Tour Guide Mike~ is the $19 guide worth it?

[Karinmrh]

We leave in 13 days! I have been looking at the Tour guide mike ads. I have the Birnbaums book but this is the first time the kids have been to Disney. Is the guide worth the money? I know it isnt much but HEY this is the most expensive vacation we have ever taken! Karin

 

[Bob P]

Hi,

If you do a search on this board you'll find lots of threads asking the same question. Here's a link to one:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1123744&highlight=tour+guide+mike

 

[CuteKatCar]

With 13 days out, unless you plan on printing out a lot of info, or sitting at your computer, you are cutting it close for TGM. It does have a lot of material and the website is not that easy to navigate - you'll want to read everything at once and you have to keep clicking to other pages.

Just my 2 cents,

Anna

 

[Amirah95]

It's not worth it to buy it at the last minute. He has printable express touring plans, but it's still a lot to digest while your getting ready to leave to go to the World. I say pass it by and purchase it when you come back or know when you're going again.

 

[Rella Bella]

It's not worth it to buy it at the last minute. He has printable express touring plan but it's still a lot fo digest while your getting ready to leave to go to the World. I say pass it by and purchase it when you come back or know when you're going again.

I agree, you would need some dedicated time to get the value of it. It is TONS of information!

 

[Feelslikeadream]

From a Mom to a Mom if the 19$ isn't going to break you, and you have sometime to dedicate to Tour Guide Mike then go for it. You can always print info out and take it with you places (Dance lessons, Car rides, Doctor Appt. etc) Grab a highlighter and go to town. There is so much you can benefit from exspecially with the kids going!! Good luck on your decision.

 

[tmt martins]

I have not used it I seem to do fine for us on my own .We see and do everything we want on most trips.We go offened enough if we don't get something done we make this the first for our next trip.

But if you are doing say a week thats less then $2.50 a day so if he can save you just 2 or 3 hours of standing in line then thats less then $1 per hour of savings so that not bad in my opinion.

Also if your Flying it's a good way to look over things to finalize and kill the flight time.

 

[Amirah95]

Some people may disagree, but TGM is for Park Commandos. Each time we to WDW we need to see each and every thing we want to see and TGM's plans are right on point. You can add and omit attractions and shows as you like AND he won't have you standing in line. If I was going to WDW just to catch a few shows and see things next time I wouldn't purchase TGM...JMO.

 

[te2077]

i would. you can get info on viewing spots for parades, fireworks, etc. You can also check out his touring plans. I would go for it and just be sure to take some time before you leave to print off some stuff to take with you.

 

[Dustin]

IF you've got the 19 bucks, Do it. How are you getting there. If riding in a car or plane, You can do a little bit there too.

 

[TheZeppo]

I've discussed this in other threads. He is absolutely not worth it.

 

[lillygator]

For this close to your trip I would say no. I like TGM for all the info (just because I am one of those people who has to research everything) but you do have to be a park commando to really get the use of what he's peddlin'.

 

[addicted2disney]

Ive been to WDW 13 times since 1999 and I still use TGM! I used him again last year over Thanksgiving. I love the section on what day to do what park. And its broken down into those who do EMH and those , like me, who avoid it. I plan my itinerary using his advice on which parks are most and least crowded. So far, its been right on. Thankgiving 2 years in a row, we never hit any crowds. It was awesome!! hE DOES HAVE tons and tons of info, but If you are going when its crowded, its worth 20 bucks to avoid as many crowds as possible!!! Im going again in September and will most likely buy him again!!

 

[brentalex]

I would not do it this close to your trip. The problem with printing things out, is that you won't know where to go to find what you want to print. There is so much information, but it is not an easy site to use. Finding what you want to print will be the problem. Unless you have tons of paper and can simply print each and every page, I think you will not have time to find the information you need. If you think the book you have is not good enough and you want to spend more money, I would go to a bookstore and buy another guide book.

 

[my2boys1821]

I would not do it this close to your trip. The problem with printing things out, is that you won't know where to go to find what you want to print. There is so much information, but it is not an easy site to use. Finding what you want to print will be the problem. Unless you have tons of paper and can simply print each and every page, I think you will not have time to find the information you need. If you think the book you have is not good enough and you want to spend more money, I would go to a bookstore and buy another guide book.

I have to agree! TGM has tons of info and to only look at it for 13 days doesn't seem like enough time to me. You still need to find the time to find the information you want to print. It's a lot. It took me about 2 days just to get used to the site itself. I kept getting lost. But now that I know my way around it's easier. I'd say stick to your original guide, maybe pick up the UG for the trip down there. But I personally think you can save your $19 and buy an extra souvenier.

 

[MartDM]

With only a few weeks left to go, I'd recommend buying Passporter or the Unofficial Guide instead. TGM doesn't have any significant info that they don't and you'll be able to take them with you as a reference (I can't see the value in buying a TGM membership and printing out reams of paper to refer to when you can get it all in book form).

Quite honestly, I feel the organization of TGM is fairly convoluted and you really have to use it quite a bit to discover all the different facets it has to offer. That would require some serious devotion to your computer over the next 1 1/2 weeks to see all the site has to offer and I suspect that won't be feasible given that you're getting ready to travel.

Given those two things, I think it wouldn't be the best use of your hard earned cash!

 

[2infinityandbeyond]

I've discussed this in other threads. He is absolutely not worth it.

I'm curious. Why is he not worth it?

 

[Boardwalk Tigger]

I would not advise doing it this close to your vacation. Frankly I think this Board provides great information as does Deb wills site and they are free. Only thing I like is the EMH schedule he does for the time you are there but frankly unless you are there during a holiday week you really don't need that. There are many different suggestions that you can use as far as EMH schedule from this board. Basicly you want to know which park to go to and when. Do you go to the park with the early opening hour or avoid it. I personally do like the extra hour in the morning for the parks on about 3 or 4 days of our vacation and then I leave after being there for a few hours and switch parks. On the days I don't want to get up early I never go to a EMH park because it is too crowded by the time I would have gotten there and I pick another park completely. This has worked for me for the past 10 years! As far as evening EMH's are concerned just note that the designated park is always busy that evening so if you are not staying for the EMH that night you may want to be at another park. It depends though because I haven't found Epcot to be too crowded to at least walk around in! Good luck.... I would buy the Unofficial Guide and bring it with you....have fun. :

 

[GrandmaBarb]

Yes I would sign up for TGM even if close to travel time. The express planners are well worth every penny. You will know when to go where and how to accomplish what you want to accomplish.
I just returned from a WDW trip and we were able to do everything on our list and more. We never waited in lines, we knew exactly how to make this happen. We even had time for a rest break each afternoon. And enjoyed excellent dining and dinner shows.
His site is set up so you can learn so much is a short time that you will be amazed. I can guarantee, It works.