Tourguide Mike.

[Dana49]

I recently subscribed to Tourguidemike. In all of the years that I have been researching WDW, I have never received as much new information as I did there. I think that it's imperative that each of us informally police these boards and ensure that others don't leak the information that's listed there. Mike has asked us nicely not too and I believe we should abide by that. Thank you Mike for such a fantastic site.

 

[padisneylover]

I agree with you Dana it would be a shame for the information on his site to leak out and I think being a user if we see it and know for certain it came from him we should report it.
I also have had the pleasue of communicating with Mike and was always promptly and fully replied to no matter how triaval my question was. I just love the site and really have never regretted signing up for it.

 

[yesdisneyfool]

I'm an avid user of tgm and looking forward to all the new articles to come. This will be my 2nd trip using his quidance, expertise and knowledge of WDW. As you can see , I'm jumping for joy.

Thanks rileygirl for your help when asked about tgm. I think we have found one of the "hidden mickey's".

 

[TreeOfLife]

I use it almost daily, although our trip is in December. It has helped us plan a lot and I think I am basically done with the meals portion of our trip...

After reading several articles, I have it down to where we're eating what, on which days. And the A.V.P. offers here something no printed guide does: up to date breakfast, lunch and dinner prices rather than the ambiguous $, $$, $$$ for you to figure out what the heck it is...

So it has really helped me estimate the cost of our meals and it feels great to take it to the point where you know that much to the numbers!

 

[seanf]

Has anyone been able to get into the tourguidemike site today? I've been trying since this morning with no luck to go to the site. I just tried again and it looked like it was up but then there was nothing.

 

[Rileygirl]

Hey tree, you liked it so much you posted that twice?lol lol

And sean, I have had the same problem, and now it is a really strange screen up....perhaps there are some line probs again

 

[cinmell]

Originally posted by seanf
Has anyone been able to get into the tourguidemike site today? I've been trying since this morning with no luck to go to the site. I just tried again and it looked like it was up but then there was nothing.

Hi Seanf,
I'm having the same trouble as you. When I try to get into the site I get an error message pertaining to the server. Maybe the site was taken down for maintenance????

 

[Rileygirl]

Last time this happened it was due to the major computor line problems down the eastern seaboard.....

 

[TreeOfLife]

I read somewhere else that he's doing maintenance today... So site is down.

Rileygirl, you caught me

Well, sometimes the messages post so slowly that I keep clicking on the "post" button and get duplicates!

 

[cinmell]

Originally posted by TreeOfLife
I read somewhere else that he's doing maintenance today... So site is down.

Thanks for the info

 

[Rileygirl]

Hi all

A little bored cause the tgm site is down.....I was looking back at all the posts and I just thought I should say that when I posted the info about the hoop de do in the restaurant section, I got Michaels permission first......also I asked Michael a while back why he doesn't offer a discount to the DISboards, and he said he has tried to contact Pete W. for an exclusive DIS-discount on the A.V.P., but no one has responded after a week. Does anyone know why they wouldn't answer him? I think it would be great if everyone here could save some money. I luv my avp, but I'm having fun here too, and I know others feel the same way. Any ideas out there? I know Mary at mousesavers offers the discount....

Rileygirl


Jumping for Joy

 

[#1MMFan]

I don't know why, I think they're missing out on something great over here. I have only very positive things to say about TourGuideMiKE.com. And I too have had nice personal e-mails from the man himself. It is such a personal service and directs you to the things you'd not considered doing at WDW ... but the extra info from the insider perspective is worth the $25 easily in my opinion. Even having been to the World many times, I can see why this new site will totally enhance future experiences. I am already dishing out tips to my family who are going with me and they are really excited. There are definitely things in the site that are not listed anywhere else.

I will post a full review in due course.
With Mike I feel like a VIP, and his personal involvement and correspondence really makes me feel special.

Congrats Mike on a fantastic site.

John

PS The site is back up running now.

 

[TreeOfLife]

Yes, the site is kickin' butts already.
He has been working hard to catch up on a few articles but I always perceived his idea was innovative and unique and know it will remain very successful...

It is going to be hard to beat this one.

