What do you get for paying at touring plans.com?

[tentaguasu]

This may seem like a strange question, but what do you actually get for paying the subscription it touring plans.com?

So much material there seems to be freely available, and even though you would think that they would lay it out very clearly, I never can quite understand what the paid subscription gets me beyond the free stuff.

For what it's worth, I read a lot at easywdw and my overall approach to touring is to think strategically.

By that I mean, I'm not really interested in the AN hour by hour stop by stop plan. Instead, I really like understanding the crowd dynamics and where and when certain attractions get busy. I figure that if I understand how and why the part works the way it does, then I can be more flexible and approaching any given day.

For example, I really love how touring plans describes why the forest trail is a problem at animal Kingdom. They describe why the problem occurs, so I can be thoughtful and strategic about how and when to see it.

So anyway, I guess what I'm asking is this-is that kind of detailed explanation of crowd dynamics and the hourly abs and flows on rides the kind of thing that a paid subscription would provide?

 

[♡ Mimi ♡]

I don't subscribe for the plans. I subscribe for access to Lines.

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

I don't subscribe for the plans. I subscribe for access to Lines.

Same. Access to the Lines app is worth every dime.

 

[strat68]

I think easywdw is your best bed. I like it for the same reasons you do.

 

[ArielSRL]

I subscribe currently, for the touring plans aspect. We haven't been since 2012 (and it will be a couple to a few years before a return trip) so there are a lot of new procedures in place (FP+, etc) and of course, WDW is even busier now than it was in 2012, plus I'll have my parents and my two young boys with me, so I want to make sure we have a plan in place to get most things we want to done with little wait. I have created personalized plans for all our days in the park as a guideline to help us with the above mentioned of trying to get what we want done with little waits.

As for the Lines app, I haven't used it because I haven't yet been to the parks while having a subscription. I'm curious to hear what everyone loves about the app....

 

[RunDisneyDad]

Aside from the reasons already mentioned, I used it for the room selection fax service.

The other thing I like is how the website is laid out. Its easy on the eye for me.

 

[beesly]

Same. Access to the Lines app is worth every dime.

Is it more accurate than the MDE app?

 

[Squirlz]

I subscribe for the crowd calendars and the Lines app. I've never used the Touring Plans because we always go during slow times.

 

[Richard M Nixon]

Is it more accurate than the MDE app?

Lines uses reported wait times combined with historical statistics. I've found it to be incredibly accurate (within 5 minutes usually) of the true wait time.

E: OP, access to the actual touring plan creator is incredibly helpful. I used them to plan a weeklong trip and it was most certainly worthwhile. The plans were once again very accurate and helped me fit in a lot of attractions each day.

Also, the subscription is only $10 so just buy it and see if you like it.

 

[njmousefest]

First time subscriber - planning a vacation far out they at least had some estimates of crowd calendars. I kind of like the planning features. Very intrigued now on the lines app...

 

[Crystal824]

I make personalized touring plans; however, we always end up deviating (mostly due to the needs of small children) but it is good to have a plan. I also really like Lines.

 

[tinkerbella16]

I subscribe to TP and love it.. but I don't do our plans down to what attraction we go to at what time. We usually like to just wing it and do what we like whenever. I love the room request fax service they have. I used it in November and it worked out great! I ended up with a room that I requested. I love that they send the fax for you, 5 days before you check-in. I am using that feature this year too, not expecting anything, but it doesn't hurt to use it and see. I also love seeing the crowd predictions for the dates we will be there. It is a really useful site.

 

[asbyrneva]

Is it more accurate than the MDE app?

YES!

 

[asbyrneva]

Lines uses reported wait times combined with historical statistics. I've found it to be incredibly accurate (within 5 minutes usually) of the true wait time.

E: OP, access to the actual touring plan creator is incredibly helpful. I used them to plan a weeklong trip and it was most certainly worthwhile. The plans were once again very accurate and helped me fit in a lot of attractions each day.

Also, the subscription is only $10 so just buy it and see if you like it.

You can also find a discount online usually a couple dollars so makes it even more worth it!

 

[beesly]

Lines uses reported wait times combined with historical statistics. I've found it to be incredibly accurate (within 5 minutes usually) of the true wait time.

YES!

Well I'm convinced (and this wasn't even my thread!). I was on the fence about getting a subscription but really only wanted the faxed room request. I'm going to go for it and try out the touring plan tool and Lines app.

 

[stinkpickle]

I don't subscribe for the plans. I subscribe for access to Lines.

Bingo! Same here.

 

[stinkpickle]

Is it more accurate than the MDE app?

More complete. Posted waits, expected waits, and suggestions to ride now or wait until later.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

One more thing that would probably appeal to you is that they have daily graphs of the predicted wait hour by hour for each ride in the park. If you really want to understand the ebb and flow of wait times on various rides, you could spend hours studying them.

Oh and in addition to overall crowd size, they have it predicted for each park. If you go to the mobile website you can see graphs hour by hour (in red, yellow, and green) of the predicted crowd size in each park.

 

[njmousefest]

I also found historical crowds useful.

 

[Meech Loves Mickey]

Longtime subscriber to Touring Plans. Love the Lines app and the website. I prefer their crowd calendar to some of the free ones I've seen. They have great pre-made trouing plans or you can personalize and create your own and they will optimize for you if you want. Also there is a new Dashboard feature which allows you to see your personalized trip info all at once.


If you subscribe to allears.net emails, there is usually a discount code in there.