What Will Touringplans.com membership get me?

[mmbrad02]

I've had a few Disney trips under my belt, and while I am no expert, I do feel like we know our way around.

However, we have never had a touringplans.com membership. We are going in September, and I guess the big appeal to me is just seeing the crowd calendars. Not sure I really *need* it, but since I love to plan, it just seems par for the course.

We already have our tickets, parks planned out, etc. Besides getting to see a number for the crowd rating the day we are going, is there anything else I can use from this membership?

 

[mesaboy2]

I've had a few Disney trips under my belt, and while I am no expert, I do feel like we know our way around.

However, we have never had a touringplans.com membership. We are going in September, and I guess the big appeal to me is just seeing the crowd calendars. Not sure I really *need* it, but since I love to plan, it just seems par for the course.

We already have our tickets, parks planned out, etc. Besides getting to see a number for the crowd rating the day we are going, is there anything else I can use from this membership?

EasyWDW does this as well, and for free. It is also a well-respected source of crowd info.

 

[Aggiegrl]

I use both TP and EasyWDW. I appreciate the data behind TP. I appreciate the free with Easy. I use both, and when they disagree, I use my common sense to figure out what is best for my family.

If you are already set in what days you are going to what parks, and you have no desire or ability to change that, I don't see much point in looking at these sites crowd calendars. If you need some help determining which order to do rides, and are willing/able to go "storm the castle" style, then you might like the touring plans part of the TP website. Most people aren't that into it and are fine with the free plans, getting info off of various messages boards and blog posts, and using common sense. I found TP's actual plans helpful when I was new to all of this OCD day planning stuff and spent only 1 day at each park per trip.

 

[ghtx]

I've had a few Disney trips under my belt, and while I am no expert, I do feel like we know our way around.

However, we have never had a touringplans.com membership. We are going in September, and I guess the big appeal to me is just seeing the crowd calendars. Not sure I really *need* it, but since I love to plan, it just seems par for the course.

We already have our tickets, parks planned out, etc. Besides getting to see a number for the crowd rating the day we are going, is there anything else I can use from this membership?

Yes. You can get access to their pre-made touring plans (EasyWdw has these too but basically just one per park - tp has several) and to their Lines App (EasyWdw also has this, but it just lists the posted times and tp lists estimated actual times that are usually (in theory) more accurate). In addition to an overall day ranking from 1-10, you get a ranking for each park, and you get hour-by-hour estimates of SB waits for each ride.

TP also lets you create personalized touring plans, but you can do that without the paid subscription.

I think tp is worth it considering how much you are spending on the trip in total.

 

[johde]

If you decide to use it, the biggest thing Touring Plans has that you can't get in any free option I know of is the ability to reoptimize your plan based on actual day of in park data.

With the lines app, as the day progresses, you check off things as you do them. Then at any time, you can reoptimize your remaining schedule and it will look at how the lines are actually progressing that day to recommend what to do next.

So,for example, if the lines are shorter than expected, it may move a given ride before your FP that was previous scheduled for later in the day. Or if the lines are longer, it will move a ride later in the day because of a pre arranged FP.

 

[ghtx]

If you decide to use it, the biggest thing Touring Plans has that you can't get in any free option I know of is the ability to reoptimize your plan based on actual day of in park data.

With the lines app, as the day progresses, you check off things as you do them. Then at any time, you can reoptimize your remaining schedule and it will look at how the lines are actually progressing that day to recommend what to do next.

So,for example, if the lines are shorter than expected, it may move a given ride before your FP that was previous scheduled for later in the day. Or if the lines are longer, it will move a ride later in the day because of a pre arranged FP.

Actually I am pretty sure that you can do this without a paid subscription but just with a free account.

 

[nkereina]

I used to subscribe to Touring Plans and the biggest things for me were the Lines app which gave you wait times on your smart phone and the crowd calendars. Now, I use EasyWDW for crowd calendars which I have found to be accurate and the MDE app provides you with wait times.

