planning services aka: tourguidemikes, touringplans

[muffinstuffin]

Have you used one of the planning services like tourguidemikes.com or touringplans.com?
Thoughts, positives, negatives, worth the money....
Thanks

 

[ladulce]

I recently subscribed to Ultimate guide, but, truthfully, I am confused about what content I paid for, as, the only thing that I am finding that I couldn't see before is the "recommended parks" more than 30 days out. I assume there must be some other beneft, because paying $8 just to know a few days earlier what he "recommends" doesn't really seem worth it... Hopefully someone else will know if there is more to it.

 

[tanyaandallie]

I usually subscribe to both. I like the crowd calendar on touring plans . com. It's very helpful in determining when the best time to go is. I didn't use much more than that. I love TGM's best days charts. It tells you for each day of the year what park is the least crowded that day. It's greeat. We plan what we do each day by what he tells us to do! I also follow his touring plans. The TGM site (imo) is pretty tough to navigate. It can be confusing. And I have found that his site is also not always up to date. But, overall I like it.

 

[LadyShea]

I used Touring Plans and found the crowd calendar and best parks-best days very helpful in the early planning stages.

Also, they have some charts that tell you about the best times to go on each ride for the different crowd levels or whether you should get a fast pass or standby. This was really helpful as 8 of us were there just this weekend (New Year's) and it was really crowded...yet we didn't wait more than 30 minutes on anything and actually walked on to some rides without FPs!

Some of our party did miss Rockin' Roller Coaster though, as I was more concerned about getting a FP for TSM and touring with our 3 year old. I knew going in though, because of the charts, that I would probably have to sacrifice one or the other.

 

[momjilly]

I used both for my last trip in July but actually found tourplans as the most valuable info

 

[ilandrazdsw]

We used TGM for our trip over Christmas and by was it worth it! It is a little difficult to navigate until you get a hang of it. The biggest benefit was what rides to do in what order. We already had ADRs and planned on doing EMH AM so that part wasn't a help.

Disney has a hidden attraction...trying to do everything you want to do in an order that makes sense with minimal to no waits in line...Now that ride is exhausting!!!

 

[Elmo888]

I have subscribed to touringplans, and I cannot think of any negatives. It is worth the money, which isn't much more than a guide book (probably less) and you can get a discount through mousesavers or allears (I can't remember which).

I recently subscribed to Ultimate guide, but, truthfully, I am confused about what content I paid for, as, the only thing that I am finding that I couldn't see before is the "recommended parks" more than 30 days out. I assume there must be some other beneft, because paying $8 just to know a few days earlier what he "recommends" doesn't really seem worth it... Hopefully someone else will know if there is more to it.

Yes! There is another benefit - the touring plans. You can create your own for a specific date, and pick tailored ones (such as "2 day Magic Kingdom for girls 4-8" touring plan or "1 day late start at Epcot" touring plan). I will probably subscribe again just for the specific touring plans, although you can get general, very effective ones, from the back of the Ultimate Guide to WDW book. I have found that after buying the book once (2007 version), I can just subscribe to the web site to get the new info. (I enjoy the book, so I'll probably just buy the new one for 2009!)

Touring plans are great - save time and see what you want to see. And I wouldn't hesitate to spend the money. As someone once pointed out, why would you spend a thousand or more on vacation and not spend another $10, $15, $20 or even $50 on guide books (or web sites) to get your money's worth?

I'm curious about comparing touring plans - TGM and touringplans. I haven't gone wrong with the Ultimate Guides touringplans (used 3 times), so should I mess with a good thing?

 

[SnowWhite607]

I used TGM for our June trip in 08 and we never waited more than 20 minutes for anything. I plan to renew my subscription again this year.

 

[Big Kid]

I'm using Tour Guide Mike to plan our trip later this month. While not perfect, I am finding it useful and believe we'll get our money's worth out of it.

Pros: The crowd forecast will steer us--I hope--to the least crowded park on any given day, and the touring plans for specific groups (adults, children, thrill seekers) appear to make sense. Forums are lively and helpful.

Cons: It's not the easiest site to navigate and a few of the articles are dated. I wish that it would generate a printed or downloadable itinerary.

Bottom line: If it saves us several hours of standing in line and fighting crowds over a week at WDW, it's money well spent imo.

I have not tried the other service and will probably give that a try for our next trip.

 

[MinnieLove]

So chime in.... if we wanted to subscribe to one service - which one and why. Not looking to make huge investment, what is the cost? We have two 5yo boys - is there a better service for age appropriate attractions?

 

[disneytriplets]

I used TGM in April and thought it was very helpful! I'll be using it again for our next trip.

 

[sk!mom]

I used TGM last year for our June 2008 trip. It was worth the $20 for the least crowded parks advice but it is an extremely cluttered, poorly organized, difficult to navigate site. I also thought that I would get more as it's marketed as a "customized" plan but really you have to do all of the work to customize it.

I might use it again but would probably look for a cheaper option for getting the best day advice since that's all I really used.

 

[2poohbears]

I have used touringplans a few times in the past, and it was very helpful. The touring plans that you can print out for your specific dates are great - they even include info about what rides are closed, and special event times, park hours, suggestions for dining. I usually try to print them out closer to my vacation date, because things can change, and I make my own notes in the margins. I generally follow the plan until at least 11am. We generally go when the crowds are lower, so we don't have to stick to the entire plan all day long. I also have their guide book from 2007, and it's come in very handy.

This year I subscribed to TGM as well. So far, the forums are useful, and the articles are interesting. Some of the info is out of date, but I still find the articles interesting and helpful. His explanations of crowd levels and his recommendations on which parks to go to on which days is excellent. As someone else posted, I would like to be able to print out an actual touring plan to carry with me, but I only managed to find a sample one of MK. fyi...you can get a small discount on TGM via DISboards link. Touring Plans is cheaper, though.

If I had to choose just one of them, I think I would choose touringplans because of the ability to print out the plans to take with you. And if you are new to Disney, or have only gone a few times, i would suggest buying their book as well.

 

[iheartdisney]

So chime in.... if we wanted to subscribe to one service - which one and why. Not looking to make huge investment, what is the cost? We have two 5yo boys - is there a better service for age appropriate attractions?

I would pick Touring Plans. I love the age-specific touring plans. For example, at Animal Kingdom the general touring plan advises us to first get FP for everest, then head over to Safari. If you look at the touring plan for small children, the advice switches to safari first, and ride Everest after the parade.
I've already used it 3 times, and it has been very helpful. In March, I went against the "park to avoid" and paid for it with a 2.5 hour line for Soarin!

 

[JamesMom]

I haven't really used the touringplans site - just checked the crowd numbers -had the book.
Now TGM was worth the money! Granted the articles and the site itself is ok - what is worth its weight in gold are the forums - there are some seriously knowledgable folks on there who should honestly get a comission. Gotten some wonderful advice on my specific situations from those guys all with the TGM frame of mind! kuddos!

 

[summermac]

What is the touring plans site? I like the option of itinerary by age.

 

[erinbee]

I used TGM for a trip in 2005 and have subscribed again for our trip in March.

I agree with PPs - the site is horrible to navigate. You often have to dig to get info, and some of the info is a bit dated.

However, the touring plans he has are excellent. We didn't wait more than 20 mins for a ride when we went in June 2005. My DH still talks about how well planed our trip was. We didn't feel rushed around either. We followed the plans to the tee in the AM and then had much more on the fly afternoons.

 

[drnlhome]

I use the touring plan site. I swear by it. We used it on our last 2 trips during Easter week and wow did it make a difference. As previous posters have said we never waited more than 20 minutes and we were done with everything we wanted to do as far as rides by lunch time. We then would eat lunch and swim and relax and go back to a park in the evening.

Hope this helps!

 

[bethirish]

Is it worth paying for the touring plan if one is going during a low time? We just booked our first trip with our 3 year old son for Dec 5 - 12. We're staying off property in a timeshare and will probably only spend 3 days in the parks.

 

[Elmo888]

Is it worth paying for the touring plan if one is going during a low time? We just booked our first trip with our 3 year old son for Dec 5 - 12. We're staying off property in a timeshare and will probably only spend 3 days in the parks.

I think it is...it is just helpful to know which attractions will fill up (or take forever) first, even during low times. We've gone during low times, and we used touring plans every time. You just get to see and do more than you would if you didn't have a plan.