touringplans.com worth the $?

[ArielSRL]

Wow. First week of May? That's really late.

I wouldn't say crowds were off last year, just that I'm surprised they'd be predicted to be lower this year. But this would make sense. Thanks for the info.

I think Len at TP adjusted his numbers so a 3 now is like a 4 last year. Like there were too many 10 days so he needed to adjust to show the difference. I think that was done in November, maybe? @lentesta am I explaining it right or am I way off?

 

[senadler]

I really like using the touring plans to determine when to book my FP+. I basically map out what I think we will do, and the plans help with timing the FP+ windows. I am not sure you have to pay to use this feature, but I use it quite a bit.

I remember a trip a few years ago when my subscription ran out and I signed back up while in line for small world. Lines were getting long and I wanted to know where to go next I think the lines app is definitely worth it!

I also just booked an Ohana dinner reservation for March using their reservation finder. I had been looking for a month and I got a text within a day of signing up and booked it.

 

[Dug720]

Wow. First week of May? That's really late.

I wouldn't say crowds were off last year, just that I'm surprised they'd be predicted to be lower this year. But this would make sense. Thanks for the info.

Well, the last week of April, but the time frame I saw at least started during the break.

It is super late - but on the plus side, our rates are usually lower whenever we want to do something over Spring Break during Leap Years (which is when Easter and Passover don't coincide). We do have Good Friday off when that happens...but not Easter Monday

 

[willmccready]

One thing that surprised me last year was FP availability. FPs seemed to go faster than I expected being a slower time of year. I don't know if this was because of lower capacity and shorter hours during that time so fewer fast passes available or what. But if you want the in demand rides like 7DMT still plan to be on when your window opens.

We did not go to water parks. The weather started out in the 90s and the locals said it was hotter than usual. Our last 2 days it was in the 80s and might have been a little chilly for water parks in the morning.

EDIT: I know last year TP had the week at 4s - 6s and this year it's 3s - 5s. Maybe they're factoring in Pandora and are assuming some people will delay May trips to be there after Pandora opens.

One cool thing about Touring Plan is you can go view historical crowd calendars. For instance our first MK day was on 4/26 and I remember it felt a bit crowded, so I checked and they had it as a 9 after predicting a 5. They will show you what they predicted and what they saw so you can look for similar times last year.

As far as the weather, we were there 4/25 through 5/1 last year and it was in the 90s just about each day. Was mid 80s and comfortable up until we got there and back down in the mid 80s starting the day we left!

 

[Mom2Stitch]

I love Touring Plans and while I don't always use their plans I do enjoy making the custom plans. Have used the ADR finder more times than I can count and it is an invaluable service! I'm not sure the room fax has worked out great for us, about 50/50 on that. As we get closer to our trip we will play "what's the wait?" just to have something to do and we all make a guess, kind of our little game. Love my Touring Plans!!

 

[chiisai]

I create personalized plans through start of midday. Then I'll use Lines to see if there is anything to hit up before we head to resort for pool and relaxation.

We got park hoppers this time, so I will be using lines for wherever we go in the evenings. Given the crowds when we go, initial fp will already be used, so fp will be whatever we can score later.

I tried their room res last year and I got the floor, but complete opposite side of resort.

I just started their dining time finder, so we will see. I have a few hard to get requests, but I think things will pop up at 45 and 30 days, and it will be nice not to have to manually look.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Thanks so much for posting - I have been wondering about that! I would appreciate any other tips from the same week last year. Also - did you happen to go to the water parks last year?

I just looked at the TP historicals and it pretty much explained my FP experience (thank you @willmccready). Everyone talks about early May being less busy so I was rather surprised last year that Elsa and Anna FPs were gone so fast. At the time it seemed easier to get them in 2015 when we went spring break in March. Also the parks didn't feel much different than March. Maybe a few days. And lo, the historical calendar has our trip in May 2016 having higher crowds than March 2015 for many of our park days (except for the day it rained all day long which was a 1 and totally felt like it). It also seemed to be a more crowded May in 2016 than previous years, assuming a 5 in 2016 means the same as a 5 in 2015 (which @ArielSRL has already pointed out may not be the case). Mystery perhaps solved. Love touringplans. Yay for data to obsess over.

It'll be interesting to see how FP selections go next month. It seems like a good leading indicator. I'm still seeing ADRs for places like BOG pop so perhaps it won't be as busy this year. Not that I thought it was bad last year (or in March 2015). It was definitely manageable.

 

[mrsR123]

Sixteen years and more than two dozen trips later I still love Touring Plans. I finally stopped buying new books, but I love, love, love their calendars, tools, blogs, and lines app.
This past NYE trip when MDE wouldn't work on my phone, my customized TPs had all my ADRs and FPs in one reliable place.

 

[bwbuddy5]

Glad I found this thread. Already starting planning my retirement trip with my extended family of 9 for June 2018, so I downloaded the touring plans app. I think it's fun to keep up with the traffic flow at the parks, even though it says my trip is 492 days away! And, the room view pictures on their website and their room finder feature is awesome. All for about the cost of a couple of good burritos!

 

[Nikki_Arden]

A resounding, YES! I love everything about this site. I love the lines app (I check it religiously), I love making my touring plans (even if I throw them away and don't even use them... gasp.. I'm a rebel, I know), and I especially love the room view feature... I spent HOURS finding my room and they will fax your room request for you. SCORE!

 

[starjazz]

Four pages to discuss whether Touring Plans is worth the price of a corn dog? I'm guessing its about a tenth of a percent of the cost of your trip. And around here, its probably one of the most recommended apps/sites available. Get it. Use it.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I gotta say, I do love TP but I don't find lines to be as accurate as everyone else seems to. And there is something crazy going on right now. Soarin is a wait time of 7 mins and the Land is 17. FEA is showing 21 mins (and a recommendation to wait because the lines are getting shorter ) which is the same as ... Figment!

I'm going to guess MDE's 65 mins for FEA and 10 for Figment is probably more accurate. But I'm not there (sadly) so I could be wrong.

Sometimes Lines requires some common sense to use because it does have bad days.

 

[Pirate Mickey]

I had not seen TP before but we got a free year subscription from the Travel Agency that booked our tickets.

I found it fun to play with different alternatives on the custom Touring Plan.

 

[freewill]

Sometimes Lines requires some common sense to use because it does have bad days.

Those are days when the N in Lines goes missing.

Seriously, I love TP. Their ADR finder has scored several times for us on this trip alone, more than justifying the cost for us.

 

[bwbuddy5]

I gotta say, I do love TP but I don't find lines to be as accurate as everyone else seems to. And there is something crazy going on right now. Soarin is a wait time of 7 mins and the Land is 17. FEA is showing 21 mins (and a recommendation to wait because the lines are getting shorter ) which is the same as ... Figment!

I'm going to guess MDE's 65 mins for FEA and 10 for Figment is probably more accurate. But I'm not there (sadly) so I could be wrong.

Sometimes Lines requires some common sense to use because it does have bad days.

Would that have anything to do with EMH; lots of people getting Soarin' out of the way early?