How to organize TGM info

[glypnirsgirl]

I need help. I have used UG for years for theme park touring plans. For our next extended trip, I signed up for Tour Guide Mike. There is LOTS of great info on the website. The VERY specific information on a day by day basis for least crowded parks seems worth it just by itself. The very specific tour plans are great as well. And I have made our ADRs. The problem that I am having is in organizing all of the info.

On the website they have an Excel Spreadsheet that I cannot edit to fit my dates.

I have played with idea of using my passporter pages to store my TGM info, but I am hoping that I am simply missing something obvious about organizing this info.

Your hints and suggestion will be greatly appreciated.

Elaine

[CRSNDSNY]

:teacher:If you find the answer, please share. I'm having trouble myself!

[carolina_yankee]

I've copied and pasted various strategies or planning information I know I'll need into a Word document and then formatted it fit my style.

As to park days - I've done a table in Word before with rows for each day of our trip and columns for each park. Then, in each cell, I've put hours from the WDW website and then color-coded the cell using Mike's info. (One year, I even cross-referenced it with the TouringPlans/Unofficial Guide crowd ratings.) You can get a geeky as you want with planning and data layout.

Honestly, that was also the year we ended up changing everything on the fly and I decided that the best touring advice is go early, take mid-day breaks, and visit parks the day after their EMH hours.

Dirk

[RweTHEREyet]

I use TGM's Word Document to enter my entire itinerary, from flights, car rentals, all confirmations, etc. I then print out a copy that shows the entire trip, and then I print a copy that shows each day on it's own page. I make sure I make any special notes on the comment line for each day--sometimes there is a reason you do things on a certain day--it makes sense when you are planning, but when you get down there and get caught up in everything, all those plans seem to go out the window. So, if Spectro is shown only on one night when we are there, I make sure to indicate that so we don't miss it. I do love me a parade. This itinerary gives me the information for what we are doing each day. Here is what it looked like from last May, and I may need to adjust spacing once I post. (Well, it isn't going to let me adjust the spacing, but the following is set up in columns, not like it looks below. You should be able to find this form on TGM's site. Let me know if you don't, and I can help you find it. Here goes:

My May 16-21, 2007 Vacation Itinerary!

Day Date Morning Evening
Day 1 Wednesday May 16, 2007 Work  Arrive 9:30 P.M.
Southwest Flight 1283


Day 2 Thursday May 17, 2007 EPCOT

Lunch at Sunshine Seasons (c) EPCOT 9 – 12 Illuminations @ 9
5:45 Alfredo’s (oop)
Conf. No. 44604876
- or –
Artist Palette and then
MGM (9-10)


Day 3 Friday May 18, 2007 MK (9-9)

7:40 AM O’Hana Breakfast (oop)
Conf. No. 44311427

Lunch - Columbia Harbor House or Cosmic Rays (C) MK (Wishes at 9)


5:50 P.M. Crystal Palace (T)
Conf. No. 45013290


I also select all the attractions we wish to do and let TGM give me his plan for when to do what at each park. This just makes it such that I don't forget something we definitely want to do--I find even veterans do that, especially those of us with the onset of old-timer's.

The third thing I print out is the least crowded days for our trip. I print this out day by day. If our schedule should change, I at least know where "not" to go, and I have to say that TGM has been right on the money for all my trips.


In my PassPorter, I put a copy of each of these days documents in one of the pockets. Each morning I can pull them out and we are set for the day.

To summarize, in each day's PassPorter pocket I have:
a) A copy of the Least Crowded Parks (the green, red, yellow indicators) for just that day.
b) The least crowded times to do our attractions for that days' park(s).
c) A copy of our itinerary for that day that shows all confirmation no's, etc, using TGM's word document format

When I first started using TGM, I was overwhelmed with all the information (even for a veteran), but I have narrowed down the things I need to have with me to the ones listed above.

[glypnirsgirl]

Honestly, that was also the year we ended up changing everything on the fly and I decided that the best touring advice is go early, take mid-day breaks, and visit parks the day after their EMH hours.

Dirk

This basic strategy is what I have used for years and it WAS very workable. Last year we went during September for the first time in 3 years and I was OVERWHELMED with the differences in the park attendance. While I was standing in line for the resort monorail (we fulfilled one of DH's life long dreams and we were staying at the CR) I was talking to another park person and found out that WDW offered free dining for the end of August thru sometime in September and that was why the big change in park attendance and no availability in restaurants. The last time that I had read the UG regarding the MYW dining they discouraged it. SO I was just way off on everything. We ended up eating high (Brown Derby, Citrico's) and low (lots of counter service) because of the lack of availability without ADRs.

