"The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World" Question

[britdaw]

Ok so I have finally started reading "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World". I already read Birnbaum's, and now I'm going through this book, picking up as many tips for our trip as I can.
My question is that this book keeps throwing touring plans down your throat. I'm only in the first 60 pages and MAN I wish I had a dollar for everytime the site and touring plans on their site are mentioned. LOL
Are the touring plans REALLY that great? Has anyone here used them?

 

[Victoria]

Well, I can't comment one way or another about the "greatness" of all the Touring Plans but the guy who wrote the book also runs the Touring Plans site. That right there might be your answer. :shrug:

I know people who swear by TPs and others who loathe them. I suppose it all depends on what kind of trip you want to have, the level of WDW expertise of your traveling party, and your dedication to keep to a schedule.

Edit: Looking at your signature I see you haven't been there in quite a long time. Something like TPs might be a good idea for you since virtually everything has changed. Heck, there's three new parks! I can only imagine how overwhelming WDW must be these days to Disney newbies. The good news is that you are doing a lot of research and will be well prepared when you get there. That right there is half the battle! Best of luck with your trip!

 

[fractal]

After spending thousands of dollars on our WDW vacation, I found the information on touringplans.com - which included the smart phone app that tells you wait times on all the rides - well worth the $10.

 

[unkadug]

Well, I can't comment one way or another about the "greatness" of all the Touring Plans but the guy who wrote the book also runs the Touring Plans site. That right there might be your answer. :shrug:

I know people who swear by TPs and others who loathe them. I suppose it all depends on what kind of trip you want to have, the level of WDW expertise of your traveling party, and your dedication to keep to a schedule.

Edit: Looking at your signature I see you haven't been there in quite a long time. Something like TPs might be a good idea for you since virtually everything has changed. Heck, there's three new parks! I can only imagine how overwhelming WDW must be these days to Disney newbies. The good news is that you are doing a lot of research and will be well prepared when you get there. That right there is half the battle! Best of luck with your trip!

SO true...I think that they stress the plans so much to make you realize that you HAVE to have a game plan and do your research.

To be a novice and go to WDW without either one is just asking for a bad experience.

Regulars can go without too much pre-planning because they already know what to expect and what can and cannot be accomplished in a given amount of time.

 

[Zummi Gummi]

If you're visiting during the busy times of year (Christmas week, spring break, July, etc.), the touring plans are worth their wait in gold. If you're visiting on a random Tuesday in January, you don't really need them.

I agree that using them might be a good idea for you, given how long it's been since your last trip.

As for The Unofficial Guide...I find it to be an invaluable resource, and not because of the touring plans. The depth of information is unmatched in any of the other guides.

 

[ob1thx1138]

If you are a local with a season pass who hops into a park for a few hours of entertainment, or you are are planning on going several times a year then I would not suggest using a touring plan.

But if this is something you save up for and spend a lot of money on and you value your time and money, then I would suggest doing what it takes to get the most out of your investment.

We took our first trip as a family to WDW last summer. (my last trip prior to this was in the mid 90's). I am a bit OCD so I research everything. My wife and kids thought I was being silly. But on our first day we got to MK at rope drop and followed the two day adult touring plan and we were able to see the following: Space Mountain, Buzz, Peter Pan, Stitch, Snow White, Pooh, Small World, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder, Tom Sawyer Island, and Splash Mountain. This was all done before we were notified that our room was ready. I am thinking we headed back to the resort for a little pool time around noon, but we got the text saying our room was ready on the way so we moved in and took a break.

This was all done without rushing or feeling hurried. We all had plenty of time to look around, we just didn't waste any time in the shops. We did that later on after we got done with the plan for the day. This way we were able to stay ahead of the crowds. Also we did all this only using fast passes for BTM and we got fast passes for Space Mountain as well, but did not use them until we got back to the park that night.


We choose not to use the plan on our first day to DHS and we did not get to see everything we wanted to. So we used the plan on our second day there and easily saw twice as much as we did the first day.

Now this was done the week before July the 4th. So crowds were pretty heavy. I think on a day when crowds were really light that the plans would not be nearly as valuable.

The web site is really great and they have a lot of different plans, and you get a pretty good discount if you have this years book.

 

[britdaw]

Thanks for the input, you guys. I am super excited because it's been so long since I've been. I can't remember spending ANY time in Epcot when we went before, so this is basically like my first time.

We are going the last week of March next year. I have no idea what the crowds will be like, so I thought maybe taking a look at the touring plans might be worth it. My husband has been 3 times, but never with kids, so I know we have to have a game plan or else our girls are going to be going everywhere at once. We're going for 8 days, though, so we have plenty of time to be able to come back to certain parks if we can't see everything we want at the time we want, you know? Still... I want to see as much as possible, so I am thinking the touring plans might be good for us.

