Tour Guide Mike?

[halssister]

I've heard Tour Guide Mike referred to on here, and I've even poked around the website. But I'm still confused as to what it is and how it works. How far in advance does it give you your touring plan? Does it tell you what park to go to on which day, or do you tell which park you're going to and it gives you the best route to take, or what? I tried to get more info but somehow picked up a little virus while there (don't know that it was FROM the site itself, probably a stupid ad or pop up or something) and ended up having to get out of there and clean up my computer.

So, is there anyone who has used this and can give me a little more detailed info on it? I'd gladly spend the $20 if it's really helpful, but we are basically doing one park each for four days, and were planning on doing the EMH park on that particular day, so not sure if this matters or not. Any ideas? Thank you!

 

[ireland_nicole]

My experience w/ TGM has definitely been positive, but I think to get the maximum benefit out of the site you have to spend some time navigating it. Without sharing anything I shouldn't, I can say that following his advice puts you in the best location at the best time crowd wise. I have found it to be invaluable. Not only him, but the forums are very helpful too. FWIW, we don't park hop either, and I don't find that to be a problem.

 

[clanmcculloch]

TGM does not actually build touring plans for you. It teaches you how to build your own touring plans. Once you've read through your Automated Vacation Planner to learn about the TGM touring philosophy, you can start building your itinerary of which park to go to on each day based on Mike's Least Crowded Parks chart. For every calendar day he tells you which park will be best to worst for crowds so you can be in the opposite place of where most other people will be. You're not on your own doing this; the forums will give you all the help you need with this. Once you've got your itinerary completed to your satisfaction, you can then start working on daily touring plans using the info Mike has taught you to ensure you're at attractions at the best time of day to avoid lines. Again, the forums are an immense source of help as you do this. Not only does it help you build touring plans, it also teaches you how to make changes on the fly since we all know that things never go exactly as planned. He's selling knowledge, not just a cookie cutter touring plan. The knowledge really does help you build a plan that will suit your own family's personal needs. Touring plans like RideMax just spit out touring plans that will have you running from place to place at one speed (high) and don't allow the kind of customization you'll get from Mike and don't actually teach/explain the hows and whys behind it. With Mike you'll actually understand why so you can make changes as you need to.

It really is THAT helpful. Mike has years and years of experience giving tours in the parks and he's figured out all sorts of little details about patters that most people follow. This experience is what you're buying. If you follow the info that he provides then you really can avoid crowds and lines even during the busiest times of the year (we used TGM for the first time last Christmas and couldn't believe that crowds and lines seemed shorter for us that trip than they did over some of the slowest times of the year such as last week of February).

It's the best $20 I ever spend on a vacation. Make sure to sign up through the ad on the Theme Parks board here on the DIS because he offers a $3 discount (he's that board's sponsor).

Honest, I don't work for him. LOL I'm just that much of a fan.

ETA: As Nicole said, you do have to put in the time to really get the benefit. If you want a touring plan spit out to you then you're better off with a different touring plan service.

 

[Sadie22]

I've used TGM to plan my last two trips, including the one I just returned from. Knowing which park he recommends when and why helped me tremendously when I had to alter plans mid-trip when DH became ill and some mid-trip plans had to be postponed to the end of the trip when he was feeling better. I was well-prepared before I left home and was able to alter my personal touring plan while DH was in meetings to respond to my energy level. Despite the July heat and crowds we didn't wait for anything.

 

[halssister]

Thanks everyone for the info I don't know that this would be that helpful in our situation, because we already have planned which park to go to on each of our four days, and we actually only have a handful of things that we feel we *must* do at each park. I have the Passporter's Guide which has some suggested touring plans, and realistically I see us being fine with just getting a FP for our "main" attraction for each park (such as Soarin) first and then kind of meandering around to see what DS decides he wants to check out. It does sound pretty neat though, and if we have as *magical* a time as I'm hoping, it will definitely be something to keep in mind for a future trip!