Unofficial Guide

[GrandmaBarb]

Like those of us "in the know" say. there is only place to get up to the minute updated information and that is TourGuideMikE. Try it and you will see what you are missing elsewhere. Well worth the small cost, less than a book. And no, I don't work for TGM, wish I could.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

I feel the same Grandmabarb- It's less than a book and it gives me a lot more information.
In a book you don't have the author right there to answer any of your questions and join in on discussions.

 

[Unofficial Fan]

As you can tell, I'm an Unofficial Fan! Bought this book for my first DW trip and followed it to the letter. It was fantastic! Now I use it more as a reference, buying it every few years. I do wish I had waited just a couple more weeks for the 2005 version - just make sure it has the new tickets and the adjusted park recommendations (due to EMH). All the updated information IS on his website. In fact, that book was the only reason I found all of the fantastic information on THIS site. One caveat: I haven't tried Touring Mike so I can't really compare.

 

[bubba's mom]

got my very first UOG from DH for Christmas this year......gotta tell ya....I'm likin' it.... (no book beats the DIS tho!!)

 

[Renysmom]

I received it as a Christmas present and so far I like it but truthfully I haven't read alot of it yet.

 

[Musky]

I, too, am in love with The Unofficial Guide. I call it my Bible and it looks like it has been through Word War III. DH keeps asking, "Just how many times can you read the same book over and over?" I can't stand the Passporter. Jennifer and Dave are so in love with themselves - I'm sorry, but if I'm buying a book about WDW I would like to see pictures of WDW, not pictures of the authors (and someone needs to tell them that they don't exactly look like Tom and Nicole). I also don't like that their enthusiasm for WDW prevents them from presenting an objective opinion. Now, I haven't tried TGM, but I was under the impression that it runs around $30, which is almost twice the cost of TUG. Am I mistaken in that? Because it has always been the cost (as I perceived it) that has kept me from checking it out. If it's considerably less than $30, I may have to do a rethink.

Becky

Edited because I was too dumb to proofread it the first time.

 

[lentesta]

In a book you don't have the author right there to answer any of your questions and join in on discussions.

Hey, no fair - I was running in the WDW Half-Marathon!

MrsJ Henry, I contribute to the Unofficial Guide. What would you like to talk about?

Sincerely,

Len

[Edit to clarify Len's status.]

 

[sarahsmom73]

I'm an addict! I've read it cover to cover more than once!

 

[JohnNJ]

Hey, no fair - I was running in the WDW Half-Marathon!

MrsJ Henry, what would you like to talk about?

Len:

I'm confused. When did you become the author?

John

 

[bubba's mom]

Len:

I'm confused. When did you become the author?

John

he contributes to the UG....he researches for them.... I didn't know this either until I read his name in the book and went "OMG!! I know Len from the DIS!!!" ...DH thought I was crazy!

 

[tjkraz]

Like those of us "in the know" say. there is only place to get up to the minute updated information and that is TourGuideMikE. Try it and you will see what you are missing elsewhere. Well worth the small cost, less than a book. And no, I don't work for TGM, wish I could.

Mike's setup can be a double-edged sword. Yes, you can get a lot of up-to-date information on TGM that you cannot find in a guidebook that went to press six months ago. And I've corresponded with Mike a couple of times and found him to be helpful and informative.

But, he also has an unfortunate tendency to "let things go" on his website that hurt visitors. I signed-up for TGM around April of '04. Our trip was last month--December '04. We stayed at Saratoga Springs, which has been open for about 8 months now.

Care to guess what TGM has to say about Dining, Guest Services, Recreation, Shopping, Transportation and "Helpful Articles" for SSR? Here's an exact quote of how the site reads today:

"This is a test to ensure I can load this hotel's content before my developers leave for the weekend! This is a test. This is only a test."

That's it. No actual information about SSR. I sent Mike an email about two weeks before we left on our trip. He was very cordial in his response and basically said he had two projects outstanding--updating his MVMCP info for December guests and posting details on Saratoga Springs. He hoped to get both done very shortly. That was about 6 weeks ago.

I can certainly appreciate the fact that the MVMCP info was of more value to the masses than updating hotel information pages. But given all of the recent changes at WDW, my guess is that SSR now falls even further down the priority list. Too bad for anyone staying at SSR in the near future that forks-over their $22.

It's also unfortunate that many of his articles include a posted / revision date without a year. At times I would find myself reading an article and the data would seem to contradict current wisdom. I then had to go through the process of trying to determine "OK, was this article written Nov 1 2003 (meaning it probably is outdated) or Nov 1 2004 (meaning that Mike may be privy to info that I haven't seen elsewhere.)"

All things said, I do like the site. But it's not the be-all, end-all to vacation planning.

