Unofficial Guide Touring Plans

[tinkermell]

Keep in mind that since public schools have been back in session, our predictions are running about 1 higher than the actual wait times we measure. So if we're predicting a 7, the actual crowd levels have been running at 6. I hope to get this adjusted in the next week or so...assuming Disney doesn't do something wacky like re-do their EMH schedule for all of 2006. Wait...

Len

Hi! I'm going to jump in too.I am a DL veteran and am use to using RideMax. Are the UG plans similar at all to RideMax?? We are going the last week leading up to Christmas Day, and am getting a littled worried about crowds. This will be our first trip so have no idea what to expect!! I have bought the UG book for 2005 and it has been a tremendous help. Are the plans you order off of the net more detailed than the book??? Thankyou for any information you have!

 

[Aptor]

I love that book! I follow the guide but customize and since we follow there advice and go during a slow time following the plans is much less important.

 

[HoneyMooner]

subbing

 

[Motherofafae]

I want to get the guide for my dec 27 trip (yes late I know) but should I get the 2006 or the 2007? I might get the 2007 just to be safe. What do you think?

 

[Scottish-Helen]

I want to get the guide for my dec 27 trip (yes late I know) but should I get the 2006 or the 2007? I might get the 2007 just to be safe. What do you think?

Hi

We are going at the same time as you and I bought my 2007 edition today. I would go with that as it is the most up to date version

The touring plans work great. Getting my Unofficial Guide is a tradition for me now on every trip.

 

[ajcolorado]

My husband and I love planning vacations - that is a big part of the experience for us. But we have friends that don't enjoy that - we always recommend the Unofficial Guide to them because they can just clip out the touring plans in the back. Technically, they don't even need to read the book. We buy a new UG every year - it is such great information AND you can read it in the bathtub.

We also really like Tour Guide Mike - because we like planning the details ourselves and we were very bad in the child planning department. As a result of our irresponsible breeding, we have a 9 year old, a 14 year old, and two college kids - our family just doesn't fit into a one-size-fits-all touring plan. Neither the "Little kids" nor the "teen" plan is quite right. TGM has great "Best Days" information. The down side: because it is web based, it is much harder to read in the bathtub.

On our last trip, we had a grandmother that was being moved to a locked Alzheimers unit, a child that was making some heartbreaking decisions, and a job situation that made pouring over vacation details impossible so we hired Build A Better Mouse Trip to do our planning. They created our itinerary and touring plans and made all of our dining reservations for us. We were very happy with the service we received and I was able to read a murder mystery in the bathtub.

 

[Motherofafae]

Great Scottish-Helen!
A broke down and bought the 2007 cause I read some place else that the 2006 was out of date and that was while back! thanks for your info as well... hope you have a great time!

 

[88Keys]

Len -- you are da bomb!

TGM has great "Best Days" information. The down side: because it is web based, it is much harder to read in the bathtub.

Actually, the best days info on the UOG website (which is free, by the way) actually seems to be more accurate than TGM -- TGM best days is based on general trends and events like EMH and when special events are -- UOG looks at hotel bookings, data collected on crowd patterns over many years, etc.

And, did I mention, it's free

 

[Cool-Beans]

I used the touring plans when we first started going and can't say enough good things about them. With all the info out there, the Unoffical Guide is still the best, even if it isn't perfect. You get the most fun for your buck with the UG.

I've been to WDW a gazillion and two times, and I still use my UG.

The only problem we had, using it the first time, was that they required us to get so much done before lunch that there really wasn't much time to rest in the afternoons. So, rule out stuff you don't want to do, that's my advice.

Another big help is the section with the Best Times. If you only want to go to MGM once, in the afternoon, you can just look up and see when the best time to line for The Great Movie Ride is.

The UG and its website (pm if you want the link) are so thorough and helpful. If you pick up a copy, you won't be disappointed.

The drawback is when people get too caught up in THE PLAN. Rock n Roller Coaster konked out on us once and they were handing out FastPasses for everyone to come back. One woman was giving the employee a really hard time (like it was his fault) and finally said, "You don't understand! I have a plan here!" Sure enough, she was holding a tear-out UG plan in her angry little hand!

If you read the book, you'll be pretty well-prepared to deal with whatever WDW throws at you.

 

[dizprincess717]

What's the website for this UG???

 

[mamaprincess]

Their touring plans are not for the faint of heart, but they definitely do work.
After you've read them and tried them, they seem like common sense. Get there early, do the high-demand and slow-loading attractions first, and the high-capacity rides and shows laters. Don't get in a line longer than 30 minutes, get a fastpass and come back later.

But it doesn't become common sense until after you've read the book! Once you've tried them and understand the ideas behind them, it's not hard to modify them to suit yourself. Even the first time, if nobody wants to ride Dumbo, just skip it and move on to the next thing.

That sounds like our touring strategy and we never miss a thing!

 

[rie'smom]

Hi! I'm going to jump in too.I am a DL veteran and am use to using RideMax. Are the UG plans similar at all to RideMax?? We are going the last week leading up to Christmas Day, and am getting a littled worried about crowds. This will be our first trip so have no idea what to expect!! I have bought the UG book for 2005 and it has been a tremendous help. Are the plans you order off of the net more detailed than the book??? Thankyou for any information you have!

Do you know that there's RideMax now for WDW? We used it over Thanksgiving and absolutely swear by it.

 

[88Keys]

What's the website for this UG???

For some unknown reason, the DIS will not print the website address, but it is touringplans followed by dot com