They've Got an App for That

One of the blessings of the Internet Age (and if you're reading this blog, I assume you're a participant) is the opportunity to use these technological advancements to aid in planning your trip, in enhancing your enjoyment of the parks, and giving you a little added taste of the Disney magic when you have to go back home. In this part of the blog, we hope to give you a little taste of some of the many apps that are out there!

To kick this series off, I feel like I should start with my personal favorite app for trip planning: Lines. One of the questions that I often hear from folks who are planning a trip to Walt Disney World is, "when is the best time to go?" Obviously, this is a terribly complicated question and will depend on one's weather preferences, favorite seasons, and vacation schedule. Usually when someone asks this question, what they really mean is, "when is the best time to go where I will be able to enjoy my vacation and not be trampled underfoot by a mob of stroller-wielding men in Mickey Ears bedazzled with pin-trading lanyards blowing in the breeze." That's a great question, and one that many of us would love the answer to.

Thankfully, the good folks at Touring Plans have very nearly perfected the art of crowd level predictions. Using a wealth of data, they maintain a crowd calendar which grades each day on a scale of 1-10. A 1 would be one of the slowest days of the year, while a 10 would be one of the busiest. The calendar makes predictions up to a year in advance of your dates, so you have a good idea of how to plan for your trip.

But wait, there's more! Not only does the Crowd Calendar provide you with information regarding the best park for each day of your trip. Should I go to Magic Kingdom on Tuesday? What about Epcot on Thursday? The Crowd Calendar will give you a best and worst park for each day of your trip. Having this information in hand will make it a bit easier as you prepare to make ADR's (a topic for another day), set touring plans, and set up other experiences inside and outside of the parks. Touring Plans offers much more than a Crowd Calendar, but that's all we have time to explore in today's post.

Access to the full Crowd Calendar at Touring Plans is only available to members. The cost for a one-year membership is only $10.95. A discount is available to you if you own a current edition of The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, as they sponsor the Touring Plans website. With this membership, you will have full access to all of the Walt Disney World information on their site. For a few dollars more, you can add Disneyland as well. Once you have the membership, you can navigate to the site on your mobile phone at m.touringplans.com or smart phone users can download the free (for subscribers)mobile app Lines and access the Crowd Calendar and much more information from your mobile device.

On a scale of 1-10, I would personally give the Lines app a big 10. I've used the information from the Crowd Calendar and the best days in each park to plan many of my trips over the past several years and have found it incredibly useful and accurate. While $10.95 may seem like it's a bit much, you'll find that it's worth every penny. The Crowd Calendar is just the tip of the iceberg for Touring Plans, and in the days ahead, I hope to provide you with more information on how I've used this valuable tool to enjoy my trips!