tourguide mike or unofficial guide?

I have to agree with Maine and TracieDee.....I always ask others opinions on things I am interested in purchasing. An informed, researched purchase is better than impulsive one. And FYI...not all 'full refunds' are what they seem...who knows unless u ask. Each day tons of folks are taken with promises of "money back guarantees". On top of which...a few of us enjoy reading others opinions on things...if it bothers someone so much to read opinions...don't click onto an obviously opinionated topic or thread.
 
LuvTheMagic985 said:
I have to agree with Maine and TracieDee.....I always ask others opinions on things I am interested in purchasing. An informed, researched purchase is better than impulsive one. And FYI...not all 'full refunds' are what they seem...who knows unless u ask. Each day tons of folks are taken with promises of "money back guarantees". On top of which...a few of us enjoy reading others opinions on things...if it bothers someone so much to read opinions...don't click onto an obviously opinionated topic or thread.

Two years ago I subscribed to TGM. The site looked overwhelming and I decided that I wanted a refund. I received one promptly. So I can share my experience with the TGM money back guarantee-Mike stands behind his product 100%. :thumbsup2 Mike's service was soo good that last year after reading rave reviews on the Disboards I decided to try TGM again. To say that I was thrilled to learn how to tour WDW is an understatement. My husband says from now on no WDW w/out TGM. Oh and I've resubscribed for our upcoming trip in May! :cheer2: :cheer2:
 
I'm so sorry if anyone took that I was saying Mike isn't behind his guarantee....that is not what i meant. His site is very stand up. I was just defending the reason ppl get on this board and ask others opinions. Questions are good and reasonable.
 
4mygrls said:
I bought the unofficial guide to walt disney world. It's alot of info but i don't think I really like the touring plans. It seems to make it more like school. We have 8 days and I really want to take it easy and not rush through everything. It's me, dh and two young girls. I read about tourguide mike and was thinking about purchasing that. Is it alot like the unofficial guide? I don't want a touring plan. I just want to know what days are better to go to what parks and what are good times to do adr's at table service restaurants. Also, should we consider early morning entrance or late magic hours? I'm becoming so overwhelmed with the planning. I'm almost ready to throw in the towel and just wing it. I know I have to make adr's for ts restaurants though. Gosh, I'm wondering if this is all worth it? :confused3

You're like me. You want some simple principles that might make your trip more enjoyable and your line wait shorter. You don't want to go through... OH NO, WE'RE 20 SECONDS LATE ON STEP 22, ON TO 23... WHERE'S 23...AHHHHHHH!!!! You have 8 days to do the 4 parks? that's plenty. We spent 3 days in MK, 2 in epcot, and 1 each in AK and MGM and found that was easy. We took one day completely off and we went to Typhoon Lagoon another. We missed a few shows in MGM and a couple in AK. But it wasn't worth turning around and buying hoppers which would have cost us over $100 at that point just to finish the two up. Besides, the little ones wanted MK for a third day anyway.
Here's a link to find out the best days to go to what park.
http://www.touringplans.com/BestDays.htm
The suggested parks are on the left, the ones to avoid are on the right.
I suggest avoiding all extra magic hours parks. We've found the extra crowds eat up the extra time and more. We had good luck going to a park the day after an evening extra magic hour and the day before an exta morning hour. I think touring plans does too.
We found it was most convenient to make an Adr nearby where we were. For example, on our MK days, we either reserved one in the MK, or at one of the monorail resorts. On our epcot days, we ate at Epcot, etc.
Note that we didn't get hoppers and didn't feel a need to hop. If you haven't really seen anything yet, there's no real need. Those that have been there a few times will probably want to hop more because they will have many more things they don't care about seeing or doing again. As to the timing of your ADRs, they're ADRs. Make them for when you want. If you want something special like a fireworks time, just head on over to the restaurant board and ask. They'll tell you how to do that. One thing though, don't spend time at a breakfast ADR right when the park opens. Either get a before it opens time or wait to get one of the later times.



