tour guide Mike?

[MickeyMommy2]

I read the suggestion about using Tour Guide Mike to help plan your vacation. Who else out there has used him, and were you happy? I tried to go to his website to check it out, but it doesn't seem to be working. Interested to hear what you all have to say!
MickeyMommy2

 

[DisneyFanatik]

There is a thread about this over on the Disney Tips board. Most of the people who used it seem to have been quite happy with it.

 

[Selket]

I love TGM and it is my top choice for a WDW guide. I posted in that thread on the Tips board and here is a link to the whole thread: http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=495273

Like any guide, one will appeal to you more than others. The downside of TGM is that you have to buy upfront without seeing the whole thing (like you could browse a book). For my first purchase I considered it a "look see" and if I didn't like it I'd not get it for future trips. I'm already signed up for my next trip however (he has a major discount for repeat users)! Good luck finding the guide that helps you the most!

 

[katrina1122]

I hardly ended up using it all. I found all the info I needed on this site and the birbaum's and passporter books. All it really does it remind you of priority seating dates etc, but I can do that on my own. It also has lots of 'touring' articles, but I found them to be too basic and didn't gain anything from them. It can create a touring plan for you, but I wasn't pleased with that option and I just made my own using a download for free from intercot.com. To me it was a waste of money.

 

[KIS]

I've yet to go to WDW for the first time. We are now 89 days from our trip. I had to do most of my planning in August and now in the last couple of weeks. I have much preferred the assistance of touringplans.com, with Len Testa. The site is linked with the unofficial guide and the attention and care Len gives is amazing. I am quite confident that we will follow his suggetions and advise and have a lovely trip.

KIS

 

[always quiet]

I have it and I love it!! I have been to disney many times and honestly, wasn't sure what info there was out there that I didn't already know, but when I did the math when figuring out the cost, it was only costing me something like a dollar a month (my trip counter when I started was well over 500 days!!). Heck, you probably spend more than that a month on a cup of coffee! I was amazed at what I didn't know! I never paid attention to which ride was more crowded at different times of the day! All the tips to avoid crowds and waiting in lines are great! There is normally a discount for the site on mousesavers.com . I know I used one from there. I highly recommend it!!

 

[WDW*3]

I use the site and love it! I recommend it highly. TGM's recommendations are right on.

 

[Mainebound]

I think it is worth the money, especially if you can get a discount. On the other hand, I think the Unoffocial Guide is much more valuable and much more bang for your buck. Whenever TGM's itinerary advice differs from UG's I go with UG. I'm not sure why, because I know TGM makes a good living at giving tours.

I find the TGM site very hard to navigate. In some ways, it has both the worst features of the print material (outdated by DIS standards) and the worst features of web material (takes forever to sift through it, and find what you need). I also find annoying the condescending asides and comments ("And we DON'T want to be late for Wishes, DO WE Mainebound???..."). I'm quite sure the author would not have such a successful tour business if he spoke to his clients in real life like that!!

But I don't regret purchasing it. It was only $15 bucks, and there's a lot of material there, including lots of pics, for beginners and pros alike.

 

[tinkie]

I got it - I like it a lot - most of the information I kind of knew from planning my last trip and using these boards....I don't like having to print everything out...a book might be easier....but still it is fun and helpful. I think it would be GREAT for a first timer who doesn't have a lot of time to search the boards for answers to all of their questions.


It cost me $21.95.....

 

[steveanddonna]

We're not crazy about TGM; nothing particularly wrong with it, just not different from most of the other guidebooks. We're dial-up, so it's really SLOW navigating, and easier for me to have the Passporter or guidebook in front of me. TGM is not that expensive, so I'd say it's worth a try, but we'll stick to the Passporter in the future.