TGM and UG-Do they pick the same days?

[U2_rocks!]

I have a hard time visualizing how TGM could organize his info into a clear plan that anyone could just print out! There are just too many variables, and his site is designed to give anyone the knowledge to plan their own unique vacation that is best for THEM. And, the in depth knowledge he gives about each park or the restaurants or the parades etc. just cannot fit on a handy printable page! His site takes some work in order to customize it for each individual. I like that - that's one of the reasons I subscribed. I don't want to be told exactly what to do - I want to be taught how to be a touring expert, then I will decide the best way to do each park. Due to varying interests and stamina levels in our party we will never fit a mold - it is important to us to understand the optimal way to tour so we can come up with plans that perfectly fit us. That and the best days are well worth the price of the subscription to me. For those who don't really want to learn to be a touring pro and organize your own individual touring plans (yes, it takes time and patience), maybe the UG is better.

 

[ranthony]

UG--"give a man a fish..."
TGM "teach a man to fish..."

This, of course, is extremely simplified but I find that TGM gives much more reasoning behind why he makes the choices he does. I prefer to know why he recommends things so that I can make the best decision should we choose or need to adjust 'on the fly'.

BTW, I understand that "learning to navigate his site" takes a bit of time but I find it quite easy and useful. There are many links to related items on the sides of each page so there is never any "back button" involved. I think many people want the instant gratification and get frustrated when that involves a bit of reading.

Along with the "best days" info. the tips on each attraction are also very good.

For me, it's worth every penny!

 

[nancydrew79]

I think UG might have recommended EPCOT on Easter Sunday because his philosophy is that when ALL the parks are going to be extremely crowded he thinks EPCOT is so spread out it can handle the crowds best.
Sometimes he says there is truly no "good" park on a day like that so he goes for the best of the worst.
Hope that helps you understand the reasoning.

By the way I have used UG numerous times and it has been invaluable.
But since I've found ya'll I find I reference it less and less.

Ah ok, I still think I will avoid Epcot that day. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

 

[Pedler]

One reason TGM has so many customers on these boards is that the UG site is blocked by the moderators. I keep expecting a pm from the mod's chastising me for coming up with ways to get it in a thread anyway. I understand TGM's a sponsor, and I understand capitalism. I just believe these boards are first and foremost a community of those seeking info on WDW, and it does a disservice to the members to block links to one of the best resources out there. Especially if our sponsor "doesn't have time" to keep his site updated. That just rubs me the wrong way.

Actually these boards are first and foremost an extension of a for profit enterprise under the guise of a Internet news group. The advertisers / sponsors are what keeps these boards up and running. Also these boards provide good leads for Dreams Unlimited, the affiliated travel agency. I also wonder if there are any other reasons for the "site that shall not be named" to be blocked? It doesn't appear that competitors to sponsors of other forums like transportation are blocked. I wonder if something else happened to sour the relationship.

 

[photo_chick]

stupid question of the day - what does UG and TGM stand for?

Hey, it took me a couple weeks to figure out some of these acronyms! MNSSHP really had me for a while. Reding trip reports I felt like a kid skipping a word I could not read at first! They need special DIS abbreviation and acronym classes for new people to attend I think!

 

[photo_chick]

There seems to be a lot of site design and navigation issues being discussed here. HAving been involved in the web industry since 1994 and havinga DH who was an award winning web developer (he moved on to other things) I can tell you site design is never really and easy thing. What seems like good, easy navigation to you might not make sense to the next person. Not defending any sites here. Personally I went to TGM and was unimpressed and have yet to subscribe. TGM looks like it was either built by someone using template software, or designed by a programmer with no regard to UI. And that is what I gathered without even subing.

However, It is really very hard to design and intuitive user interface when there is a lot of information to be presented, and it takes someone with a lot of talaent and experiance to do it. And then now days with so many people doing sites on the cheap it is hard for a talented designer to get the work because they typically charge more. No one wants to pay for web sites anymore. But that is a diferent discussion all together!

 

[Licorice]

If you've been to Disney a few times, you already know what he is telling you, avoid the parks on early or late days, and go the day after. Wow, I'd pay $20 for that info again.

 

[Jalva22]

Actually these boards are first and foremost an extension of a for profit enterprise under the guise of a Internet news group. The advertisers / sponsors are what keeps these boards up and running. Also these boards provide good leads for Dreams Unlimited, the affiliated travel agency. I also wonder if there are any other reasons for the "site that shall not be named" to be blocked? It doesn't appear that competitors to sponsors of other forums like transportation are blocked. I wonder if something else happened to sour the relationship.

