Anyone use tour guide mike?

[spicemom]

Did you find it useful? I do wonder what all the hype is about. I have touringplans crowd calendar access, but I'm still worried about picking the best park days...probably because this is first trip without park hoppers. Any one have any tgm experience? Thanks!

 

[braddillman]

I've used TGM, but not touring plans so I can't give a direct comparison. I really liked TGM, but wouldn't bother a 2nd time. Why? Because I got so much info the 1st time, in that TGM gives really good explanations of WHY things are the way they are. Now that I know why, I feel I can make pretty good estimates using the same thinking. That is, it's not the numbers that are important but the explanation behind those numbers to understand how the disney crowds 'work.'

It's the same way I plan how to tour a park. A detailed plan is not as important to me as understanding why certain things are busy at certain times. Once I understand that, I can make up a plan on the fly.

Specific case: TGM was wrong on only 1 day out of 10. It was MK. When we went, we thought it might be busier than suggested and we watched the signs around us. We could tell it would get much, much busier the whole day. So we dodged that zig with a zag to AK and found it wasn't busy at all.

If you've never used either TGM or touring plans I think it's definitely a great idea to try one. After you try, you can judge for yourself. $20 isn't much when we had 8 people visiting for 10 days. That's $0.25pp/day.

However if you have touring plans I have no idea if TGM is any better. Maybe they're the same. If they're the same it seems like a waste to buy 2 of the same.

 

[braddillman]

Oops, we didn't use park hoppers and I remember now that we went to TL not AK. We don't have water parks where we live so we love TL. We didn't have hoppers and didn't regret it. We like to stay off site and don't take a mid-day break. We ride while others are at parades or resting, and eat or shop when while they're riding. Shows like Fantasmic or Muppets make a good break.

 

[iluvwesties]

I have used Tour Guide Mike for several years and trips

I would not want to tour a park without a look at the recommendations he has for crowd levels on specific dates for specific parks.



HTH

 

[maxie]

Absolutely! Would not go down without him.

He has some wonderful tips and the forums are very friendly.

 

[CDNmouse]

Here is a guideline we use with success, maybe it will work for you.

Stay away from the Park that has Extra Magic Hours in the morning.

Go to the Park that had Extra Magic Hours the night before.

Theory is that all those park goes who took advantage of EMH's in the evening will not return to that park the next morning.

Gary

 

[photolover]

Here is a guideline we use with success, maybe it will work for you.

Stay away from the Park that has Extra Magic Hours in the morning.

Go to the Park that had Extra Magic Hours the night before.

Theory is that all those park goes who took advantage of EMH's in the evening will not return to that park the next morning.

Gary

I think the evening EMH recommendation makes a lot of sense. However I don't understand the Morning EMH recommendation. Does it apply to on-site guests too? But is Early EMH one of the main reasons why staying on-site?

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

We use the "Least Crowded Days" charts that TGM provides & feel that is worth the price alone. However, there is SO much more on his website if you have the time to go through it all, you'll learn a lot. Sometimes we use more of his info than others but ALWAYS use the charts. HTH.

 

[spicemom]

Thanks everyone!! I'm probably going to subscribe

 

[maxie]

I think the evening EMH recommendation makes a lot of sense. However I don't understand the Morning EMH recommendation. Does it apply to on-site guests too? But is Early EMH one of the main reasons why staying on-site?

Morning EMH is for the most part okay as long as you have hoppers to leave by noon when the park becomes crowded. However if you follow some of TGM principles with late FPs and such it does not make sense to hop at all.

You can get extra sleep and save money on hoppers by using TGM!