TourGuide Mike

[ChipNDale]

Ok Tourguide mike is on sale for $17 this week and I wanted to know if it was worth it for our trip July 2-9 We have never been to WDW and wanted to know if anyone as use this site and it information to have a great trip and can the information help with only a few days to go "21" untill we are at WDW. I ordered Passporter2005, but i dont know if i need TourGuid Mike for the ride info. BTW with the dining plan and the 50 year thing and well overall travel is up this year will anything help reduce wait times and get more done at WDW this summer.

Thanks all for you help.

-ChipNDale

 

[DaddyBug]

There is a GREAT deal of information provided on TGM... Very well worth the price. Since you are visiting during a busier time of year, it may be in your best interest to see what TGM has to say so that way you can Zag when everyone else is trying to Zig...

Good Luck!!!

Guy

 

[ReggieB]

I used it for my most recent trip in May. I have to tell you he was right on the money for best days to visit. I ignored his advice one day...never again! It's a bit a slog to get through all the info, there is so much of it, which is a good thing for me! I will probably use it again.

 

[Amirah95]

To me, it's worth it. It's another WDW source of useful information.

 

[missypie]

You will there at a very busy time. Mike gives hints for the busiest of times.

However, only subscribe if you have some time to devote to it. You DON'T pay your $17 and get a printed plan just for you. You review his sample tours, his many tips, etc. If you read a lot of his articles and internalize his tips and philosophy, you just won't wait in long lines.

We were in the parks for 10 days, including over Memorial Day weekend. We simply didn't wait in long lines. The longest line we waited in was 17 minutes, in the middle of a crowded day, for a non-Fast Pass attraction. Posted standby times for rides would be 45-60 minutes and we simply did not wait in any line approaching that length. I almost felt bad passing by all those people stuck in long lines.

 

[Ness2289]

I just purchased it last week for our upcoming JUNE trip.(13 days away, now) I don't think it's too late to get it, and it's been very helpful for me. Can't wait to see how well it works out with these massive crowds I'm hearing about!

 

[NCombs]

I really, really like TGM.

I read a lot of stuff about Disney from other sources and I have found a lot of great advice, tips and tricks from TGM I did not know before.

There is a lot of information. Since your trip is coming up soon, you need to purchase it asap and be willing to devote time to reading it.

One advantage over a guidebook-his online information can be updated immediately to give you the latest scoop.

 

[mill4023]

However, only subscribe if you have some time to devote to it. You DON'T pay your $17 and get a printed plan just for you. You review his sample tours, his many tips, etc. If you read a lot of his articles and internalize his tips and philosophy, you just won't wait in long lines.

Agreed. I subscribed before my trip 4/28-5/7 and found it to be well worth the money. We followed his best days advice, used his sample touring plans, and used his many tips about where to sit for the best views of parades, shows, etc. We saw pretty much everything we wanted to see and NEVER waited longer than 10 minutes in any line.

But, it is not something that you can just enter some information and have it spit out some kind of custom plan for you. You do need to devote some time to reading the articles. Understanding the logic behind his recommendations is as important as knowing what the recommendations are. That way, you will be able to modify his sample plans to fit your own needs and you will be prepared to make adjustments when things change.

He also offers a money-back guarantee, so if you try it and don't feel it's worth the money, you can cancel and get a refund.

 

[johnruuu]

Ok Tourguide mike is on sale for $17 this week and I wanted to know if it was worth it for our trip July 2-9 We have never been to WDW and wanted to know if anyone as use this site and it information to have a great trip and can the information help with only a few days to go "21" untill we are at WDW. I ordered Passporter2005, but i dont know if i need TourGuid Mike for the ride info. BTW with the dining plan and the 50 year thing and well overall travel is up this year will anything help reduce wait times and get more done at WDW this summer.

Thanks all for you help.

-ChipNDale

Is there some kind of promo code used for the $17 rate?

 

[Disneydreamer315]

themouseforless has a great promo code right now, I think it is five dollars off, but only for a few days. I am not sure if that is the code the op was talking about however.

 

[ForTheLoveofDisney]

Yea!!! I've been waiting for a great promo code for Tour Guide Mike!! Thank you for taking the time to post this!