As I said before, being an accountant I understand capitalism, market forces, and for profit enterprises. There's absolutely nothing on the touring plans website to cause it to be blocked. In fact, the UG's website has a very good and active relationship with allearsnet. Allearsnet offers discounts for the UG website, and the UG website links to allearsnet fairly extensively. The co-author (Len Testa) used to post on this forum very frequently, but hasn't in a long time. If a personal problem is the cause of the touring plans website being blocked, then that's extremely childish on both sides.

The above just brought to my mind something I've been overlooking. Allearsnet is a better alternative for learning about all things Disney than any other book or site I have seen. And it's absolutely free. You won't find a touring plan or crowd calendar, but everything else under the sun is right there.

Oh, and it manages to present a TON of information on WDW and Universal in a constantly updated and extremely easy to navigate fashion. So, TGM, it can be done.

 

[PiperPizzaz]

I love TGM! It took me forever to figure out his site though, and I am a graphic designer (took a lot of web courses).

Once I figured out that his site is not set up like any other website I have ever seen in my life AND is instead set up like a book. I had no problem.

 

[Tam1067]

TGM does have a ton of good information. But it's really hard to find, as others have noted.

And my biggest, most serious beef with it is the outdated stuff on there. UG is much, much more recent and up to date. I mean if Mike is in business, he needs to update the information regularly.

He (or someone who works for him) could do it fairly easily, I'd think, but it appears that's not a priority with him.

 

[DebIreland]

I wanted to add to my previous post that one very handy way to retain the info you want from TGM's site is to print pages in PDF format. That's the way I did it (after weeks of frustrating and annoying navigating). I spent a few hours one evening going through all the info I was interested in and I created pdf pages of those. Some of those pages I ended up actually running off on the printer to bring with me on our trip and others I just kept on my computer to refer back to as needed. So much better than trudging through all that stuff again and again. In the end, I didn't need to navigate anything really as all the info I wanted was in PDF format. Now, obviously you need to watch for updates and create fresh PDFs then when things change.

Most computers/printers will have a setting to allow you to "save as pdf" when you go to Print. To view PDF pages you can use Adobe Acrobat Reader which is free to download from Abode's website.

To the poster who commented about errors on TGM's site not being rectified quickly, yes I agree and I would say I found it very annoying. Two errors (one of which was quite a big one in my opinion) that I emailed him about (and one of which I also posted on the board) were still there 7 months after I brought it to their attention and, for all I know, they're still there. Much as I do adore (and completely recommend) the Least Crowded Days information, undoubtedly the outdated info is frustrating. I'd rather he didn't have ANY info on a subject (be it the dining plan or whatever) than post the wrong info about it.

 

[labattblue]

Last time I was on TGM he said that the website didn't yet break even, so he couldn't justify spending more time updating the website instead of doing tours.

I'm not sure if the above statement is true, but if so, it is so very wrong and I wouldn't want my paying customers to be given that impression. In other words...I'm not going to spend much time updating the site I charge you $20 for because I'm not making any money on it.


Once again...to each their own.

 

[Pedler]

I'm not sure if the above statement is true, but if so, it is so very wrong and I wouldn't want my paying customers to be given that impression. In other words...I'm not going to spend much time updating the site I charge you $20 for because I'm not making any money on it.


Once again...to each their own.

When I used TGM I could see him saying this. Keep in mind I am a big fan of the information on the site but I do agree with others on the following:

• It could be organized better
• The Term Automated vacation planner is overstating it a bit
• Some of the pages do not get updated as frequently as they could
• Mike gets a bit touchy when criticized

Having said that the information there is very useful. Yes, much of it can be scrounged from multiple sources such as this discussion forum but the problem there is getting vetted answers and the why behind the answers. An example would be any of the information on attractions. There is normally a quick summary page and then a more detailed page that has more info than is in the UG and is all in one place unlike what you find in a discussion group.

The information and the benefit it had on our vacation made putting up with the awkwardness of the site. I do contend the term Automated Vacation Planner has to go. There is some limited amount of automation that really amounts to nothing more than some calendar reminders and limited bookmarking capability. In this day an age the term automated implies more than that.

 

[Pedler]

As I said before, being an accountant I understand capitalism, market forces, and for profit enterprises. There's absolutely nothing on the touring plans website to cause it to be blocked. In fact, the UG's website has a very good and active relationship with allearsnet. Allearsnet offers discounts for the UG website, and the UG website links to allearsnet fairly extensively. The co-author (Len Testa) used to post on this forum very frequently, but hasn't in a long time. If a personal problem is the cause of the touring plans website being blocked, then that's extremely childish on both sides.

