Are there for-pay services to help me plan?

[Hayduke]

Hey all, working on plans for our family’s second trip. I’m fairly well versed in all things FP+, ADR’s, and all rides and restaurants. However I still am finding it completely overwhelming in even getting the basics out of the way. Things like “staying at BWI, what park should we hit first, second, third”, “if we’re planning on taking mid day breaks should we return to the same park or hit a different one in the afternoon”, and “how will all the add ones like EMH and Christmas party affect our planning”, simply have me overwhelmed.

What I’m not looking for is for someone to book things for me, I’m happy and capable to do that. More like “critique my plans” or opinions on best overall strategies to get the most out of the parks—for my specific dates. This is something I would definitely be happy to pay a little $ for.

I know there’s a wealth of info on these boards, but it takes quite a lot of time and effort to get through it all. I have a travel agent and maybe that’s something I should be relying on her for, but so far I haven’t been able to get much advice from her.

 

[CastAStone]

I recommend Touring Plans - you can plug in the rides you want to ride at a park and it will spit out the optimal order to do them in. It also has the best crowd calendar. They also have a forum that’s literally a critique my plan forum, which people will do here (and these forums are legitimately more useful overall) but you may get more responses there for that particular subject.

 

[holden]

If you are concerned about not being able to do all the attractions you want, consider a VIP tour guide. You could easily do 90% of what you want in one day.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

All of that planning is almost as fun as the trip for me! I agree with PP advice about touring plans though, that’s a great resource. Also, any specific issues you have with planning can be posted here on the boards and the fine dis people will be happy to help. Ask as many questions as you need to, and check all the stickies. I find it helps to write everything out or make a flow sheet when planning. And it sounds like you’ll be there during holiday season. MK on party days will be less crowded, because it closes early. We like MK on those days then we hop elsewhere around 4. But it will be packed on days it’s open late, so maybe do a dessert party (that’s what we do) to ensure you a stress free spot for fireworks. We start out the day at another park and hop over to MK for the evening so we’re not in the crazy crowds all day. Also, TP can help you pick which day to do which park. And we stay at BWV frequently and it’s lovely and a great location. Happy plAnning!

 

[Hayduke]

Don't get me wrong, I really do enjoy the planning aspect--it's just that at this stage (the getting started stage) there are a lot of choices and variables that are going to affect things down the road.

But thanks for all the advice in this thread! I'll keep plugging along and hopefully get things set before my 180 day ADR window opens.

 

[WDWAtLast]

We are headed back to WDW for the first time in 5 years. What I am finding, is that is it very easy to change (most) ADRs in the MDE app. I booked what I thought we wanted at 180 days, but have modified all of the original times and/or dates (we are now 99 days out) So, even if your plans change, you should be able to change many of your ADRs to fit your updated touring plans. Happy Planning!

 

[Carla1183]

If you like the planning but need a way to have all the info in front of you at once, a Touring Plans subscription is worth every cent! You can look at (predicted!) crowds, hours, etc by day so you can start to lay out which park/which day, which begets your restaurant reservations, which can help shape your FP+ selections.

 

[DrummerBoy523]

Hey all, working on plans for our family’s second trip. I’m fairly well versed in all things FP+, ADR’s, and all rides and restaurants. However I still am finding it completely overwhelming in even getting the basics out of the way. Things like “staying at BWI, what park should we hit first, second, third”, “if we’re planning on taking mid day breaks should we return to the same park or hit a different one in the afternoon”, and “how will all the add ones like EMH and Christmas party affect our planning”, simply have me overwhelmed.

What I’m not looking for is for someone to book things for me, I’m happy and capable to do that. More like “critique my plans” or opinions on best overall strategies to get the most out of the parks—for my specific dates. This is something I would definitely be happy to pay a little $ for.

I know there’s a wealth of info on these boards, but it takes quite a lot of time and effort to get through it all. I have a travel agent and maybe that’s something I should be relying on her for, but so far I haven’t been able to get much advice from her.

Subscribe to Touring Plans. Great crowd calendars. Their touring plans are second to none IMO. The forums are great for getting advice.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I will say to not get too hung up on or invested on the crowd calendars (ie don’t start putting importance on something showing a crowd level 5 instead of 6 for example) because they will change as your dates get closer. Use it as a general guide. But their custom plans are awesome. So nice to plug things in and determine a good order to do things and when you want your FPs. I will say it’s a bit clunky if you’re planning to hop but lots of people here and on their forum can help with how to set things up. It’s so nice to have a plan laid out on your phone, easy to read, even if you do change it on the fly (which I almost always do). A huge benefit of it is knowing how long things really take and how long it will take you to walk between attractions.

 

[VeronicaZS]

I thought that is what this forum is for! Just post your parameters and everyone on here will plan your trip for free!

 

[Heather07438]

I thought that is what this forum is for! Just post your parameters and everyone on here will plan your trip for free!

Yes! OP try posting your resort and trip dates along with a few details & priorities. As you get feedback, adjust your plans. I'm probably going to post a similar board for our trip soon to get some advice and make sure I'm not over-looking anything. This community is a great resource

 

[finedice]

My gosh - please don't pay money for that - you will get better advice for free...

 

[Hayduke]

Yes! OP try posting your resort and trip dates along with a few details & priorities. As you get feedback, adjust your plans. I'm probably going to post a similar board for our trip soon to get some advice and make sure I'm not over-looking anything. This community is a great resource

OK! Wow you are all so nice! Here's quick background:

• Family of 4
• Kids are both 7, pretty tolerant of all rides
• This is our second trip, the first was great, but we were with the larger family with additional kids of varying age, and everyone got strep. All those factors ended up meaning we missed A LOT. The only night time show we caught was the one at AK.

