Tourguide Mike ???

[nmclennan]

There is a mutiny occurring over in the December vacation forum. Many are asking for their subscription to be refunded as they are tired of waiting for the updates to the site.
December least crowded charts are not up yet - in fact, I don't think November are either. Many subscribers are annoyed that they have had to make their ADR's without the information they had signed up for.
Even the forum moderators are no longer defending him and are providing details on how to obtain a refund of subscriptions.
These issues have been happening for many years now - same problems, same excuses. I don't know about US law, but in Australia there are consumer laws in place which would prevent Mike from continuing to charge people to subscibe to a site which does not deliver on its promises and the operator of such a site would be prosecuted.

 

[phyllis1966]

There is a mutiny occurring over in the December vacation forum. Many are asking for their subscription to be refunded as they are tired of waiting for the updates to the site.
December least crowded charts are not up yet - in fact, I don't think November are either. Many subscribers are annoyed that they have had to make their ADR's without the information they had signed up for.
Even the forum moderators are no longer defending him and are providing details on how to obtain a refund of subscriptions.
These issues have been happening for many years now - same problems, same excuses. I don't know about US law, but in Australia there are consumer laws in place which would prevent Mike from continuing to charge people to subscibe to a site which does not deliver on its promises and the operator of such a site would be prosecuted.

November's are up - I got them literally 2 days before my 180-day ADR mark! Some people missed their 180-day mark and used last year's charts as a guide - they, too, were asking for a refund...

 

[Sandy321]

I have been a longtime subscriber to TGM but I have to say, I think I may be done.

The fact that he refuses to update his site is unacceptable. It's really not too much to ask to put in a little effort and keep current. He sure doesn't waste any time ending your subscription when it's up!

The last straw was the October Least Crowded Parks fiasco. I used easywdw to make my plans because I was tired of waiting for him.

I won't use him again. I'll stick with easywdw and TP.

I'm really enjoying the easywdw.com site - I'm sold - check out the tgm vs easywdw
http://www.easywdw.com/forums/showthread.php?620-TGM-vs-easyWDW

I too subscribed to TGM more than one year - but I was done after our last trip, and here we go again -

but finding easywdw, and how kind and helpful everyone is - I'm sold!

 

[whacked]

I thought TGM was poorly orgainzed and not up to date. I haven't bothered to sign up for a few years.

I have been using UG (book) and lines, as well as the UT phone app. I think the UG book is pretty hard to beat for planning in concert with the crowd info on lines. The few times I have had questions with the lines site, Len Testa has been very quick to respond.

 

[twinboysmom]

I'm really enjoying the easywdw.com site - I'm sold - check out the tgm vs easywdw
http://www.easywdw.com/forums/showthread.php?620-TGM-vs-easyWDW

I too subscribed to TGM more than one year - but I was done after our last trip, and here we go again -

but finding easywdw, and how kind and helpful everyone is - I'm sold!

Couldn't have said it better myself! I am done with TGM and will not pay for his out of date site. His December info is not yet updated and my 180 ADR window is open. Love easywdw.com and it is FREE!

 

[rt2dz]

I always thought TGM wasn't very good since I first used it in 2008(?). Maybe 2007. IDK, a while ago.

• It is a difficult site to navigate.
• Much of it is outdated.
• Any and all of his "hints" and advice can be found for free online.
• For what you get, it's overpriced. The only good thing is his recommended park guide. That's it. I'd pay $5 for that, but not close to $20.
• He is slow to post hours and recommendations.
• The forums are good, but move slowly.

I just tell people to buy an Unofficial Guide and head over the DIS. I am finding this easyWDW interesting. I'm not overly thrilled with the format, but that might just be a matter of getting used to it.

 

[qman]

We used TGM once, before our 2008 President's Week trip. I found the site difficult to navigate and some of the information dated and/or updated late.

For example, Spaceship Earth had been down for rehab and was due to reopen right around the date of our trip. I found out about the correct openning date (the first day of our trip) on this site and not at TGM!

I found the best/worst days advice (as well as his FastPass advice) very good but once you figured out his system there was no reason pay for it twice.

I have not used the service since that trip.

 

[boBQuincy]

I renewed at TGM again but had concerns about the out of date items and the timeliness of updates. I wrote to Mike about my concerns when I renewed a few weeks ago but have not received a reply. For whatever reason Mike has not kept the site current, is not answering emails, and it is going to cost him subscribers.

If Mike's advice saves us from going to a crowded park then it is worth the cost, $20 is not much compared to saving a couple hours on a busy vacation. Still, there are others that compile much of the same data (for free). I also wrote to Mike noting that I could find the same information myself but for the time it would take it was worth letting Mike do it. However, if Mike's information is not kept up to date then I may as well get the data elsewhere.

Bottom line, if nothing changes I do not plan to renew again.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I like TGM, but a lot of the info hasn't changed. I still use it for the LCPC, but I really wish he would make new sample tours and stuff, at least one for the Studios since the current one still doesn't include TSM. And hopefully he'll make a new plan for MK too once Fantasyland is complete.

