Have you tried tourguide mike's plans

[SammieG]

another "thumbs up" here for TGM. We absolutely love TGM.. in fact we never enter a park without consulting him first. (this year, i tried to use last years plans and they didnt work! - So i have updated them for our August trip)

We have visited Disney for 2 - 3 weeks per visit on at least 13 occasions since '97 - so we do know our stuff - weve spent at least 32 weeks there in the past 8 years - However... TGM still amazes us. I dont know how he does it.. but it works!!

 

[kizmac]

Thanks! I signed up and now I'm waiting to hear back because I couldn't get my AVP to work.

Annie

I had the same problem, but I just signed out and waited about five minutes and signed back in with my password and it was there!

 

[kizmac]

Just so everyone knows. Y'all are enablers and should be ashamed for feeding my addiction. A few months ago, I was happily going about life, blissfully ignorant of most things related to WDW (I knew it was in FL, involved a mouse, and they had already taken a lot of money in dvd purchases). Now, I am planning my family's first vacation and can't get enough. Now, because of this thread, I will probably go purchase TGM, and my dh will think that I am even more insane. Good going guys, keep a person addicted. I just hope you are proud of yourselves.

LOL....hey puddleduck, have you checked out Passporter Deluxe too? Another must have for us addicted Disney planners!

 

[puddleduck]

LOL....hey puddleduck, have you checked out Passporter Deluxe too? Another must have for us addicted Disney planners!

You people are worse than drug dealers. I haven't even been on the first trip and I have already priced one for Dec '06. I have heard of the Passporter, I need to check it out. My dh will thank you (not).

Seriously, I just really get into planning, and WDW just has sooo many opportunities to plan. Who knew there was more to it than room, food, tickets. Although my dh did seriously think I had gone way to far to the other side when I hit the thread with all the pictures of Disney food.

Any other ideas of who I can my time and money to while I plan this trip?

 

[ryanmilla]

Same thing happened to me Puddleduck. I knew we would go to Disney and thought I would do a little research maybe buy the Birnbaum book and now I'm totally addicted. I feel like I need to know everything, read everything or I may miss something.

I ordered the Mikes Tourguide thing because of the great reviewes people were giving it. Now I'm sitting hear constantly checking my e-mails because I couldn't get my AVP to work. I need to see all that info. and now!!!!

Annie

Don't feel bad (I know you don't). I have been going to WDW all my life and now that I have found these boards, I feel like I don't know anything about it and I need to know everything (and I thought I knew a bit already). I have already bought UG, subscribed to TGM and am planning to buy passporter. I don't know if it is for the information or just to read and HAVE info about WDW. I have to say my parents and my DW, DD4 (b-day today) and DS10months don't help my addiction. My parents got me into it and my family keeps asking when are we going back. Little do they know it is before they are expecting.

Long live WDW vacations and the DIS boards!

 

[CuteKatCar]

You guys have to stop talking because I can't get to my AVP because I'm reading all these threads, LOL

Add me to the list of addicted, family-neglecting (they'll thank me later), dirty-house, laundry-piling, computer-sitting Disney Planner!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have fun - oh, and don't order out tonight .

Anna

 

[vatmark]

My husband just asked me how long can I possibly sit at the computer doing this stuff. I told him as long as it takes honey. He just looks at me kinda funny. If it were up to him we would just go and wing the whole trip and then he would complain about not being able to get into a certain resturant that he wanted to eat at.

Annie

 

[staylor]

Cutekatcar, you are describing me. LOL!

My DH is looking for a twelve step program for disney addicts. When he finds one, he will committ me.

 

[Atotty]

More than just today!! Just wait, this will consume you. My husband thinks I'm addicted to Disney research and he is right. I have a 3 ring binder already full of information I printed from TGM and other sources and our trip isn't until next June!!

I do that too I actually outgrew my first binder and had to go back and get the largest one they make....and now we're on our third trip and even it's full. My whole family thinks I'm crazy. Dh went to work and was telling everyone about us all....."they start planning months in advance and they all have these binders...."

But they really like all the planning I've done once we get there. We've gotten the coveted CRT ressies, we've woken up Tinkerbelle, we've got upgrades at AKL, we've gotten several magical moments certificates, did the kidcots and got the poster, did the scavenger hunt at one of the shops in the England pavillion and got certificates, got rehitched at Garden Grill, etc......and never stood in line longer than 15 mins...all because of the advanced planning and research before each trip. It **really** makes a difference.

Keep on printing....your dh will be glad you're a Disneyholic.

 

[Atotty]

Oh....BTW...My name's Anna and I'm a Disneyholic. I've got it bad; I'm actually here at the beach on vacation and have spent a large portion of the time checking e-mail, disboards, etc. and making ADR's.

I'm glad I did, too, It's been worth it. I wouldn't have known about the new ADR system for people staying on site and would have gotten up every morning instead of just once so I got to sleep in LOL

 

[kizmac]

Cutekatcar, you are describing me. LOL!

