Differences in Ridemax vs Touringplans for Disneyland?

[peterpanda]

My fiance and I are going to DL in March as a sort of post-engagement early honeymoon and unfortunately smack dab in the middle of spring break. For added difficulty, my fiance is disabled and I'm pretty sure we'll be needing to rent a wheelchair for some of the trip which will slow us down even further.

So with that in mind, I bought a subscription to Ridemax to optimize our ability to see everything. The itineraries I've generated are okay but I've noticed how inflexible it is with times. It likes to shove every ride into the first few hours after arrival (~9AM) leaving huge blocks of time (~4 hours) in the afternoon unscheduled.

I've tried scheduling in more regular breaks but that totally messes up the itinerary, especially if it's before noon. All the rides that it can't squeeze into morning hours it packs in back to back in the afternoon, additionally doubling or tripling wait times, then leaves huge blocks of unscheduled time in the evening.

Ideally, we'd like to spread things out a bit so that we can take shorter but more frequent breaks to rest, and we don't mind staying late into the evening hours so long as the mornings aren't so hectic.

So my first question is: Is it true that the later it is the longer the line is, no exceptions?

Question 2: If you've used Touringplans, does it schedule rides the same way as Ridemax? I.E. mechanically packing everything into the earliest possible time slot, or does it give any kind of special insight into riding certain rides later in the day on particular days?

Question 3: If you don't use or recommend either of these planners, what do you use and do you have the same issues with overscheduled time blocks?

Thanks a bunch.

 

[Eeee-va]

I can't answer all your questions, but MOSTLY the later you ride, the longer the line will be. Some rides get less busy nearer to the end of the day--Toy Story Midway Mania and The Little Mermaid ride can be like that, Splash Mountain will definitely empty out as the evening progresses, especially if it's at all chilly, and much of Fantasyland will be less crowded a few hours before closing. But with some exceptions, when the park is busy, the lines will almost always be shortest in the early morning and will stay long at least until fireworks.

Ridemax basically has internal data of how long the wait times will be and then it runs a bunch of different ways to put together your day, then gives you they one they consider the "best". It assumes you want the shortest wait times no matter what, and I believe it also assumes you would rather have large breaks (which you could use to see a show, have a meal, etc.) than small, frequent breaks. The best way to get an itinerary you like is to keep trying (they don't go through EVERY combination every time they run the numbers for you, so you may like another itinerary better than the first they give you). But given their basic assumptions don't match with your goals, it will still be tricky.

Basically, if your free time blocks are too big, what I would do is add a bunch more rides. That would force Ridemax to schedule them into those big blocks of free time that you don't want. Then, you can remove some of the rides from your schedule and make them into breaks.

You could try asking it to let you ride your favorites 2 times each, or even everything you'd scheduled twice--and see where Ridemax puts them. It may not be able to fit everything in, but that's OK.

I haven't used Ridemax in a while, but I think a lot of the time the rides may be back to back. However, that would allow you to have small breaks (by riding once instead of twice). In fact, if it scheduled Alice in Wonderland twice, then Small World twice (as an example), that would give you a little rest period as you would ride Alice, then wait for the time it would've taken to ride Alice again and the first Small World ride, then get over there to ride when you were scheduled to ride Small World again.

More rides would also force them to move some into the afternoon hours. Then you can just print/copy your itinerary and cross off/delete the rides you aren't actually planning to do.

Another option is trying booking a day that was JUST evening to force it to tell you some projected wait times for the evening.

If you have a bunch of time on your hands and don't have a smart phone, you could also reverse-engineer Ridemax's data (for your own personal use only). I've never tried it, but I believe what you do is set up a spreadsheet and then ask it to let you ride a single ride 3 times in a 1-hour period. That will show you what they predict the wait to be for that hour. Repeat for each hour the park is open, then repeat for each ride and each day. In fact, that might be good for you to do for 1 or 2 rides so you can see what the wait time flow is. But I think the wait time phone apps probably make this method obsolete for actually using this data in the parks. (Unless you don't have a phone smart enough for the apps...I don't!)

 

[chttyangel]

So my first question is: Is it true that the later it is the longer the line is, no exceptions?

I have found in the evening when people are eating dinner and when the shows are taking place the lines start to thin out. Ridemax takes this into account too. That is why you have the large block of "free time" mid-day. It doesn’t mean you have to take a break. It just means the lines are longer then the program likes so it programs the remaining at night.

Question 2: If you've used Touringplans, does it schedule rides the same way as Ridemax? I.E. mechanically packing everything into the earliest possible time slot, or does it give any kind of special insight into riding certain rides later in the day on particular days?

I have not used Touring Plans. You can chose in Ridemax to slow down the pace, to have your last ride late in the evening, and you can put in a break, but your right. It packs everything into the morning and the evening with a large block of free time in the middle when the Park is fullest.

Question 3: If you don't use or recommend either of these planners, what do you use and do you have the same issues with overscheduled time blocks?

I use and enjoy Ridemax when I am with the kids; in fact I will use it in April for Springbreak. (One day with it on a jam packed strict schedule and one day without it just touring casually). I DO NOT LIKE IT with my husband. He is also disabled and needs allot of breaks. He cannot handle the non-stop and does not like it. With him I take the concepts of the program; getting there early, which rides get the most crowded, getting Fast Passes well he puts his legs up, break at 1, etc. And we just make our own. We ride a few rides and take a mini-break. That might work well for you; learn lots of tips and just keep those in mind but go at the pace you need.

 

[Mommy26]

Yes, the rides do get longer as the morning progresses and stay that way until evening (in general).

First off, there is a tab in the middle of the screen that says "plan options" I assume you have found this, make sure you mark it for a slower touring plan.

Also, I agree that you should run the program for each ride separately so that you can see what the wait times for just that ride will be throughout the day, collect the data and then make your own plan.


My apologies but the bananas are so my son does not rip the keyboard from me.

 

[llump41]

Not sure if either one is really going to help you. Wheelchair queues are very different at DL than the regular entrances with entirely different wait times. Although not is a wheelchair, I get that endorsement on my GAC. Me and the DW can almost always ride everything we want to by noon assuming we get there at rope drop. Of course, this isn't ever during spring break.

 

[mouseymommy]

Yes, the rides do get longer as the morning progresses and stay that way until evening (in general).

First off, there is a tab in the middle of the screen that says "plan options" I assume you have found this, make sure you mark it for a slower touring plan.

Also, I agree that you should run the program for each ride separately so that you can see what the wait times for just that ride will be throughout the day, collect the data and then make your own plan.


My apologies but the bananas are so my son does not rip the keyboard from me.

My DS4 makes me put those bananas on my posts if he is with me too!