Tour Guide Mike? Is it for us???

[JulielovesDisney]

We are an experienced WDW family. This upcoming trip will be our 14th trip together. But we are thinking of taking my brother's girlfriend's family with us next summer. They have been maybe once or twice, but loved it!

We went to WDW in the middle of August, and it was fairly crowded. We kept having long ride waits and the parks were crowded. So if we go next summer, we'd like to know how to beat the crowds, especially with a group of 8 or 9 people.

So my question is, will TGM work for us and is it worth it?

We are also used to just kind of winging it. We aren't that fond if schedules. Especially the ones that say "at 11:15 go to Space Mt, then at 11:30 go to Dumbo..." ect. Is TGM like that? Or is it just "On Monday go to Epcot and do this ride between these hours, Tuesday MGM and do these rides during this time."? If it's the second one, we can definitely and easily do that. We just don't feel like it's a vacation if you have an hour by hour schedule of things to do.

Thanks for any info!

 

[lillygator]

I consider myself an experienced WDW "goer" and I did take away some tips from TGM....for $20 why not?

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

I went in July of this year. For all intents and purposes, I was a newbie. I wanted to see it all--at least the 4 theme parks. I signed up for TGM. I found his best days advice amazingly accurate. And his tips for touring helped me avoid the lines and the crowds. With your experience and his best days to go, I am sure you can modify the touring schedule to suit your needs.

I'll give an example. I stayed at Pop. I had 6 day base tickets. For my 4 "mainly park" days, I followed TGMs top choice of park for each of the 4 days. I arrived at the Pop bus stop at around 7:45 on my Epcot day. Each queue had at least one bus load of people waiting for the bus. MK and AK had at least 1 and a half to 2 busloads waiting. There were 2 people standing at the Epcot queue! I stood in the shade for about 10-15 minutes waiting for the Epcot bus. When it pulled away from the curb there were 8 of us on the bus. This was a pretty good reflection of the morning crowd at Epcot. I arrived at the park around 8:15 and stood in a line with a family of 4 ahead of me. So, my longest wait of the day was for the park to open! I had done everything I wanted to do before 1PM--mind you I am not big into the shops. I was going to head back to the hotel at that point, but got "greedy" and decided to do Soarin for a 4th time and to do Test Track and MS again as well. Then I decided to do Ellen's Universe of Energy and that was the break I needed to recharge and carry on until Illumintations. This carried through for the entire day...I got a perfect (TGM recommended) spot for Illuminations about 15 minutes before show time.

Now sure, if you can select your park based on what queue is least crowded when you head off to the bus stop, great! But if you like to do just a wee bit more planning, I'd say the best days advice alone is worth the price!

 

[new mom11]

I also think the "best days to visit" guide alone makes TGM well worth the price. I've been to WDW more times than I can count; this is the 2nd year I've used TGM. I've used his suggesstions and never been disappointed. In all honesty, maybe it's just me, but the site is a little confusing. There are a zillion links, I find myself reading the same info....probably just me. But it is worth it.....

 

[elastigirl]

I think only you can answer that question for yourself - he's a lifesaver for many, others already have the info or their own touring style. He has a money back guarantee, give it a try.

 

[horseshowmom]

We are an experienced WDW family. This upcoming trip will be our 14th trip together. But we are thinking of taking my brother's girlfriend's family with us next summer. They have been maybe once or twice, but loved it!

We went to WDW in the middle of August, and it was fairly crowded. We kept having long ride waits and the parks were crowded. So if we go next summer, we'd like to know how to beat the crowds, especially with a group of 8 or 9 people.

So my question is, will TGM work for us and is it worth it?

We are also used to just kind of winging it. We aren't that fond if schedules. Especially the ones that say "at 11:15 go to Space Mt, then at 11:30 go to Dumbo..." ect. Is TGM like that? Or is it just "On Monday go to Epcot and do this ride between these hours, Tuesday MGM and do these rides during this time."? If it's the second one, we can definitely and easily do that. We just don't feel like it's a vacation if you have an hour by hour schedule of things to do.

Thanks for any info!

We're somewhat similar - been many, many times, but we haven't been the last few years. We're going Dec. 16-23rd and taking DD's BF and another family with us. We want to get the most out of the time we're there (and especially want them to have a great time since they've never been before), so I've also been considering TGM. It sounds like it's worked for a lot of people.

 

[MonkeyPants]

just signed up at TGMs about an hour or so ago. I have been going to WDW for years, but have seen many people rave about the site (and a few complain they learned nothing new) but hey I figure for 20 why not check it out. I had heard its a ton of info on the site and glancing through it appears quite true, guess I have something to keep me busy. I signed up with intentions of using it for my January trip, thinking I'd start looking over the info when I was much closer to the trip, but given how much there appears to be on the site, I am glad I signed up now as now I'll have plnety of time to dig into the material.

Glancing at the best days list for the time I am there I did discover that I arrive on the last night of the Osbourne Lights...so I guess I know where I am spending my first night. I have never seen them and thought I was arriving too late to see them this time as well. But I am not too late..and just knowing that has made my day

 

[horseshowmom]

I went in July of this year. For all intents and purposes, I was a newbie. I wanted to see it all--at least the 4 theme parks. I signed up for TGM. I found his best days advice amazingly accurate. And his tips for touring helped me avoid the lines and the crowds. With your experience and his best days to go, I am sure you can modify the touring schedule to suit your needs.