 

[Carol Ann]

I agree that his LCP's are worth it...however, I am very very frustrated as a long time subscriber that the website has not had any substantial change over the last 3 years.

I used to recommend that all Disney World Virgins use him to plan. I don't anymore as there is so much outdated information stretched throughout the website that I think it could be very detrimental to trip planning if someone didn't already know what to filter out.

 

[Disney_Jill]

I still have my subscription to TGM but I use him, Touring plans and Easy WDW. I pretty much combine what I already know (if going to an a.m. EMH, be prepared to leave by 12:30, etc) and make my plans like that. On all my trips TGM was pretty much on the money, slightly better than TP. Easy WDW is really good and has been on the money for my past 3 trips.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

I subscribed to TGM for my 2009 trip because we were going during Thanksgiving and everyone said it was an awesome site. I was not impressed. Maybe it's due to all my years on the DIS, but I pretty much knew everything that was on there already. The organizaion of the site sucks and he is waaaaay too wordy.

His strategy for the Least Crowded Parks chart is pretty simple. So much so that I started challenging myself to see if I could predict what he was going to suggest- and I was dead on every time. Essentially all he's doing is avoiding EMHs and avoiding MK and Epcot on special days and holidays.

I suggest Touring Plans if you want a similar site. It costs less per year, has the same information except it's actually up to date and useful AND it comes with a great app for ride times.

 

[rowan]

I have subscribed to TGM every year since 2006. Im sad to say I wish I hadnt this year.
THe first year I learned a ton from his articles. The next couple years the articles werent updated but the forums were busy and helpful and I learned enough from others that I still felt it well worth my money. Ive enjoyed meeting and talking to "regulars", particiapted in group meets at the parks for things like Wishes, and Food and Wine festival.
My first trip with TGM was over Spring Break and we didnt wait in a single line over 10 min. I was sold and have recommended his site to several people.

Now I would be embarrassed to recommend it. It is so out of date. You can only find stuff if you already know where to look, and because of this it seems the "regulars" are less regular and you get less and less responses to posts in the forums.

I will say that overall the forums are very friendly and helpful and you dont see the heated debates and judgemental posts that you do in larger forums, that is nice. But that is the only thing I can say it has going for it.

 

[BigMommaMouse]

I used TGM a few years ago and loved it! I did sign up for it this year and have the same feelings as most of you.

I found touringplans.com and wondering if they were and good?

Thanks

 

[mmtska]

I used TGM a few years ago and loved it! I did sign up for it this year and have the same feelings as most of you.

I found touringplans.com and wondering if they were and good?

Thanks

I love touringplans.com. I find it incredibly helpful!

 

[MartDM]

His site hasn't been up to date for years. You'll find all the info on the free boards long before it's on his. And heaven forbid you, as a paying customer, remark on this...you'll be quickly rebuked by Mike himself. Save you cash.

 

[mousemom11]

I subscribed to TGM for my 2009 trip because we were going during Thanksgiving and everyone said it was an awesome site. I was not impressed. Maybe it's due to all my years on the DIS, but I pretty much knew everything that was on there already. The organizaion of the site sucks and he is waaaaay too wordy.

His strategy for the Least Crowded Parks chart is pretty simple. So much so that I started challenging myself to see if I could predict what he was going to suggest- and I was dead on every time. Essentially all he's doing is avoiding EMHs and avoiding MK and Epcot on special days and holidays.

I suggest Touring Plans if you want a similar site. It costs less per year, has the same information except it's actually up to date and useful AND it comes with a great app for ride times.

I also used him in 2009 and found his advice very helpful, but that was because I hadn't been to WDW since 1996 and had a lot of catching up to do on learning how to tour the parks. I just renewed in anticipation of our June 2012 WDW vacation and am sorry that I did. As far as I can tell, absolutely nothing has changed on his site since 2009. I agree with you Dallas Lady, once you see his pattern, it's pretty easy to predict his Least Crowded Parks recommendations.

I looked over the easyWDW site, and I really like it. I think that I will use that a lot more than TGM in planning our upcoming trip.

Can anyone give me a comparison of the Lines vs the Undercover Tourist app, the droid versions? I've downloaded the UT version, since it's free, but I'm wondering if the Lines droid version is worth the subscription fee to TP?

 

[BigMommaMouse]

I love touringplans.com. I find it incredibly helpful!

Thank you!

Even though I found TGM disappointing this time around, that dose not take away any of my Disney Magic . I am dreaming of tour plans at night .

 

[jillyb]

His site hasn't been up to date for years. You'll find all the info on the free boards long before it's on his. And heaven forbid you, as a paying customer, remark on this...you'll be quickly rebuked by Mike himself. Save you cash.

Actually you won't hear a peep out of Mike. There have been quite a few posts from disgruntled subscribers and Mike hasn't responded to any of them.

 

[jestagrl79]

My two cents - it was good to have a "plan" for a total newbie family, and I got that from TGM. On the other hand, the "plan" for the preschool set included rides that were being renovated, were age-inappropriate, or required the rider to be significantly taller than an average 5 year old. I wasted time because of that, and I won't spend my money there again.