How much do you trust TP's optimized plans?

[matt1979]

Do you trust the FP suggestions? How has TP worked for you?

So I finally to TP for our upcoming trip (2/6-2/10). I had already put together our plans on my own, but not being a frequent flyer to DW so to speak, I was curious to validate my plans were decent. For AK, HS, and EP the optimization didn't really improve on much, which made me feel good about those plans.

Then I did the same for MK and found quite bit of difference. In the past we've tried to arrive for RD and do PP right away...but TP forecasts a 45 minute at 9:10am (there is EMM at MK that day). I checked today...it was a 20 min wait at 9:15am but when I saw how quickly it grew to 45 min, it gave me pause that if we're running a few minutes late that could make a huge difference.

So now I'm really rethinking my MK plan...and using FP for PP (switching it with the one I currently have scheduled for SM) and maybe hitting up Pooh & SW first. I feel like this will then snowball into moving a lot of things around for our 2 MK days. I'm wondering if I'm overthinking things and should just keep everything as is...or go through the hassle of switching about FP selections and my plan to better mesh with TP's recommendations. I just don't know if I should put that much trust in TP. Thoughts.

FWIW...my original MK plans

Day 1:
PP
SW
Pooh
Dumbo
Barnstormer
11:15 Lunch at Be Our Guest
Under the Sea
7DMT (12:10-1:10 FP, no plans to switch)
BTTM (1:10-2:10FP)
SM (2:25-3:25FP)
--Possible PM break, otherwise rides planned on the fly per FP availability

Day 2:
Space Mountains (if family feels up to it)
Monsters Inc
People Mover
Speedway (9:50-10:50 FP)
Buzz (11:05-12:05 FP)
Lunch (12:40 @Kona Café at Polynesian)
BTTM (2:30-3:30 FP, not attached to this FP)
Pirates (3:15-4:15 FP)
Out of park around 5pm

 

[iujen94]

I can't really answer your specific question - how accurate Touring Plans are - I've used them before and follow them as a guideline, but haven't really tracked how accurate they are in terms of specific wait times. I often question their suggestions as well - for example, they will want us to ride 7DMT second instead of first at rope drop, which makes no sense to me - things like that. So, like I said, I use them as a guide but usually tour based more on my gut and own experience.

To put in my two cents, one thing I might consider changing is your second morning. I wouldn't do Monsters Inc. or People Mover so early. Those never have long lines, so no need to do them early in the morning. You could probably walk on Speedway (and maybe even Buzz too, with minimal wait) after riding Space Mountain and then use that Fast Pass (or both of those Fast Passes) for a different ride later in the morning or early afternoon. Also, on your first day, I'd switch SW (Small World, I assume?) and Pooh. Pooh generally gets longer lines more quickly than IASW does.

Unless you want to use a FP for PP (and you could have some extras on day 2), your plan to rope drop PP is correct. Just make sure you are near the front of that line and head straight there. If you haven't checked out the thread on the new welcome show/rope drop procedure here on DIS, look for that - there is great advice about the best way to get to PP quickly after the welcome show (going straight through the castle, even though you have to wait a few minutes for the characters to clear).

Hope that helps!

 

[xlsm]

I got touring plans for the first time this year too, because I have three trips that it would cover...even though I feel very confident in my own planning, i did check how TP would do it, and felt like they had me criss crossing at Animal Kingdom, and it didn't seem efficient. My own plan was better, and worked fine.

For Magic Kingdom, if you rope drop, Tomorrowland is usually pretty empty giving you the opportunity to get a couple rides on everything there, and walk on for Dumbo and Barnstormer afterward. This has been my experience in July and August, when crowds are quite heavy.

If you are set in your plan, I would fast pass Peter Pan for later in the morning and do Winnie the Pooh first. If you rope drop Peter Pan, go to Winnie the Pooh next...the line for that tends to grow. Although, if you do Small World right after Peter, the line at WtP is interactive, so at least the wait would be entertaining.

On the second day, if you do Buzz and Speedway before People Mover and Monsters Inc, you won't need a fast pass. Using the things you've listed, I would do: Space Mountain, Buzz, Speedway, Monster's Inc, Peoplemover, lunch.

 

[tlmadden73]

I haven't seen the point of TP if you are a diehard veteran of WDW (talking at least one trip every year or so).

Any veteran should be able to make their own plan based on their own preferences and be able to determine things like the pace your group will go, making Fast Passes so you aren't criss-crossing across the park, how long you take to eat, etc.

