Park Planers / are they any good?

[dumboears]

Hello, :mickey:
I have been reading this forum for the last couple of months and wanted to say thanks for all the great info posted on here.

I’ll be visiting the parks and staying onsite the week before Easter and this is my first official vacation to WDW. I use to live in central Fla. until ’05 so all of my visits to WDW were day trips in the ‘off season’.
I always thought people visiting during peak season were crazy and here I am. We were offered a great deal from Disney and this was the only time we were able to take my 2 grandsons.
I have always believed that the parks were best viewed spontaneously. Now, however due to the crowds, I have been planning a route of attack for the attractions. This way the boys can see as much as possible.

My question - I came across a site / agent that would give me a daily plan for free as long as they could use my reservation to collect the commission. I booked through Disney travel and have paid in full (my package included free dinning).
Will this affect any of my reservations? ‘They’ said it would not.
Are any of these plans worth following or am I better off figuring it out on my own? I have done a lot of research the past couple of months.
Has anyone ever used one of these plans and if so do they work well? I was told they could keep my wait time down to 30 minutes.
I viewed a sample plan of theirs and it seemed ok and it was flexible. They tailor it to my wants and needs with recommendations to shows and rides.
Also I was told that they would do my pre-check-in with the ‘new’ 10 day check-in. I would still double check.

Any advice or comments on this subject would be nice.
As much as I hate crowds, I want this to be a fantasmic trip for the boys. One will turn 10 in May, the other will turn 9 on April 3. It’s the last chance for us to be able to take them as children before they hit those ‘lovely’ teenage years.
THANKS!

[BMan62]

First off --- :welcome: to Intercot!!

Now, from what I am reading in your message, this outfit wants you to transfer your reservation to them so that they can take advantage of a commission for the booking? Well, it seems to me that they did nothing for the booking to earn any commission.

Oh, you are going to get 'free' planning in return? Well, you would be much better off using Intercot information to do your planning. There is a wealth of information at your fingertips right here. AND it's all FREE!! No commissions, no fees, just a few minutes searching for the information that suits your needs.

[TheVBs]

I have to agree, this sounds a little fishy. Not only is there lots of info here, but there are books you can buy to help. We usually buy Birnbaum's, the official WDW guide. They have great sample itineraries.

Welcome and have an awesome trip! :mickey:

[sassafras]

We've never used a Planner. Instead, what we do is get the literature from the resort (at the check-in or concierge desk), look it over and decide where we're going the next day and what we really want to do. Then, we head to the parks and grab a map and head to the attractions we want to see and grab fastpasses (especially for Soarin' and Splash Mountain). That way we can deviate if we decide to or if an attraction is overloaded when we get there. The only REAL planning we do is ADRs since there is a need if you want to eat at certain restaurants and don't want to be disappointed.Plus, we took our 2 sons a few years ago and found what we thought they wanted to and what they wanted to do were sometimes different. It got to the point I had to do some dealing. Go with me to Fantasmic and I'll ride Space Mountain (which I hate) with you type thing. Either way you go, you'll have a blast! By the way, Welcome to Intercot!!!!

[KylesMom]

Welcome to Intercot! :party:

I second Bman62's response - It sounds like you've already been working on a touring plan. With all of the uber-planners here, you'll find an incredible wealth of accurate information at your fingertips. While I wouldn't hesitate to transfer my reservation to a firm like Magical Journeys who would be working to get me a better deal closer to my vacation if we booked months in advance, this sounds like they want a commission for advice that you could get right here. Myself, I guess I'd be paranoid about my credit card security, since they'll have access to that information once the reservation is transferred over.

Not sure how this firm is going to keep your wait time to 30 minutes (I'm guessing per attraction) . . . except to recommend FastPass for the major attractions which offer it, tell you to get to the parks early and take advantage of morning EMH.

Ask some straightforward questions in the various forums and you'll get fabulous advice here! :thumbsup: :mickey:

[Zawadi]

The first time that we went to WDW, we got "The Unofficial Guide to WDW" which has both 1 day and 2 day touring plans. However, we were lucky enough to be off-peak and the plans were not needed.

As in a previous post, get the show times guides and work around them.

Have a great trip!

[Hull-onian]

:welcome: to Intercot. I think that you would do better with a trip book, and pick our brains! LOL

[Daisy'sMom]

My advice is to not to make many plans. Just go and take advantage of the EMHs and fast passes. Take a break in the afternoon, if it peak season, the parks will most likely be open later. I always feel bad for the people that are on a schedule, the ones that are pulling their children from behind.
Make a quick list of everyone's must see and try to see them.
Most of all, just have fun and forget the outside world. :mickey:

[Aurora]

Park planners won't tell you anything different than the advice you get here and the "Unofficial Guide." The two most important tips to make your trip with your grandsons the most memorable will be:

1. Get there at park opening or earlier if there is morning Extra Magic Hour at that park.

2. Use Fastpass.

You will save so much time, even during peak periods, by getting to the park at opening that you won't believe it. You can literally feel the parks filling up like water between 10 and 11 a.m. By 1 p.m. they will be packed. You can do three to four of the most popular rides in just the first hour if you get there at opening. It's true!

