Our Touring Plans Have been completely Off

I don’t know if it’s just because crowds have been much higher than expected but we’ve basically just stopped using them. All of the wait times are astronomically longer than what they’ve told us. In good news though we all got three extra anytime fastpasses for MK yesterday and with doing the evening EMH we did like 14 rides/characters.

How did you get 3 extra anytime FPP?

My guess is refresh (I like how that rhymes!)

2 Likes

Are you using the Lines App along with your personalized plan or just the plan?

When my plans get off track, which does happen from time-to-time, I switch on the App and can use it to see real time queue waits and adjust.

Also, IME with using TP and helping other with their personal plans I’ve seen to many “perfect” plans that go from ride-to-ride nonstop. You really need to put at least a 10 minute break (I use 15 minutes) in your plan every 1.5 – 2 hours. I also tend to make meal breaks at least that much longer too.

I’ve had more than one person tell me, “I’m on vacation. I don’t need to schedule when I pee.”

These breaks are a buffer for unexpected Magic / toilet / gift shops / drinks / longer than expected queues / etc.…

It’s always IMHO better to have the break / Free Time & not need it than get behind.

4 Likes

It could be that, but yeah we are refreshing. An example I have is that TP had 15 minutes for Meet and Greet that was actually a 45 minute wait.

We were comped them for an unfortunate incident.

Does setting walking speed to “very relaxed” accomplish just about the same thing as putting in little breaks every 2 hours or so?

1 Like

I do both. Relaxed speeds accounts for the quick photo opp etc and taking in the scenery.

3 Likes

Ok guys I’ll give all these suggestions a try tomorrow.

Oh no, I was hoping it was a fun reason. Sorry to hear that.

1 Like

One things to remember is that any number of unpredictable things can cause the original estimations to be wrong. A common thing is for a headliner or large capacity ride to go off-line, which causes a flood of people going to the other attractions. That is why the general recommendation is to reoptimize a plan that is starting to go off the rails as that will refresh it with the latest park data and estimates.

I reoptimize my plan while I am getting off every ride.

I have considered that, but I decided that I would rather not spend so much time staring at my phone or standing around waiting for the reoptimization to finish.

It helps, but I don’t think you should do it INSTEAD of inserting breaks. This is particularly true if you are following a fairly efficient path between rides, because then the extra time you get is maybe an extra minute each time you walk. Of course, if you are going from Buzz Lightyear to PotC then to Goofy’s Barnstormer, obviously the very relaxed speed gives you much more leeway.

I actually only use “Very relaxed” mixed with optimizing for walking when making my initial plans when I’m using optimize so that TP doesn’t send me all over the place…but once I have a pretty decent plan, I’ll switch it to “relaxed” for further evaluations.

But I also include breaks every couple hours, because that is where you are really protected for the unexpected. Not just restrooms or longer lines, but what if someone wants to step into one of the shops and look at souvenirs? Does you plan account for that? Having breaks in there will better accommodate this kind of thing.

Thank you for the insight. I’ve found that planning a trip for two adults is so much different from planning for a trip with an x-factor 2 year old. I’ll definitely integrate random breaks with all this input.

What if??? How about “when someone wants to step into every shop and look at souvenirs”…

My friend is the perfect travel partner in every respect, except this. Every single shop. Every shelf.

I think you have to factor that in. Afternoons are great for that since it will be hot and longest lines. Great thing to do in ac while you wait for your next FPP or show. I’d tell the group we will go shopping but we need to do it in the afternoon.

1 Like