Sure .. I guess TP probably gives you a very "efficient" day, IF that is your goal for your vacation. I personally like a general plan and just having a lot of the day be flexible. Less stress and worry when things (that inevitably will) come up.

For MK, I personally I prefer the strategy of going at RD, and hitting a land (like Tomorrowland or Fantasyland) early ... getting all your fast passes (for the big rides) between 9 and noon (in the same general area), doing smaller rides in between the windows .. thus leaving you with flexibility for the afternoon to grab 4th, 5th and 6th fast passes.

 

[matt1979]

I'm most certainly not a veteran...hence why I kind wanted to get a second read on my plans. I appreciate everyone's input...doesn't sounds like I'll make any huge changes...but will definitely move a couple things around based on suggestions here. Thanks!

 

[Lesverts]

Do you trust the FP suggestions? How has TP worked for you?

So I finally to TP for our upcoming trip (2/6-2/10). I had already put together our plans on my own, but not being a frequent flyer to DW so to speak, I was curious to validate my plans were decent. For AK, HS, and EP the optimization didn't really improve on much, which made me feel good about those plans.

Then I did the same for MK and found quite bit of difference. In the past we've tried to arrive for RD and do PP right away...but TP forecasts a 45 minute at 9:10am (there is EMM at MK that day). I checked today...it was a 20 min wait at 9:15am but when I saw how quickly it grew to 45 min, it gave me pause that if we're running a few minutes late that could make a huge difference.

So now I'm really rethinking my MK plan...and using FP for PP (switching it with the one I currently have scheduled for SM) and maybe hitting up Pooh & SW first. I feel like this will then snowball into moving a lot of things around for our 2 MK days. I'm wondering if I'm overthinking things and should just keep everything as is...or go through the hassle of switching about FP selections and my plan to better mesh with TP's recommendations. I just don't know if I should put that much trust in TP. Thoughts.

FWIW...my original MK plans

Day 1:
PP
SW
Pooh
Dumbo
Barnstormer
11:15 Lunch at Be Our Guest
Under the Sea
7DMT (12:10-1:10 FP, no plans to switch)
BTTM (1:10-2:10FP)
SM (2:25-3:25FP)
--Possible PM break, otherwise rides planned on the fly per FP availability

Day 2:
Space Mountains (if family feels up to it)
Monsters Inc
People Mover
Speedway (9:50-10:50 FP)
Buzz (11:05-12:05 FP)
Lunch (12:40 @Kona Café at Polynesian)
BTTM (2:30-3:30 FP, not attached to this FP)
Pirates (3:15-4:15 FP)
Out of park around 5pm

Just my two cents. You have yourself going from Fantasyland to Frontierland to Tomorrowland in the span of about 2 and a half hours on day one.

Also you have left off Jungle Cruise (which is a higher priority FP than you would think), Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Mickey's Philharmagic and a number of shows/experiences.

 

[matt1979]

Just my two cents. You have yourself going from Fantasyland to Frontierland to Tomorrowland in the span of about 2 and a half hours on day one.

Also you have left off Jungle Cruise (which is a higher priority FP than you would think), Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, Mickey's Philharmagic and a number of shows/experiences.

Agreed that I need to modify the first day a bit. We prioritized based on Our family's must do attractions. Jungle cruise and haunted mansion aren't on that list. JC I planned to just pick up as an extra FP on either day during the afternoon if we're up to it. Plan to also squeeze in a show or two where it's convenient...but it's a wait and see what's nearby when we find we have the time rather than plan ahead. Splash Mountain is on there...I abbreviated SM which I realize now could've been taken as Space Mountain. Splash was closed on our last visit...so yes that's a high priority for us.

 

[Barbruka]

Not very accurate today. I found line times were double and triple.

 

[Ava]

I used TP for our last trip, but I found that the "optimized" plans often didn't make sense, i.e. telling us to do a low-priority ride at rope drop, or having us criss-crossing all over the park. I ended up using suggested touring plans from easyWDW & Kenny the Pirate as a guide, and moving things into the order I wanted them on TP. Then I'd have it "evaluate" to see the timing, but I didn't track it while we were there to see how accurate the wait times were.

 

[cigar95]

The biggest difference between their published plans and the computer-generated optimal plans is that the former are tested, tweaked, and revised until they're "ready for prime time". The computer generated plans simply come out of the algorithm and are presented to the user.
I almost always revise the optimized plans they give me, and evaluating the revisions come out more efficient than the original, according to TP's own evaluation.

