Tour Guide Mike's worth the $$$?

[Samar]

Hi

We're taking the kids to Disney again in June and on a mom's board I am on, someone mentioned TOURGUIDEMIKE and how it was a great buy for their vacation.

Has anyone used this site and was it worth the little bit for vacation travel? We're doing a 3 day park hopper with a 3 year old and a 1 year old, so any input would be great Thanks!

***Sorry, couldn't put a link in because of my lack of posts The caps thing is the link part.

 

[amarberry]

I love TGM and will never go to WDW without his information. Best $20 I've ever spent. I sort of look at it as buying a guidebook, except that the information is up to date.

He has some information for touring that is specific for young children, so you would probably find it helpful.

 

[JennyW]

We're going in August and I signed up for TourGuide Mike because of all the recommendations on this board. I had a basic plan from reading this board and the Unofficial Guide to Disney World, but it is really starting to solidify with TourGuide Mike's advice. Even if it helps you wait in a few fewer lines, it's worth the money. There is a coupon link at the top of some of the DISboard forums.

jenny

 

[Samar]

Thanks Jenny I got a $3 off coupon code from Mouseforless and signed up for TGM. I figured that I may as well sign up now while I have time to plan and get the most out of it before our trip.

Thanks to all!

 

[maddhatir]

i have always read about TGM also- when he came to the board i used the $3 off coupon also- i figured why not- everyone seems to like his advice.

i have been to disney 10 times- this sept will be our 11th trip and i thought i would plan ahead this time. (actually for the very first time- DH and i usually "wing it") i really found TGM least crowded park days very helpful-- i thought that alone was worth the $$- i planed my whole trip around which park he said would be the best to go to that particular day.

i have my chart showing each day- what park(s) we are going to- the restaurants we will eat at (we have the dining plan) ADR times and ressie#s , lunch and dinner are color coded! whenever i finish up a day with things to do--- i shade it light gray so i know that i filled that day up!

oh my god... i just realized....I AM A FREAK!

 

[3kidsmommy]

Ok--my take on TGM is this--I joined just a bit ago thinking maybe it would have some helpful info. I am sure for some people it does. I found the site a bit difficult to navigate and unless I am willing to schedule every second of our vacation, there really wasn't much to help me. The ONE thing I loved was his estimates on the best park to visit which day. THAT, alone, was worth the $$ I paid, so I didn't request a refund. Besides that, really, it is ME that has a problem! I just am not the "plan until you drop" type of person. I follow the kids' lead, we have fun and noone gripes too much. We do the ADR's and such, but other than that, I refuse to have my whole day planned out. I say go for the site, the one piece of information I gained was worth it...

 

[JennyW]

If you don't like to be scheduled, TGM won't help as much. But if waiting in very short lines is one of your priorities, it's immensely helpful.

 

[Samar]

I'm not going to be a huge stickler on scheduling (heck, with 2 little kids, it's hard enought to do that at hone ) but it will really help when we take them to the parks on Sunday and Monday. DH and I will do Epcot by ourselves on Saturday

I think we will definitely get a good idea on the "must hits" though with TGM. Since we go on the average of once a year, we want to get whatever we missed last time

 

[DisneyFreq]

you can find best parks to visit and which parks to avoid by visiting the ug website touringplans.com. if you buy the guide as well, it gives you touring plans to avoid crowds. And funnily enough, even tho some facts become outdated with changes made "around the world" I could probaby use my guide from 1999 to come up with a pretty good game plan.

 

[XantheFan]

I used touringplans also, and loved all the different plans. We used the plan for young kids. It recommended Dumbo first, but there was a fairly good line in place so we just went to the next one on the list and got onto the next 5 rides with hardly any wait (and on some no wait at all). It was great. Just as the book said for young kids - everyone is heading to the two Mountains first thing, so if you go straight to Fantasyland, it is less crowded.

I am going to check out TGM. We like to have a plan, but are definitely flexible with it and do not get bent out of shape if the plan goes out the window. I'v'e heard that is the key!

 

[PrincessMommyof2]

I used both TGM and touringplans and found their advice, combined, unbeatable! I also bought two books on Ebay, which I promptly turned around and sold again because I had already received the same info from the websites. I recommend TGM.

 

[HELPDESKGUY]

I posted the same question about a month or so ago...I signed up for TGM and found the INFO very very helpful especially when to go and when not to go to parks!

Awsome Site well worth the $$$ IMO

 

[poohfriend]

and found TGM to be right on! Between Christmas and New Year's would have been unbearable for our family without his advice. Yes, most of it you could figure out yourself using DIS hints and other guidebooks.

I looked at it as buying on on-line guide book. I did find the site hard to navigate, but thought the least crowded park advice was easy to find and valuable.

Mostly, you're buying into a philosophy. He's probably done Disney as much as anyone and his philosophy for avoiding crowds is similar to other guidebooks -- but they offer additional advice so sometimes the basic philosophy gets muddled.

I will say this... every guidebook I've ready encourages folks to arrive early. If you want to sleep in on your vacation, don't buy TGM or any other guidebook. Instead get a park map upon arrival and go with the flow. (OH and don't whine about the lines!)

OP, I think you'll be glad you purchased tgm!