Touringplans Line App and touring plans

[Hey Hey]

Hi,

I was considering a subscription on touringplans.com when I came across a couple of things on their web site. Are the templates for the touring plan plans integrated with the Lines Mobile app?

Touring plan templates are discussed here - http://touringplans.com
Touringplan's Lines Mobile App - http://touringplans.com/disney-world-app

Also does anyone have any experience or opinions about them, especially is it worth the subscription price and the time to use them when you are actually in the parks?

Thanks

 

[Hootch]

The templates are fixed plans based on different touring styles, family ages, time in park, arrival time, etc. These plans assume that you want to visit most attractions. You can further adjust the templates before you go by eliminating attractions that you do not want to see, say, for example Stitch.

The Lines app is supposed to be dynamic. If you start your touring plan and something comes up, a ride breakdown, a very hungry child, etc, Lines is supposed to recalculate your touring plan on the spot based on the time. You just have to press the optimize button.

I haven't used these. It had been awhile so I got the Unofficial Guide so I bought it to review for our upcoming trip. This is how the book explains the two. Ypu can probably go to the Theme Park Strategies board and find people that have used both a set plan and Lines. There seems to be a split between Touring Plans and easywdw.com. Easywdw has set touring plans similar to the templates that Touring Plans has. One thing I like about that site is that Josh, the owner, follows his touring plan every once in awhile and documents how closely he hits his planned schedule.

 

[mchelle77]

I paid to use this in December of 2013 and the plans were NOT accurate. It had one MK day at a 4 but then the next day they posted that it was actually closer to a 7. The second MK day, similar thing .. they quoted it at a 6, it was closer to a 9. Those are BIG differences when you're planning on your days around Christmastime and crowds are higher than regular season. I can't remember my opinion on the app .. I think I also used the Dis app, and one was off (giving me a wait time of 20 minutes on Test Track, when it was actually shut down when I got there, for example)

 

[Hey Hey]

Thanks for the responses!

 

[dizmom2mwjk]

I use them religiously. ..I buy the book every 2-3 years depending on construction...then get free online access...I have used them for 16 years and one year went without a plan and got through less than half what we wanted....I find they are on point more than not...

Online you can personalize the touring plans...this is fantastic for my family...we leave out rides we are bored with and include favorites. Also, great for tailoring to boys or girls, toddlers or teens, or a little bit for everyone....and the website self reports wait time accuracy/mistakes from previous day...

 

[perditax]

Don't forget to click around on the site till you see a coupon code and/or answer the book questions (if you own it) for a discount.

From what i can tell, you can set up your plans on the website and they will sync to the Lines app (you use the same login for both).

 

[Fraeli]

I've just signed up a few days ago and installed the app on my phone. So far, I think it is well worth the money. Once you log in, the app shows you saved plans, including ADRs, FP+s, times for shows etc. My trip is only on April, so I haven't really tested in on ground yet, but it's definitely being fun to play with different touring options and I believe that once we get there, even though we will probably not follow the plans to the letter, it will still give us a general order of everytime we want to accomplish on each day, plus the real time info (on lines, for instance) the app is supposed to show.
Oh, and we did use the discount coupon (20%, if I remember correctly).

 

[Hey Hey]

So I bought the Unofficial Guide on iTunes. Where do I go to get the "substantial savings" for a subscription on the Touring website? Also, how much is the savings? And can you stack multiple discounts? I noticed on the site if you get to the bottom of the website there is a code to get 20%.

 

[WendyLou]

I have used touring plans on every trip and have been highly satisfied with it. Love the customizable plans, always pretty accurate on time.

 

[2ndStarr]

We have used touring plans for each of our 6 trips and have yet to wait more than 20 minutes in a line. I just now cross referenced our May plans with another online crowd calendar/ park recommendation site and, when you account for TP using attraction wait times as measurement and the other using attendance, they're spot on. I should mention though that we don't follow the plans religiously, we improvise changes as needed using the app.

 

[Tom A. Swift]

Our first trip (since I was a kid) was in early August of 2014. We went to MK for one day and just ran around the park. The first week of Feb 2015 we went back for a week (5 days in the parks) with the touring plans in hand and the app on my phone. The one thing you might have to worry about is power for your phone. The app is able to be adjusted and I would highly recommend you play with the app and the website prior to going. If you make a plan on the website it will automatically be available on your phone. The app is not something I would call "easy" for less tech friendly types. I didn't have much trouble using it and was able to add and remove rides, shows, FPs throughout the day as we made changes. In most cases the app was pretty close. We ended up eating lunches and dinners longer than we planned so I adjusted the app... rain came in one day and we stuck around the Dumbo play area another... so I changed our plans. It's a great little tool as long as you don't try to drill sergeant your family around with the app and a list in hand. I would recommend it as long as the person getting it understands its not "dead on" and they won't stress to death trying to "stay on schedule".

 

[Figment4EVA]

I bought the book first, but found it didn't have much new information in it for my needs, and returned it. I used the 35% off to buy the app subscription and while I havnt gone in my trip yet, I think the app is a good purchase.

