Anyone unhappy with Tour Guide Mike?

[DebIreland]

Upon noticing that the TGM was regularly updated much later than other reputable non-pay sites out there, I made the mistake of inquiring about it on the forums. Mike publicly lambasted me for daring to question the site maintenance and suggested I leave the site.

I'm almost sure I know which post that was. To be honest, I was shocked when I saw the response you got in that thread and it definitely put me off TGM. I like his best days and attraction info but since your post (or rather the response you received) I haven't been on the TGM site a fraction as often. It certainly shocked me and made me think twice about putting too much faith in him. I could have sworn that I went to send you a message and either couldn't get a PM through to you or else I left it go and forgot, sorry, but I too was sympathetic even though I didn't say it at the time. Like I say, I still like his best days but I've ordered the UG this year too (loved it last year, thought I wouldn't get it this year) and I've been reading that more often than TGM lately.

 

[Lorelai]

Is the UG something that you can get in bookstores, or do you order it from the Touringplans site?

 

[DebIreland]

You can get the UG (Unofficial Guide) from book stores or online at Amazon and other online stores. Click here to see it at Amazon and you can take a peak inside to read some pages before buying. It's a great book!

 

[scakul]

I was surprisingly very happy with TGM. I spend a lot of time on these and other boards doing lots & lots of reasearch and planning and felt I knew everything.

TGM was really very helpful. I found the Least Crowded Parks Charts the most valuable. You can find best and worst days of the week to go to specific parks at a number of other sources but I found the date-specific info taking into account the impact of EMH, Spectro, etc. to be invaluable.

There were a couple of days during our recent trip in July when we deviated from Mike's advice and boy were we sorry!

 

[awatt]

I found his info not up to date. When I read about the change in fireworks 2 years ago or so on the disboards, I emailed him to ask what was the new best viewing spot. Disboards had reported the new fireworks, and best vantage points were quite different. It was 2 weeks before my trip, so the info was important to me. He emailed back but was both curt and patronizing, suggest I go through the AVP more carefully because the info was there. Well, i guess that's true if I was looking for outdated info. I did not renew.

Come to think of it, the tone of his website in general was very patronizing to anyone with half a brain. Reminded me a little of a kindergarten teacher talking to her class.

On the other hand, I love the UG. Have used it for years and it never fails. I especially like the best days calendar on the touringplans.com website which I find is accurate. And I like their sense of humor, too, and how they encourage you not to take all this too seriously. Some of teh authors post on this forum and are quite knowledgeable.

 

[WaltD4Me]

I used TGM in late 2004 for a large family trip and found it very helpful, but I had alot of time because I started planning the trip way early. I got some really good information, but it took me awhile to get used to navigating the site and I thought it was a bit time consuming when trying to find specific information. That being said though, I thought it was worth the price of the subscription, but don't think I'd use it again...not really TGM's fault though, I am just more of a book person. I like to have something I can carry around with me and read when I have extra time...between my Passporter and the DIS now, I think I am good for trip planning without adding in TGM.

 

[MartDM]

I could have sworn that I went to send you a message and either couldn't get a PM through to you or else I left it go and forgot, sorry, but I too was sympathetic even though I didn't say it at the time.

Thanks for the support! It is possible you tried to PM & couldn't get through. You see, despite the fact that I tried to politely bow out after his initial tirade, I was alerted to the fact that he had chosen to continue his diatribe on the forums. After reading what he wrote, I sent him a private email requesting he cancel my account, hoping that would bring an end to the matter. Don't know if it did...I never went back.

 

[Tiffer]

DO you all, even those who think it's only worth it to get what days what times info, think it's work it for Christmas time, since it's so busy anyway??

 

[Kenswing]

DO you all, even those who think it's only worth it to get what days what times info, think it's work it for Christmas time, since it's so busy anyway??

Yes. TourGuideMiKe actually has "Survival Guides" that are period specific. He has Survival Guides for the Christmas Season and Easter. His advice is great for for everyday use, but he really excels during the most crowded times.