If you remember just a few basic principles from the UG, you will save yourself a lot of time.
1. Get to the parks early, at opening if you can.
2. If you see a show letting out, DO NOT, get in any lines nearby. They will be double length. Skip em and come back.
3. Whenever you go to a land, hit its headliners first (they'll have fastpasses) and get fastpass if you need to. Then hit the rides without one while you're waiting for your fastpass time.
4. Don't hit rides right by the entrance (even dud ones) as you walk in. Wait til later.

MK we hit FL first. It really fills up mid day and it is the worst land for strollers due to lack of space and due to the fact that stroller parking is all the way where the sky lift used to be. So naturally, nobody uses it and they just park em anywhere. If you hit it early, you can usually avoid that mess.
Peter Pan, and Pooh are your biggies. Dumbo isn't a biggie but it's a very slow loading ride. Same with the cups. So you've got 4 big ones to hit in one land and it behoves you to hit em early. Once that is accomplished, we find we don't need a plan the rest of the way. We find it easier to just finish what you want to do in fantasy land and then get out of there before the crunch really hits.
The rest of the lands only have one or two headliners and you can easily get a fast pass to them, then do the rest of the attractions, then use the fast pass. Since we had 3 days, we went one direction from FL one day, the other direction the other. We got the whole thing covered in two and had the third to hit whatever we wanted. And you don't have to run ragged all over the park. Just relax and have fun. Also our kids won't nap so there was no way we could nap em, then come back late.

We found also that at the counters we wanted, it was best to eat where we were than cross over to the other side rignt in the middle of things.

Afternoon times are nice to sit down for a meal. It's hot. The crowds are at their worst, and they're all riding because they ate at peak time. Zig when they zag and zag when they zig.

Really, there's a wealth of info right here from a lot of people. Deb's site has a new review section for the food too which is nice. And she has great lists on what to pack, the little things you might forget.... All kinds of things.
 

Mainebound said:
Althouhg I do wish new DISers would use the "search" function a little more, I'm not sure any "battering" is happening here, and I don't think it is a waste oftime to ask people's opinions on a product before you purchase it. We do this all the time, at restaurants for example (hey, have you tried the pasta? is it good?). Sure, you can return things, but it's nice to try to make an informed decision in the first place, isn't it?

Point well taken and I have edited my post above but this is a topic that usually gets blown out of proportion and ends up being a very negative experience for the readers and posters. That was not the intent of my posting. Try TGM and if you don't like it you have a money back guarantee so go for it.
 
kutchyone said:
Point well taken and I have edited my post above but this is a topic that usually gets blown out of proportion and ends up being a very negative experience for the readers and posters. That was not the intent of my posting. Try TGM and if you don't like it you have a money back guarantee so go for it.


I agree, it usually does, bu so far so good. I'm even pretty much staying out of it -- miracles do happen, LOL!
 
LOVE Mike!! I have used his tips for two trips and had a great experience. I have also referred him to friends and family and they have benefited from the advice as well. It is just more tailored/ specific to any touring you might do. It is also updated frequently with holiday/ peak season tours based on EMH schedules. Mikes' philosophy has also made our vacations much more enjoyable- see the best, take a break, enjoy your evening. My kids have never went to the parks feeling rushed or overwhelmed. I highly recommend TGM.
 