 

[Mks95]

My DH has gone on 1 trip with me and we went without the kids (he usually stays home with the dog while i bring the kids). I followed the touring plans and we had 12 attractions done at mk by noon then i allowed him to enjoy, eat and wait for the parades. It does work but you have to stick to it and not detour and do other things later. he also still complains 5 years later that i rushed him through.:ROFLOL::sohappy:

 

[britdaw]

My DH has gone on 1 trip with me and we went without the kids (he usually stays home with the dog while i bring the kids). I followed the touring plans and we had 12 attractions done at mk by noon then i allowed him to enjoy, eat and wait for the parades. It does work but you have to stick to it and not detour and do other things later. he also still complains 5 years later that i rushed him through.:ROFLOL::sohappy:

LOL!! Well that is awesome!! I know my girls will want to stop and look at things along the way, though... :\ And so will I. :ROFLOL: I am going to try to stick to it as much as possible though to see as much as we can on our days in the parks.

 

[lentesta]

Hey brinneydee - I'm Len Testa and I co-author the Unofficial Guide. Thanks for reading the book!

The primary reason why we think touring plans are so important is that most guests use "the number of rides I experienced" as their primary criterion for satisfaction. (Also near the top is time spent in line.)

This NY Times article from December, for example, notes that Disney has spent a great deal of effort to get the average number of rides per guest from 9 to 10 per day.

I'm pretty sure that you could see nearly double that number if you use a touring plan. You'd also wait significantly less in line - up to four hours less per day.

So the touring plans are designed to address two of the top concerns of theme park guests. That's why they're important.

Incidentally, the touring plans in the back of your book are the best of those kinds of plans available. If those work for you, you don't need the website. The site is useful for people who want different plans or want to go into much more detail regarding their trip planning.

Drop me a line if there's anything I can help with for your trip: len@touringplans.com. I'm traveling back home from Orlando today, so give me a bit to respond.

Thanks again!

Len

 

[Blueskyze]

I found the Unofficial Guide to be incredibly helpful! I made Personalized Touring Plans for our vacation in August. It was our first family vacation (me, husband, and 5-yo), and I researched and planned like crazy. We would typically start off following the plan, but stray a little when we saw a line that was too short to pass up (I also got the Touring Plans app on my phone), or if my son wanted to stop to meet a character. It worked out really well for us, especially since we were total newbies - we knew where to start, what areas to avoid at certain times of the day, where we were having lunch and dinner, etc.

 

[disneygirl76]

Ok so I have finally started reading "The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World". I already read Birnbaum's, and now I'm going through this book, picking up as many tips for our trip as I can.
My question is that this book keeps throwing touring plans down your throat. I'm only in the first 60 pages and MAN I wish I had a dollar for everytime the site and touring plans on their site are mentioned. LOL
Are the touring plans REALLY that great? Has anyone here used them?

Here is my opinion on touring plans. If you have not been to WDW or haven't been in awhile, I would check it out because it would save you loads of time and you will see and do a lot more. One of the biggest problems I think people have when traveling to WDW, is that they do not plan enough. They think they will get there, grab a map, and then see everything they want. And that just isn't the way it works. I don't think you need to micromanage your trip, but if you use the touring plans, it can help you see everything you want to see, especially if you are taking a short trip to the World. My DH and I don't use them b/c we have been so often and know how long things take historically and what way to navigate around the park. But if you are not familiar with it or haven't been in awhile, really, touring plans is the way to go. Best of luck planning your trip!! :wave:

 

[stitch8834]

I'm a fan of the unoffical guide, it's a great source of information. As a result I'm avidly reading my way through the new book for my trip in 21 days.

I have never used the touring plans and nor do I intend to. I have the luxury of a 21 night trip, at a quiet time of year and my 3rd trip to wdw so can afford not to have to follow them.

But I can see how they would help some people, on thier first trip with limited time.

:sohappy::sohappy::sohappy::sohappy::sohappy:

 

[brightlillstar]

I LOVE the Unofficial Guide. My first trip was in 2003 and I toured like a pro. I didn't need a map. I never stood around wondering what attraction I wanted to go on next, and I've always been able to use the guide as a reference for others with kids, etc about what's appropriate, height restrictions. The tips go WELL beyond what you would see in an ordinary guide. You would not believe the number of people who get a park map when they enter and then first decide what to ride. That causes huge bottlenecks and usually means they will ride fewer attractions in their day.

I got the 2012 guide, which I also read.

