Is Tour Guide Mike worth it?

[pennymom]

I planned our trip two years ago with just info from disney.com and the DISboards. But I keep hearing about Tour Guide Mike...is it worth it, or is all of the same info available on the DISboards somewhere? What type of information is available through the guide that can't be found somewhere else?

 

[Maddie2]

We've been on 3 WDW trips and for the first two, I used primarily the Disboards for my planning. For our most recent trip, this past January, I subscribed to TGM.

I have to say that I was skeptical at first, thinking that with the multitude of offerings on the Disboards, surely I was getting all the info that could be "out there". I went ahead and paid the around $20 and figured that I would regret spending that money .... I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong ..... it definitely is worth it. (I realized that even more once we were at WDW and I had all my notes).

The most helpful sections that I found are the areas where Mike helps you figure out which parks to go to on which days. His suggestions are based on historical information + crowd levels + days of the week ++++ (plus lots of other reasons, but I can't remember what they are). Suffice to say, this guy does know what he's talking about.

One thing to know is that it does require some effort on your part. You don't just plug in your information and out spits a report on all that you need to know. You do have to delve into the myriad of sections pertaining to the needs and wants of your family. It does take some time to manuever your way through the system, but once you have that figured out, it is worth it.

Think about how much $$ you are spending on your WDW vacation. When you think about that number, $20 is nothing. I probably didn't utilize everything offered through TGM, but it did really help us avoid a lot of the lines and gave us a better vacation experience.

There are also message boards on TGM and other posters are very generous in offering advice and helping newbies make touring plans. If you are like me, I like knowing what I am doing (and since you are here, I'm guessing you're the same way). My TGM notes and information made me feel more in control of what was going on and we didn't waste precious time figuring out what to do next. We had a plan and forged ahead .... and my family didn't even argue, they knew that Mom had done her research and trusted it! That's worth the $20 in itself!


.... wow, that sounds like a testimonial, doesn't it? And, no I am not employed by TGM and no, I am not a relative or friend of Mike ..... ..... just a satisfied customer.

 

[magchavez]

I have used TGM on our last 2 trips and I definitely think it is worth it. The most useful section of his website is the Least Crowded Parks piece. He tells you which park to visit on a specifc morning as well as which parks to avoid and his reasoning behind both. He does the same thing for the afternoon at each park. On our last two trips, he was spot on. The crowds were always managable and we never waited more than 20 minutes per ride. We're using TGM again on our trip in August.

 

[magicaldisney11]

Used TGM for the first time last April 2008...Spring break time...thank goodness. My DSis went with me and all our kids and I was able to show her things (and times, and touring) that she didnt know about and she has been to WDW 10 times!!! For $20 totally worth it, I spent more than that on WDW planning books and they never showed me things (told me) that TGM did.

 

[tassma]

What is the difference between TGM and touringplans.com? Competitors?

 

[jenharring]

What is the difference between TGM and touringplans.com? Competitors?

I like to know this one to.

 

[got2luvtink]

OP, don't want to hijack your thread, but I have a question that maybe you have too.... Since TGM info is based on historical data, and since this year seems to be a lot different from previous ones because of the economy which effects crowd levels in many different ways...is the info on TGM relevent for this year?

Has anyone used TGM this year and found his recommendations on crowd levels & which park to go to, to be on point?

 

[duffy]

I used Tour Guide Mike in Feb. 2008 and loved his recommendations of which parks to go to on which day. When I read reports here on these boards about how crowded/empty certain parks were on specific days, I like to compare the reports to Mike's recommendations for those days. I usually find that the people who said their trip was crowded went to parks that Mike said to avoid, and those who said it was not crowded were at parks he advised to go then.

 

[starrysky]

Ok I think you all get the point.

I have read various threads here on the dis and I just don't get it at all. (ok think i need to stop using that now)

I have a guide book that I used and it listed info on which days etc to go and avoid. When we were there it was very accurate (or at least I though so) So Why pay money for advice when you can buy the book and keep it for ever and not have to keep paying all the time for a site that uses the same historical data as these books? Ok so some of the info is not going to be updated but basically what I can gather is that during school holidays and events like christmas, 4th of july IT IS GOING TO BE NUTS. If you go avoiding these times it makes a BIG Difference. PP said that the economy is bad so people are putting off going is there historical data for this?

I am not flamming or criticising I honestly don't get it.

 

[princessesrule]

Ok I think you all get the point.