/
Cannot_Wait_4Disney said:
You're like me. You want some simple principles that might make your trip more enjoyable and your line wait shorter. You don't want to go through... OH NO, WE'RE 20 SECONDS LATE ON STEP 22, ON TO 23... WHERE'S 23...AHHHHHHH!!!! You have 8 days to do the 4 parks? that's plenty. We spent 3 days in MK, 2 in epcot, and 1 each in AK and MGM and found that was easy. We took one day completely off and we went to Typhoon Lagoon another. We missed a few shows in MGM and a couple in AK. But it wasn't worth turning around and buying hoppers which would have cost us over $100 at that point just to finish the two up. Besides, the little ones wanted MK for a third day anyway.
Here's a link to find out the best days to go to what park.
http://www.touringplans.com/BestDays.htm
The suggested parks are on the left, the ones to avoid are on the right.
I suggest avoiding all extra magic hours parks. We've found the extra crowds eat up the extra time and more. We had good luck going to a park the day after an evening extra magic hour and the day before an exta morning hour. I think touring plans does too.
We found it was most convenient to make an Adr nearby where we were. For example, on our MK days, we either reserved one in the MK, or at one of the monorail resorts. On our epcot days, we ate at Epcot, etc.
Note that we didn't get hoppers and didn't feel a need to hop. If you haven't really seen anything yet, there's no real need. Those that have been there a few times will probably want to hop more because they will have many more things they don't care about seeing or doing again. As to the timing of your ADRs, they're ADRs. Make them for when you want. If you want something special like a fireworks time, just head on over to the restaurant board and ask. They'll tell you how to do that. One thing though, don't spend time at a breakfast ADR right when the park opens. Either get a before it opens time or wait to get one of the later times.



If you remember just a few basic principles from the UG, you will save yourself a lot of time.
1. Get to the parks early, at opening if you can.
2. If you see a show letting out, DO NOT, get in any lines nearby. They will be double length. Skip em and come back.
3. Whenever you go to a land, hit its headliners first (they'll have fastpasses) and get fastpass if you need to. Then hit the rides without one while you're waiting for your fastpass time.
4. Don't hit rides right by the entrance (even dud ones) as you walk in. Wait til later.

MK we hit FL first. It really fills up mid day and it is the worst land for strollers due to lack of space and due to the fact that stroller parking is all the way where the sky lift used to be. So naturally, nobody uses it and they just park em anywhere. If you hit it early, you can usually avoid that mess.
Peter Pan, and Pooh are your biggies. Dumbo isn't a biggie but it's a very slow loading ride. Same with the cups. So you've got 4 big ones to hit in one land and it behoves you to hit em early. Once that is accomplished, we find we don't need a plan the rest of the way. We find it easier to just finish what you want to do in fantasy land and then get out of there before the crunch really hits.
The rest of the lands only have one or two headliners and you can easily get a fast pass to them, then do the rest of the attractions, then use the fast pass. Since we had 3 days, we went one direction from FL one day, the other direction the other. We got the whole thing covered in two and had the third to hit whatever we wanted. And you don't have to run ragged all over the park. Just relax and have fun. Also our kids won't nap so there was no way we could nap em, then come back late.

We found also that at the counters we wanted, it was best to eat where we were than cross over to the other side rignt in the middle of things.

Afternoon times are nice to sit down for a meal. It's hot. The crowds are at their worst, and they're all riding because they ate at peak time. Zig when they zag and zag when they zig.

Really, there's a wealth of info right here from a lot of people. Deb's site has a new review section for the food too which is nice. And she has great lists on what to pack, the little things you might forget.... All kinds of things.

Wow Cannot_Wait_4Disney,

This is great advice. We are leaving for Disney this Saturday & it is one of the busiest times of the year.

I took so many notes on your advice above. I feel so much better with your plan, I have been so nervous.

Thank you again pixiedust:

Patricia
 
Did you ever notice that all the recommendations in the Unofficial Guide (and alot of others) say visit every attraction before 11 or after 4 - I laugh everytime. If we all followed this everything would be jammed and between 11 and 4 the parks would be empty!! :goodvibes Even when you look at restaurants most suggest an early or late meal!!

Guides are good, but also use your knowledge of your family and remember to stop and enjoy the scenery!!!!
 
