Why are the recommended parks different between different sites?

[kupair]

Between touring plans and easy wdw, there are some days during our trips in which the recommended parks are not the same? I'm going by crowd levels...
I subscribed to touring plans and am tempted to follow them, but it feels weird when another site recommends a different park.
Thoughts?

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

I like Josh's reasoning (easywdw) and almost always follow his recommendations. We do go to his not recommended parks sometimes in the morning (usually morning EMH) but then park hop to a recommended park

 

[robndani]

I usually go with easywdw and Kenny the Pirate. They are usually pretty much the same and have pretty much never lead me wrong!

 

[mesaboy2]

They're attempting to predict the future, right? Just sayin'.

 

[minnie mum]

Because they base their predictions on different formulas and criteria, its no surprise they come up with different results.I prefer Josh's at easywdw.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

Like Minnie Mum said, they use different formulas to come up with their numbers. That said, Touring Plans doesn't technically recommend one park over another. They just give their crowd level predictions and you need to put them in context. For example, AK might have a lower crowd level than MK on a particular day, but the crowd level at MK might be the lowest it's going to be the whole time you're there.

 

[Jing]

I use both. Touring plans helps you make the most out of whatever park you pick. EasyWDW helps you pick the park.

 

[gwb]

Don't trust any prediction site. Have gone to WDW in 1st week Dec quite a few times and every time the prediction sites said the parks would be crowded; for example over a 7 and to avoid EMH days. they were always wrong. For over 15 years they were wrong! Crowds were light and didn't have a wait at all in almost all the lines. Except Toy story.

 

[robndani]

On our last trip we were at MK and it was crowded. My husband was complaining because "it's never THIS crowded!" I told him its because I went against the crowd calendars. They said it would be crowded, but the Little Mermaid ride was closing the next day and my DD had to ride it. Lol

 

[supersnoop]

Between touring plans and easy wdw, there are some days during our trips in which the recommended parks are not the same? I'm going by crowd levels...
I subscribed to touring plans and am tempted to follow them, but it feels weird when another site recommends a different park.
Thoughts?

Does Touring Plans actually recommend a park, or just give you the crowd level?

You need to remember that EasyWDW gives you a well-reasoned recommendation, while Touring Plans (as far as I know) only provides you with data. Just because one park has a lower crowd level doesn't mean it's the best choice.

 

[Jing]

TP just does crowd levels. I feel like both sites work well together, particularly if you want to defy the advice to avoid parks with EMH or you cannot follow the recommended parks for logistical or preference reasons.

 

[grecorj]

Len Testa from TP and Josh from easyWDW (notfrostyjosh) make their cases in this thread; Josh's methodology is on page 3 of thread, Len comments from page 1 onward. Josh is a statistician and TP has statisticians on staff.

Worth reading!

http://www.disboards.com/threads/who-has-the-best-crowd-calendar.2965605/

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I'm not an expert (but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night), but folks with a few WDW trips under their belts can pretty much intuit how the flow is going to be at all four parks on any given day. I enjoy both TP and EasyWDW, but I don't have to wait for either in order to begin putting together a good schedule for a WDW vacation. As for which one is more "accurate", I hardly know. FWIW I do notice that TP has a feature where they will tell you how they did at their guessing for the previous day. Gotta appreciate that.

 

[Candleshoe]

TP just does crowd levels. I feel like both sites work well together, particularly if you want to defy the advice to avoid parks with EMH or you cannot follow the recommended parks for logistical or preference reasons.

Touring Plans has recommended parks as well.

I took both Easy and TP's and put them both in a spreadsheet to use. I mostly used Easy, but allowed a cross section to help me pick.

I used to use TGM exclusively.

 

[Shmily01]

I use both. Touring plans helps you make the most out of whatever park you pick. EasyWDW helps you pick the park.

THIS! I have used Josh's recommendations for 3 trips (over the last 6 or so years) and we always have good luck. (Disclaimer: We go in September when crowds are at their lowest) and I use Touring plans to kinda schedule the way my day is going to go in that park. But as others have said...it's a best guess. You never know what may happen. You just need to have a good plan and be flexible!!