Five Reasons You Need a TouringPlans Subscription

Of course we want you to buy our product. Of course we do. Everyone who sells something wants you to buy it. But what you care about is: do you need it?

Here are five reasons we think anyone visiting Disney World should buy a TouringPlans subscription. Most of this is true for Universal Orlando and Disneyland as well.

1. We can help you save time

It’s our mission statement:

We help you have a better vacation by saving you time and money.

Whether it’s using our Crowd Calendar to pick a time of year when lines are shorter, or using our Premium Touring Plans to see everything you want to see efficiently, our goal is to help you spend less time in line. That’s more time for pools, resorts, snacks, and soaking up the amazing theme park atmosphere.

2. We can help you save money

Let’s get one thing straight – it’s often true that time is money. But no, I mean literally spending less money.

Our ticket calculator can help you find hundreds of dollars of savings from authorized ticket resellers. The key word here is authorized — none of those skeevy outfits on Rte. 192 that advertise “Theme park ticketz here cheap”. Other things that save more than the cost of your subscription:

• Skipping a day of Genie+ (or Express Pass) because our tools help you find short lines without paying for front-of-the-line access
• Finding savings on a Disney Vacation Club rental with our subscriber-only DVC Deals page
• Letting our knowledge and recommendations steer you away from things you won’t enjoy

3. We show you two sets of ratings

I absolutely love that Rotten Tomatoes shows you an audience score and a critics score. Because sometimes I don’t care if something is high cinema: I want an entertaining shoot-em-up. On our site, we show you two sets of ratings. One is from the experts, including authors of the Unofficial Guides. But the other rating is based on survey results from people just like you.

When the ratings clash, what do you do? Well, you can ask in our forums (or on Lines chat if you’re a subscriber) to get even more advice. Of course, you might not need to go that far …

4. We give you knowledge

Here at TouringPlans, we have nerdy nerds and data scientists. But we know that all the numbers in the world are useless if they don’t help you to make a smart decision. Going back to Finnegan’s Bar & Grill, you don’t have to wonder why the numbers don’t match up: it’s right there in the At-a-Glance. The entertainment is fun, the beer is cold, and it’s one of only two full-service spots in Universal Studios Florida.

For anyone who wants them, we’ve got cool charts like this one:

But we know how to put that in plain English too: “… tickets cost much less per day after the fourth day. The first day of a 10-day ticket often costs about as much as the last six days combined.”

And that’s really where it’s at, you know. To riff on a famous ad series, we see it kind of like this:

• Savings on tickets found with our Cheapest Ticket Calculator: $245
• Knowing how to choose the correct discount offer when you make your Disney hotel reservation: $378
• Confidence that you’re well prepared to have a wonderful vacation? Priceless.

5. We can’t do it without you

Some of those tools I’ve mentioned above are behind a subscriber paywall, but many are free to use. You don’t need a subscription to read the regular pages on the site, or any of our blog’s in-depth articles and reviews. We are only able to keep it that way because of people like you who are willing to contribute where they find value – even if it’s just from reading the site and the blog. Your subscription supports our research, helping us to help you make your trip the best that it can be. Please join today.