I'll give an example. I stayed at Pop. I had 6 day base tickets. For my 4 "mainly park" days, I followed TGMs top choice of park for each of the 4 days. I arrived at the Pop bus stop at around 7:45 on my Epcot day. Each queue had at least one bus load of people waiting for the bus. MK and AK had at least 1 and a half to 2 busloads waiting. There were 2 people standing at the Epcot queue! I stood in the shade for about 10-15 minutes waiting for the Epcot bus. When it pulled away from the curb there were 8 of us on the bus. This was a pretty good reflection of the morning crowd at Epcot. I arrived at the park around 8:15 and stood in a line with a family of 4 ahead of me. So, my longest wait of the day was for the park to open! I had done everything I wanted to do before 1PM--mind you I am not big into the shops. I was going to head back to the hotel at that point, but got "greedy" and decided to do Soarin for a 4th time and to do Test Track and MS again as well. Then I decided to do Ellen's Universe of Energy and that was the break I needed to recharge and carry on until Illumintations. This carried through for the entire day...I got a perfect (TGM recommended) spot for Illuminations about 15 minutes before show time.

Now sure, if you can select your park based on what queue is least crowded when you head off to the bus stop, great! But if you like to do just a wee bit more planning, I'd say the best days advice alone is worth the price!

That's pretty amazing!

 

[ski37]

You spend thousands on the vacation...why not spend an extra $20 for a chance on it being a better vacation.

Knowledge is Power!

I personally found it well worth it.

ski

 

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

I consider us experienced WDW's also. However, this trip I spent the $20 for TGM. Even though our trip is still three weeks away, I think it has been worth it so far.

I do agree that there is alot of information to read through and it is a little confusing navigating through his material.

 

[ajcolorado]

We too are pretty experienced WDW-ers but we took a large group last June - most of whom had never been to WDW. We used the TGM information and never waited more than 20 minutes for anything, most waits were much shorter. We were very pleased with the information and found it much less rigid than the Unofficial Guide plans.

We are going next June and have already signed up again for TGM.

 

[disneyandme]

I have a question to add on... how long is the TGM sign up for? Is it a one year usage or is it a one time pay and use "forever"? Thanks.

 

[horseshowmom]

I signed up with intentions of using it for my January trip, thinking I'd start looking over the info when I was much closer to the trip, but given how much there appears to be on the site, I am glad I signed up now as now I'll have plnety of time to dig into the material.

Glad you brought that point up. We're going in December, and I kind of had in mind waiting until November or so to get it. Sounds like I might want to go ahead now.

Anybody know where the absolute cheapest price to buy it though is? I know there's a link on this site. Any others?

Thanks!

 

[horseshowmom]

I have a question to add on... how long is the TGM sign up for? Is it a one year usage or is it a one time pay and use "forever"? Thanks.

I need the answer to this question too! Thanks!

 

[Brian Noble]

It's once per "trip"; you have access from the day you sign up until 60 days past your trip. If you renew for a new trip within the year, the price is discounted.

 

[JulielovesDisney]

Thanks for all the info. I think we'll do it. I've also heard tons and tons of good things about TGM. Sounds like it's worth it. 20 bucks isn't bad at all! Thanks for everything! The Dis rocks!!

 

[THpoohbear]

How does TGM compare with the touring plans of the Unoffical Guide? Anyone know? Are they similar or completely different? I'm tempted to buy TGM, but I don't want it to be the same stuff. Unoffical's stuff seems very reliable (touringplans.com). Thanks!

 

[disneyandme]

bump!

 

[robsmith1098]

My wife has been going with her family to WDW since she was a small child (she lost count after 65 trips and that was before she was a teenager). She found TGM and we've been using it ever since - wouldn't go without Mike's advice.

There is another thread on the DIS that discounts and flames TGM. Mike has a product (namely, his TGM site and the information he provides). As with any product you sell it for a price. Since this product is information, so you only make it available to those willing to pay. This is not new to the internet and the same holds true for newspapers, magazines and other forms of media that you purchase. While similar information may be on other sites, Mike checks his information for accuracy (to the best of his ability). Is some of it dated (old)? Sure, until he gets around to updating it, which he tries his best to do as much as possible (he does have a touring company alongside of his AVP site). I mention all of this to keep in mind in case you happen to read that thread.

TGM is not for everybody. It will not set up an itinerary for you, but will provide you with information and a philosophy for planning a great vacation. There are tons of subscribers in the forums just waiting to help if you get lost or bogged down while perusing the pages of the site.

 

[mareed]

How does TGM compare with the touring plans of the Unoffical Guide? Anyone know? Are they similar or completely different? I'm tempted to buy TGM, but I don't want it to be the same stuff. Unoffical's stuff seems very reliable (touringplans.com). Thanks!

I think the main difference with TGM is that he'll give you the reasoning behind his recommendations. When you know the reason behind making certain choices, you can then modify things "on the fly" as needed. TGM will give a recommendation on the best park(s) to visit each day and he does have touring plans that I think are similar to Unofficial Guide, as far as recommending which attractions to do early in the day, but once again I think the difference is that TGM gives the reasons behind the recommendations and I think Unofficial Guide is more "go here, then go there".