The Good, The Bad, The Ugly...Tour Guide Mike

[mouseman41]

The best info I got from TGM is the info on what parks to visit on what days!He does offer touring plans as well. We used himfor the first time and we had the best trip ever and it was during one of the busiest times. I am no newbie to the parks, but I am an info junkie. I planned our last trip for 9 months and I did not find his site hard to navigate thru. I have read every tour guide book and he did have information that no one else had. It was worth the $20 Best $$$ I spent on our trip. We never waited in line more than 10 min when we followed his advice. When we did not it was a disaster.

 

[goofygal531]

I bought it a few days ago and I am considering utlizing the money back guarantee. I think it could be good if you bought it before you started any of your planning - butwe allready had our park days planned out -according to which park had extra magic hours etc. and all of our ADR's reserved - so the only thing I have learned so far reading his site - is that all of our plan are wrong and that we will be at each park on the most crowded day.
soooo ... it's been more discouraging than anything else - and it's too late to change our plans/ADR's because pretty much everywhere is booked.

That's why I'm debating against joining! I've already planned out our entire 10 day trip!! 2 ADR per day! I'm not changing anything!!

Maybe next trip I'll try it out.

 

[dairyqueenmom]

I bought the online service after planning my days using UG crowd calendar and they were identical to TGM. I do like his explanations.

 

[Tam1067]

I was frustrated with TGM and ended up getting my money back. There is lots of good info on the site. The forums are full of nice helpful people. I personally was not happy with the service because of a lot of old, outdated information on there, which to me seemed a bit sloppy. The site is challenging to navigate if you're new to it. I also was unhappy with the lack of customer service. It took me three requests before I finally got my money back--and part of the reason I requested the money back was because a previous issue I'd had was ignored in spite of my email requesting help.

I'm also a UG fan, and find their plans just fine and actually cheaper than TGM, so I probably didn't need TGM to begin with. These boards are also super helpful and free no less. One more thing--according to UG, a good touring plan is way more important than a best/worst days of the week plan, so take that information for what it's worth.

 

[MinnieGi]

We are Disney vets and used TGM over Thanksgiving Week '07 and will use it again for '08. I am a huge fan of TGM!!!!!! The least crowded days charts are worth the money alone!! I mean we went over a hugely popular week and did EVERYTHING and more we had set out to do!!!!

The forums are filled with very nice people. I will agree his site is bulky and hard to quickly get to the info you are searching for, but his touring plans, reviews, and those least crowded park charts are why I subscribe.

 

[Disney8704]

I dont like TGM. I got it last year, looked around some and didnt like the layout and everything. So I requested a refund and got my money back. If you are wanting to just know what days are the busiest for each park, you can find that info alone on disneyworld.com.

During regular attendance periods the Theme Parks tend to be the busiest on the following days:
Magic Kingdom® Park: Monday, Thursday, and Saturday
Epcot®: Tuesday and Friday
Disney's Hollywood Studios™: Sunday and Wednesday
Disney's Animal Kingdom® Theme Park: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

Also look around online. You would be amazed how much you can learn just by doing research, and it would be all for free. You can also go to touring plans .com (take away the spacing, had to type it like that, cuz the boards wouldnt let me type it as a regular website address) and get that for a cheaper price then TGM - its only $7.95. You can even look around on that website (click on each park and then touring plans at the bottom on the left) and they will tell you where most people are at in the morning and afternoon, and that info is free. TGM has the same info on his site that you can find online on other sites for free.

 

[VickiVM]

I think the value of TGM is also dependent on the time of year you are visiting and your experience at WDW (if any). If you're visiting the 2nd week of January after major holiday is over, then your needs are minimal as crowd levels are very low and you stand a good chance of doing everything you want to do without advice. If you're going in the summer when families are vacationing, then the information may prove to be valuable and necessary in order to avoid long waits.

If you're a WDW expert and have already planned everything out - which day you're visiting each park, your ADR's, what bathrooms you'll be using - then you obviously don't need a tour guide to tell you what you already know.

We've been 7 times already, but never in August so I've subscribed (2nd time) because I've got my money's worth last time and I have 'off-season' experience, but not summer vacation experience.

 

[10_Kyle_10]

Without giving away the guys secrets, what exactly is he telling you? Is it a timed detailed itinerary? Like at 9am head straight to the Jungle Cruise because everyone else will go to Fantasy or Tomorrow Land? Stuff like that?