Get Fasspass for the rides with the longest lines -- Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Toy Story Mania, Soarin', Test Track, Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris. Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan can have quite long lines too, so Fastpass is good for these.

For more detailed advice, get the "Unofficial Guide." Their tips are based on mathematical matrices (I'm not kidding), and even if you don't use the touring plans, they still give great advice.

Most important: HAVE A GREAT TIME!

[DANAM]

Welcome to Intercot!!!

I have to agree with what was said above. It really isn't that hard to come up with your own paln from the reasources avaialble for free and in the unofficial guide. This company seems a little fishy and since you are all paid for I don't know if I would like to run the risk of something happening to your reservation.
Some personal advise. My family has done Disney 3 times in 3 years. The first time was the worst we went with just what we wanted to do and it was a mess. We waited forever for things that I know know we should have waited until later in the day to ride. As we walked by something with a 40 min wait the kids just had to go on that ride right then. So we waited. BIG MISTAKE!!!
Our next trip we had a little bit better of a plan but I last trip went to smooth. I am very **** and had just about every moment planned out but it was so calm and undercontrol. I did everything in excel and each of the kids had there own copy. So if we passed the tea cups with a 45 min line I could show them where later in the day we had planned to ride and it went so smooth. I use the unofficaial guide which gives normal wait times, lenght of rides, distance to walk from one ride to another, best times to go, ect. and I was able to make a really good schedule. I suggest seperating from your group at times. Such as, waiting for a table and while someone waits in a line you grab FP and it worked great. And make sure your flexable and don't get rattled if you need to skip something. We went the second to last week in May leaving on Memorial Day and the only thing we waited over 20 min was for soarin'. And we did everything!!!
Give it a try. You will probally find it really enjoyable.

[MOJoe]

This post has me wanting to ask a question.

How can an independent travel agent gain from an existing, fully paid, WDW Travel Co. reservation? If the package is a "done deal" how can the reservation be "transferred?" Maybe someone with experience in this business can correct me here, but this looks like some sort of scam.
If it is, (and i'm now addressing the OP) you have the potential to lose a lot of money. And even if it is not, great touring plans can be found for under $10 online, and the advice on Intercot is free.
Welcome to our world! :mickey:

[wire0monkey]

"The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World" has a website that has a wide-variety of specialized touring plans, that you might find useful. They also have some generic ones, in their book.

We go in the off season, so that we don't have to fuss with touring plans. However, their "no-touring-plan touring plan" in the 2008 book is extremely useful. (I haven't looked to see if it is included in the 2009 book.) It suggest a plan of attack,without getting too detailed. That's generally what we do, even in the off season.

We also use the crowd calendar the Unofficial Guide website. It suggest the best days to be in each park. When I follow their suggestions, I'm always much happier than when I go against their suggestions. I regret it when I don't follow the suggestions on the crowd calendar.

[Imagineer1981]

Agreed. Sounds like you are asking for trouble. Any member here is glad to help and if you need personal 1 on 1 info, I'd say feel free to PM any moderator or any member for more info

[PlutoPlanet]

I'd recommend "The Unofficial Guide to WDW" and INTERCOT.

[dumboears]

Thanks for the advise!!!! :thumbsup:

I did check / searched into the service and they are legit and not a scam (so I think). ‘They’ were using Mikes Tour Guide as a reference. I also was wondering how a third party could transfer a reservation over after it was already made and paid for. “If something sound to good to be true…” I was curious and therefore asked to see if anyone else has ever had a ’stranger’ plan there itinerary for the parks. I believe I’ll do my own planning, with a little help, and not take any risk that could ruin the magic of the week.

Like I said, I hate having a plan, but realize that not having one would be foolish with the expected crowds. I will post a new thread on what I have planed so far and hopefully will gain advice from those who have visited during peak times.

I have looked into the occupancy of the WDW resorts and most are at 100% . I noticed that the MK has greatly expanded their hours and added EMH to more days. I am ‘assuming’ that they will be at peak capacity for Easter. Just my luck - more the merrier I suppose.
Once again Thanks - looking forward to advice on my other threads.

[gueli]

:welcome:

Again- I highly reccomend unoffical guide or their site.

There are things that you cannot account for without help, and a good touring plan can make a trip easier/ more efficent. But beware- lots of extra walking.
Simply put, at least take a look at some of the free touring plans. the books help explain why they do some things & walk past other attractions (ride load times are one of the things that I could not account for before reading the book/books).
A good touring plan always will have a disclaimer- remember you are their to have fun- do not over tire yourself of the grandkids. Especially in the heat. And remember- no plan ever survives contact with the enemy.

Have lots of fun & enjoy your trip.
:mickey: