TourGuideMike...Which days at which parks & EMH ??

[d4est]

I am in the process of planning our 1st Dis trip for Feb 1-7 2006. I recently purchased TourGuideMIke and am trying to plan my days. Originally, I was planning to start each day at a park on its EMH day (when there was one). Then I would plan to leave around 1pm for a break and then go to another park (one with EMH in evening where possible) for dinner and touring.

How do you all do it?

And so my questions... Do most of you take advantage of EMH? At this point I am not sure how I feel about TGM. I am finding it a bit overwhelming and not exactly what I expected.

Anyone willing to share their opinion? TIA for any advice/help!

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

As a TGM subscriber myself, I would suggest that you ask this question over on HIS message boards, especially since you signed a privacy agreement!

 

[treehugger]

As a TGM subscriber myself, I would suggest that you ask this question over on HIS message boards, especially since you signed a privacy agreement!

ITA, another loyal subscriber of TGM here (LOVE IT!) Just one correction though, the information that the OP should look up at TGM ASAP is found in the USER AGREEMENT. This is the confidentiality statement that the subscriber agrees to adhere to BEFORE the subscription can be activated. The PRIVACY STATEMENT pertains to how your personal information is used. I hope your daughter has a great birthday trip over the holidays, TGM saved my sanity during our Christmas trip last year.

 

[mom23boys]

ITA, another loyal subscriber of TGM here (LOVE IT!) Just one correction though, the information that the OP should look up at TGM ASAP is found in the USER AGREEMENT. This is the confidentiality statement that the subscriber agrees to adhere to BEFORE the subscription can be activated. The PRIVACY STATEMENT pertains to how your personal information is used. I hope your daughter has a great birthday trip over the holidays, TGM saved my sanity during our Christmas trip last year.

We love TGM but yes at first I found it very overwhelming. Stick with it you will love it.

I agree with the above post, please ask questions pertaining to certian advice of His on His website.

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

Thanks for the correction...I was so shocked to see this post that I couldn't remember the word I was looking for...let's hope this poster edits this soon!

 

[jerbroni]

Edited - some people sure take their Disney seriously. OMGWTFBBQPWND.

 

[d4est]

Well, humper...
I guess I offended, although that was certainly not my intention. I am just so confused by the conflicting info I am getting between here, there, & touringplans.com

As I said...1st time trip planner. Sorry.

 

[CDisney]

d4est,

As you read the DIS boards, you'll see that there are a couple of different philosophies when it comes to the EMH perk.

From what I've read, the consensus seems to be skip the EMH evening hours for Magic Kingdom, Epcot and the Studios because there are too many people who like to sleep late and stay up late so the parks are pretty crowded. On the other hand, many have found that EMH evening at Animal Kingdom can have very comfortable crowd levels.

For the morning EMH hours, consensus is a little more elusive. Some find crowds low in the early morning hours and then park hop as the crowds swell. Others say the crowds are there right from opening. So, again, many people seem to avoid the EMH altogether and choose to go to the park that had EMH hours the day before. It allows them to get that extra hour of sleep.

If you have naturally early risers, you may want to give the morning EMH a try and see how it goes. Just be prepared to park hop once things get crowded. On the other hand, if your crew likes to sleep in, you may be ok using the evening EMH because of the time of year that you are going.

Just don't burn the candle at both ends. If you're going to use the evening EMH, don't try to get up early for the next morning's EMH. You'll be dragging.

One other thing that may affect your schedule is the times available for Spectromagic. During the beginning of February, it runs a limited schedule. If you want to see historical hours for February, here's a linkFebruary 2005 hours

Whether you're using Tourguide Mike or Touringplans.com or simply gleening knowledge from the DIS boards, I think the most important thing is to realize that these are all resources, but ultimately only you know what kind of vacation works for your family. You use their tips and advice to create a plan and then be flexible when it comes time to implement it.

Enjoy your first Disney trip.

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

Well said!

 

[deacondarlin]

Grouchy ol' TGM people.....

 

[d4est]

ThANK YOU CDISNEY!That is the kind of help/advice I was looking for.

I made an honest mistake in my quest for knowledge/opinions. Hopefully I cleaned up my original post so that I am not breaking any rules or offending any diehard TGM fans.

I hope those of you I upset can look back to your first planning and go easy on me. Heck, I still can't decide which resort to stay at!

 

[Sorcerer Figment]

Just to be clear for those who don't know: The reason we TGM subscribers try to keep this info from being all over the net, is we joined to avoid crowds. Yes, even those crowds following the UG and advice on the DIS. If you want to get this advice, it's only $18 with a Discount Code. That's pretty reasonable, no?

OP: it was just an honest mistake, so Hakuna Matata! Best wishes for your trip!

 

[andrabell]

Grouchy ol' TGM people.....

That's a bit unfair. Your post is the first one in the thread that even comes close to "grouchy."

d4est: Come on over to the TGM forum with your EMH questions. There are lots of folks who will be more than willing to help you figure things out and how to make the AVP work best for you and your family and get your money's worth.

 

[HaleyB]

I can see it was just an honest mistake- and I think all of the TGMers agree. Come on over to the AVP forum and ask away. The EMH advice is hard to decipher but we can help you out.

 

[donnajon]

I've gone with TGM twice and wouldn't go again without him! Trust him when he tells you the best days. We went last June and the place was packed! We never waited more than 10 minutes (and that was rare) except the one wait for 20 minutes when we didn't follow his advice and we knew we were going to wait that long. Anyway, another friend of ours went the same time and swore they would never go in June again because of the waits - they complained of hour long waits! My DD got so spoiled that she literally complained if there was more than a 5 minute wait that the line was too long!

 

[Okiemom]

We are going over Thanksgiving and know it will be busy, so I am thinking of joining him. But what happens if they change the hours or EMH after you have ordered & put your dates in? Would he change the plan, etc...?

 

[Sorcerer Figment]

(Remember, TGM does not spit out a plan. He gives you a set of logic and advice to touring. Then he gives sample tours that show you how to put it together.)

But he does provides special advice for those going in peak periods, such as Thanksgiving. And he will keep you up to date on park hours and EMH deviations. That way you can decide which parks to go to and when.

 

[deacondarlin]

Humor folks...HUMOR! It just seems like every tme someone askes a TGM question on these boards, they practically get their head chopped off! In all honesty I'm in full agreement with you...since the terms of the service are NOT to disclose info, then people who want that info so be just like ya'll and PAY for it....but, there are polite ways of saying that without being snotty....anyway, moving on to a more useful thread, considering we leave tomorrow.

 

[madgomez]

We are going over Thanksgiving and know it will be busy, so I am thinking of joining him. But what happens if they change the hours or EMH after you have ordered & put your dates in? Would he change the plan, etc...?

Okiemom, with TGM you don't "order and put your dates in" and have an itinerary spit out at you. Common misconception. Think of TGM as a guidebook that you don't have to buy new editions of......... You do put in your dates, and get access to specific info for the time you are going, as well as all the other info on the site. The info is updated regularly, and editied when things change at WDW. So if EMH is changed, TGM would be updated to reflect that, and you would have that updated advice to edit your itinerary with. And if you join the vacation club for your month, you usually get notice of a change before the editing gets done (which sometimes takes a little time).
Reread his promotional material and it will be clear. And remember he offers a full refund if you're not satisfied, so it's risk free.

 

[magicaldisney]

Getting back to the original question....

We have found that using the early entry into AK for the Kilimanjaro Safari works well. We were told that the animals were most active early in the morning. It is hit and miss though. One trip we took, we had animals so close to the jeep we could have touched them.