For this trip:

• For this trip, I really don't want to miss much (I know you can't see everything)
• Staying Sunday - Saturday, so 5 1/2 days
• Trip is in November, the week between Jersey week and Thanksgiving, so so far crowds look manageable
• Galaxies Edge is our #1 focus
• Staying at BWI, Club Level (yeah, we'll probably do the paid FP, but not positive yet, see below)--BWI was chosen to be a walk to HS and Epcot.
• Budget isn't limitless, however this will probably be our last WDW trip for a few years (we're also doing a cruise this year so it's a lot), that said, I'm in so far what's another few hundred here or there to minimize lines and waiting?
• I'm just gonna state that I really don't like lines and waiting
• Kids are way beyond napping, however I do still like the idea of taking a break in the afternoon at the hotel for pool and CL perks

Current Plans:

• Day 1: Travel, debating just hanging around the hotel, or possibly getting some FP+ in Epcot, adding another day of tickets and eating dinner in the park
• Day 2: Hollywood Studios - Try to get our first pass at getting most of GE out of the way. Maybe save a FP for the nighttime show?
• Day 3: Magic Kingdom - We would like to do the night time show, maybe do it via the desert package so we don't need to wait in a big crowd.
• Day 4: Animal Kingdom - This will probably be the one exception to taking a break during the day just because of the travel distance
• Day 5: Thinking about splitting time, morning in Epcot, then afternoon back to HS... or maybe reverse that? I'm not sure.
• Day 6: We'd like to do Disney Springs (though I could move that to Day 1 and skip Epcot), so maybe split that with a return to MK?

Couple more notes:

• We'll probably try to book one ADR a day--most likely lunch time since we can take advantage of CL evening snacks.
• If we can leverage the paid CL FP to not have to rope drop too much that would be great. We're early risers so not concerned about early mornings, but also don't want to feel too hectic and rushed.

So, what does everyone think?

 

[FCDub]

If GE is your main focus, I’d budget at least two mornings at DHS ... or, have flexible enough plans to be able to pivot in case you can’t get a boarding group for ROTR on your first day. Maybe you’ll like it so much you’ll want a second crack at it!

Reverse your day 5 order ... or at least plan to start at DHS for a boarding group then hit Epcot while you wait for your return time.

 

[glocon]

I think with the CL fp’s you need to do a minimum of three days, so I would do that for HS, MK and AK. Definitely get the extra day to go to EP on arrival day- even if you just eat and do your 3 fp’s.
Agree on the dessert party for MK- those crowds are insane! The before garden party doesn’t include alcohol but the after party and the terrace party do- if that’s a consideration for you.
I know I’m saying to upgrade everything but it really will enhance your trip.
Have fun!

 

[Delirium]

- Rope Drop
- Hoppers
- Strategic Fastpasses
- You can wait in line 50 minutes for Pooh at 1 o'clock in the afternoon or 2 minutes for Pooh at park closing

That will be $50. I accept all major forms of payment, but do not provide change.

 

[Sarahslay]

I do this for friends when they ask, actually did this just recently for my husbands bosses wife, but it's just for fun for me since I love planning. They sometimes pay me a little money (bosses wife paid $100, but I essentially ended up making her ADRs and FP for her too), usually they take me to dinner or something. I think it's almost as much fun as the trip, but truth be told I just use touring plans and my own experience for different times of year to do it. I always recommend getting a touring plans subscription and looking at crowd levels for certain days, looking to make sure there aren't parties or something that will affect crowd levels, and go from there.

 

[Hayduke]

If GE is your main focus, I’d budget at least two mornings at DHS ... or, have flexible enough plans to be able to pivot in case you can’t get a boarding group for ROTR on your first day. Maybe you’ll like it so much you’ll want a second crack at it!

Thats a good point. I guess I was sorta hoping that by November ROTR would be a regular FastPass. Wishful thinking, but I definitely want a chance to ride it twice on our trip. I’ll swap it.

 

[Hayduke]

Agree on the dessert party for MK- those crowds are insane! The before garden party doesn’t include alcohol but the after party and the terrace party do- if that’s a consideration for you.
I know I’m saying to upgrade everything but it really will enhance your trip.
Have fun!

Thanks! And yep you’re right, I think upgrading makes sense in a lot of cases. One further complication with MK is what nights the Christmas parties will be. We skipped it last time and may want to do it, but I know that’ll affect the nighttime show.

Any idea if the post dates for the holiday parties and extra magic hours before the 180 ADR window? I would think that’ll have a big impact on what parks I want to be in on what days.

 

[mamaofsix]

Thats a good point. I guess I was sorta hoping that by November ROTR would be a regular FastPass. Wishful thinking, but I definitely want a chance to ride it twice on our trip. I’ll swap it.

If things stand as they do now, you'll want to budget 2 mornings at HS just to even have the chance to ride ROTR ONCE. It's incredibly hard to get a boarding pass for it, and most don't get one on their first morning trying.

I echo the advice to get a touring plans subscription. While these boards are very helpful for general advice, touringplans will literally tell you, down to the minute, how long you're going to wait for rides on the days and times you choose, how long it takes to walk from attraction to attraction, what the crowds are actually going to be like. They are VERY accurate in their predictions and I have found it to be my most helpful planning website by far.

Good Luck!