Unoffical quide, tour guide mike, etc. Strategy planning

[DebMcDonald]

Ok, I have the unofficial guide book, but questioned buying their sample plan, vs. tour guide mike, vs. anything else that is out there. We are going August 19-26, so it will be crowded, do you think I should be so anal as to really try to plan our days to be able to see more. Have any of you used the daily plans. On the unofficial site, there are sample plans, are they any different that what I would pay for or any different that what is already in my book. Anybody use these with success. We have three girls, 11, 4, & 2 and are saying off site and have 7 days park hopper passes.

Thanks again for helping with trip planning!

 

[missypie]

I used the UG touring plans for Disneyland in '03 and they worked great. I used TGm a couple of weeks ago and they worked great. Think of it - 10 days in the parks on days which included Mem. Day weekend - and the longest we waited for anything was 17 minutes 9for a non-FP attraction). There is simply no need to wait in long lines.

TGM takes a bit of work and commitment. If you don't want to put much work in it, use the UG and you'll be okay. But if you're willing to do a bit more reading, go with TGM. He helps you understand the WHY of what you're doing, so that you can design a plan that works best for your group.

 

[SeattleMark]

We'll never do Disney again without Tour Guide Mike. He absolutely had a huge positive impact on our vacations. Now, instead of doing the "Disney Death March" or trying to hit everything we see as we go along, we follow Mike's advice and in the last two years have never waited more than 10-15 minutes for any ride, even in high season. I also like the fact that he's always available on the message boards on his site, so if you have a question about a particular plan or piece of advice, you can get answers, plus he's in the parks nearly every day watching how the crowds move and where they build at various times throughout the day.

Missy Pie is right in that there's a ton of info on his site. It's not simply "go here, then go here". He explains the "why" of what he's recommending so if you have to adapt once you're there (which is almost inevitable with kids) you'll know the impact and best strategy to fit it into your day.

If you go to the AVP (automated vacation planner) Preview Tour at http://tourguidemike.com/tour/index.asp, you can type "HE7KD-8GA" in the Promotional Code section of the purchase page. You'll save $3 off the normal purchase price of $21.95!

Highly recommended.

 

[DebMcDonald]

thank you both for your responses, since you have both used tour guide mike,can you give me further information on how he will help me, is it the planning, avoiding the crowds ?

Thanks again.

 

[missypie]

thank you both for your responses, since you have both used tour guide mike,can you give me further information on how he will help me, is it the planning, avoiding the crowds ?

Thanks again.

1. He gives you "best days." Not a chart like UG, but he gives green, yellow and red lights to each park on each day of the week, for both mornings and evenings.

2. He has sample touring plans for both parks. For most he has several, depending on whether you're with kids, teens, etc.

3. He explains his touring philosophy, i.e. how the crowds can be avoided.

4. He gives lessons on Fast Pass.

5. For pretty much every attraction he has tips. For the shows he tells you the best place to sit (front vs. back, etc.) He has "secret" viewing spots for Wishes, etc. that don't require you to camp out for 2 hours.

There are also sections on the restaurants, resorts, other activites, a message board, etc.

 

[pixie08]

I would also have to say tour guide mike if you want to use just one. It is more research but not as boot camp style as UG. I used a little of both. I bought the book and read what UG recommended and took that into consideration. Then I subscribed to tour guide Mike and with that I am creating my own itinerary.

I must say last June I used UG book tour plans and we saw everything and didn't really wait on lines (but we were also there over a week). This year I want to see a lot but it is Ok if I do not see EVERYTHING given the heat and crowds in Aug.

Most importantly have fun with the planning...don't stress and that will show when you are in wdw having a great time.

 

[bianca66]

I've never used TGM, so can't say about him - but we bought the current UG, I subscribed to the online touring plans, and we planned our days, trying to follow the plans as closely as possible. We printed out a variety of plans, incl. some for sleeping in and showing up at the parks around 11am. We did this once at MGM and it worked out great. We didn't follow them exactly - for ex. there were some attractions we weren't interested in, so we skipped them or substituted something else close by - but not once did we wait in line longer than 5-ten minutes and most of the time, in am, we walked right onto rides w/no line. We followed the Girls 4-8 2-day MK plan and on the 1st morning, we were done w/the plan , which incl. Fantasyland and Frontierland, before 11am. So we had a little extra time to do other stuff. Anyway, I was very satisfied with theplans, w/UG and recommend both highly to anyone visiting Disney, esp. for the first time (or, in our case, the first time in twenty yrs.)

 

[jtm1631]

We just returned from the WDW over the weekend and as others have already said, I will never go again with out Tour Guide Mike.

The real benefit for us was not only understanding which areas of the park to be in when and how to arrange your park tour, but how to arrange your vacation.

As our trip dates approached I began to worry about the heat and the crowds. Because we used TGM it neither one was ever an issue and it was hot and it was crowded. After every single day in at WDW my wife and kids all said what a great day they had. We have been to WDW and DL many times in the past and it is not always a smooth vacation.