 

[SeattleMark]

From TMFL: TourGuideMike is offering $5 off his automated vacation planner (AVP) for 5 days, beginning 6/8/05. This is the highest saving code available online for AVP! Make your Disney vacation the best ever with TourGuideMiKE. Type in A8ZD7-2AH as your Promo Code between June 8, 2005 and June 13, 2005 during checkout to get this great discount!

If you happen to be reading this after the discout has expired, there's still a discount available:

Go to the AVP Preview Tour at http://tourguidemike.com/tour/index.asp, and you can type "HE7KD-8GA" in the Promotional Code section of the purchase page. They'll save $3 off the normal purchase price of $21.95.

 

[johnruuu]

From TMFL: TourGuideMike is offering $5 off his automated vacation planner (AVP) for 5 days, beginning 6/8/05. This is the highest saving code available online for AVP! Make your Disney vacation the best ever with TourGuideMiKE. Type in A8ZD7-2AH as your Promo Code between June 8, 2005 and June 13, 2005 during checkout to get this great discount!

If you happen to be reading this after the discout has expired, there's still a discount available:

Go to the AVP Preview Tour at http://tourguidemike.com/tour/index.asp, and you can type "HE7KD-8GA" in the Promotional Code section of the purchase page. They'll save $3 off the normal purchase price of $21.95.

thanks Mark!

 

[cepmom]

oh great...now I see this thread!!
I just ordered TGM yesterday...for full price!!!
I wish I had known about TMFL discount

 

[PKS44]

Just another endosement of Mike's fine service...I almost hate to say this because the more people know about Mike and his plans, perhaps the less well they will work--since it is all based on doing things different from the mob....oh well...even the DIS is still a small segment of the mob---

worth it at full price and c'mon people....what is $3 or $5 compared to what a WDW vacation costs?

 

[DisFlan]

TGM is great for many people, especially people not familiar with the way WDW works. It's good if you plan on getting to the parks as early as possible. It's good if you plan to spend several hours in one park. It's good if you want to get in as many rides as possible. He has lots of great park tips and "secrets" (they weren't secrets to us, but we've been going for 28 years.) His main help is to cut through the "overwhelmed" feeling many people have when faced with the large number of choices involved when planning a trip to WDW.

I gave it a whirl, but it just isn't for us. There was very little there that we didn't already know, and it doesn't fit the way we visit the parks. We don't go early. We may only go to a park for one or two rides and/or lunch or dinner or fireworks/parades. We park hop on the Whim of the Day. If a park is crowded, we leave and hop to another one. We don't use touring plans. We already know how to make FastPasses work for us. We know where to stand for parades, or to skip the parade and go on a ride. We know where the "secret" paths are in the MK. Not that they matter much.

If you're a newbie to WDW, TGM can be a big help. It can save you time, wasted energy and money. If you're like us, it won't do much for you.

DisFlan

 

[funcinderella]

What disflan said is true, BUT it takes many years and many trips to get to that point. The OP said they've never been, and TGM is a GREAT way to get the crash course. If you want to see and do much of what WDW has to offer, and not wait in the lines, he's for you.

 

[T1130]

How is TGM compared to touring plans .com? I was thinking of ordering that service. And now I don`t know which one to chose.

 

[mill4023]

How is TGM compared to touring plans .com? I was thinking of ordering that service. And now I don`t know which one to chose.

Do both. That's a small amount of money compared to what you are spending on your trip. I haven't used touringplans.com, but I've used both the UG for Disneyland and the UG for WDW. In case you don't know, touringplans.com is the Unofficial Guide people. I thought the UG books were great. I used one of the UG plans at Disneyland last summer and used TGM's sample plans at WDW in April/May. I found the UG plan to be a little more commando and involve more criss crossing of the park. It was a complete plan from open to close, while TGM's plans allowed more unplanned time.

 

[bnr0212]

I have the UG, touringplans, and TGM (I found out about TGM after I had purchased the other stuff - but that's just me always a day late and a dollar short) I would say just subscribe to TGM. Since, its my first time visiting I read the UG first and it helped a little but TGM is by far the best resource for someone who needs help planning their visits. And the best thing about it -- his tips are proven to work!! He's great!

B.