Touring Plans?

[StarlitNight05]

Can anyone comment if they've found the TouringPlans.com subscription helpful? I just don't really know the perks that are involved, and what I'm potentially missing out on. Would those of you who subscribe say it's worth it?

 

[Winnowill]

It definitely is for WDW. DL, it's not as useful because a) it's not nearly as accurate and b) DL doesn't need the pre-planning WDW does. That said, if you have a current edition of the Unofficial Guide (which I highly recommend), a year's subscription is less than $6.

 

[VandVsmama]

I tried using Touring Plans once and thought it was really inaccurate. It told us to go to Adventureland during EMH/MM. I've used Ridemax quite a bit and really like it instead.

 

[lcp9]

I haven't necessarily used it for the plans, although I have plugged things in before and gotten a general idea of where to go when. I have found crowd levels to be generally accurate. The resources on there are pretty good for planning, and the statistics are interesting - you can see line graphs of expected wait times for each attraction of a particular day. It was helpful for us planning our first trip, not necessarily subsequent trips but it's useful and I use their wait time app in conjunction with others to get a good idea of what to do when (TP app tells you to ride or wait depending on predictions for that day.)

 

[agamble]

They do have a lot of free information on their website too including average waits for each attraction. It's an interesting site to peruse. We've never purchased a subscription because I don't feel it's necessary to book out my whole day.

 

[momabaarjo]

I have used both touringplans and ridemax. Both are great but touringplans goes beyond schedules and gives you lots of great information and tips.

 

[jaloopi]

I did not find it useful at all, which was disappointing. Their crowd predictions were way off for both of our trips. For me, it was more beneficial to read their forum and get input from "Liners" (much like this page). I would purchase the book but not the subscription again.

 

[lvdis]

I have found my subscription to be useful. I don't necessarily use it for making touring plans, but I like having a subscription with them when I have a trip planned to either WDW or DLR. I like looking at the crowd calendar and using the dashboard to make notes about my "plans" for each day. It also indicates which days are early entry and if there is anything special going on that day and what passes, if any, are blocked.

The cost is very minimal compared to what I'll be spending on my trips, so it's worth it to me to have the additional planning information. Plus I just enjoy it!

 

[Leopardstars]

When DH and I went to DLR in 2010 we used the plans in their books and got so much done. I got the book for this trip and found it useful. Since the subscription was discounted because I bought the book, I decided to get it. There are a few touring plans available through subscription that aren't in the book. I like how I can incorporate shows into our plans or omit things like Screaming.

 

[lilmissfoodie]

I use TP whenever I go to WDW. The annual subscription amount is very low. I also don't use it for creating touring plans. I did use them to help me pick rooms (they have a cool tool where you can see the view from a number of rooms) and to have them fax the room request (I've also started doing it on my own for non-Disney hotels and it works). For me the crowd predictions were very close and it allowed me to plan on which parks to attend (which included going to Universal when all the Disney parks were very busy).

 

[lvdis]

I use TP whenever I go to WDW. The annual subscription amount is very low. I also don't use it for creating touring plans. I did use them to help me pick rooms (they have a cool tool where you can see the view from a number of rooms) and to have them fax the room request (I've also started doing it on my own for non-Disney hotels and it works). For me the crowd predictions were very close and it allowed me to plan on which parks to attend (which included going to Universal when all the Disney parks were very busy).

Where do you find the room request tool? Is it only for WDW or does it work for DL too? Thanks!

 

[BobaDuck]

I like touring plans for their optimization tool. I can select the attractions I want to see and they will give me a plan that gives the best route through the parks. Since this will be my first visit to DL this is very helpful.

 

[Winnowill]

I like touring plans for their optimization tool. I can select the attractions I want to see and they will give me a plan that gives the best route through the parks. Since this will be my first visit to DL this is very helpful.

Just take its times with a grain of salt, particularly when it comes to Fastpass return times. I did a plan once where it said that, if I pulled FPs for Space Mountain at noon, the return time would be 2:30. However, when I pulled the FPs, the return time was, instead, 6:00! It didn't ruin my day, but it did require re-figuring some plans out.

 

[tarheelalum]

The Touring Plans crowd predictor is often wrong.

 

[lilmissfoodie]

Where do you find the room request tool? Is it only for WDW or does it work for DL too? Thanks!

It's touringplans.com/hotel_maps

If you go to the main page a scroll down, under the section labeled Know More, you'll see a description of the room request tool.