Anyone unhappy with Tour Guide Mike?

[senecabeach]

I tried TGM for a May 06 trip bringing kids for the 1st time....EVER
I thought he might know better or at least something I missed going as an adult all my life...BUT...

Well....head 1st to this Fantasyland attraction, NO don't stop and greet the chacracters on Main St..get to the ride.. then.. run right for this attraction..then..run left, beyond where you just were , to get to this other attraction..OH...and by 11 AM too, so you can get to Toontown when it opens!! BTW...Did you get those FP's before going to attraction #2??

I AM on VA CA TI ON !!!

This was certainly NOT MY WAY to DO "All Things Disney" and especially with a family who has "never" been to WDW..

My advice to "newbies" is DO "Your Own" Homework, lots of great info on multiple "free" sites, including park crowds.

Plan your trip to "Meet YOUR Families Needs"...you know (better than a stranger) what they are..right?? ...don't you??

Do your own itinerary..its soooo much family fun..Plan your "must see's/do's".

Take afternoon breaks, nap, swim (this is a no brainer, especially with kids or a seasoned adult (like ME)

Realize you won't/can't do everything....its the joy of coming back.

Relax...Take in the Magic
Expect nothing and you will be rewarded with much "Pixie Dust".

Nope, there is NO way I needed any help...I will never doubt myself and the 34 yrs. experience going to WDW every year, sometimes twice a
year....life is too short to be in such a hurry to beat the crowd....UGH !!
The older I get, the longer I stay...how "Magical is that"!!

 

[01Sweetpea]

I just subscribed to TGM a few days ago. Still trying to decide if it was worth it or not. I was really expecting to put in my dates, put in my preferences and out pops a "suggested" itinerary or two.

My first impression was information overload, which can be a little scary. I'm still working on navagating the site and the info.

I did compare my itinerary I planned months ago, by being on these boards and the UG, and his suggested days in the park, and I wasn't off by much. A few of his "don't go theres" I have no choice to go because of my schedule.

So we'll see how I feel once I get back.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

I now pay my $19 JUST to get the which parks which day info....its worth 10 x that to have no lines and no crowds.

I could NOT agree with this more!!!! This was priceless. We were there for 12 days, and I didn't have to think about the day to day schedule at all. Even when things changed at WDW, he was up to date and I could change my schedule without any headaches.

The price is less than the price of 2 counter service meals!

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

Oh, sorry, you wanted something I didn't like about it..................

1). The site is hard to navigate.

2). The subscription ends.

 

[tink2020]

I agree with several others on this thread, on a few (IMO very important) accounts. First of all, I don't care about navigating the site. It's annoying, but you can certainly "get it" after playing around a bit or reading up on how to navigate it, but if the information were valuable, I wouldn't mind a bit of hassle.

That being said, I found ZERO bits of information that you cannot find on the DISboards. Well, except for a few viewing spots for fireworks that were COMPLETELY outdated once they started doing more with the castle, and around the whole park (which has been quite a while now). If you want someone to do the research for you, the site may be fine. But if you're already planning with helpful info from other sites, including the DIS, I personally think you'll be utterly disappointed.

Secondly, and most important -- "unprofessional" is a nice way to put what would otherwise get my post deleted. His attitude, whether you are asking for your money back or for a simple question, STINKS. He immediately gets on the defensive (again, even if you are simply asking a legitimate question, not arguing at all), and has no qualms about just plain telling you off.

Not really like that "Disney Customer Service" we've all gotten used to!

IMO, there is NO amount of money or valuable information worth paying to support his behavior. And since there ISN'T a whole lot of valuable info, I for one will never be subscribing again!

Good luck on your decision, certainly some people like his service -- maybe just give it a try one time, and decide from there!

 

[dopeynme]

I LOVED TGM!!!!! I especially liked the part that tells you which parks will be less crowded on which days (specific days and dates during your trip). His general planning principles are helpful, too. He tells good viewing spots for parades and fireworks, which surprised (and delighted!) my very Disney-experienced DF. We watched Wishes and Illuminations from different places than we had before and really enjoyed both a lot more. Restauarant reviews were helpful, too.

Our only problem was DF got annoyed that I quoted TGM so much!
But I tend to be an over-planner, even without TGM.

Subscribe through the Mousesavers site and there is a discount!

 

[senecabeach]

The DIS, Allearsnet.com, mousesavers.com are all "GREAT" planning tools!