Touring Plan is great if you want to know which order you should do the rides in a park in based on how much you want to get done, your touring style, etc. I know which rides need to be done at rope drop and then I like to just go my own way after that, depending on what we feel like doing.

 

[ibela]

If you're going during a peak time, yes. For a September trip I don't think it's worth it. This is our normal timeframe and aside from major headliners that you'd expect a line to, it's all very reasonable and manageable. I do use easywdw for crowd calendars and have changed my trip around to follow the #s where possible. If you go at 9:30am or after 7pm, the big rides likely won't have a line then either. Last year I took my dd on Space Mountain for the first time and it was literally a walk-on, we didn't even bother with parent swap since my ds is too small. Midday we waited at BTMRR for about 30 minutes, Splash was about 40 min. Aside from those 2 in MK, everything else was basically walk-on, to offer some perspective. Maybe it'll be more crowded this year so don't go assuming everything will be a walk-on, but I certainly don't think this time of year warrants a hour-by-hour plan. Aside from what's required with scheduling FP+.

 

[giselleacttwo]

I've got a TP membership and I like it but I'm curious what people think about the discrepancy between their and easyWDW crowd predictions. We are looking at a stay in late Jan. and EWDW has crowd levels at a 3 on days that TP has them at a 6. Most days there is a 2-3 point difference between the two crowd level predictions. Whom should I trust?

 

[dae3dae3]

This may not be what other people use it for but I really like the lines app feature that it has all the restaurants with their menus and how many dining plan credits they use. It was great when me and my wife were setting up reservations. I know this information is all available at other places but I just liked how it was all together there and so easily accessible.

 

[mesaboy2]

I've got a TP membership and I like it but I'm curious what people think about the discrepancy between their and easyWDW crowd predictions. We are looking at a stay in late Jan. and EWDW has crowd levels at a 3 on days that TP has them at a 6. Most days there is a 2-3 point difference between the two crowd level predictions. Whom should I trust?

The eternal question. It is really no different than choosing your local weatherman--all of 'em are guessing based on past and present data.

 

[chuss]

Here's an example of a huge discrepancy. November 30 is a Highly Recommended day at AK according to Easywdw. Last year according to TP that same day (Sunday after Thanksgiving) was a 4. This year TP predicts 8 for AK (MK 4, Epcot 4 and HS 6). No EMH either year. I don't get it, but am going with Josh's recommendation!

 

[Richard M Nixon]

Touringplans is $10 using the code MOUSESAVERSWORLD. There's no reason not to at least test it out.

 

[nkereina]

Here's an example of a huge discrepancy. November 30 is a Highly Recommended day at AK according to Easywdw. Last year according to TP that same day (Sunday after Thanksgiving) was a 4. This year TP predicts 8 for AK (MK 4, Epcot 4 and HS 6). No EMH either year. I don't get it, but am going with Josh's recommendation!

If you read Josh's blog post that has the November crowd calendar, this is his reasoning for recommending AK on 11/30:

Animal Kingdom is recommended. Disney resort guests are more likely to visit Animal Kingdom tomorrow for morning Extra Magic Hour and it’s unlikely anyone arriving over the weekend will begin their vacation with Disney’s least popular theme park. Despite the relatively short operating hours, you should be able to do just about everything the Park has to offer if you arrive prior to Park opening. Focus on riding Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest as early as possible or use FastPass+. After getting those out of the way, move on to DinoLand USA or one of the more popular shows – either Finding Nemo the Musical or Festival of the Lion King and you’ll be set for the rest of the day. Keep in mind that crowds disperse in the afternoon and the last hour of operation will only have diminishing waits. End the day in Asia with Kali River Rapids and Expedition Everest and waits will be nearly nonexistent.


Josh's recommendations are done individually by him using data he's collected. He also bases his recommendations on EMH, park hours, nightly entertainment, the day of the week, etc. and the probability of what "the majority" will do based on these things. I don't know for fact, but I believe Touring Plans uses models/formulas they've set up that generates predictions based on past data. I don't know what theirs is based on.