That experience is what led me to this site and then to TGM from here. My DH continued to be resistant to the DDP - he just did not want to plan our trip around dining instead of rides. So we have continued to pay OOP without ADRs for the next two trips (first week of December and a week in February) and ended up with the same problem. So this time we are doing the TGM strategy - breakfast in our room to make rope drop (we always did this anyway), then a really early lunch and early dinner (both new - we used to do lunch at 1:30 after leaving the park, rest and then dinner at 7:30 - which resulted in lots of counter service without the ADRs).


"I use TGM's Word Document to enter my entire itinerary, from flights, car rentals, all confirmations, etc. I then print out a copy that shows the entire trip, and then I print a copy that shows each day on it's own page. I make sure I make any special notes on the comment line for each day--sometimes there is a reason you do things on a certain day--it makes sense when you are planning, but when you get down there and get caught up in everything, all those plans seem to go out the window. So, if Spectro is shown only on one night when we are there, I make sure to indicate that so we don't miss it. I do love me a parade."

RweTHEREyet (I do not yet know how to do 2 quotes with the boxes)

One of my big concerns is keeping up with our ADRs. I have the trip really regimented for this time. And I don't want my DH to think that the TGM plan does not work because I cannot get it appropriately organized. :toiletcla

I love doing the planning - but organizing the info has not just been falling together for me. The idea of doing this as a Word document rather than trying to generate an Excel spreadsheet should be much easier. I am much more proficient in Word than Excel so that by itself should help alot.

So now I have another question, DO YOU USE TGM for every trip, or just selected ones? We have a trip coming up mid-May for 4 days for just the two of us. It is a trial run on using the DDP before our big celebration trip with my son and his new wife (her first time at WDW) in September. I bought TGM for the September trip because the success of it is so important to me. I am now beginning to wonder if I should go ahead and get it for the May trip as well. Would you? The pricing is reasonable, so that is really not the concern, it is just whether or not I would use the information for a less structured trip.

Thank you both for your replies - i will be able to use all of these suggestions with success I believe.

:goodvibes Elaine

[greenban]

I initially had the hardwst time with TGM.

I just couldn't wrap my head around all the info.

I needed about 20 hours on his website, reading and re-reading before I 'got it'.

I initially used his suggestions for a busy mid-summer trip, and I was amazed at the number of rides we could accomplish. His tips still saved us hours each day at our Christmas to New Years visit of 2007-8.

I also print out the park guides (Red, Yellow or Green) for each day we are there (to cover last minute changes), I copy my personal schedule into Word, and I printed out his (for lack of a better word - faqs) covering basic touring styles, how to do MK in two days, etc. (His Tips & Suggestion Articles, basically.

I also enter (manually) each days plan (AM Park, Break Activity, PM Park along with all my ADRs and ressie #s) into an excel spreadsheet.

I print 3 copies of everything, one for me, one for DW, and a spare for the one I invariably loose, each and every time. If extra adults are involved, then I'll print them out extras as well.

-Tony

P.S. The 'tips' mentioned before our our cornerstone too, I'm not repeating them as I am not certain if doing so would violate the TGM agreement. I don't think so, but since I'm not sure......

Here is my excel spreadsheet from last July....

Parks Highlighted in RED are required due to ADRs. For my December trip, I sucessfully matched least crowded parks and ADRs!

ADRs with a GREEN CASH were off the DDP. (Frog's have no pockets to carry lots of cash, don'tcha know, and the RED/GREEN calculations on the right side show my DDP savings/losses WRT the DDP.

NOTE: My savings were based on Dinners Only, also about $85.00 extra per day was saved by essentially free counter service meals and snacks!

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f312/snarfer1/JulySchedule-1.jpg



Just for fun, here is a picture of my former Doctor.....

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f312/snarfer1/frog6.gif

P.S. I also shrink everything down to pocket sized and laminate the schedules and the combined discounts sheet from allears.net (or is it mousesavers?). Those goodies save me at least $100.00 in discounts each and every trip....

[carolina_yankee]

P.S. The 'tips' mentioned before our our cornerstone too, I'm not repeating them as I am not certain if doing so would violate the TGM agreement. I don't think so, but since I'm not sure......


If you're referring to my post - that's just general wisdom everyone says, including TGM. However, there are also other less known tips that he is great for, especially touring order and viewing locations. His advice is not the same as Passporter or UG in all cases, either, so it's good to know.

As to how often I use TGM - it depends on 2 things: am I doing something new this trip (a festival, party, or something else), or am I just in need of a Disney fix and more planning stimulation? Yes to either will get me to drop $20 for his site.

I've not played around with his worksheets. I think that's new since my last trip? I'll have to take a look. Ian's program, MouseManager has become my itinerary management tool of choice, so I print out ressie and travel details from there.

Dirk

[greenban]

If you're referring to my post - that's just general wisdom everyone says, including TGM. However, there are also other less known tips that he is great for, especially touring order and viewing locations. His advice is not the same as Passporter or UG in all cases, either, so it's good to know.