Here's a web site about crowded periods + days to visit..BTW...its FREE
http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/weather/whentovisit.asp


And if you want to pay for it....""A twelve-month subscription to TouringPlans.com is just $6.95 and comes with a 45-day money-back guarantee. Start planning your Disney vacation!"".....
Here's the site:
http://www.touringplans.com/tp2/UG2_index.php?PageID=0

 

[diselderm]

I personally like TGM and thought it was really great and helpful for our trip in June 2004. It does seem that a few areas are a little out of date right now (for instance, we're staying at the CR and the description on his site is still about the old room decor). I think he really works hard to keep up the special advice about certain times of the year/best days... It does seem that he was on the forums with helpful info more in the past. He seems to be "around" less often these days. But I've never seen any other guide give such specific advice on particular days and times of the year, which I think is extremely helpful.

And I'm probably missing something, but I signed up for touringplans.com also and I can't figure out where it is very helpful at all. What is the most useful thing on that site, for anyone who likes it a lot?

 

[UrsulasShadow]

I agree with several others on this thread, on a few (IMO very important) accounts. First of all, I don't care about navigating the site. It's annoying, but you can certainly "get it" after playing around a bit or reading up on how to navigate it, but if the information were valuable, I wouldn't mind a bit of hassle.

That being said, I found ZERO bits of information that you cannot find on the DISboards. Well, except for a few viewing spots for fireworks that were COMPLETELY outdated once they started doing more with the castle, and around the whole park (which has been quite a while now). If you want someone to do the research for you, the site may be fine. But if you're already planning with helpful info from other sites, including the DIS, I personally think you'll be utterly disappointed.

Secondly, and most important -- "unprofessional" is a nice way to put what would otherwise get my post deleted. His attitude, whether you are asking for your money back or for a simple question, STINKS. He immediately gets on the defensive (again, even if you are simply asking a legitimate question, not arguing at all), and has no qualms about just plain telling you off.

Not really like that "Disney Customer Service" we've all gotten used to!

IMO, there is NO amount of money or valuable information worth paying to support his behavior. And since there ISN'T a whole lot of valuable info, I for one will never be subscribing again!

Good luck on your decision, certainly some people like his service -- maybe just give it a try one time, and decide from there!

I got the same reaction from him when I questioned some broken links and other difficulties with his site. He got extremely defensive , and quickly gave me my money back. I hadn't asked to drop the service, he did that himself. I was glad of the promptness of the refund, but disappointed in all other aspects of the site, esp. his attitude. Not at all professional.
So many people swear by him, and defend him against all criticism, that there must be much that is good about his site. I just wasn't one who saw any use in it.

 

[bethbuchall]

As far as the best days guide...you can really get all the information that you need for planning your best days right here. I had all my days planned out before subscribing to TGM. I had everything exactly the same way that he did and for the same reasoning.

I agree that you may want to try it once to know for yourself.

 

[MartDM]

IMO, there is NO amount of money or valuable information worth paying to support his behavior.

EXTREMELY WELL PUT!!!!

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

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!

I am no way a TGM "yes man", so don't get me wrong. I do agree he should always be professional, no matter what. And if you didn't experience that, that's really rotten. But I'm wondering about something.

I noticed you posted that in June 2006 and your trip was in Dec. 06. There is certain information from Disney (you probably know what I mean since you were a member of TGM) that TGM has to know for him to pick the "best days" parks. I noticed right now, Disney has not released that information for March 2007, which is the same time period that you would have had.

My trip was in August of this year and I had plenty of time to find out the best park days, especially when you consider I was going during free dining, and had to know those days so I could make my ADR's. I made them in April/May. I think in July there was one day that I changed for my Aug. schedule.

Right now on his site he has the "best days" info for Feb/07 but ofcourse, some of those days may change if WDW changes any of their info. But you always have plenty of time to plan.

Like I said, don't think I'm getting all over you, or anything. I am just wondering what might have happened.

And the LMA info has been on his site. I thought it was always there, I don't remember it not being there, but if you say it wasn't, I'll believe you. I might not have paid much attention to it since we did it three times last Dec. and it was not a priority this trip. In fact, we never went to it.......MGM isn't our favorite park. But the info is there now.

Sorry you had such a bad experience.

 

[missypie]

What everyone has to remember is that TGM costs about the same as the average guide book, and less than it costs me to feed my family at McDonalds. I believe that people agonize over whether to subscribe to TGM to a much greater degree than whether they should buy a guide book when they're at Barnes & Noble. I've purchased guide books that were helpful and guidebooks that were a waste of money; I didn't get angry at the authors of the guidebooks that didn't suit me.

We loved TGM. We were in the parks for 10 days at a busy time of year and never waited more than 17 minutes for any ride.

