Touring Plans question for our trip in September

[mommy2paisley]

We will be at WDW August 31-Sept. 10. Planning on 10 days in the parks, including doing NOJ and MNSSHP. Most of the days we are there, Touring Plans show 1-3 crowd levels at the parks we will be at. I think the worst is 5 for MK.

For those of you who have been with crowd level predictions similar, are FastPasses going to be a must? We have been when it's been a little busier and we didn't use very many FP. This was before the FP+.

I know we want to see Elsa and Anna, so I'm going to try very hard to get a FP for that, but do you think the lines for 7DMT and other popular rides will have awful lines with those crowd predictions?

Is what I'm asking clear as mud? LOL I hope I'm making sense for someone who knows.

 

[KateDrake]

We usually go that time of year, and we still use FP. The overall crowds are smaller, but the headliners can still get larger lines.

Here's what has worked best for us: We start out by following the Touring Plans in the morning to knock out some of our "must dos". And we use FP to schedule the other must dos that we won't make it to during the first few hours the park is open. That way, we have seen and done a lot, and can then enjoy the less popular attractions during the heat of the day when the crowds get busy, or we can take a break and come back later. We also like to re-ride our favorites, so you can get 4th, 5th, etc. FPs for those later.

Overall, we find we don't have to follow the touring plan exactly, but it helps us to get an idea of what our priorities should be. Does that help?

 

[Fratthouse]

We go in early September each year. Crowds are low and a lot of rides are walk-ons. But many of the headliners have long waits regardless of when you go - Toy Story Mania, Soarin', Test Track, and probably 7 Dwarf Mine Train all have 40 - 60 minute waits throughout the day - less than at busy times, but still too long for me. You could maybe avoid waiting long if you go at park open, but I'd try to get Fast Passes for them if you can.

 

[mommy2paisley]

Great, thanks! I guess I will go ahead and drive myself crazy with trying to figure out the best times for FP for us, then hoping they're somewhat available. LOL I am a major planner by fault and plan our entire trip with the perfect (for our family) ADRs and what days/what parks (we don't like to park hop because we feel like we're spending ride/attractions time in transportation). I was hoping not to have to be completely ocd about the FPs, too. Time to get DH/DD involved to help plan our FPs, I guess. Thanks for the input!!!

 

[DisneyFive]

It's up to you, but we go in Sept when it's really slow also, and the popular rides still fill-up fast (Soarin, Toy Story Midway Mania, Test Track, etc..)

We used FP+ fully, as well at the old FP- even during slow times.

Is it needed? Well, I guess not. It just depends on how willing you are to wait in line for rides.

Dan