I don't like my customized touring plans

Hello, I am an old grumpy person who resists change and technology. I resent having to learn how to use my smart phone to rule my world. I like things on paper. I didn’t mean to become a Luddite, but here I am, getting grumpy about the customized touring plans I’ve labored over for the last four months.

Back in my day, an Unofficial Guide touring plan was on paper and it didn’t say how long I might wait in line. It just said that I probably wouldn’t wait in line as long as people who didn’t read the Unofficial Guide. I would pick out a plan that most closely matched my preferences; I would follow the plan and skip the things that didn’t interest me. It worked well. I liked it. I kept buying Unofficial Guides.

Now I have to create my own touring plan, remember to make time to rest and/or experience magic, add in my ADR’s, evaluate, optimize, and finally, then I can print it and put it on paper? But wait! Something might change while I’m in the park! Don’t print it! Keep pulling out the smart phone, opening the app, hitting “optimize”, check MDE (!!!) to see if the wait times are off, – and – what am I forgetting?! This is too much! It’s too hard! I just want a touring plan that tells me what to do so I don’t have to think about it so hard!

I’m sorry. I know I’m – given to histrionics. (See my meltdown last week when I believed click-baity DFB video about hidden charges.) (Again, I’m sorry.)

Deep breath –

I’ve been worrying about the QR code menus. My DH is way, way grumpier than I am about smart phones. I knew he would be irritated about having to use his phone to do anything on the MDE app, and furthermore, QR codes are not his thing.

Yesterday, I found out that I have problems with QR codes. I went to lunch with the nice temp lady I’m training to take my place for two weeks at work, and the restaurant we chose had a QR code on the table. Yikes. My trainee is even older than I am (hard to imagine, I know), so the hostess brought her the one paper menu they had – the print was worn off the page in places! Meanwhile, I struggled to get my phone to read the QR code. My camera app didn’t give a flip about that code. I finally downloaded a QR code reader, and It Struggled to Read The Code. So frustrating!

At the same time, I was so relieved to be working out these kinks before I get to WDW. Can you imagine having to go through that at Jaleo?! Blood pressure is a real concern at my age!

Anyway. Would y’all throw bricks at me if I ripped a touring plan out of the book? I’m lookin’ at Magic Kingdom Early Entry Two-Day Touring Plan for Adults…

P.S. – I found this letter while cleaning the home office in preparation for allowing a house sitter to take care of my cats and birds. Paper! It lasts forever! (Well, not really, you have to take care of it, but still, it’s nifty paper.)

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I say work the plan that works for you. If a stock plan from the back of the book is what that is, by all means do it

I do think that the ability to create personalized plans is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you can customize it. OTOH you have to consider everything you mention and it leads us overthinkers down a rabbit hole that can be difficult (at best) to get out of. I’m having a bit of that struggle myself with my DLR plans right now. And I think that paralysis is made that much worse by the unknown (for me DLR, for you, a long time since WDW).

In any case you’ll go and you’ll have a great time. Stick with the stock plan if that’s less stressful for you - I’m honestly thinking about it for myself!

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I also prefer printing out the plans and not changing things if possible. So I never optimized in-park. TP is pretty accurate with predictions, so it should work fairly well even if you have to skip something at times. I used small handy plans that I printed out from an Excel spreadsheet.

Before our last trip, I also printed out menus for each restaurant we planned to go to. Even some QS. I copied from MDE and pasted on Word and did minor formatting. It was nice to browse ahead of meals while waiting in lines, instead of using the phone. My only regret is I should have printed 2, not 1 for a family of 4.

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Ooo, that’s a good idea. I may do that for DH. I’ve pretty much memorized the menus for our ADR’s, but he doesn’t plan the way I do. I’ve read and re-read those menus at least 20 times, and I’m sure of what I’ll order at most places. Lol! I do love to eat. :rofl:

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If there are no printed menus on site, he will definitely appreciate it.

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I hate the QR codes. Our smart phones can’t read them, because I’ve made our phones a bit dim for security reasons. I think if we were ever in a restaurant that didn’t have some sort of physical menu, we’d walk out. At one of the restaurants in Universal they only had some outdated ones. But our waiter said what wasn’t available anymore and that the prices had been raised, which was fine.

A couple of ideas on your touring plan. Copy the non-customized touring plan into your app. Then don’t customize. Then take a photo of the plan and make it your screen saver.

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We won’t rat you out for ripping out a page or two. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
I was going to suggest taking a picture, but realize having to rely on your phone is the whole point. At least you know WDW and what makes sense, so you do have an advantage there. I did a couple of TP’s over the weekend for trip in November. They didn’t make a whole lot of sense based on what I know about the parks, so decided to reevaluate as the trip gets closer. The point I’m making is even without embracing technology, you still have an advantage (i.e. Unofficial Guide, fellow liners.) Things will work out fine.

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Not sure if people know this, but throwing it out there.

The camera app on both iOS and Android have direct built-in support for QR codes. There should never be a reason to install a separate QR reader. (Many of them out there are potentially dangerous as well, so I don’t recommend ever using a third party QR reader unless you phone is super old or something.)

On Android OS, you literally just point the camera at a QR code and it will automatically detect it.

Please come here and use my phone, because my phone didn’t do that.

I know I just ranted about not liking smart phones, so I sound like a troglodyte who just misuses smart phones, but I do know how to open the camera app and point the lens at something. My camera app yawned and rolled over.

The QR code reader I downloaded struggled, but it did eventually read the code. I was able to read the description of the grilled salmon and beet salad before I ordered it. That was handy, since the paper menu’s print was fading.

But thank you for the advice. :slightly_smiling_face:

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You probably have an older phone. What kind of phone do you have?

Dd20 is a server at a local restaurant where, like most restaurants over the last 18+ months, have been using QR codes for their menus and have some paper ones available upon request.

We stopped at Applebees on Monday and three out of the four of us had challenges reading the QR code on the table sign. Dd was the pro and got everyone’s phones reading it within seconds. :sunglasses:

It shouldn’t be that hard. She insists it is a combination of keeping the phone flat and at the right distance.

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Here’s a link to the TP official plans (like in the book). You can copy the plan to your trip, input the date, optimize and then print. No phone in the park required

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Pixel 4 – maybe the restaurant was just dim?

LOL I read this, navigated away, and then was like - did she say she has an iPhone 4?! That’s her problem

:laughing:

Nope, that’s not what she said

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We all have Pixel 3’s. I agree that that the lighting in the restaurant definitely has an impact.

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Perhaps so? Pixel 4 should have the latest Android OS running on it (unless you are not updating it), so that shouldn’t be an issue.

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Agree with the others that it might’ve been the lighting.
A Pixel 4 should work fine. Can you try to practice before the trip to see if better lighting helps?

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I will… yes? I will try to find a QR code. I first thought, “Oh, those are in the parking lot.” Then I realized that might end up charging me for parking that my boss already pays for. But! Oh! There’s QR-code commentary with this year’s sculptures in Krutch Park! I’ll take a walk after lunch. :smiley:

@bay_loftis

Like you I am and have been a big fan of the physical books for years…

I am hoping after the genie thing roles out that maybe those old style paper book plans ( before fast pass scheduling ) will be useful again.

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I wouldn’t try it on any random QR Code. Or, if you do, feel it for a sticker.
Scanning a QR Code is as bad as clicking on links in emails. And like emails, where that email from your sister might not really be from your sister, that QR Code might really be put there by a bad person.

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