Just curious, I'm always looking to avoid crowds, but have done several behind the scenes tours, don't want to sign up for something that I already know (this being our 7th trip)

The best info I got from TGM is the info on what parks to visit on what days!He does offer touring plans as well. We used himfor the first time and we had the best trip ever and it was during one of the busiest times. I am no newbie to the parks, but I am an info junkie. I planned our last trip for 9 months and I did not find his site hard to navigate thru. I have read every tour guide book and he did have information that no one else had. It was worth the $20 Best $$$ I spent on our trip. We never waited in line more than 10 min when we followed his advice. When we did not it was a disaster.

We are Disney vets and used TGM over Thanksgiving Week '07 and will use it again for '08. I am a huge fan of TGM!!!!!! The least crowded days charts are worth the money alone!! I mean we went over a hugely popular week and did EVERYTHING and more we had set out to do!!!!

The forums are filled with very nice people. I will agree his site is bulky and hard to quickly get to the info you are searching for, but his touring plans, reviews, and those least crowded park charts are why I subscribe.

Thanks for everyones reponses. I quoted these few because like them Id consider myself a disney vet. Im not a crazy planning person (please dont take that personal) After being at the parks during a variety of months I just feel we arent maximizing our time. Yes we get everything done, but during our last trip in October we found ourselves waiting in long lines. (for that time of the year...ive been before in summer, nothing like that) Mix the lines with the cut down park hours (most parks closed by 7pm), we just felt rushed when trying to fit everything in. Im thinking TGM or UG will fix our problem.

 

[conniehar90]

I had been to WDW several times in the past, however, once our son got into 1st grade we decided we didn't want to take him out of school anymore for these trips. So, we planned a summer trip. I was so freaked out about the crowds that I purchased UG and TGM. I figured it was only $20 if it didn't work, but if it did work, all the better. We were sooooo happy we went with TGM. It was our best trip ever during a busy time of year. We never waited in any lines. We used his plan again in busy Xmas season and again never waited in any lines. I feel like he teaches you the "whys" of what you are doing so that it become second nature and you can switch things up as you go along. I thought the UG plans had too much back tracking.

To the poster that already has their days planned out and does not want to switch them, I think his tour plans will still help you out even though you will be there on a day when you aren't supposed to. Give it a try!

Robo - I love the Hugh Laurie reference. How about Mike as a child - aka Doogie Howser.

 

[linskypens]

As a long time January park visitor, I was panicked because we are going in April.I have always bought the UG book, but paid for TGM this year as well. I have to say, not having been yet, that i feel very good about TGM.I bought it 40 days before our vacation, and I think because he explains WHY everything is the way he says its going to be...I feel better about following his plan.
Im spending a fortune (as does everyone) on Disney, so whats another 20 bucks to make sure it goes smoothly?
Now granted. I only have one ADR and its not a park day.
I'm not a super planner, but just wanted to know which parks and some strategies.

 

[thptrek]

We are experienced WDW visitors and we use TGM. We used TGM to help plan our spring break trip last year and it worked out great.

 

[Wall E]

I like TGM and have subscribed to it for our last three trips, but he needs to update somethings.

When I checked a few days ago he still has the speculated dates for the P&PP that were floating around for months. The real dates were confirmed over a month ago and he hasn't changed it yet.

But all in all, we really like the site and the people in the forums are pretty good with making suggestions for touring plans.

 

[10_Kyle_10]

Awesome Im loving the great feedback here everyone. TGM is probally the best thing you can buy for $20 at or related to disney. Oh boy this could spin into another heated thread....What is the best thing at Disney for $20 or under?

 

[ChrisAlli]

....What is the best thing at Disney for $20 or under?[/QUOTE]



A Mickey Bar

 

[Robo]

Robo - I love the Hugh Laurie reference. How about Mike as a child - aka Doogie Howser.

Works for me!!

...

...

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears







.

 

[daneenm]

Works for me!!

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears

Just HYSTERICAL!!

--Daneen

 

[terriluvsbobby]

We are using TGM for the first time. Our trip is planned during a busy time at WDW and I really feel confident that we will have a great vacation despite the crowd level.
The web site is PACKED with information. It is excellent and well worth the subscription fee and time you put into it.

12 days and we are doing the happy dance around hear!

 

[budmonster]

I was going to purchase TGM but before I do it I was wondering if it's to late for me to use it. I leave in 24 days. will it take longer then that to use his site to plan my trip?

 

[diskids2]

We have been to WDW several times over the years and I always used UG. This trip (week before Easter) I used TGM... I will always use TGM in the future....We experienced no longer then 5-10 minute wait times and we rode all of the POPULAR attractions more then once.

 

[diskids2]

I was going to purchase TGM but before I do it I was wondering if it's to late for me to use it. I leave in 24 days. will it take longer then that to use his site to plan my trip?

No I don't think so.