Dangit! Thought I was done planning, and now Tour Guide Mike!

[mmcguire]

Ok, I got suckered into a Tour Guide Mike thread today, went and checked it out, and signed up. DOH!! I've only spent a couple hours on there today, but I LOVE it already!! I've been an UG follower for 7 or more years, and an Official Guide for probably 7 years before that.

I really like Mike's laid back, "enjoy yourself, its a VACATION!!!" approach, as opposed to the slightly more regimented approach of UG. I even swapped a couple of days that weren't nailed down on our schedule based on Mike's recommendations. LOL. 15 days to go, you'd think I could stop!!! I need help.

 

[heather360]

I'm in the same situation. I checked out the tour guide Mike thread and thought hmm... sounds good. I've got 6 days until I leave. I'm afraid to sign up for TGM for fear of changing all of my plans.

 

[TAKitty]

I know that many people love TKM, but I didn't find it helpful. I purchased it for my upcoming trip and regret it. I think that I have found out more information from UG and the Dis. I also hate that TKM is slow to update information.

 

[kutchyone]

You both will be happy with your decision to sign up. I doubted it and some of the advice but boy was I wrong. I still love the Dis and UG but those along with TGM made our June trip. Maximum wait in any line was 10/15 minutes and that only happened maybe 3 times total. Love It!

 

[Brian Noble]

TAKitty: if you don't feel as though you've gotten value out of TGM, ask for a refund. Shouldn't be a problem.

I'm a big fan of TGM, but if you are going soon, and have a good plan you are comfortable with, you'll only create more angst by trying to incorporate yet another set of advice into your trip. Instead, sign up for your *next* trip from the get-go, and see how it goes.

 

[FourFlans]

Sorry to ask a stupid question....but what is Tour Guide Mike? We're leaving Saturday for our first trip to WDW. I have the UG and have on the DIS for a couple of months. Thought I had everything I needed.

So tell me about this Mike guy and what he can do for me?

 

[tzuhouse]

I understand. We leave on Sunday. Mike spent half of the night updating his info on MVMCP and I've spend the morning going through everything, tweaking my original plan. LOL I have to stop planning by 5:00am on Sunday morning because we'll be heading to the airport and I won't have a printer anymore.

Actually, I think we are good, now, but really glad I joined Mike several months ago. Made my planning so much easier.

Mary

 

[MickeyNicki]

What is Tour Guy Mike?

 

[kutchyone]

Brian,

I think you would be better at explaining TGM.

I love his site and the information he provides. I thought I was the master of park touring but boy did I learn a ton of new things from Mike and his site. The boards are over there are great too. Check out the site. He offers a money back guarantee so go for it. Once you do sign up give it a couple of days and ask for help on the boards if you have any difficulties navigating the site.

 

[susykt4]

I LOVE TGM!!! My family went during a busy spring break week in April 2005 and thanks to Mike's plans/advice we had no or extremely short waits for everything. We rode sooooo many more rides than we ever thought possible and our 2 and 4 year olds were never overly exhausted. Great information for a week when Small World had 60+ minute waits at 11:30am! TGM has an express planner for people signing up shortly before their trip and the info can be printed out. Definitely good stuff!

 

[FourFlans]

Well, I took the bait! I signed up at TGM and have printed a boatload of stuff to take home and review. If nothing else, it will give something to do while I'm wide awake tomorrow night--you know I won't be able to sleep the night before we leave!

Thanks for the tip about the TGM website!

 

[mmcguire]

I spent some more time reading Mike's site last night and this morning, and I've figured out why I like his approach.

IMHO, UG is kind of like "give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day", and Mike is more "teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime." UG tends toward the "hows" vs. the "whys" while Mike shares the logic behind his recommendations. This approach enables people to apply that logic to whatever their situation may be.

It's understandable why Mike could be overwhelming for newbies; kind of like sending a child to an art history class before they learn to fingerpaint.

 

[surfgirl]

It's understandable why Mike could be overwhelming for newbies; kind of like sending a child to an art history class before they learn to fingerpaint.

Wow! Great analogy... the only downside is that some don't want the why's... they want the short, sweet, and simple version and don't want to have to think.

I *love* my friend Mike. As I've stated before, for those of us with small children, any TA plans (tantrum avoiding, that is) are definitely worth the $20!

 

[caribbeanme]

Every single trip WDW trip I've gone on has been courtesy of TGM. Well, except my first trip..man, was THAT a pain. I decided to use another approach those first few days and had a mutiny on my hands. After we went TGM, we sped past lines and had just a wonderful time. We now go to WDW to relax whenever we have a few days...who knew!?

 

[Nancyg56]

It's understandable why Mike could be overwhelming for newbies; kind of like sending a child to an art history class before they learn to fingerpaint.

You just described me!!

 

[kutchyone]

Well, I took the bait! I signed up at TGM and have printed a boatload of stuff to take home and review. If nothing else, it will give something to do while I'm wide awake tomorrow night--you know I won't be able to sleep the night before we leave!

Thanks for the tip about the TGM website!

Please take advantage of all the help you will get on the boards over there. I use the same name there as I do here so make sure to say hi. I love reviewing all the posts that pop up when I run my query to see all posts since last visit. Makes the job much easier and then I don't feel like I have missed anything!

Between TGM and the DIS you should have a great vacation.

 

[ssdeverell]

If I am not going back until next Sept, is it worth it to sign up now? How long does the subscription last?

Thanks!

 

[kutchyone]

Direct from his site:

Let me begin sharing all of my knowledge and experience with you as soon as you're at least 'pretty sure' you're coming - period!

If you’re not sure of your exact vacation dates, it doesn’t matter! Indicate the most appropriate month of your intended year, and know that you can easily edit your Vacation Preferences whenever you want/need to.

You have unlimited access to your AVP from the day of purchase until 60 days after the end of your vacation.

 

[ssdeverell]

Thank you, Cheryl! I looked for it and just could not find it. I guess I will give it a try. Just more information to drive my husband crazy.

 

[kutchyone]

Make sure when you hit the boards that you say hi. Same name there. Utilize the boards if you run into any difficulty or just want advice.