Cannot_Wait_4Disney said:
You're like me. You want some simple principles that might make your trip more enjoyable and your line wait shorter. You don't want to go through... OH NO, WE'RE 20 SECONDS LATE ON STEP 22, ON TO 23... WHERE'S 23...AHHHHHHH!!!!


Just so it's clear, TGM provides simple principles, not steps that have you running around worrying about being 20 seconds late. As a matter of fact, that is absolutely contrary to his philosophy.
And just so I'm clear, I'm not saying that the quoted poster was saying TGM is like that either - I just like the visual I got with the way it was worded. :goodvibes
 
Maria395712 said:
do you have to join it every year or is it a one time fee
maria

When you join TGM, you put in the dates you are going to WDW. The subscription is good from when you sign up until 60 days after you return. There is a nice renewal discount, and you can basically sign up as far in advance of your trip as you want.
 
I think I've already posted this kind of post before, but while I love the books, nothing is better than "face to face" contact (sort of!) :goodvibes

I've used TGM for 2 trips now and honestly wouldn't consider NOT purchasing before a trip. It's just that simple. He's good, reliable and worth every penny! :thumbsup2
 
When we used TGM at first when accessing the site I felt like I had to digest all of the information and spend hours reading it all. Later, I decided to simplify and just printed out the information that I needed and read it at night while I was trying to fall asleep. I found that I got a lot more by reading pages rather than text on a screen. Mike should write a book... but that's neither here nor there.

At the parks we did not follow 100% of the information because our circumstances were unique. We were touring with three kids, one of whom has severe autism. So we had to take things differently. I incorporated a lot that I learned on the disboards disabilities thread into what I had taken from TGM.

It turned out well. The first day was hellish because we just WENT and didn't follow any of the advice. We were just too excited and decided to do MK even though it was a red light day. So we had to backtrack and when we did we found that the advice was valid.

I had brought a folder of info and had little cards made to take with us with the touring plans and followed them as much as we could from there on.

It did make things more magical to use TGM, but I would specifically mention that there is a lot of reading to do to get that info into your head. It's not like you enter your vacation dates and times and he prints you an itinerary. It is your vacation and your plans, you have to make them work for you.

I also bought the Passporter, and some of that was good, but a lot of it was stuff I already knew. I would like to get the one about disabilities for our next trip, but who knows when that will be.

Either way, WDW is a great place and there are a lot of good resources, find what clicks for you and fly with it. Just my opinion.

Jan pirate:
 
Maria395712 said:
do you have to join it every year or is it a one time fee
maria

For TGM, you do have to pay for each trip, although there is a discount for returning guests.
 
mdeee said:
I am having trouble figuring TGM out. ANy suggestions
Have you already signed up? If so, just go over to the TGM forums and ask any questions that you might have. There are alot of knowledgable people over there that can answer specific questions that may not be appropriate to answer here. :)

Ken
 
I don't know what it is recently, but I've seen more TGM threads the past week than since I joined these boards back in 2001
 
I have to admit I am an Unoffical Guide lover & love to use the touring plans. My family laughed at me the first trip but after a couple of times of us waiting 5 minutes to ride & then seeing that the lines had become an hour long a few minutes later they appreciated my planning. Even if that isn't you the UG website has an updated best days calendar (the address is in the book) & has different plans that are not in the book. If you want to arrive late or go to a park for just one afternoon they have plans to accomodate. I haven't used TGM, so I can't compare them, but if you just want best days go to the UG website & just use the info you want & disregard the other stuff. I've read several books including Passporter & Hasslefree & I'll probably check out TGM. I read it all & choose the ideas from each that work for me. Best of luck.
 





New Posts










Save Up to 30% on Rooms at Walt Disney World!

Save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resorts Collection hotels when you stay 5 consecutive nights or longer in late summer and early fall. Plus, enjoy other savings for shorter stays.This offer is valid for stays most nights from August 1 to October 11, 2025.
CLICK HERE













DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest

Back
Top