I just started my first personalized touring plan on this thing, and OMG, is it really this cool, or am I dreaming?
I can’t wait to show DH!
90 days stretch out between me and my triumphant return to Dithney Reld ™, as my son called it when he was 5, and as I’ve said many times in various threads on this forum, I have been seriously concerned that I would not be able to figure out everything in time to devise a plan.
But if this thing is close – just close, mind you, not even totally perfect – we could conceivably get everything done that we want to do on our first day in the MK before noon. That’s 7DMT, SM, Buzz, TTAPM, Pirates, HM – and more. And it tells me how much walking I’ll do, how much criss-crossing I’ll do –
This is incredible! Ohhhhh, I can’t wait to try it out. How soon can September get here?!
If you are going early September, should be good. Some of the lowest crowds of the entire year are during that time! Great time to go, so long as no hurricanes come along. (We had one trip to Orlando in September when a Tropical Storm blew over…we were doing UOR that year, but we had to hunker down in our condo for a day and a half! Not to scare you, though…it is actually our most memorable part of the entire trip!)
Oh, we’re rope droppers from 'way back. We will be rope dropping. We get up very early just to go to work; we’ll actually be sleeping in a little to get up early enough to RD at WDW. I am so psyched!
I ONLY use personalized plans and LOVE them. Here’s some tips I’ve discovered from using TP for nearly a decade…
I’ve seen too many “perfect” plans that go from ride-to-ride nonstop. You really need to put a 10 – 15 minute break in your plan about every 1.5 hours. (maximum) 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 / etc.…
When putting in these breaks make sure to account for the walking time to your next attraction. Any time you insert a “rest” into a plan, the walking times after the rest are wrong due to a bug in TP software. For example, you are at Dumbo, then rest, and then plan to go to Jungle Cruise it only allocates a one minute walk time, instead of what should have been like 10-15 minutes.
If your next attraction is nearby this isn’t a big deal, but it is something to consider.
It’s always IMHO better to have the break & not need it than get behind.
Also, IME, while I LOVE TP it’s not perfect. On average I have to cut 2 - 4 attractions / shows every day. This is even with giving myself all those breaks. More often than not TP will greatly underestimate a couple of predicted queue waits. (Often an additional 30 - 50 minutes) So… be prepared to figure out what you can be ok missing or not getting a repeat ride on.
I have kept my plans over the last three years and written out all the data. (predicted vs. actual waits)
IME - Touring Plans averages a -81 minutes longer than predicted each day. Again… I’ll never go to WDW / DLR / UOR with a personalized TP , but I’ve learned that you have to leave good amounts of unscheduled time & add in 10 – 15 minutes breaks every 90 minutes or so to be able to realistically accomplish all that I want.
Very helpful, thank you! I’ve really just done one half of the first day, and I do keep wanting to add in more breaks. I also think I’m going to weight “less walking” vs. “less waiting” a little more heavily. When I optimized my plan, there was a lot more walking alllll the way across the park than I had anticipated. I’m an old lady now! I can’t run from Liberty Square to Space Mountain during a parade like I did in '89!
This is especially important if you have little kids. If you’re at Dumbo, and you’re supposed to do Jungle cruise next, but the kids see barnstormer, they are likely going to want to do barnstormer. Then you pass by tea party and it’s a walk-on.
If you minimize walking, these things are usually already planned consecutively, so those things that draw in little eyes are accounted for.
Also, if you have littles, plan all the extra breaks you can. You will need them. Especially when the 2 year old that’s had a rough day decides dumbo is his favorite and wants to ride it 5 times.