Ken

 

[Tiffer]

Yes. TourGuideMiKe actually has "Survival Guides" that are period specific. He has Survival Guides for the Christmas Season and Easter. His advice is great for for everyday use, but he really excels during the most crowded times.

Ken

Thanks! How far in advance to you subscribe?

 

[Kenswing]

Thanks! How far in advance to you subscribe?

Pretty much as far as you would like.

Ken

 

[HappyCamperToo]

How is it $18? I followed the $3 off link on one of the Disboard pages, but it still said $21.95? What am I doing wrong?

 

[Kenswing]

How is it $18? I followed the $3 off link on one of the Disboard pages, but it still said $21.95? What am I doing wrong?

You're not doing anything wrong. The discount code will automatically be entered during the check out process.

Ken

 

[Whosemom]

What gets me is the whole cult thing. Yikes. Its like buying a book. I'd pay $20 for a book and hope I got something out of it. And then be all like " did you catch that thing in chapter 3. That will really help" and If thats all I get out of the book, so be it. And you know what, I would then tell my friend what I learned for her trip. Or even give her the book for pete's sake!

That being said, I found his tours odd. He either wants to set you up for toddlers, or thrill rides. My family wants it all so it throws his schedule out the window. Plus, we do "comando" in that we are there from open to close. But we DO nOT RUN in the gates lest THEY get ahead of us. And we did this time, it sucked the magic out of Disney and turned it into any amusement park.

We did learn a couple things, and will use the knowledge in the future. But thats a "book" I won't buy the updated "copy" of.

 

[bethbuchall]

...snip...
Come to think of it, the tone of his website in general was very patronizing to anyone with half a brain. Reminded me a little of a kindergarten teacher talking to her class.

On the other hand, I love the UG. Have used it for years and it never fails. I especially like the best days calendar on the touringplans.com website which I find is accurate. And I like their sense of humor, too, and how they encourage you not to take all this too seriously. Some of teh authors post on this forum and are quite knowledgeable.

That kind of niggled at me, too. I felt like I was a little kid getting a lecture half of the time.

As for the best days chart, I had my days planned before I subscribed to TGM. I based it off of which park had EMH. I avoided those parks and went to ones that had just had an EMH. My days coincided with his exactly, so I don't feel that I got much out of that either. I also knew the basic traffic flow of the parks after visiting only 3 times in the last 7 years. I do think that it would be good information for the first-timer, though.

 

[HappyCamperToo]

You're not doing anything wrong. The discount code will automatically be entered during the check out process.

Ken

oh, okay thanks.

But that's still $18.95....

 

[disneynutinpa]

I know what some of you are saying. I work in an HR Department and no matter if you dislike what someone is saying or disagree with them, you must be professional. And if his site is there to help, then he should help...not patronize those that ask quesitons. Anyways...what I wanted to say was for those of you that have had 'issues' with TGM, I'm sure you enjoy looking at his picture at the top of the page whenever you visit DisBoards. You could always print and make into a dart board.

 

[Kenswing]

But that's still $18.95....

Yes. The regular price is $21.95.

Ken

 

[SueGreen]

I was very unhappy with Tour Guide Mike. You can read the thread that I had about him here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1138321

As you can see, I'm not the only one.

He just doesn't keep up wth all the latest changes, so it's very out of date, in my opinion. For example, the MGM touring plans didn't even have Lights, Motor, Action on them - and that was more than a year after it debuted at MGM!

According to my girlfriend, it still hasn't been updated - and it's going on two years now! To me, that's just bad customer service.

Yes, he has the money back guarantee, and I used it, but the site is confusing, takes forever to figure out, then if you complain about something in his forums, you get jumped on by all the "yes men" he has as managers.

To me, I can get everything that's there and more here at the Dis! ...and it's friendlier!

 

[GrandmaBarb]

posted in error