TGM vs. UG

[stephie1012]

Which do you go with when planning you vacation?

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

TGM! I hope to use him in the very near future!

 

[nutty4wdw]

you're going to get two camps giving their opinions.

both have their pros and cons. UG online has many more touring plans and is much cheaper then TGM. UG, touringplans(online) is an annual subscription while TGM expires 60 days after your vacation starts.

TGM has an excellent days to visit which parks section that is much better and more informative than UG's crowd calendar.

i use both. i tend to use UG's plans more because they include more attractions while TGM is "best of the best". in addition TGM plans expect a RD itinerary while UG does include plans for late comers, seniors, holidays etc. though TGM does have other plans like peaceful morning at future world etc.

if you can afford both try them and see which you prefer and stick to that one.

regardless they are both good and both will have you ahead of the crowd. so either one you use will get you on the attractions with minimum waits

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

I like the UG website and the UG book.

 

[tinkyrie]

UG all the way. It's cheap and has plenty of touring plan options. I'm not a "plan everything" person, so it works great for me. It just gave me the basic ideas needed to navigate around the parks more efficiently. As stated on the their site, it is 5 times more important to have a good touring plan than what park you attend each day.

 

[karensi]

I subscribe to both TGM and the UG, but now I'm really confused.
For our trip in April, most of the "number 1 green days" that TGM reccommends on any given day, is the park that the UG says to avoid

I think I'll go with TGM's suggestions, but don't really know if that's the best decision or not.

As time gets closer to the trip, does the UG sometimes revise their suggestions?

Who would you go with for the least crowded parks...TGM or UG


Karen

 

[lulugirl]

I like the UG website and the UG book.

Me too

 

[stephie1012]

i did tgm, and i saw that the suggestions btwn the 2 are kinda different thats why i was curious...i already planned everything using TGM, hopefully we wont be disappointed!

 

[DaveStroem]

I subscribe to both TGM and the UG, but now I'm really confused.
For our trip in April, most of the "number 1 green days" that TGM reccommends on any given day, is the park that the UG says to avoid

I think I'll go with TGM's suggestions, but don't really know if that's the best decision or not.

As time gets closer to the trip, does the UG sometimes revise their suggestions?

Who would you go with for the least crowded parks...TGM or UG


Karen

I think that the new UG calendar takes the Fantasmic issue into account. I have not used TGM but have heard from others that many items are not as up to date as they would like. I personaly would trust UG which also agrees with RideMax. At least for my trip.

 

[Supermom3]

I really like RideMax. I like putting in my attractions and having a personalized touring plan generated for me. It'll also tell me if I'm trying to do too much in a day, so I feel like I'm getting a realistic plan. I've never used TGM, so I can't speak on that.

 

[rie'smom]

I subscribe to both TGM and the UG, but now I'm really confused.
For our trip in April, most of the "number 1 green days" that TGM reccommends on any given day, is the park that the UG says to avoid

I think I'll go with TGM's suggestions, but don't really know if that's the best decision or not.

As time gets closer to the trip, does the UG sometimes revise their suggestions?

Who would you go with for the least crowded parks...TGM or UG


Karen

I use both and have found the TGM's least crowded days to be more accurate. On one of our trips, the group split each morning-1 using TGM and 1using the UG. The TGM group had much better days. In fact, the UG gang insisted on switching towards the end. Both have very good touring plans.

However,for our park touring plans, I use RideMAx because you can put in any ADR times and choose specific rides/attractions that you and your group want to ride/see. It's a more personalized planner.

 

[srwarden1928]

I like the UG book and the touringplans website. I like the logic and computer analysis that go into their recommendations. I use their touring plans and their recommended park days. They have been very successful for me in the past. I have visited the recommended park, used the touringplan, and waited in only short lines. Later I have read about how crowded the nonrecommended park was that day. I know that both the plans and the recommended days are calculated with the computer analysis.
I also have a subscription to RideMax. I like the idea of Ridemax, but Im not sure it would be better in the park. I get the suspicion that Ridemax and touringplans would not GREATLY differ in the amount of wait. Ridemax seems to require alot more effort for a little time savings. Its fun though.
No one has ever managed to give me a CONCRETE reason for subscribing to TGM. My impression is that he is someone who knows alot about WDW and gives his opinions. There are plenty of DISers who know alot about WDW and have opinions. I prefer to rely on the computer analysis over somebody's opinion. I am open to be convinced that TGM is worth it. Before I subscribed to touringplans, I was able to read some samples that showed me what I was getting. Same for Ridemax. If someone can give me a good logical reason why I should subscribe to TGM, I will consider it. No one has so far. All I see is "I like it" from those who are TGM fans, no reasons.

 

[allisonw]

i have the UG i'm only halfway thru the book, i'm on a budget and every penny matters. if it doesn't work out i may consider tgm next time.

 

[Brian Noble]

I like and use both. They come from slightly different perspectives, and have different strengths.

UG+touringplans.com has a wider variety of sample touring plans, and vastly superior coverage of things outside the Disney World bubble---hotels, restaurants, transportation issues, etc. UG's focus is on helping you experience as much as possible during your vacation, which won't necessarily be very relaxing.

TGM is better at explaining why the recommendations are what they are, and has more in-depth information about attractions and the resorts inside the bubble. TGM's focus is on helping you see the things Disney does best, without needing a vacation to recover from your vacation.

 

[auntyjenn]

The thing I liked about TGM were the extra articles on -where to watch the parade etc. that you can print out. They seemed to explain things a little better in more detail.

The thing I liked about UG was that it was straight forward numbers.

I haven't tried Ride Max yet, but I really want to. (or do I just really want to go to DW?)

 

[BrerRabbit_fan]

I do neither. I take the UG out of the library. Honestly, you can get the same advice here for free.

 

[mom2aandj]

I've used both and they both have their strengths. I will say, UG is very annoying to me in that they will predict low crowds and then as the date gets closer (and you've probably already locked yourself into plans!) they will crank their rankings up. Now, I know someone will say they're just reevaluating date, and that may be true, but a few months ago UG had 4s and 5s for a major spring break week. TGM had this same week rated as high crowds. Now as the week approaches, the 4s and 5s have vanished. Obviously in this case, TGM would have given you more reliable, long term guidance on picking your vacation week based on crowd levels.

 

[Brian Noble]

Honestly, you can get the same advice here for free.

Lots of the advice here is free. Some of it is even good!

 

[Maxie86]

I subscribe to both TGM and the UG, but now I'm really confused.
For our trip in April, most of the "number 1 green days" that TGM reccommends on any given day, is the park that the UG says to avoid

I think I'll go with TGM's suggestions, but don't really know if that's the best decision or not.

As time gets closer to the trip, does the UG sometimes revise their suggestions?

Who would you go with for the least crowded parks...TGM or UG

Karen

I use TGM for the least crowded parks. He hasn't let me down yet. I don't do a touring plan other than being in the right park. We know how to navigate the parks, I just want to know which one to be in. I also like the UG, but when they differ I go with Mike.