I haven’t been since 2011 and used TP on all trips…this time I’m really struggling…
for example based on what I want to do at AK it doesn’t use my fast passes…when I force it to use them…it seems to have me criss crossing the park…doesn’t seem logical…
my fast passes are Dino 950-1050; EE 105-1150 ROL 920-940pm [show at 10pm]. I want to do Safari, Gorilla Trail, Mah Trail, FOLK, Primeval Whirl, if hot then Kali, if want to Tough Bug, if no wait, characters, if want to and small wait Nemo…if happen upon Divine, Drums, etc…have lunch at good CS [like yak yeti flame tree] probably long break around 1 or 2 [whenever done]…back after dinner for TOL awakenings maybe ride or two if lines small [no fastpasses because of ROL]…then wait for ROL…
happens at other parks a little as well but seems worse for AK…
Have you tinkered with the settings to minimize walking?
The software is trying to fit everything in considering the best wait times vs walking based on criteria it is given. If the criss crossing is the best answer for everything it has been told to consider, then it is what it is, and you have to manually try to tweak. You can also move any of the attractions up or down to where they make sense to you, and then use the evaluate option.
my problem is touring plans seems geared now towards people who understand the parks etc…I haven’t been in many years and have no idea what makes sense…so it’s frustrating…
The Oprimizer is not using your FPP reservations because it can make an overall better plan without them. The criss-crossing that you are seeing is caused by it trying to fit in your FPPs when you force it to do so. I would go with the non-FPP plan and try to see if you can change your FPP reservations to ones that it suggests.
for example…magic kingdom i only put 2 of my 3 fast passes and didn’t select the force it to use…
it has me doing:
1 BTRR 913am
2 SPLASH 927am
3 Pirates 954am
4 Haunted 1013am
5 Astro 1043
6 Space 1059…says using fastpass but my fastpass is 950-1050
7 Buzz 1118 using my FP 1055-1155
8 Monsters 1128pm
9 Phillharmagic 1203pm
seems a little off…if you look a a map…
fyi…
when I leave SDMT it doesn’t use my 555pm FP time but crams it in and moves Haunted Mansion…but according to my reading of the TP articles, the wait should be long for 7DMT that time of day right? [morning with little kids all over fantasyland]…and the wait for HM should be busier when it has me doing it after noon.
I would stop using Optimize altogether and stick to evaluate.
If it were me, this is what I would do:
Start with a fresh TP, and put everything in an order that seems to make sense to you. Do not add your FP yet. Let it optimize and once it’s done, see what the map looks like at the bottom of the page. Then rearrange the list and evaluate. Add your FP and fiddle with it until it has everything the way you want it.
Unfortunately AK, like HS, at lease in my experience is a park that you will have to crisscross at least twice no matter what. And you will come to understand the park better the more you use that map at the bottom and get a feel for where things are.
Not sure what you see off map-wise here - looks like a reasonable amount of walking and it’s not bouncing you around from side to side. Also, the Space FPP is fine because of the built-in grace period.
I’d have to see the whole plan to be sure, but this seems plausible given that the increase in wait time for 7DMT from morning to early afternoon should be greater than that for HM, so it would put 7DMT in the 10:13 slot and HM after noon.
actually according to various boards the wait time for SDMT is consistently long all day, anytime so I’m not about to give up a FP. The lines for HM get progressively worse as the day progresses, so it doesn’t make sense to try to go when it’s busier in the parks without a fast pass…
The software is using historical data for wait times and walking routes. It is not using conventional wisdom. There is a reason, whether flawed or not, of why it’s doing that. I’m not saying it’s CORRECT in this instance,but I did see several very cool examples of the software outsmarting conventional wisdom during my trip. I wouldn’t give up the fastpass, but I WOULD compare the map with the walking, and maybe use the slider to try to control the criss crossing more to my liking, reoptimize, see what happens, and then tweak the attractions to where I’d like them, and then evaluate.
Try downloading Magic Guide. It’s a phone app and their maps are amazing. I found it really helpful when planning my first trip back after decades away.
I’ve found myself evaluating a lot of my plans. What I’ve been doing is optimizing and looking at wait times, walk times, free times, etc. Then, move things around in a way that makes sense to me and see what the difference is. If there’s a big difference between the times, you might be able to them move things around that are within the same area a bit and change up those wait times. I’ve found that I can usually get my evaluate plan not too far off from the optimize plan and have it in an order that makes more sense to me.