Who has used Tour Guide Mike?

[HayGan]

TGM is much more specific. As the WDW hours come out he tells you specifically for each calendar day which parks to avoid.

I believe UG just tells in general to avoid MK on Saturdays for example.

Touringplans is actually more complicated than that. They take into account historical park levels for those days as well as other events that would have an effect on the crowd level in order to make their recommendations. I certainly think that it is a good (and free) reference/system for making park plans.

 

[lkjasd]

TGM is much more specific. As the WDW hours come out he tells you specifically for each calendar day which parks to avoid.

I believe UG just tells in general to avoid MK on Saturdays for example.

Here is the link to the UG page: http://www.touringplans.com/tp2/UG2_index.php?PageID=14

It tells you for each day what park is best, worst, and the expected wait times based on the fatcors describe don the page. It is pretty specific.

 

[teribell]

Duplicate post

 

[teribell]

If I have already made ADR's would TGM still be a good idea for us?
I don't think I will be able to change our ADR's at this point.
Since we do not have hoppers, our days at the park are pretty much set.
Will I still be able to benefit from Mike's advice?
For instance what if his best days are not necessarily the same days
we will be in a particular park?

Thanks for any advice.

T.

 

[Mariposa]

If I have already made ADR's would TGM still be a good idea for us?
I don't think I will be able to change our ADR's at this point.
Since we do not have hoppers, our days at the park are pretty much set.
Will I still be able to benefit from Mike's advice?
For instance what if his best days are not necessarily the same days
we will be in a particular park?

Thanks for any advice.

T.

Yes, you'd definitely still be able to benefit from using TGM. If you're heading to a park on a day he doesn't recommend, his sample touring plans could be a real help in getting around the crowds.

Also, just to note, anyone having trouble getting around the TGM site or needing help locating specific advice (or looking for something Mike hasn't covered yet in an article) should post to the forums there, the people are so friendly and helpful! Plus, it's always great to have another group of people to ramble on about Disney with.

-Anyway, I subscribed to TGM for my November trip, scrapped my plans, went with his.. and fell madly in love. I still Dis a LOT, but TGM is where I immediately head when I need to know something. Ah, my three Disney habits: the Dis, to read about what other DisneyFanatics are thinking about; my Passporter, because it's the most awesome book evah!; and TGM, for making my vacations ROCK. (Not that I don't have the Unofficial Guide and multiple other books, these three resources are just my favorites.)

 

[loveDmouse]

I took a look at the link for that touringplans to get the calendar but I see you still have to pay for that if you want more detailed information. Like what affect Extra Magic Hours. I wonder how big of an affect they are? That TGM doesn't sound like a bad deal really.

 

[patcan]

lkjasd: The main difference between the two sites as that Touringplans offers you crowd level and parks to visit/avoid but doesn't really tell you why. TGM takes that information and brings it one step further by providing explanations for the choices. He doesn't say, don't go on this day, he says, if you go on this day, this is what to expect and why it will be that way. So, from the information given, you are better prepared to organize your vacation.

At least, that's how I see it now that I have paid to access the information. For the $40 cost ($20 for Unofficial Guide and $18 for the tourguidemike subscription) I honestly feel that my $2000 investment will give me a more magical vacation. Whether I really needed the information is up for debate but I am a first time Disneyworld visitor so the information is probably much more useful to me than it would be to someone who's been there a few times already and understands most of the processes that take place (how to use Magical Express, what the check-in involves, what the different rides offer, the touring plans and more in-depth coverage of each rides and the crowd level tendencies for them, etc..). I really just feel that it's like an encyclopedia of Disneyworld and it is really helping me to prepare for my vacation.

Still, it's not necessarily for everyone but with the money-back guarantee, I didn't think there was much of a risk. If after a few hours I didn't like the information given, I ask for a refund but once I saw the information, I had no doubt that I wouldn't be looking for one. Hopefully others feel the same way.

 

[lkjasd]

Thanks Patcan. I used the UG site when planning my ADRs and was worried there was "better" information out there. Sounds like the information is the same but TGM is more detailed. I'll take a look at it when I get into my "detailed" planning (or as my wife calls it: "Anal Retentive Time" )

 

[dreamergirl78]

If you are looking for info on the TGM site and can't find it, do a search. That's what I have to do because I hate going through page after page looking for an answer, etc. But once you find the info it is really awesome. There is so much info I really need to transfer it down to a more manageable size. But I don't think you will be disappointed with the service the web site provides.

 

[TTFN]

I'm another fan of TGM. I visited WDW May 21-27 and my longest line wait was in the fastpass line for Soarin'. This was not my first trip (somewhere around my 20th), and some of the things he said were the exact opposite of what I would have planned to do, but they worked! We (well, I) took what he said and adapted. We did visit the parks on the day recommended, but I only made my DD21 and her roommate get up for park opening a few days...every day would have ruined the trip for them. I wish I had signed up for TGM earlier; I didn't have the time to go through all the information before my trip. At one point DD's roommate said "We sure have been lucky with lines", and I said "Luck had nothing to do with it....careful planning with Mike is what happened!"

 

[patcan]

lkjasd: One thing to clarify, he doesn't only tell you where to go or where not to go, his crowd level information actually looks at each park for each day and gives you an idea of what to expect on those days. This way, if you just can't squeeze in the "recommended park", you can see what he thinks about the ones that you are contemplating.

 

[tkafam]

We just got back June 3. This was our third trip in 7 years and it was the best trip yet! The longest we waited was 20 minutes maybe once or twice. In the morning when we were waiting for our buses, we were always in the shortest line which to me would say we went to the least busiest park. We had time to do our favorite ride/shows 2 or 3 times. I highly recommend Mike, especially during the busy times of year!

 

[surfer_ed]

I have used both Tour Guide Mike and Touring Plans. Like both. Mike's has more information but Touring Plans is an easier site to use and I like the personalized plan you can print out.

I probably favor Mike's if you have more time to read his wonderful articles.