Touring plans? About This Page:

[lynnp]

Hey guys, I am taking my family (mom, dad, husband, 3 yr old son, 1 yr old daughter) for a trip to WDW November 18. Their first, my first since 1998. I have been reading up and thought I was prepared then I learned about "touring plans." My "plan" was to hit the big preschooler things like Dumbo and Toontown then stroll and do whatever we see. My family is going to laugh at me if I create a schedule of our day. Are there certain rules to stick by (I heard do Dumbo first thing in the morning) or should I just break down and find a touring plan somewhere? What is the advantage?

Lynn

[bcuinohio]

The trick is to hit the popular rides as soon as the park opens. The wait times are much less. Also read up on Fast Pass and use it whenever possible.

[emc0n0]

Is this your first trip or have you been there before? Are you staying at a Disney Resort or off the grounds?

[Lumieregirl]

The advantage to a touring plan is being able to see as many attractions in a day as possible, with less wait time at each attraction. If you're going during a less busy time, a plan is not as important. If you're going during a crowded time, having at least a basic plan will reduce the amount of waiting you'll have at the bigger attractions, and insure you see more. Some touring plans will outline your entire day start to finish. While some people prefer that, it is not necessary. You should at least pick 3-5 or so main attractions at each park that are your "must do"s and see those first. Even if that means doing some backtracking walking, it will be worth it. Once you've done those, then wander at a more relaxed pace.

If you wait until say mid-afternoon to try to see some major attractions, the wait time may be outrageous. Also, FastPasses may be gone by that point as well. These most popular attractions really must be done or at least grab a FP asap in the am. Once the FP are gone for these the waits can be well over an hour, or two in busy season:

Toy Story Mania , DHS
Rockin' Roller Coaster, DHS
Soarin, Epcot
Expedition Everest, AK
Splash Mountain, MK
Space Mountain, MK

And yes the advice about Dumbo is correct.

[ilovedisney247]

I would absolutely advise using a touring plan, especially for MK and DHS. I would plan on doing Dumbo and Peter Pan's Flight first thing in the morning if you have little one, the waits are really long in the afternoon! Try looking at www.tourinngplans.com

[tessatilli]

I belong to www.touringplans.com and would never travel without it! I love their site!

[evenstar84]

I also have a membership to touringplans.com and love that site! But we don't typically follow an exact plan when we are in the parks. Typically we make sure to make it to a park by opening, see the more popular rides first, get fastpasses, and then leave by 1-2pm. We take a break in the afternoon, swim or sleep at our resort, and then go back to one of the parks at night time for dinner and a few more rides.

We love the park hopper option and use it almost every day. And we really like skipping the afternoon crowds. Believe me, your feet will thank you.

I do try to go to certain parks on certain days (per touringplans.com) but I don't typically follow a regimented schedule for the day. Like others have said, make a list of what things you want to do and get to the park as early as possible! Most people won't wake up early on vacation. It's amazing how many rides you can walk onto.

[M5ward]

We can usually judge the crowd level during the first day..weekends aside, the daily crowds are generally the same at each park (if it's a moderate crowd at MK on our first week day, it's usually moderate at HS on a weekday.)

[808boneplayer]

It's not crazy to write up a mock schedule. By doing so, you'll be able to visualize and sear the information in your head to the point that you might not need it. My GF and I, usually write what we want to do. We let this sit in our heads for a while and finally we can mentally plan things out.

~Travis

[plutospal]

Agree with those who say that it is wise to have some sort of touring plan in mind. That said, I would always say follow it with some flexibility to take advantage of things that "pop up".

If you don't like the idea of the touring plan, then with the little ones, make sure you are able to make it to rope drop at MK, hit the rides in Fantasyland first thing and then you'll have time to pursue the other rides on your "must see" list as the day progresses.

[lynnp]

Thanks. We don't really have any "must see" things. It probably is good to have a plan so at least we know what direction to head to. Thanks for all the advice. I'll check out some of the websites mentioned and see what I can find.

[buckinghammr]

We used Tour Guide Mike on our October trip. We were a group of 10 so it took a couple of days to convince everyone to use the touring plans, but on the days that we did, it was immensely better!!