 

[Rileygirl]

Yep, his site is awesome and its unique. The dis boards are unique too, because they allow disney fans to communicate freely together and exchange ideas and information. I dont think tgm will ever replace the dis boards though...its like two completely different things...... both are great in their own way. I wonder if the dis board is concerned that he is competition? I don't think so, I dont think they are at all the same thing! The dis board is a community and tgm is more like a best friend.
Just some thoughts......
Rileygirl

 

[Rileygirl]

Cinmel and mom20f2

so sorry I just this very minute checked my pm"s, I never think of doing it. I would like to repond, how do I select you to send a message back? (I am computer challenged...i have just learned how to cut and paste....sigh....) sorry everybody for having posted this on the general board.
Rileygirl

 

[cinmell]

Go to user profile then to private mssg. when you open the pm you will see a reply button on the bottom (if I remember correctly).

 

[Rileygirl]

Cinmell
ok, I found it, and I have posted you a reply, let me know if you have not got it
rileygirl

 

[cinmell]

Got it, I actually just sent my questions to you.

 

[cinmell]

Originally posted by cinmell
I received a response from tourguide mike. He was very friedly and pleaseant, however, he didn't have answers to my questions because he hasn't had time to write them yet. He did write in his resposne to check the disney site because they have information.

Last week I sent an email to tgm and asked a general question pertaining to WDW and part of Mike's response was use disney they publish that information. I took that to be disney.com but I went back and re-read the email and after he said to use disney they publish that information, he went on the next paragraph to say what he means is look at their rates pay attention to their rates and how they lable their seasons (not exact words). Now the place " I" would look for that information that is disney.com. Just thought I'd clear that up.

I've spent alot of time today reading more articles. I think it takes some time to get used to moving around the site. There is alot of information and tips, things I had already learned from our many visits to Disney or reading guides and the boards and a bit of new information, mostly tips, that were new to me.

There are a couple of things I'm waiting on to be added but the site does have quite a bit of information. I'm still a bit disappointed I signed up for a service that isn't totally complete, as the missing information I noticed is information that would be helpful for my upcoming vacation. I think one of the things that appeals to tgm users is that everything is on one site so you don't have to go searching on one site for menus, another site to determine when you can make a PS, another to find a description of resorts/parks, another to get tips, etc. (you get the picture). If you like the convenience of going to one site, tgm is for you. If don't like manuevering around internet sites, you may not enjoy tgm as much. Some people like to use books and guides to look up info as well as write down info such as PS reminder dates and confirmation dates and some like to have everything online. It depends on the individual user. I will continue to read tgm because I am finding more interesting articles and I am becoming more comfortable with the site. I hope this review is helpful to those of you considering registering with tgm.

P.S.
I emailed Mike approx. 45 minutes ago because I had a technical problem. He just responded. I did also email him on Saturday regarding another site question, nothing that had to do with my own vacation, still waiting for a response on that...

Does anyone have a problem receiving the emailed newsletter or PS email reminder notifications? Mike that it was due to junk mail filter but that is not the case so he sent my issue to his developers. Anyone had a problem with else not receiving emails?

edited for spelling and an addition

 

[northernmouse]

I signed up for TGM a few days before it was 'officially' open. A few weeks into launch, the site had a few problems with the dining function, and when I expressed (rather bluntly) my frustration with the problem, (and my irritation about the unwritten articles I was expecting to be there), Michael was anything *but* service oriented. It was probably the worst example of customer treatment I have ever experienced. He took it pretty personally, and his response was pretty much a personal attack, too. In the end, he never did apologize, or acknowledge that the problem I pointed out, though technically odd, did actually exist. The problem has since been fixed.

IMHO, I think he was so attached to his product, he forgot who the paying customer was. My husband, who is in the customer service business, was so horrified he is actually using the correspondence as an example in his training of how *not* to treat a customer. (name masked, of course)

That said, I did not cancel my service, (though a rebate was offered) and think the site does offer information not found anywhere. And there is *much* more information now than during the opening weeks. It's highly interactive, and quite user-friendly, so the 'fun' factor is pretty high, though you do have to pay attention to all the links, or you might miss a lot.

The site is a sophisticated ASP -- application service provider -- and both the tone and the functionality make it *feel* and *appear* very personalized. Though, for myself only, I still have a hard time getting past what I thought was an extreme reaction to a legitimate criticism in its early days. I'm glad the rest of you have had better experiences.