TGM gave us a way to vacation in WDW that allowed us to do everything we wanted, wait in no or minimal lines and actually come home relaxed. I still can't believe I'm saying this "a relaxing WDW vacation".

For the cost of TGM you can't go wrong.

 

[Bruce in PA]

Subscribed to both online and bought the UG (though not recently; I probably have four or five previous copies lying around the house).

My advice: if you're going with just the online content, go with Mike. Mike has a huge amount of material available to subscribers -- it'll take you weeks to digest it all.

The Unofficial Guide site (www.touringplans.com) makes a good companion to their guidebook, but it doesn't really make the cut if you use it as a standalone.

As others have said in different ways, TG Mike lays down some very basic "rules" for touring the parks, then builds on them and explains how you should use them to your best advantage throughout your trip. He's very into having his subscribers understand how the parks and crowds work, how to best use fastpasses and how to avoid falling into the time traps that foil most WDW visitors.

Len Testa and the Unofficial Guide folks seem to be more fixated on conquering WDW with statistics. I think that the jury is still out on how well you can make park touring into this kind of exact science. To their credit, these guys spend a tremendous amount of time and energy gathering info about wait times, hotel occupancies, transportation times between resorts and parks and all sorts of other Disney experiences. But I'm not sure that the whole -- meaning the touring plans and best-days advice -- ends up as compelling as the amount of work that goes into its parts.

In the end, you'll be better-prepared than 95% of the other tourists who visit Orlando (and who generally show up at the gates and say, "What'll I do now?") if you read and follow the advice from either source.

Hope this helps...Have a great trip!

Bruce

 

[JoannaOhio]

I've never used TGM, so can't say about him - but we bought the current UG, I subscribed to the online touring plans, and we planned our days, trying to follow the plans as closely as possible. We printed out a variety of plans, incl. some for sleeping in and showing up at the parks around 11am. We did this once at MGM and it worked out great.

If you subscribe to UG's online plans, do you get to view all available plans with just one subscription? I am particularly interested in the "sleeping in" aspect, because it seems that everything else I read insists that we must be at the parks when they open to make the most of our time. With two disabled people in our group to get ready every morning, I just know that we won't make it before 11:00 or noon. I hate to begin the day with the notion that we're already "too late" to have a good time.

 

[debkorb1]

We used the UG touring plans and followed the advice of the book to the letter. We didn't queue more than 10 minutes for anything - my family back in London couldn't believe it. No queuings in early July at Disney! I guess with UG it can become Commando, but there is no need for it to be; it made the holiday 100% more relaxing for us because as I say we didn't queue in the sun for anything.

The key really is to get to the park at opening, leave at midday and return at 5. You'll get loads done, you'll be well rested and you'll stay cooler. I never quite understand why people enter the parks at Midday - its 90oF and Splash Mountain/Test Track/Safari lines are over an hour (at best).

 

[DeirdreTours]

JoannaOhio--With your circumstances I think it is essential that you visit during the slowest times of the year. September, October, November 1-15, December 2-12, January 2-15 would all be excellent times. If you time your visit appropriately, arriving at the park at 11am isn't a problem. Also, moving around as a group (even with the completely ablebodied) is way easier when the crowds aren't packed. Lastly, you may find that your group needs more flexibility than the high season guides really allow-- the slower times of year allow you to move at your own pace, stopping when you want, find a table at a restaurant when you want it, etc.

 

[budbeerlady]

Just for anyone who has used him, if I pay now for my Dec trip can I continue to log on and plan up untill my trip or does my purchase have a time limit on it? Thanks!

 

[DebMcDonald]

I joined yesterday with the link above, for $3.00 off. It's good from the time you join until 60 days after your trip. If you want to join again after that then it's $25% off and joining again is like $50% off I think.

Lots and lots of reading like the above poster says, and I have barely gotten into it, but seems like good information.

 

[scoutsmom99]

Just for anyone who has used him, if I pay now for my Dec trip can I continue to log on and plan up untill my trip or does my purchase have a time limit on it? Thanks!

I joined TGM recently and you have until 60 days AFTER your vacation to use the site (you put in your vacation dates (or a good guestimate as to when they are)). So yes you will be able to access it for a good chunk of time.

 

[kiab115]

I just discovered this link and We leave for WDW on Sunday morning 6/26, both sound interesting but is either useful at this late date?

 

[Chicago262]

We will be going in September which is the off-season. Does anyone recommend purchasing Tour-Guide Mike for use during that time?

 

[SeattleMark]

Absolutely it's valuable, no matter what time you're going! TourGuideMike.com is much more than just the touring strategies. There's valuable advice for every aspect of your Disney vacation.

We'll never do Disney World again without him. It just flat out works.

Highly recommended!

 

[mom22boys]

Does TGM website have show times too?

Thanks!

 

[DebMcDonald]

I have not come across them yet, but have only been a member for three days, so I have not completely absorbed their site yet.