I have read various threads here on the dis and I just don't get it at all. (ok think i need to stop using that now)

I have a guide book that I used and it listed info on which days etc to go and avoid. When we were there it was very accurate (or at least I though so) So Why pay money for advice when you can buy the book and keep it for ever and not have to keep paying all the time for a site that uses the same historical data as these books? Ok so some of the info is not going to be updated but basically what I can gather is that during school holidays and events like christmas, 4th of july IT IS GOING TO BE NUTS. If you go avoiding these times it makes a BIG Difference. PP said that the economy is bad so people are putting off going is there historical data for this?

I am not flamming or criticising I honestly don't get it.

I have been debating on whether to subscribe. I don't think TGM tells you when to avoid scheduling your trip, but what park to go to when you are on your trip.

 

[slpgrl94]

What if you have your ADRs already set? Wouldn't that effect which park you would be going to? I tried to look at historical crowd levels, but sometimes the place we wanted to go just wasn't available then.

So, if you already have your ADRs, would TGM still be helpful?

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I think if your a seasoned Disney traveler then the touring plans may seem like common sense and a waste of money. I subscribed once to one of those sites just to see if I was missing something and it was all information that was already available here on the Dis and from other sources that I knew. I satisfied my curiosity, but would not subscribe again...the method of touring and knowing which parks to avoid at certain days/times was already the style of touring that we used.

 

[HDJA]

What if you have your ADRs already set? Wouldn't that effect which park you would be going to? I tried to look at historical crowd levels, but sometimes the place we wanted to go just wasn't available then.

So, if you already have your ADRs, would TGM still be helpful?

I too have my ADRs set, but am considering subscribing to TGM. Anyone have a recommendation to this?

 

[krystalleigh1]

I was skeptical at first too. But I'm so glad I subscribed to TGM. After doing things TGM style I'm no longer going to get Park Hoppers (saves some money)because with TGM help planning my itenerary, I don't need them. Also, there are quite a few features on there that make planning for parades and fireworks easier too. Well worth it if I can avoid the crowds as much as possible.

Touring TGM style has made our trips so much more enjoyable. There is a LOT of info. on his site, but if you take the time to read through it and utilize the forum it's priceless.

 

[popsynic]

I am a subscriber to it - joined a few weeks back. Its not amazing, its not diabolical - it's just okay in my opinion

The worst aspect is that there are lots of parts that are woefully out of date (eg. - he includes two sample touring plans for Hollywood Studios, one was updated Jan 2009 and the other 2004!! and on both he refers to the park as MGM studios!!) If you can put up with this kind of thing, there are some nuggets of great info.

The general idea though is that you create your own touring plans by using his 'years of experience' - But I would have personally liked some of his experience to be a little bit more current! Having one of your two studios sample plans from way back in 2004 is not very encouraging in terms of trusting that the rest of the info is up to date.

Overall I would give it a 5 out of 10 (with the potential to be a good solid 8 out 10 if it was clearly updated regualrly)

Therefore you really have to consider how accurate his suggestions are in light of some whoppping pieces of old outdated or in some cases completeley missing information (eg. no mention of Pixie Hollow or Monsters Inc Laugh Floor in the Magic Listing Attraction Listing Section!!).

With all that said though, I don't hate, just frustrated by the fact that it could be amazing, but is actually just average

Check out this link to another thread which discusses these issues in detail.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1896500&highlight=tour+guide+mike

 

[pennymom]

Thanks for all of the opinions and links everyone! Since we're not going until Dec., I think I'll think about it a bit more. The new version of UG is due out in August, and I may get the book and subscribe to the site. Or I may go with Mike. I'm feeling very indecisive this far from Dec!

 

[popsynic]

. The new version of UG is due out in August, and I may get the book and subscribe to the site.

If you buy the UG book, you get a FREE subscription to the touringplans.com website. They have a couple of questions asking you to name certain words on certain pages, and if you get them right you get a full subscription.

It amazes me that the unnoffial guide people trust people to not just just nip into the local bookshop (or library) and find the answers to the two questions they ask and and get a free subscription without buying the book.

 

[pezaddict231]

I do think TGM is worth it. While I do like the UG book, I found touringplans.com to be a waste of time, actually all I used it for last year was making my own custom plans using what I learned on TGM! But with TGM you do have to put in the effort to plan and this can take up some time. I love planning, so no problem at all for me. The forums are so helpful and people are willing to critique your plans and share things they have learned. The best part about TGM is that you actually learn why you should tour a certain way, so last year when TSM broke down at Rope Drop, I wasn't standing there scrambling on what to do next, I knew where I should go next. After 1 year of touring the TGM way we were sold!

 

[pezaddict231]

sorry double post

 

[bzzybee13]

I just got back last week from our Disney trip. I used TGM and it was totally worth the money. The longest we waited on a line was 20 minutes and that only happened maybe 3 times. Most we just sailed right through. Highly recommended!!