Right now, I'm enjoying seeing what the attraction line wait times are in real time everyday to get a general feel for busier and less busy times to ride headliners. That way, I hopefully will gain a somewhat intuitive sense for things and spend less time staring st my phone in the park. I also like that it tells you which attractions have fast passes left for each day and what times. Less troubleshooting than the Disney app.
I like having the wait times, show times, fast passes, and projected wait times all in one app. It also tells you on certain rides if you should "wait. Lines get shorter after 4:00" or "ride now. Lines stay the same until 10m". Also tells you when longest and shortest wait time are expected to be for the day. That seems useful.

I don't intend to use the touring plans themselves but I monkeyed around with them and found them clunky. I tried to create a personalized one, but it wouldn't incorporate my fast passes! Seems pretty useless.

Oh, it also has menus and restraurant listings.

 

[Hey Hey]

Our first trip (since I was a kid) was in early August of 2014. We went to MK for one day and just ran around the park. The first week of Feb 2015 we went back for a week (5 days in the parks) with the touring plans in hand and the app on my phone. The one thing you might have to worry about is power for your phone. The app is able to be adjusted and I would highly recommend you play with the app and the website prior to going. If you make a plan on the website it will automatically be available on your phone. The app is not something I would call "easy" for less tech friendly types. I didn't have much trouble using it and was able to add and remove rides, shows, FPs throughout the day as we made changes. In most cases the app was pretty close. We ended up eating lunches and dinners longer than we planned so I adjusted the app... rain came in one day and we stuck around the Dumbo play area another... so I changed our plans. It's a great little tool as long as you don't try to drill sergeant your family around with the app and a list in hand. I would recommend it as long as the person getting it understands its not "dead on" and they won't stress to death trying to "stay on schedule".

I read a 2012 comment about the Lines App being a wrapper for the information in the member's section of the web site, which I assume means you are logged on to their web site to get the information. Do you actually login through the Lines App? Or is there more to it?

 

[Hey Hey]

Our first trip (since I was a kid) was in early August of 2014. We went to MK for one day and just ran around the park. The first week of Feb 2015 we went back for a week (5 days in the parks) with the touring plans in hand and the app on my phone. The one thing you might have to worry about is power for your phone. The app is able to be adjusted and I would highly recommend you play with the app and the website prior to going. If you make a plan on the website it will automatically be available on your phone. The app is not something I would call "easy" for less tech friendly types. I didn't have much trouble using it and was able to add and remove rides, shows, FPs throughout the day as we made changes. In most cases the app was pretty close. We ended up eating lunches and dinners longer than we planned so I adjusted the app... rain came in one day and we stuck around the Dumbo play area another... so I changed our plans. It's a great little tool as long as you don't try to drill sergeant your family around with the app and a list in hand. I would recommend it as long as the person getting it understands its not "dead on" and they won't stress to death trying to "stay on schedule".

Thanks for the info. You mentioned you were able to make changes on the go. Am I correct in assuming changes are made through the Lines App?

Also, do you customize the plan through the website first?

And lastly I noticed Figment4EVA wasn't able to add fast passes. Is this something you need to add on the web site first and then update through the Lines App if need be?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

[Hey Hey]

I use them religiously. ..I buy the book every 2-3 years depending on construction...then get free online access...I have used them for 16 years and one year went without a plan and got through less than half what we wanted....I find they are on point more than not...

Online you can personalize the touring plans...this is fantastic for my family...we leave out rides we are bored with and include favorites. Also, great for tailoring to boys or girls, toddlers or teens, or a little bit for everyone....and the website self reports wait time accuracy/mistakes from previous day...

How did you get free online access? I know part of the site is free to access. Are you getting free online access to the subscription section of the web site?

 

[Figment4EVA]

I tried adding my FPs on both the website and the app. It didn't incorporate them into touring plans on either platform.

 

[chiisai]

I tried adding my FPs on both the website and the app. It didn't incorporate them into touring plans on either platform.

That shouldn't happen. I would suggest joining the forum and asking why this is happening. I was able to add my fastpasses and it is a feature of the plans.

 

[Hey Hey]

That shouldn't happen. I would suggest joining the forum and asking why this is happening. I was able to add my fastpasses and it is a feature of the plans.

How do the fast passes get added? Do you have to add them to the web site first and then they are available to edit through the Lines app?

 

[chiisai]

How do the fast passes get added? Do you have to add them to the web site first and then they are available to edit through the Lines app?

I added them through the website. Not sure if they can be added or edited through Lines,I haven't tried. But, I do see them all on Lines and I know you can Optimize on Lines in park so I'm guessing there should be a way to edit. (EDIT - I just went in to Lines and there is a link to edit your plan and fastpasses)

How I did it was to add the attraction to the plan first and then added that I have a fastpass for it.

On the web site, in your plan, there is a section in between "Plan Preferences" and "Your Plan Steps" called "Fastpass+ Options" with a green plus sign next to it.

If you click on the green plus sign it should then allow you to choose up to three fastpasses. You pick your attraction then the start time of your window.

I can't remember the exact next steps, but i think I hit Evaluate and it incorporated the fastpasses. It would disregard them if I was trying to use them during low line times where it wouldn't matter.

 

[grecorj]

My thought was: I'm spending THOUSANDs of dollars on my vacation why I am worried about spending $10-$12 on a subscription that may help improve my trip?

I will say that being able to customize touring plans based on attractions you'll want to do, FP+, meals and breaks is a great way to at least organize your thoughts for individual days on your trip even if you ignore their advice to a degree.