It looks like the signup problem has been fixed! And for anyone interested in signing up, he has a GREAT deal going on:
During this past week our credit card processing web site was denying almost everyone attempting to purchase an AVP. The problem has been fixed!
To both celebrate AND apologize for the inconvenience I am offering a spectacular deal on the TGMiKE AVP for a very limited time. Use 'Promo Code' HE7LE-8HA on the purchase page and your new AVP is only $12.95!!!
One other thing to clarify is that the touring plans you can get from touringplans.com don't give you advice on what park to visit on what day to avoid the crowds. There is a chart on their site with what park they recommend for what days but it is a general trends chart and does not take into account that things are very different during Christmas week. We've used TGM for 3 trips now and are currently planning our 4th. IMHO, some of THE BEST advice is the way he breaks down the least crowded parks for each morning and evening. This is even more important Christmas week. It's still crowded at the least crowded park, but it's not shoulder to shoulder jam packed can't move crowded like it can get during that week. The only thing I can compare Main Street USA or Fantasy Land mid day on a day when the park was closed at capacity to was being on Bourbon Street Mardi Gras day.
I would send an email through touringplans.com and ask if their computer adjusts the plans for Christmas week. This would be important not just for shows and such but for things like how long they allow for a meal. Even with a PS, your wait time will be a little longer than typical because of so many people. Not horrible, just longer. Also things like that once the MNSSHPs are over, they usually show the Christmas parade AND the Share a Dream Come True parade in the afternoons so it may be something like Christmas Parade at 1:00 and Share a Dream Come True at 4:00 rather than just one parade at 3:00 as on a typical day.
Yes, it is correct that the plans at TGM are not customized as in he does not sit down and write out a plan for you. He has enough sample tour plans that you will more than likely be able to find one to fit your needs thta doesn't need much, if any, tweaking at all. He gives you enough information that it's very easy to customize your own plans as well. I did this for us for AK on our last trip. It was just me and my sons, ages 2 and 4, so we didn't have the option of baby swaping for anything that my 2 year old is too small for. It took me maybe 15-20 minutes to sit down and develop our own plan by starting with reading his sample tour plan and removing what wasn't right for us. I then used the "best times" info to fill in what we wanted to do. In our time there we were the only people on the walking trails so my kids got to get out and move around as well as not fight to see the animals, we rode the safari twice with under 5 minutes wait each time, we rode Triceratops Spin (the dino ride like Dumbo) 5 or 6 times in a row without getting off, saw the characters at Camp Minnie Mickey with no waiting, saw Festival of the Lion King without waiting around outside AT ALL...walked right in to a seat, same with Tarzan Rocks. We also saw an animal training show for Pocohontas and her Forrest Friends, saw Flights of Wonder, rode the train to Planet Watch and did the petting zoo and had lunch. We did not wait in line AT ALL for anything. The only time we waited was for the train to get to the station to go to planet watch. Customizing our plans couldn't have been simpler and it worked perfectly for us. I did something similar for our last day in the MK when we only had the morning and they wanted to hit the "favorites only." Again, no waiting, lots of fun and our own customized plan.
My boys will be almost 3 and almost 5 when we go in June, so eveything you've said seems to fit with what I want. We are also going with my sis and neice(15) and non-thrill-seeking MIL, do you think he can figure something so we can all stick together?
You would be fine with the sample plans he has on his site! Following them would get you through Fantasy Land for the little ones and on the mountains for your neice. We used them last Christmas when we were there with our kids (then 21 months and 3½), my husband and I who wanted to do the moutains, my Father who wanted to do SOME mountains but not all, and my mother who is defintiely non-thrill-seeking and we all had a fabulous time and did everything we wanted to.
I have the Unofficial Guide to DisneyWorld. Do you think Tourguidemike is better? Will it have a lot of information not in the book?
I have the UG too as well as the Birnbaums book (for the pics, not the planning advice!
) and WDW with kids by Kim Wright Willey. I like them all for different reasons but if I could only pick one planning tool it would be TGM b/c it has the most comprehensive info. Each of them has little tidbits not found in the others but TGM definitely has THE MOST info and it is kept current as Disney makes changes to schedules, puts rides into rehab etc. Books unfortunately just can't do that. TGM has specific info on each and every attraction, lots more than any book I've seen. Sure, you don't need to read every word but it's there if you want to.
TIA 
Yes, I completely agree! At 12.95 it's a steal! Especially when you consider that 12.95 added onto the thousands of dollars you've spent on your vacation doesn't even amount to pocket change in the long run!