 

[GrandmaBarb]

Wow, people were right when they said that posters on this forum were nasty and mean. Wheeeeee were they right.
I have a right to my opinion without being insulted.
I stand by what i said originally.
TGM's AVP is the ONLY up to date web site with all the information and help anyone could want. Sorry you had a bad experience.
But, after all, Mike is only one person and can only do so many things at one time and I do believe he has his priorities in place just fine.
Guess it is time for me to say goodbye to the Disforum. I don't like to interact with people who can not be personable and nice to others.
So, back to TGM's forum where the people are the friendliest and helpful group of people I have ever come across.
I have been going to WDW since the year it opened. I am 73 years old and thought I was a pro. But TGM has taught me so much that I realize just how poorly I was informed depending on books and the Disney web site and other sites.
I will say goodbye to all those nice folks on the forum. I invite you to come on over and join us at TourGuideMike's forum. We will welcome you with friendly responses and assistance.
As to the rest of you. Your loss.

 

[chell]

Barb I'm sorry that people here upset you. Hope you don't let them keep you away.

 

[tjkraz]

Wow, people were right when they said that posters on this forum were nasty and mean. Wheeeeee were they right.

I hope you weren't referring to my post because I wasn't trying to be anything resembling "nasty and mean." To the contrary, I respect your opinion and understand that Mike has a lot of fans.

But I also felt the need to give other folks a fair warning that, as good as Mike is, the site is lacking in some regards. I'm a pretty patient guy by nature, but if you couldn't tell from my post, it was very disapointing to find that Mike couldn't post some simple details about a brand new resort on WDW grounds within 8 months of its opening. If nothing else, I hope to be able to save another future SSR guest from having the same experience with TGM.

Would you have the same rosy opinion of Mike now if the details regarding your resort of choice had zero information available?

Yes, Mike is only one person, but as someone who accepts our money, he does have a certain obligation to us. If Mike rectifies the situation tomorrow, I'll happily post here.

If you got the impression that I was verbally stabbing you in the eyes with icepicks, well then I guess I'll have to apologize. But do understand that it was not my intention. Email / message boards aren't the easiest way to communicate emotion or intent, and misunderstandings are very common.

Does this help any: :jumping4:

Regards.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

Len,
Sorry, I stand corrected.

 

[RoyalCanadian]

I can't comment on TourGuide Mike -- I've never even looked at the website. I have, however, successfully used the UG on two trips to WDW -- the 2nd of which I just finished today. UG is right on the money with the touring plans, the date suggestions, the "rules" for visiting parks on particular days, restaurant suggestions, etc.

Len and Bob worked hard to provide up to date information when WDW added the new EMH schedule -- and I'm certain they are working overtime trying to figure out the changes to the EMH scheduling. That information was made available on their website for all - regardless of whether you bought a book or not.

I think the park attendance is currently in a stay of unbalance with new EMH times. We were at MK on both 5 JAN and 8 JAN. The UG suggest crowd levels of 3 on these days -- but the crowds were completely different and at different times of the day. Fantasyland was rather crowded on the morning of the 5th and completely empty on the morning of the 8th. We were able to walk on to Stitch on the 5th right after supper and a Fastpass on Buzz; but the Fastpass machine at Stitch was doling out FPs of 6:50pm by 4pm on the 8th.

I look forward to seeing how Len and the UG team work to provide us with the most up-to-date information.

 

[paigevz]

it had an overall good "tone".........I don't think she could possibly be referring to you.

 

[awatt]

I lovde the Unoffiical Guide. Touring plans have worked very well for us- we don't wait on lines anymore!

I also have found the hotel and restaurant info to be very helpful. Restaurant section is more candid than TGM which I appreciated. You also get some info on Universal/IOA if you're interested in going there. Lots of other practical advice.

Best of all,I really like the sense of humor in the UG. Hepls put all this plannning in perspective.

When Wishes began in 2003, I emailed TGM to inquire if the best viewing spots had changed (had been reading about this on these boards). His reply was quick but curt and condescending. He recommended I read his guide more carefully,as it's all laid out there. Well,his guide was still referring to the old fireworks,completely different. About a month later he revised his site with new recommendations for viewing.

Since then I stick to UG and these boards,which are the most up-to-date of all references.

 

[awatt]

Forgot to add-

Regarding some of the above posts, I can attest to Len's availability. He's helped me with dining touring questions.

 

[Docsknotinn]

If you have already bought your 2005, I guess you will have to get another one... Maybe UofG will allow purchasers to exchange their books for free, perhaps you could email and ask... it would seem very unfair if people spent their 20bucks on the guide, and it was completely out of date in a matter of weeks. I have not been on their website either-- just thinking out loud-- they may have better information on what to do for exchange. I don't know their website, but I am sure someone could post it for the UG fans.
***edited to take out a punctuation error -- too bad I cant spell****

I have to agree. It's pretty dissapointing to buy a "05 book that's waaaaay outdated before you can even finish reading it. What good is a tour book with no ticket or plan info ??? I did look at their website updates. Unless I'm really missing something all I saw was typo corrections but nothing that would make up for shelling out $20 for a dated guide.