touringplans.com Making the most of your subscription.

[crazymomof4]

I've always purchased the 1 yr subscrip with touringplans when we are planning a trip. We use it to plan rough itineraries for each park day but don't really use it beyond that.
I recently found out about the room request fax service. Never knew about that! Makes me wonder what else I'm missing on that site.
So, what are the things about touringplans.com that you find most useful?

 

[Merx]

I've always purchased the 1 yr subscrip with touringplans when we are planning a trip. We use it to plan rough itineraries for each park day but don't really use it beyond that.
I recently found out about the room request fax service. Never knew about that! Makes me wonder what else I'm missing on that site.
So, what are the things about touringplans.com that you find most useful?

What I use them for:

The free stuff:

• The hotel room photos - views of room in the resort -
• The dinner reservation finder - searches for ADRs for you - the one I found most useful

The paid stuff:

• The customized touring plans
• More touring plans than
• Chats
• As you said, the room fax request

That's what I know about them, I might have missed some

 

[snayak]

you also get access to the Lines app which can be very useful in the park while you're touring.

This is where the custom touring plans excel - the app will optimize in real time based on the crowds & waits that day for the attractions you've picked, and your FP+ and ADRs, etc.

 

[supraman215]

I did the touring plans subscription as well. I figured for $13 it's worth a shot. They are extremely detailed in their crowd reports. What is room request fax service? I'm a noob.

 

[supraman215]

Also why do they give every MNSSHP day at MK a 2 on crowd. I understand it closes early but the rest of the day won't it be as busy as a normal day?

 

[Steffiesunshine]

The reservation finder alone was worth the cost for me. It found me 2 BOG dinners, and 2 BOG PPO breakfasts. I also like the Lines app.

 

[JimmyV]

I have no way of knowing if I would have gotten it anyway, but I used their room request service and got my exact first choice. Not just the building or the view. But the exact first choice room. That alone was worth the subscription cost.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Also why do they give every MNSSHP day at MK a 2 on crowd. I understand it closes early but the rest of the day won't it be as busy as a normal day?

Generally no. People think they are getting short changed on hours so they go to another, more crowded park. I like going to MK on party days, lower crowds.

 

[peanutmomma]

Another vote for the reservation finder - I've been able to get a couple of ADRs in time slots that work better in our schedule.

 

[Dismomalita]

Used it to find the best price for my tickets. Saved me a lot more than the cost of the subscription.

 

[pfeifer14]

How do you use reservation finder? Do u search it before your 180 days mark or on the day of 180?

 

[Steffiesunshine]

How do you use reservation finder? Do u search it before your 180 days mark or on the day of 180?

Well, you can only make the reservation once your 180 day hits. They just let you know there is an opening. You have to be quick, sign on to MDE and make the reservation.

 

[peanutmomma]

I used specific times for our ADRs - you also have the option of selecting breakfast, lunch or dinner to allow for a wider timeframe of searches.

 

[123SA]

I like to make my own touring plans. I find the information about the duration of the ride and how long it takes to get from one ride to another particularly useful.

I hated my room location last trip. I'm going to look into the room request fax.

 

[Mom2Stitch]

The reservation finder alone was worth the cost for me. It found me 2 BOG dinners, and 2 BOG PPO breakfasts. I also like the Lines app.

I've been a long time subscriber and had heard of this service, but never tried it. I've been looking for a PPO Crystal Palace for the Saturday before Labor Day with no luck. After reading your post I decided to give it a shot. In less than an hour I got the text that there was an 8:20AM ADR available--signed on and grabbed it. Awesome!

 

[BudgieMama]

I LOVE the Lines app. I would pay the fee for that alone. I know there are other things that do the job, but I was consistently impressed with the info I was getting from Lines!

 

[Nancyg56]

Also why do they give every MNSSHP day at MK a 2 on crowd. I understand it closes early but the rest of the day won't it be as busy as a normal day?

No. The party days are shot days at the MK, so a lot of guests choose a different park to spend the day. If you are a RD to park close person, you will not get your money' worth on a party night, and hit any other park with normal operating hours. Conversely, the MK is usually packed on non party days and especially nights, as there are so few in which to enjoy the evening entertainment.

 

[cel_disney]

Just wanted to say thanks for this thread! We are long time TP Subscribers - love it for the ability to make custom TPs and manage my in park days clicking off activities and replanning easily.

I did not know about the reservation finder! I was using Disney dining scout before it was no longer available and just signed up for alerts yesterday and they already found me reservations! I love that it can search across multiple days! (I wanted a 'last allowed before the party started' reservation for be our guest and they found it a few hours later and we snagged it! (I'm sure party ticket prices coming out yesterday helped me!). Score!

 

[quagmire0]

1. ADR Finder. This is the first time I've used it and it got me two ADRs that I had been wasting my time checking daily for weeks.
2. Customized touring plans - they seem to work really well.
3. Lots of good articles to print out and bring on your trip - i.e. things to do for free at Disney World, in depth articles on things like the Chip 'N Dale campfire or other things to do at the resorts.
4. Restaurant reviews and menus

 

[PSUGuy]

We have a room request we'd really like to have honored,does the fax thing really increase our chances? It's for a Board Walk DVC unit if that matter.

Bill From PA