They are NOT pushing the touring plans to sell membership to the site. As Len mentioned (Thanks, Len! LOVE the guide!), the most important plans are included in the book, and furthermore, the 2003 guide I have pushes using the plans equally hard and that pre-dates the membership website (I think)

This all having been said I have never used a touring plan in full. I want to use one once on this trip just to experience it. The plans DEFINITELY make sense and I think they can make or break a trip in the busier seasons, but since I exclusively go in the off season, I haven't used them. ALSO, getting our butts to rope drop is very difficult. I've never been to rope drop :-O

What I have used are the general principles in this book. Which rides to run to at which times, how to avoid crowds, when to use fastpass, etc. One valuable feature is the typical wait time per 100 people in front of you. You can see through the book how quickly the lines may move.

I definitely plan to purchase the membership and the app. Right now I am just being frugal and I'm going to wait until the end of this month so I'll have access for both my upcoming December trip and my October trip next year.

I think the general knowledge of how to avoid crowds and the live wait times will be really, REALLY helpful. Once you know your way around the park, you can easily make a plan based on what FP you have and where the lines are. I LOVE not having to go back to the main tip board to see which rides have short lines.

 

[JillC LI]

Thanks for the input, you guys. I am super excited because it's been so long since I've been. I can't remember spending ANY time in Epcot when we went before, so this is basically like my first time.

We are going the last week of March next year. I have no idea what the crowds will be like, so I thought maybe taking a look at the touring plans might be worth it. My husband has been 3 times, but never with kids, so I know we have to have a game plan or else our girls are going to be going everywhere at once. We're going for 8 days, though, so we have plenty of time to be able to come back to certain parks if we can't see everything we want at the time we want, you know? Still... I want to see as much as possible, so I am thinking the touring plans might be good for us.

I think the Touring Plans can be very useful for a first timer or someone who hasn't gone in a long time. But use them as a guide and take them not as gospel. For example, we followed the Dumbo or Die Plan for the MK loosely on our first trip with our children (then 5 and 7). We cut out those rides which were of little interest to us. And we stopped for wait on meet and greet lines for characters along the way as we passed them. If we needed to make a change based on a ride being down or lack of interest by a family member, we did. But having a game plan for each park was very helpful in organizing our days that first trip and ensuring that we could see and do as many attractions as possible.

 

[Saoirse1916]

We used the touring plans to a degree but it was really the Lines app that helped us out, particularly when our three year old necessitated unexpected changes in our touring plans.

 

[britdaw]

We used the touring plans to a degree but it was really the Lines app that helped us out, particularly when our three year old necessitated unexpected changes in our touring plans.

Ooh, good tip! Thanks; I'll make sure to download that app. 'Cause I'm sure my 3-year-old will be the same way. :ROFLOL:

WOW, thanks again for everyone's responses! I think it's gonna be worth it to purchase the membership and make custom plans for us. We do have our ADR's to take into account too, so that is gonna throw a wrench into it. But it seems like it's gonna be an awesome thing for us to use the plans to maximize our time in the parks. Thanks again; y'all ROCK!

 

[nngrendel]

I have considered the TP app however I am undecided. Our last trip while we were in Epcot we were stopped in front of SSE and asked if we would like to demo the upcoming Verizon app for lines. We enjoyed the app however there was a charge for using this app. Now that Verizon offers the app for free I have downloaded it but seems it doesn't give me the wait times for rides. It just lets me know if the ride is in high demand, moderate or see now. No times like in TP.

However I have viewed screen shots from the app on the Market Place for Android and Verizon and it does show times like the TP's app.

Has anyone else noticed this? Either my phone has an issue showing the times or maybe you have to be in the park for it to tell you the times? I know it checks your location when starting up the app. I dont mind paying for the TP's app however if the one I can get for free is worth it I wouldn't mind just using that one.

 

[Disney05]

I do read the books but not a fan of using a touring plan. I'm never in a big rush when I'm at the parks. But I did use the Lines app on our last trip this May and really liked it. I found it to be very accurate. Definitely worth the few dollars they charge.

 

[cslafferty]

I think the Touring Plans can be very useful for a first timer or someone who hasn't gone in a long time. But use them as a guide and take them not as gospel. For example, we followed the Dumbo or Die Plan for the MK loosely on our first trip with our children (then 5 and 7). We cut out those rides which were of little interest to us. And we stopped for wait on meet and greet lines for characters along the way as we passed them. If we needed to make a change based on a ride being down or lack of interest by a family member, we did. But having a game plan for each park was very helpful in organizing our days that first trip and ensuring that we could see and do as many attractions as possible.

I think this is good advice, although I have never had to use a touring plan. My DH and I have our few favorite rides, and know which ones we have to ride at rope drop or get a fast pass for. We are usually there enough days, like you will be, so we have the gift of time on our side. I think the rest of the information in The Unofficial Guide will be extremely helpful to you. I LOVE the Guide - I buy every new addition, even if I'm not planning a trip that year!! I think their reviews are well researched and very fair. It helps keep me updated on things, and gives me the Disney fix I crave!!