How do you carry your touring plan at the parks?

[Lors]

Just a little strategy question from a novice!

What format is your touring plan in when you are actually doing the touring?

Do you make a small copy and laminate it? Distribute it to everyone you're traveling with?

Do you have a big spreadsheet you carry in your bag?
(What does a spreadsheet touring plan look like anyway? I kind of get it for an itinerary.)

Do you just have it in your phone and refer to it?

Scribble all over your left arm in marker and hope for no rain (not likely lately, it seems)?

Any recommendations?

[vicki_c]

I used to do little laminated cards (smaller than a 3x5 card, 1 per day), but now I save it all to my iPhone - no more paper.

[DisneyMom]

I have a small photo album for each park (soft cover for 4x6 prints). I print everything I need on 4x6 index cards- touring plans, dining reservations, snack credit items etc.

[DisneyMom]

Vicki - what do you store it in on you phone? Is it something you can access while offline?

[Lors]

Thanks for the examples of how you do it.

My default will be in my iphone. But, if I have time I will try to do laminated cards (touring plan, adrs, menu highlights) and organize it like the photo album described above - attaching them to each other with an "O-ring" (I think that's what they're called).



Vicki - what do you store it in on you phone? Is it something you can access while offline?

If I were to keep it only in my phone, I would create a "note" that would be available if I don't have online access. I'm sure there are better apps for that than the one that comes with the iphone, but "notes" in the phone works alright.

[vicki_c]

I save documents to iDisk - I believe that's a free app that comes with your iPhone (can't remember since I've been using it a long time). Right now I have some .pdfs saved there, but I'm pretty sure it also opens other types of documents. You do not need to be connected to the Internet. I transfer those items to my phone by transferring on my laptop to iDisk, which is basically in the cloud (we are MobileMe members). I'm not 100% sure how that would work or if that works if you're not MobileMe members (and now they are ending that anyway). But before that, we also had a free app - same idea - to store documents. I can't remember what it was called because I deleted it from my phone.

Sorry I'm so vague - I don't use those things very often, so I'm a bit fuzzy!

Oh I found the program we used to use before they had iDisk for everyone w/Mobile Me for free - Air Sharing. This worked great.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/air-sharing-universal/id312686749?mt=8

[off2neverland]

I'm very low tech.

I type it, print it on a piece of paper, fold it up- stick it in my pocket then rarely look at it LOL
I also like to get a park map, fold that up and stick it in my pocket even though I don't need it :RpS_wink:

[bnoble]

I keep it in my brizzle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-yLfm5HsHc).

If I need a crutch, I print out the steps in a plain text file on a single sheet of paper. As in:

FP TSM
TSM
RnRC
ToT
...

[ellie]

I do paper copies with pen so I can write notes and the real order we end up doing things just for my own amusement later.

[Micklessor]

I print mine out on business cards, one per day - they fit easily into a pocket or wallet. I don't find the need to laminate, nor make multiple copies.

[josh]

You don't want to know :RpS_laugh:

[DisneyMom]

Notes is the first thing that came to my mind too.
Thanks Vicki - I'll check those out. It's way too expensive for me to use data in the US and since there's no free wifi, I have to do without internet at the parks.

[DisneyAddict]

We have always used an excel spreadsheet with ADRs, park plans, etc...I found the template online years ago and have used it ever since

[MichaelColey]

I used to do a one page (front and back) sheet. The front had a table showing what park we were going to, what the hours were, breakfast/lunch/dinner plans, any special events (parades, fireworks), etc. The back had a "cheat sheet" showing the places where we could get the best value out of snacks or counter service credits, PhotoPass locations we didn't want to miss, etc. I've never used a detailed plan, but rather a mental guideline of what things are best to do at what times of day, and a basic order to do some of the headline attractions the first hour or so after rope drop.

Things have changed for us, though. We've been a lot over the past year, so we don't need the cheat sheet. We stay at timeshares now, so we don't do the DDP or very much dining on site. Now, I just enter an entry on my iPhone Calendar for each day showing which park we plan on going to that day, Josh's recommended parks (in case we change our mind), the park hours, and times for anything special like parades or fireworks.

[wgwtgb]

I'm very low tech.I type it, print it on a piece of paper, fold it up- stick it in my pocket then rarely look at it LOLI also like to get a park map, fold that up and stick it in my pocket even though I don't need it :RpS_wink:I live for the day I can say I do it like this!!!

[wdwaddict]

We have an 8 year tradition - our kids (who are mostly grown now) love traditions - every night we take Park Maps and a Sharpie and number the Rides/Shows/Restaurants and I put the Time/Reservation numbers on them so we all have a copy and we each take ours to the park. If they choose to run off to ride a roller coaster they know where to meet up with us later on the map - though that has never happened yet. We tend to stick together in the Parks.

[TxTiggerFan]

I used to do cards in a photo album but we're a bit more laid back/know what we're doing now. I still do spread sheets with best days, budgets, any other information I feel like playing with. There's a couple of apps I use on my iPhone - QuickOffice Pro and Drop Box. QuickOffice wasn't free, not sure how much it was though. Drop Box might have been free but I could be wrong. I often am. I use QuickOffice for any spreadsheets or docs I want to modify while I'm at WDW - budgets, expense tracking, etc. I've tried some true expense tracking apps and its so much simpler to use a spread sheet for me. Drop Box is what I use to simply view documents - included pdf's. There is a feature where you can "save" them to your phone so you don't need wi-fi or data plan to view them.

[radiochick]

Disneyaddict... Woukd you share your template?

[minnie30]

I type up a touring plan for everyday in a cute disney-ish font and cute disney graphics, detailing everything we'll do. I also include things like menus for our ADRs, etc. Then I print it off and get it bound at Kinkos. Then I carry it in our backpack at the parks, refering to it when needed, and later keep it as a memento (sp?). I'm sure Josh does something very similar. :RpS_smile:

For what its worth, I don't really recommend what I do and after our last trip I said I wouldn't do that again. But I LOVE making it....so I have....again. :RpS_huh:

[Ferg]

I type out each day, in detail and in order. I fold up a copy and keep in my pocket and give one to my wife to keep in her pocket. Then I have a spare one each day in the backpack. If I work that hard on the plan, I want to be sure I have extras just in case! I only carry that day's plan and leave the rest in the room. I don't trust just using my phone. Battery could die, phone could get lost, etc. Paper (and extra copies) rarely have issues! LOL!