Large group, touring plans a must?

MamaBelle4

DIS Veteran
Joined
Feb 29, 2016
We'll be traveling in a group of 10 this coming December. For current users, what are the benefits of the paid subscription, knowing that I'm doing the planning for all 10 people. Thank you!
 
Anyone have any advice for me? Trying to decide if I should get the subscription or not?
 
Well, we travel as a group of 8 and I've never gotten a subscription. I use the dining reservation finder using my free account, but I don't use the other offerings. I don't see the need. If you've gone before and kind of know how everything works, I wouldn't worry about it.
 
I always buy it. I mean, its like 15 bucks, and my trip is like a bazillion, so I figure its worth the investment. Typically, my custom plans get me into the early afternoon, and then its basically left open because I'll be grabbing SDFPs, and we split up so its tough to plan beyond about 1-2 pm. I also find it more accurate on wait times, so I use it in the parks as well.
 


Why not buy it? Try it out and see if you think it’s useful. It’s nothing compared to the cost of the trip.

Added:
Are you all riding the same rides at the same time? Getting to the parks as a group? No stragglers?
 
I’m also the planner for a large group (9) every Nov/December. I love TP and especially the lines app. The wait times are much more accurate then Disney’s (I’ve read they change wait times as a form of crowd management). So imo for the lines app alone it’s worth it. That being said, you can do most stuff on their site for free if you don’t wanna commit. Have fun planning!
 
I only ever plan for my family of 4, but I always have a subscription for TP. We don't typically travel at the busiest times, but have been there on moderately busy days, and have found the personalized plans to really cut our wait times.
 


I only ever plan for my family of 4, but I always have a subscription for TP. We don't typically travel at the busiest times, but have been there on moderately busy days, and have found the personalized plans to really cut our wait times.

I guess I will also add that I don't notice it saved us much time on days with low crowd levels, but I've never regretted spending the $15 or so on a subscription.
 
I don’t think it’s a must.

We are usually 8-12 people and for a larger group, flexibility is key - the ability for some to go off on a whim and do what they want. Our group would never follow an itinerary - they’d roll their eyes if we had a list. Everyone in our group is very laid back though, never arguing about what to do when. People just split off when they want to do something else.

I think TP is helpful for seeing what is doable in a day. It’s so reasonably priced, I like to mess around with it out of curiosity. For me, it would not be a necessity.
 
I’ve never done touring plans but I have been to Disney with a group of 12. My advice would be to plan a few meals together and maybe a fireworks dessert party or something like that and play the rest by ear.

Sometimes we toured the parks together but we were basically three family units so each family could do their our own thing - get their own fast passes etc.

It’s difficult and stressful to keep everyone together all the time. You can almost never get everyone to agree on any specific plan.

That being said the group meals and gatherings we had were great and made lifetime memories.
 
Why not buy it? Try it out and see if you think it’s useful. It’s nothing compared to the cost of the trip.

Added:
Are you all riding the same rides at the same time? Getting to the parks as a group? No stragglers?

I don't like wasting money. If it isn't something I would use, the. Why bother throwing $15 away? That's why I asked here.

Yes, my in-laws prefer that I just make them FP for whatever we have FP for and we will arrive together. They tend to splinter off once the FP are spent, but usually come back to our group after an hour or so.
 
I would do it, and this is why:

1) First you have to get everyone up, fed breakfast and at the bus stop
2) Then you get "what should we do?" or "I want space mountain!" vs "I want Peter Pan"
3) But if you had this touring plan, you could use it as a '3rd party".. "It says we should be at Splash Mountain at 9:00"
4_ You can also use it as a schedule, so If people want to sleep in, then you say "Touring plan says we will be at BTMRR at 11:30 if you want to join us".

Do you know the travelling styles of those you are travelling with?
Do they think vacation is for sleeping in?
Do they like things planned or to keep things open?
Do they like Table service or do they want to keep costs down?
Do they like the "thrill" rides?
Do they want to go back to the hotel in the afternoon?

Like others say, be prepared to split up. Do not sacrifice fun for "lets stay together".
It is good to have dinner reservations made so you can meet up
It is also good to say "We are starting at Magic Kingdom at 9:00 today, leaving on the 815 bus if anyone wants to join us. Here is out plan for the day."
Also you can say "We have experience with Disney...let us be your tour guide." Or "All my Disney expert online friends say this is a great way to tour."

We did a big family group and some sub-families did things together based on the ages of the kids. We got together for dinner.
 
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