As to how often I use TGM - it depends on 2 things: am I doing something new this trip (a festival, party, or something else), or am I just in need of a Disney fix and more planning stimulation? Yes to either will get me to drop $20 for his site.

I've not played around with his worksheets. I think that's new since my last trip? I'll have to take a look. Ian's program, MouseManager has become my itinerary management tool of choice, so I print out ressie and travel details from there.

Dirk

Dirk, I wasn't casting stones, I just wasn't sure........

I also rely on Ian's program now as well.

-Tony

[glypnirsgirl]

If you're referring to my post - that's just general wisdom everyone says, including TGM. However, there are also other less known tips that he is great for, especially touring order and viewing locations.

...Ian's program, MouseManager has become my itinerary management tool of choice, so I print out ressie and travel details from there.

Dirk

Ahhh, Mouse manager, that may be the ticket to organizing. I have used it MM since I first joined this site for managing my DVC points. Its worked great for that, but I have not tried it for the vacation planning. I'll try that too.

Tony - The get there early, take a break, go back tips I consider universal - I first read that in my Unofficial Guide in 1987. So I do not consider that a violation of the TGM agreement. I was trying to be very cognizant of NOT violating the User Agreement so I did not mention specific planning at all other than that universal info.

I loved your DDP v. OOP worksheet. Your excel worksheet is MUCH MORE MANAGEABLE than the one that is posted on the site. Thank you for posting it.

Elaine

[RweTHEREyet]

The Word document is perfect for keeping up with the ADR's.

And, trying it out for May would be perfect too as it will give you a test run and you will figure out exactly how you wish to use it.

If you PM me your e-mail, I can send you the templates, so you can see how they look. The templates are in TGM, but sometimes it helps to see how they were used.

[Hallfamily4]

Elaine-Thanks for posting this question. I signed up for TGM but became overwhelmed with all the information and trying to put it in some order that seemed workable for our trip. Thus, I gave up and didn't follow any of the rules!
It was very busy over the Easter break and I wish I had taken the time to make sense of all of TGM suggestions. Live and learn. I'm going to take all of these suggestions and work them in for our next trip.
By the way, I had to do a double take...tigger is gone! Your new picture is great!
-Wendy

[JRandAJsMom]

I've copied and pasted various strategies or planning information I know I'll need into a Word document and then formatted it fit my style.

As to park days - I've done a table in Word before with rows for each day of our trip and columns for each park. Then, in each cell, I've put hours from the WDW website and then color-coded the cell using Mike's info. (One year, I even cross-referenced it with the TouringPlans/Unofficial Guide crowd ratings.) You can get a geeky as you want with planning and data layout.

Honestly, that was also the year we ended up changing everything on the fly and I decided that the best touring advice is go early, take mid-day breaks, and visit parks the day after their EMH hours.

Dirk

Haha-- I did the same sort of thing and DH thought I was off the deep end... I'm glad to see others go this route too :-) We mostly did it for dining purposes to keep all that straight and planned the parks around that. No matter how obsessive he thought I was before the trip, he spent a LOT of time referring to it while ON the trip! And I didn't know anything about TGM (I just did it based on park hours...) so I'm going to have to check that out too to refine it for the next time :-)

[carolina_yankee]

Dirk, I wasn't casting stones, I just wasn't sure........

I knew you weren't casting stones!! Flies, maybe . . .

Dirk

[glypnirsgirl]

When I got home from work this evening, I sat down with the templates and was able to get everything organized in about 30 minutes. I also used the cut and paste trick - so I now have everything in one folder for the trip. Its 4 different documents - (1) the weekly overview (2) the daily details (3) the least crowded parks; and (4) the entertainment guide.

Y'all really helped me put this all together. You are great!!! :bowdown:

Elaine

[goofy4mickey]

I'm thinking of trying TGM now - I've never tried it yet - mostly because I didn't think it'd have much more info that what I already know or what is available on other sites. (kind of funny to get all cheap about that after what we spend on WDW yearly anyways :hahahaha: ) Plus, we really do follow that get there early, ride what is important then relax type of planning. BUT a few times, it's been insanely crowded even early in the day - so now I'm rethinking that and may try a smidge more planning.

Thanks for the info - now to see if it completely overwhelms me or if I can get organized. I think we're going for 2 weeks before/after Christmas - so planning a little more is probably a good thing. :laughing:

[glypnirsgirl]

Kim - The detail that TGM goes into regarding where to be when is AMAZING in its detail - it is the positive side of why it is difficult to get the info organized. There is just a lot of info.

The easiest part was figuring out what park to be at on which day.
Once I had decided that, I used the Passporter templates for my proposed ADRs - but using the times suggested by TGM.

I agree about getting all cheap on something this minimal. I decided to go ahead and use his stuff for our short trip in May also - kind of a trial run.

His pricing is different - its basically $20 per trip - but if it makes life easier and enables us to see more, stand in fewer lines, etc. I figure it is worth it.

Elaine