TourGuideMike - too late?

[irish dancer]

We are leaving next week, would it be worth it to sign up for TourGuideMike? I didn't really know about his site until recently and am wondering if it is too late or would even be worth it. We've been to WDW probaby 10 times in the last 7 yrs but nearly all of them have been in off-season so I'm kind of nervous about going in the heat of summer crowds.

TIA

 

[QT Pooh]

Tour Guide Mike does not give you personalized itineraries but gives you all the information you need to make your own. Unless you have time to dedicate some serious article reading over the next week, I would say it's too late. Just my opinion.

 

[tikkipoo]

I would probably go to touringplans.com and look at thier site. They have touring plans for almost all occasions. It is only around $7 for all thier touring plans. I think you'd be better off doing that.

 

[rantnnravin]

Many people sign-up two days or even the night before a trip and use Mike's express planning guide to create an itinerary that works for their family. There certainly is a plethora of information on the site and you may night have the kind of time it takes to read through all of the individual attraction/resort/dining info, but you'll have plenty of time to glean exactly what you need for a relaxing vacation, free from long-lines and stress, while still seeing all the best-of-the-best at WDW.
There was a story shared on the forums a week or two ago: one of the members let his neighbor, who was leaving for WDW the next morning, have a peek at the AVP and within 2 hrs the guy had an itinerary and was armed with enough information to come back and report what a glorious, line and stress free vacation he had in July at WDW.
And unlike other touring plans, Mike's info teaches you how to adapt on the fly.

 

[natester]

Go for it! Tour Guide Mike is well worth the $. You'll definitely have time to discover all you will need to have a great time.

 

[jan&theboys]

We actually used both. TouringPlans is great for getting ideas on what a good itinerary should look like, and TourGuideMike gave us all the "insider" information to make sure we took advantage of everything the parks had to offer. Have a great trip!!

 

[CuteKatCar]

OMG, don't use it. I bought it about 2 weeks ago for our 8/26 trip and I am really confused. The site is really, really hard to navigate. And I don't care if I get flamed, because I'm not coming back to this post. I just got off the site - can't find something I was reading yesterday (i just wasted 1/2 hour)- it's so frustrating. I decided to come on this wonderful site and try to find the thread that had the link. It's just my opinion, but unless you have hours and hours, it's not worth the money.

 

[tikkipoo]

CuteKatCar - TGM has a money back guarantee. I would suggest you ask for your money back.

 

[surfgirl]

Sign up for TGM... Get some paper in your printer... block off a few hours and go crazy! I typically spend a bunch of time printing the sample itineraries and in-depth information on things I know we want to do... I scan them, print them, staple and paperclip and take them for the plane ride to read and prepare.

Definitely worth it!

 

[elaine and the boys]

Just do it!! Just hitting the highlights will give you enough info to avoid the crowds. Print out anything that looks helpful to your particular needs and read it on the way to Disney. Do read the website guide first, though, to help you navigate the site. It's really great! Good luck!

 

[letterdavidman]

OMG, don't use it. I bought it about 2 weeks ago for our 8/26 trip and I am really confused. The site is really, really hard to navigate. And I don't care if I get flamed, because I'm not coming back to this post. I just got off the site - can't find something I was reading yesterday (i just wasted 1/2 hour)- it's so frustrating. I decided to come on this wonderful site and try to find the thread that had the link. It's just my opinion, but unless you have hours and hours, it's not worth the money.

I would be inclined to agree with you. But, at the same time, I'm withholding final judgment until I actually go down to the parks and put his tips to the test. Who knows? Maybe I'll be falling over myself trying to expound on the profound wisdom of Tour Guide Mike when I get back. I dunno...

But I do know this: His site doesn't exactly feature the most intuitive interface. In point of fact, it's danged hard to navigate!

 

[MrsNick]

For me, the money spent on Tour Guide Mike was more than worth its weight in gold. The amount of time that you spend now making some plans will save you ten times that amount on your vacation. Whatever you decide, have a fantastic vacation!

 

[PKS44]

To get your money's worth from TGM you have to have :
1)some intelligence- I agree the site is not perfect but the forums over there can solve just about any problem...and I have not seen either of the complaining posters who posted here posting any questions over there at least not under those names-and if they had they would have found what they were looking for...so I can only assume they did not even bother to post over there before whining about it here...pretty pathetic and says more about them than the website...

2)desire to do your own planning

3)time to read about 10 to 12 pages:
Two pages about Fastpass
A page about which park on which day
A page or two on water parks
4 pages of sample touring plans one thar best matches your group make up for each of the four parks
Specific advice about certain shows, parades, fireworks best spots, etc...
A page about what to bring into the park

There is much more but those bare minimums will get you thru the next week and having a great vacation....

 

[JennaTX]

I would definately suggest using TGM. We went on our second WDW trip this June and used TGM and of course DIS and it worked great, never waited for more than 10-15 minutes for a ride, which with a 2 year old is well worth the money! My only suggestion would be that if you do sign up, go immediately to the discussion boards on the site, and post a thread about who you are who is going, what info you are looking for. You will get immediate help from everyone on that site, they are all very friendly.

Hope you have a great trip!!

 

[HaleyB]

I can not say enough about TGM. His tips and advice worked perfectly for us on our last trip. Before that we used the Unofficial Guide. Tour Guide Mike wins hands down. His plans and ideas are just plain better. You really can learn the best of his tricks in a few minutes- read the sections PKS44 listed and you have got your $21 worth, consider the rest gravy.

Site navagation is a sore spot with a lot of people. If you are methodical about reading the whole page BEFORE you hit any of the links it helps. I also use my back button to go back after I hit a link untill I have hit everything on the page. If you follow Mike's advice on how to use the AVP it really helps. Also if you want to find something quickly again you can add it to your saved vacation articles by hitting the green plus sign in the upper right hand corner of the page. If you forget to do this and can't find something post to the AVP forums and someone there will give you the link or tell you how to find it within a few minutes most days.

Last of all use the search function!!! But don't use abreviations or more than a few terms.

 

[Kristina]

To get your money's worth from TGM you have to have : 1)some intelligence- I agree the site is not perfect but the forums over there can solve just about any problem...and I have not seen either of the complaining posters who posted here posting any questions over there at least not under those names-and if they had they would have found what they were looking for...so I can only assume they did not even bother to post over there before whining about it here...pretty pathetic and says more about them than the website...

Thank you HaleyB and all you others who managed to respond to the OP without being downright rude...now that's a true sign of intelligence, in my opinion !!