for Genie+. If you plan to use Genie+, I think it can help you gain more time onto your day as it will help you decide when might be the best time to ride one of the non-Genie+ rides. It's a tiny investment, IMO, and can give you a more realistic look at how things are going. Granted, Genie+ and less capacity have made things a lot different. I like to tinker with my plans so I'll put it what we think we might want to do and just see what they say could be the outcome. I'm a weird one though as I like to shadow my plans with the Disneyland app just see how things might play out

I’m the type of person who likes to plan and plan for things like this, lol. Especially since this will be our first time there and I want to make it as efficient and enjoyable as possible. So I’ll probably do as you say and get it just to see all my outcomes and have the ability to “second opinion” the wait times.

 

[DLRExpert]

Touring Plans and other Wait Time apps try to be accurate. Disney App Wait Times show a longer wait time for guest satisfaction (wow that wait went by fast?) and more than likely inflate to sell for G+ and ILLs.

 

[Steven G]

I agree with all of the above, however there is one thing that TouringPlans has a problem with. Predicting how busy the park will be.

I have been burned enough in the past (pre-covid) to no longer trust them. They said that a day was going to be a 2 or 3, and it turned out to be an 8 or 9. I was near tears, because I was not planning for this (I need to have time to psych myself up to handle the crowds, and then I am ok usually). I think the main issue was that they didn't take into account that some SoCal ticket offer was expiring that week, so everyone that had bought one and needed to use it decided to show up.

Other than that, they have been off at Disneyland by more than 2 on their 10 point scale, more often than not.

They are much better at predicting DisneyWorld, they are (at least pre-covid) typically really good there.

IF touring plans predicted correctly, then their wait times are usually spot on, and their LINES app can be useful.

And of course, post covid, the sites are iffy at best.

I still use TouringPlans, to get a basic idea of what path to follow, and how long it will take (and to make sure that what I want to do is reasonable), but I usually end up going off the script within the first hour or so of the day, whether because of rides shutting down, or just wanting to do something not in the list, etc.

 

[Wilcojoe]

I agree with all of the above, however there is one thing that TouringPlans has a problem with. Predicting how busy the park will be.

I have been burned enough in the past (pre-covid) to no longer trust them. They said that a day was going to be a 2 or 3, and it turned out to be an 8 or 9. I was near tears, because I was not planning for this (I need to have time to psych myself up to handle the crowds, and then I am ok usually). I think the main issue was that they didn't take into account that some SoCal ticket offer was expiring that week, so everyone that had bought one and needed to use it decided to show up.

Other than that, they have been off at Disneyland by more than 2 on their 10 point scale, more often than not.

They are much better at predicting DisneyWorld, they are (at least pre-covid) typically really good there.

IF touring plans predicted correctly, then their wait times are usually spot on, and their LINES app can be useful.

And of course, post covid, the sites are iffy at best.

I still use TouringPlans, to get a basic idea of what path to follow, and how long it will take (and to make sure that what I want to do is reasonable), but I usually end up going off the script within the first hour or so of the day, whether because of rides shutting down, or just wanting to do something not in the list, etc.

Yeah they were really off last week. Last Monday I believe was supposed to be a 2 and it was an 8. I think they predict their crowd levels at the beginning of the year and don’t update them regularly. Between the Super Bowl and the unusually warm weather, they could have taken five minutes to change that number.