Preparing For An Ultimate Touring Plan

Let’s face it, planning is a huge part of every trip we take to Walt Disney World. In many ways it defines our experience and ultimately our enjoyment of the trip because a well planned trip is generally a less stressful one.  And the last thing your vacation needs is to be is stressful,  right?  Well, sometimes that’s not the case for everyone.

Once upon a time, before I had ever even heard of the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, I was a mad crazed commando when it came to touring WDW.  I’d have to be at the gate for park opening and had no plans to leave before it closed.  In the park, my hands were always full with a pen and a park map.  As each attraction or show was completed, it got checked off and numbered.  For me, knowing how much I’d done measured the success of my vacation.

Since I’ve moved down to Central Florida, things for me have changed quite a bit – as they do for most locals.  Eventually you stop counting how many times you’ve been on a given attraction, or have visited Magic Kingdom, etc.  More and more I find it’s about the experience of just being at Walt Disney World.  But oh so often, I crave the madness of my old ways.

Ever since learning about Ultimate Touring Plans a few years back, I’ve wanted to do one.  The concept of being able to go to a park and complete almost everything it has to offer in a single day is very satisfying to me.  But, I could always tell two things just looking over the tour for Magic Kingdom – Ultimate Tours require a lot of physical activity and a lot of knowledge of the park.  The latter is probably easy for most everyone reading this blog entry.  However that first part can be tricky.

For certain, you want to make sure you’re at least walking regularly for exercise before attempting this.  You will be moving constantly and criss-crossing the park numerous times.  There will be little downtime outside of the attractions themselves, and if you happen to find “free time” in the Tour, it’s best to use it to eat (quickly!) or visit the bathroom.  I just can’t stress how important this one part of being ready for an Ultimate Tour actually is.

Next up is picking a plan, and if this is your first time, your most likely inclination is the tour for Magic Kingdom.  It was my choice too.  There are a number of reasons for this, but overall I think it helps that if you check out the Hall of Fame, that you’ll see that it’s definitely the most popular.  From the looks of it, I don’t think anyone has completed the Epcot Tour.

Now that you’ve got your Ultimate Tour picked out, pick a date.  To do this I suggest heading over to our Crowd Calendar and start looking up some days your interested in.  Some things to look for that will help contribute to your success at the Tour are longer park hours and an indication that your park is predicted to be the best park on the day you visit.  These two choices alone will greatly contribute to your success or failure.

Once you’ve got your date its time to sit down and study up.  Familiarize yourself with the plan you’ve chosen.  Get a general idea of the flow into your head you don’t need to memorize it, but it helps to know how your day is going to lay out in advance – avoid surprises.  There are a number of timed events that you can’t miss due to them being core attractions, many of which may only have a single time on a given day: Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade, Flag Retreat, Wishes, Main Street Electrical Parade, etc.  These events will anchor your Ultimate Tour day.

There are also a number of minor attractions and shows that you can visit during your tour for bonus points.  These are best covered in any free time that you find throughout the day.  For most of these you need only view the show for 5 minutes.  The real advantage is that many of them are on Main Street and can be picked up while waiting for the parades that occur in this area.  You’ll definitely want to consult a list of showtimes to manage this.  Use of mobile wait time applications like Lines is permitted.

Next up are the rules.  Participating in an Ultimate Tour isn’t just running around and participating in attractions – there’s bookkeeping involved.  You’ll need a watch or other device so you can tell time.  When you visit an attraction – core or bonus – you’re going to need to do several things: record the current wait time, the current FASTPASS return time, the time you enter the queue, the time you board the attraction, and the time you leave the attraction.  There is a data sheet to help you with this.

You’ll also need to take a picture of yourself participating in the attraction.  Some rides this can be difficult.  For something like Space Mountain you may just want to snap a picture of your PhotoPass picture as you get off the ride.  Other things like Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor can be difficult because technically no photography is allowed.  All I can suggest is being creative and/or quick.

There are some key important rules that it helps to remember.  You must view a full show unless otherwise indicated – no matter how long it takes.  Parades can be fast tracked by capturing a picture of yourself with the first float and then walking to the end of the parade an taking a picture with the last float.  Street party’s are an exception to this rule.  When obtaining an autograph, you may not use the same character twice – no matter where they are in the park.  FASTPASS tickets must be obtained using your pass on the day of your tour.  You may not use any that are physically handed to you – even if by a castmember.

Finally decide if you’re doing this solo or with a team.  I wouldn’t pick too large a team, that is likely to slow you down.  Teams take some coordination: where do you meet in the morning, how do you get there, who’s bringing what, etc.  Plan in advance, don’t wait until the last minute.  Make sure you have plenty to eat along the way, you may want a change of clothes, etc.  Remember you won’t be going back to your car, and I wouldn’t recommend a locker either.  Plan to carry everything you’ll need – especially some snacks and water.

One key thing I did was set up a portfolio to take with me.  Something easy and light.  Inside I had a pad of paper and pen (plus several extra pens in my bag).  In the portfolio I used tape to affix the Touring Plan itself and my data sheet.  This way they wouldn’t fall out.  I also had in the sleeve the rules, a list of show times, a list of wait times, and the list of attractions.  Ahead of time I marked up the plan with a simple code so I’d know which attractions had special directions beyond “ride this”.  And I also clearly indicated my anchor show times so I could make sure that I didn’t miss these.  When entering the park I stored a times guide and park map in the sleve as well.

Once all your preparation is done, notify the TouringPlans.com staff by emailing ultimate@touringplans.com letting they know your team members and the date of your attempt.  And then enjoy your Ultimate Touring Plan day.

See other posts in this series:

• Ultimate Magic Kingdom Touring Plan Part 1 – Fairytale Garden Fail
• Ultimate Magic Kingdom Tour Part 2 – Winning The Day