 

[srwarden1928]

I have used touring plans extremely successfully, but I generally use the published plans rather than the computer generated ones. I always found them to be extremely efficient.

 

[senadler]

I am a big fan of TP, but I use the evaluate rather than optimize. I find they are pretty good at estimating your time from one attraction to then next, and you can enter your FP times to take that into account. My suggestion would be to put your plan into TP as a personalized plan and then hit evaluate. That will allow you to see if it makes sense, and lets you move a few things around and check again to "optimize" it yourself. I never go with their optimized plan, I may start there, but then move things around and "evaluate" to make it work for me.

A couple comments just from looking at your plan. You definitely need to be in the park for RD for PP to make sense as a first ride, otherwise use a FP. I would also not ride SW that early, it is very long, and lines for everything else will grow while you are on it. Unless you are going at a very busy time, you should have no problem riding that late morning. Barnstormer, Dumbo, and Under the Sea are great choices for just after RD with short lines.

 

[lentesta]

The one tip I'd give is to re-optimize whatever touring plan you're following after 30 minutes in the park.

Every touring plan makes assumptions about how the day is going to unfold: how fast crowds will build at Peter Pan, that Space Mountain isn't going to break down, and so on.

Once your day in the park begins, re-optimizing will use what's *actually* happening to re-base your plan. So if the lines at Peter Pan are building slower than anticipated, you may get rerouted there to take advantage of it. If Space Mountain is offline, you'll get rerouted around that, and so on.

 

[Allison]

The one tip I'd give is to re-optimize whatever touring plan you're following after 30 minutes in the park.

This is great to point out, Len. I have done this as the day moves along or I decide to change plans or I check things off my list of what I wanted to do. I find it fun and interesting to use. I'm not tied to it. It can still go with the flow if I get distracted and then re-optimize to see what things look like.

 

[starjazz]

Yeah, I agree, the "optimized" plans aren't that great - use "evaluate" instead. Mine had me going to WtP first thing on an EMH morning, arriving at 8:11, 14 minute wait, and 3 minute ride. Basically assumed that half of my EMH would be used on Pooh. I don't think that's accurate at all. I think I'd be done with that ride by about 8:10, latest.

Having used their plans in the past, I always have it evaluate several different arrangements, and I watch the "wait times", "walk times", and "busy times" to see what gives me the best efficiency. Then when I follow in the park, it usually average itself out - it might be off for a ride or two, but then make the time up on the next couple.

The other thing to consider is that making a plan is just plain fun for me and the kids. We like to get on Google Earth, plot out our plan, put it together, track along, look at ride vids, etc. Builds the anticipation and is a fun thing to do together.

 

[Ava]

Yeah, I agree, the "optimized" plans aren't that great - use "evaluate" instead. Mine had me going to WtP first thing on an EMH morning, arriving at 8:11, 14 minute wait, and 3 minute ride. Basically assumed that half of my EMH would be used on Pooh. I don't think that's accurate at all. I think I'd be done with that ride by about 8:10, latest.

That's one of my biggest issues with TP's optimized plans. TP assumes that you enter from the front gate right at park opening time, which we all know is never the case. So it doesn't have you getting to your first ride until 10-15 minutes after opening, when in reality if you are at the tapstiles in time you will be let into the park anywhere from 15-30 minutes prior to official opening & will be starting from internal ropes (aka much closer to your first attraction) and will get to your first attraction much sooner than TP states.

I also have a hard time using their software because there's no way to put in character meets that don't offer FP+ except to manually enter it as a "break" staying inside the park. If you do a lot of those in a day, it's difficult to re-optimize because the algorithm attempts to keep your "breaks" at the time you set them.

 

[dreiwhit]

We've used them on two trips to WDW and they worked for us. Sometimes i've questioned why they had us doing XXX at that specific time, but it did work out.

 

[lentesta]

TP assumes that you enter from the front gate right at park opening time, which we all know is never the case.

I think the 'edit' button at the top of the plan allows changing of the arrival time.

 

[Ava]

I think the 'edit' button at the top of the plan allows changing of the arrival time.

I feel like I've tried that and it won't let you choose a time outside of the park's operating hours, but I may be wrong.

 

[AZMermaid]

I feel like I've tried that and it won't let you choose a time outside of the park's operating hours, but I may be wrong.

I had that experience as well. I had myself getting to MK at 8:30 but it still has me getting to PP at like 9:14 with a 25 min wait. I looked at it like that gave me a little cushion to meet a character or shop as the morning unfolded- but I agree it would be nice if it could start at 9:05 or something more realistic.