My DH is looking for a twelve step program for disney addicts. When he finds one, he will committ me.

My DH too! He's at least happier I have been spending time here getting my Disney fix and not cruising Ebay for Disney stuff. I tend to get carried aways sometimes

 

[lisatradingspaces]

My 6 year old said, "Thank you so much mommy. You must really love us to sit there and work all the time to make sure we have a fun vacation."

When he asks what I am doing I always tell him, "I am working on our vacation".

What WILL I do when it's over!?

Lisa

 

[vatmark]

Huh? Woken up Tinkerbell? Magic Moments certificates?Upgrades at AKL? What are those things and how to you get them and the upgrades. Boy, I've got more research to do. I have never heard of waking up Tinkerbell or Magic Moments certficates.

Annie

 

[tlbwriter]

Does your TGM plan get updated if there are changes at the parks, or is it "final" the day you sign up for it?

 

[KCMiller]

Does your TGM plan get updated if there are changes at the parks, or is it "final" the day you sign up for it?

That's my big question, too. We're going in November, for Super Soaps weekend, with all adults - we'll also be there for Festival of the Masters and the final weekend of the Food and Wine Festival. So, is all that taken into consideration by TGM? And what about the EMH? I heard that they change - so if I go to TGM now, won't the info be outdated by November?

So confused . . . .

KC

 

[Brian Noble]

TGM won't build a day-to-day itinerary for you---it's not quite that automated.

It *does* generate a list of "best-of-the-best" attractions and restaurants recommended for you based on a coarse description of your group. You can add to/change it. It has a set of good/bad days of the week for each park, customized to the season (is it busy or slow? Summer heat? Holiday crowds?) Finally, Mike describes the process he uses to plan day-to-day itineraries for his private tours. Combined, these make it pretty easy to plan an itinerary that fits your family's needs. There is also a subscribers-only message board---a big chunk of the traffic there is folks asking for feedback about their itineraries. You'll find that TGM subscribers tend to be a "smell the roses, enjoy the vacation, no park commando" bunch, and that's partly due to Mike's (corny but true) philosophy that "tired guests cannot make happy memories."

The AVP has a set of touring plans for each park customized to various ages/interests, focusing on those recommended attractions. The touring plans are updated more or less constantly---as Mike and his other tour guides change they way they lead their private tours, those changes are published in the touring plans. Mike doesn't provide as many different plans as Len Testa does at touringplans.com, but TGM's plans have *lots* of text describing *why* they work the way they do, and how to customize them for your needs. I think of them really as an in-depth explanation of how the crowds flow in each theme park.

If you want to try it out, you can, and Mike will refund your purchase if you aren't happy with it (as will touringplans.com).

 

[missypie]

Y'all aren't understanding how TGM works. You don't input your dates and a personalized plan comes up. Mike has sample touring plans for each park. He also has LOTS of articles that explain the WHy of what you're doing. He describes each show and attraction, gives tips for the best place to sit if applicable, etc. You're never out of date (esp. if you read the message boards) because updates are posted constantly.

 

[Atotty]

Huh? Woken up Tinkerbell? Magic Moments certificates?Upgrades at AKL? What are those things and how to you get them and the upgrades. Boy, I've got more research to do. I have never heard of waking up Tinkerbell or Magic Moments certficates.

Annie

Hi Annie,

I'm out of town. I don't have the name of the shop's name where you wake up Tinkerbelle here, but I know someone else on this board will. You have to be the first one in the shop that's in Fantasyland and ask to wake her up. They give you a magical moments certificate for doing it.

We got another MM certificate at AK. I love animals, We always get there early and stop and watch the animals instead of sprinting through. The CMs we've seen love to tell you about the animals and you learn all kinds of interesting things. One of the CMs gave us a MM certificate because of all our interest in her animals.

Got another one for doing a scavenger hunt in one of the stores in Epcot.

We lucked out with our upgrade at AKL; we booked std and got Savannah by asking when we checked in. (I'm shy...I would never have done that without people on these boards saying it was ok)

There's just so much that people don't know if they don't do research.

 

[Brian Noble]

KCMiller: as the EMH changes happen, Mike is on top of them---he publishes specific recommendations for each deviation. For example, his EMH recommendations for summer are quite different from his normal "busy-season" recommendations, because of the way they are set up. When the Epcot EMHs changed for early August, he published another revision of his best-days advice for those two weeks.

I don't recall seeing him say anything about Super Soap or Masters (but I don't visit then, so I might have missed it.) He does give specific advice about F&W, though.

 

[puddleduck]

Well, yesterday I started my affair with Tour Guide Mike. My dh understands that I am just using TGM for his info. After seeing how much info there is to go through, I made my family a nice dinner, we sat together and ate. I then explained to them it would probably be Dec. for I really got to see them again. It was bittersweet. They know it is for the better in the long run.

Seriously, there is a ton of info. I've got a binder and it will surely be filled. I cannot believe I am actually setting up a binder for a vacation. Oh, well. I guess I will call it a hobby and it will sound a little less weird.