I will say that one should only subscribe if one has sufficient time to absorb all the info. If you're short on time, just buy the Unofficial Guide and cut out the touring plans from the back.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

What everyone has to remember is that TGM costs about the same as the average guide book, and less than it costs me to feed my family at McDonalds. I believe that people agonize over whether to subscribe to TGM to a much greater degree than whether they should buy a guide book when they're at Barnes & Noble. I've purchased guide books that were helpful and guidebooks that were a waste of money; I didn't get angry at the authors of the guidebooks that didn't suit me.

We loved TGM. We were in the parks for 10 days at a busy time of year and never waited more than 17 minutes for any ride.

I will say that one should only subscribe if one has sufficient time to absorb all the info. If you're short on time, just buy the Unofficial Guide and cut out the touring plans from the back.

I can totally agree with this.

 

[HappyCamperToo]

What everyone has to remember is that TGM costs about the same as the average guide book, and less than it costs me to feed my family at McDonalds. I believe that people agonize over whether to subscribe to TGM to a much greater degree than whether they should buy a guide book when they're at Barnes & Noble. I've purchased guide books that were helpful and guidebooks that were a waste of money; I didn't get angry at the authors of the guidebooks that didn't suit me.

When I'm done with a "physical" guide book, I can lend it to a relative or friend for their trip. Why is it such a hush hush secret about TGM subscriptions?

I can understand not posting info on the web--just like copyright issues prevent someone from posting tourbook info word for word anywhere, but why can't you discuss info with friends/relatives??

 

[MartDM]

I didn't get angry at the authors of the guidebooks that didn't suit me.

Missypie, I think the anger expressed in posts is more related to how shabbily Mike has treated many members of his paying clientele. It's reasonable for members to expect that he'd keep his site at least as current as the free info sites out there (especially since it would be nearly effortless for him to do so when the info has already been widely distributed) and it's unacceptable to berate paid members when they politely question the outdated nature of/lack of information about a particular topic.

It seems TGM got off to a good start given all the rave reviews of past experiences but, as a webmaster myself, I can tell you it's hard to keep up on a growing informational website so perhaps with his focus on his tour business, the site is simply more than he can keep up on anymore. Regardless, it's no excuse to be abusive.

 

[awatt]

"It's reasonable for members to expect that he'd keep his site at least as current as the free info sites out there (especially since it would be nearly effortless for him to do so when the info has already been widely distributed) and it's unacceptable to berate paid members when they politely question the outdated nature of/lack of information about a particular topic. "


Well said. I didn't get angry because TGM "didn't suit me". I got annoyed because his attitude was LOUSY when politely questioned his out-of-date information. And from the above posts it seems I am not alone in this.

 

[dgaston]

Although I have been to WDW probably 20 times, I really do find great nuggets of information on TGM. I enjoy the Best Days info, and even his suggestions on how to navigate from one place to another while getting FastPasses. Yes the site is hard to navigate and some wonderful info is quite buried. There have been articles on Lights, Motors, Action for some time, and today 9/16 there is a post from Mike on the Forums about the first Halloween party. At the same time, the MNSSHP description is not yet updated. There was also a discussion, again in the Forums, about the MK not closing until 7 pm this year for the Halloween parties. I think it could be easy to miss these communications and form the impression that TGM is not up to date. I was most impressed in July 05 when Mike emailed us with suggestions should hurricane Dennis impact WDW during our vacation (Dennis traveled further north).

Perhaps easier navigation would improve others' results. As for me, I do use TGM to form my touring plans.

 

[solar]

I've lurked and read these boards for about a year. I registered just to be able to post here! I joined TGM...the days he told me were my best days...I actually all ready had almost matched up to his perfectly from the advice on these boards and a few others. I researched like crazy...I find DIS by far has the most info. I was not unhappy with the site, I just didn't feel the need to renew. I go back in Nov and Feb....I always come back to this board, because I feel it has the most valuable information and is more than ample. Best to all.

 

[88Keys]

Sigh.........


Everyone on the board here says that Best Days on TGM make it all worth while. Touringplans has it and what's more ---- it's FREE!!!

http://www.t*uringplans.com/tp2/UG2_index.php?PageID=14

For some reason, the DISboard is not allowing me to post the touringplan link so replace the asterisk with an "o" when using the link!!


This info has been compiled by a crack research team that looks at daily attendance, historic attendance, surveys, tourism research, special events and EMH, and hotel bookings throughout Orlando. I seriously doubt TGM does that -- the website is hardly up to date as folks claim so if he does not have time to do that, I do not think he investigates hotel bookings, etc. I think his Best Days are based on anecdotal rather than empirical evidence.

So go ahead......drink the TGM kool-aid, take your oath of secrecy and shell out your $20 -- I am going to head over to Len Testa & the gang for free and use my $20 to buy some Mickey ears!!!