The above just brought to my mind something I've been overlooking. Allearsnet is a better alternative for learning about all things Disney than any other book or site I have seen. And it's absolutely free. You won't find a touring plan or crowd calendar, but everything else under the sun is right there.

Oh, and it manages to present a TON of information on WDW and Universal in a constantly updated and extremely easy to navigate fashion. So, TGM, it can be done.

From my experience TGM has more information that Allearnet does though I do agree that thier format is nice. As for why the "site that can not be named" is blocked it just doesn't make any sense.

 

[mmcguire]

I wanted to add to my previous post that one very handy way to retain the info you want from TGM's site is to print pages in PDF format. ...

Most computers/printers will have a setting to allow you to "save as pdf" when you go to Print. To view PDF pages you can use Adobe Acrobat Reader which is free to download from Abode's website.

Great tip! Just FYI, to save folks time attempting to use this option if they don't have it, you need to have Adobe Acrobat (full version - not the free Adobe Reader) or a similar PDF creation program installed in order to print to PDF. The standard version of Adobe Acrobat costs roughly $100, and I've also seen a few freeware/shareware PDF programs advertised, but never tried them since I already have Acrobat Pro for work.

 

[photo_chick]

I wanted to add to my previous post that one very handy way to retain the info you want from TGM's site is to print pages in PDF format. That's the way I did it (after weeks of frustrating and annoying navigating). I spent a few hours one evening going through all the info I was interested in and I created pdf pages of those. Some of those pages I ended up actually running off on the printer to bring with me on our trip and others I just kept on my computer to refer back to as needed. So much better than trudging through all that stuff again and again. In the end, I didn't need to navigate anything really as all the info I wanted was in PDF format. Now, obviously you need to watch for updates and create fresh PDFs then when things change.

Most computers/printers will have a setting to allow you to "save as pdf" when you go to Print. To view PDF pages you can use Adobe Acrobat Reader which is free to download from Abode's website.

To the poster who commented about errors on TGM's site not being rectified quickly, yes I agree and I would say I found it very annoying. Two errors (one of which was quite a big one in my opinion) that I emailed him about (and one of which I also posted on the board) were still there 7 months after I brought it to their attention and, for all I know, they're still there. Much as I do adore (and completely recommend) the Least Crowded Days information, undoubtedly the outdated info is frustrating. I'd rather he didn't have ANY info on a subject (be it the dining plan or whatever) than post the wrong info about it.

That is a good idea. I often just keep a simple text editor open on my desktop and just copy adn paste information to it as I research stuff as well. Sort of like taking notes with out having to write it, which is a good thing because my handwriting is terrible!

 

[bytheblood]

In my comparisons, not always. Some days out of an entire week line up, but overall, the information is different.

I love TGM by the way and this is my preference.

 

[bluwater]

Mike's info is certainly helpful...but finding what you need to know is like looking for a needle in a haystack. In short, he's missing the principles of web design. The site apprears to follow the peril that so many others do....started out much smaller...and has now grown to where the design is a disaster. He needs an overhaul, which could be very expensive due to the vast amt of info. (tens of thousands $$$).

I'm sure he means well and the info IS there......and it IS good info!!! He must have spent forever on those articles.

It's just....Too many links. But, rememer, links are the SEO (search engine optimization) tool of choice. The more links in your site (linking to itself), the higher your Google rating is. Old trick.

Remember, Mike is a VIP tour Guide turned website owner/content developer.......not a web pusher who is just scheming for content ideas. Site appears to be some kind of CMS system (Joomla!?)...not sure.

$20 isn't bad. How much do you pay for your UG?

 

[Disneyhappy]

I'm a veteran WDW visitor with increased visits to multiple times per year over the last few years. I've subscribed to both TGM and UG in the past. I prefer TGM as I feel his information worked the best for our trips. Navigating the site did take practice but now I have no problems. I like to know the why of things and TGM provides that. Most of the information can be found elsewhere but there are things that I only pick up at TGM. TGM forums are a smaller community which has it's pluses and minuses. Personally, I like that it is a smaller community and that DIS is my larger community. Both TGM and UG are great. It probably comes down to personal preference. One other thought, I don't know if UG currently does this but TGM inserts my name throughout all of the touring plans. I imagine it is a simple programming thing to do that but it is unique. Even without my name,TGM articulates his articles in a personal manner that I feel they are constructed just for me. The other night DS walked into my office and started reading over my shoulder. When he saw my name inserted in the text of the articles, he said, "You never told me you knew TGM personally, Mom."

 

[kdkbrebel]

I am using (or should I say attempting to use ) TGM and some of the UG as well as my passporter to plan our trip. I to like some of the TGM info but find it hard to use. Has anyone used Ride max for wdw yet? If so How did it work for you?