Too late for Tour Guide Mike?

[aristocatz]

Is it too late in the game to make signing up worth it?

We are leaving Wednesday for WDW & staying till Sunday.

We have all of our ADR's & not planning on changing them. We also have our park days set, based on EMH.

I'm just getting nervous because we have never been to WDW during a crowded holiday before and I'm wondering if we need extra advice on which rides to see first.

What do you think? Would I not get much info from signing up just a few days before we go?

 

[vicki_c]

I don't think it's worth it with a few days until your trip and all the things you said already set it stone. Great site, but you really need to be involved months before your trip to get the value out of it.

 

[wdwlovin'family]

I think it would be worth it. A good touring plan esp. on crowded days is more important than going on the "best days" (which, I'm sorry, may not be EMH days) Tour guide Mike definitely tells you how to get around the parks in an efficient way. I think it might make your trip even better.

 

[2ndstartotheright]

I agree with vickic. Unless you are willing to make changes to your schedule, I think you'll find yourself panicky and frustrated. TGM is awesome but it's the whole touring philosophy that works so well and there is a lot of info to wade thru.

With only a few days til your trip I would suggest just printing off some touring plans from UG or using Ridemax at this point. Then sign up for TGM well before your next trip!

 

[disneyfantotheend]

Another vote for too late.

 

[aristocatz]

I agree with vickic. Unless you are willing to make changes to your schedule, I think you'll find yourself panicky and frustrated. TGM is awesome but it's the whole touring philosophy that works so well and there is a lot of info to wade thru.

With only a few days til your trip I would suggest just printing off some touring plans from UG or using Ridemax at this point. Then sign up for TGM well before your next trip!

Thank you! I might download Ride Max! Do you think that would be better at this point? I am only concerned about which order to do which rides and attractions at this point.

 

[familyS]

If you are only interested in the order to do the rides, you can go to the library and get the lists from the Unofficial Guide.

 

[aristocatz]

UG would be good, but I specifically am interested in certain days for Thanksgiving. It looks like RM will tailor each park for specific dates?

 

[familyS]

UG would be good, but I specifically am interested in certain days for Thanksgiving. It looks like RM will tailor each park for specific dates?

From what I have seen, the crowd factor increases the length of time in the plan for each ride, but not the ride order. So fewer rides fit in the same time frame and the "day" is longer. Someone else may have noticed otherwise, though

 

[Katie Dawn]

You may be past this at this point, but I'm going to also agree with vicki c that TGM probably isn't for you. I was ready to say, "Yes! Do it!" even if all you get out of it is his "Which Parks Which Days" info and didn't have any other time to take in all of the amazing info on the site. But since you aren't planning on changing your days it would only serve to cause you to stress about it.

I've read that Ride Max basically prints out a minute-by-minute schedule which potentially sounds cool. The downside I have seen is if you decide to deviate from your nicely printed plan then you may be a little confused as to how to "get back on the schedule" (this isn't from personal experience, just what I've seen other people say.) Despite that, though, in your situation I think I'd go for it as the benefits seem to outweigh the disadvantages.

Have a great vacation! And next time around I'd encourage you to join TGM as soon as you know you're taking another trip... it's awesome!

 

[punkinsmomma]

What is Ridemax? I have never heard of it. We are leaving in 3 weeks. I have already scheduled our days according to TGM, however, I am having some problems scheduling the attractions. We have a varied group since there are 12 of us, including grandparents that won't ride trill rides, those of us that will ride everything and little ones.
Would Ridemax help me plan out the order of attractions better?

Thanks!

 

[2ndstartotheright]

What is Ridemax? I have never heard of it. We are leaving in 3 weeks. I have already scheduled our days according to TGM, however, I am having some problems scheduling the attractions. We have a varied group since there are 12 of us, including grandparents that won't ride trill rides, those of us that will ride everything and little ones.
Would Ridemax help me plan out the order of attractions better?

Thanks!

Since you are a member on TGM- just post your park touring needs on TGM forums- you'll get plenty of help sorting it all out for your varied group.

 

[slh1913]

As someone who has paid for TGM, TP and and Ridemax I'd say don't get TGM at this stage. The main thing that I used TGM for was to determine which parks to hit on which days. I think RideMax would be your best bet at this point.

 

[vicki_c]

Since you are a member on TGM- just post your park touring needs on TGM forums- you'll get plenty of help sorting it all out for your varied group.

I would agree with this -- and mainly because what I've seen of RideMax (I did use it earlier this year) - there is no way to really address what the PP (punkinsmomma) is talking about - splitting up to do rides -- it's very plug and play - you put in your rides and times, it tells you what time to do each one. It's highly customizable from that standpoint, but not so much if you want to throw any thing in like - the grandparents will go ride this with the little one, while the bigger folks go ride this, etc. RideMax wouldn't really work for that type of approach.

So anyway - RideMax is good, but I think sometimes just making your own plan that really fits your family is better - and the TGM sample plans + the forums are good for that.