Follow ridemax or my own experience?

[Mister Toad]

I am heading out to DL in a few weeks with my fiance and her sister and brother-in-law. We have only gone with the two of us and each time used ridemax with a lot of success.

One thing that I have picked up from using Ridemax is that if we go in and immediately go to Fantasyland, we can do everything in like an hour and have minimal wait times. I know that ridemax has its info and all that, but I am looking at 40 minute waits for peter pan when I have gone in the past, we just walk on, no wait, just after 8am.

Would you guys with more experience than I recommend using ridemax from 9:30am on, and just doing fantasyland and all that first when I really don't think itll be busy, or should I pay attention to it?

Thanks!

 

[blackjackdelta]

We always do our own thing. On MM we hit PP first and then the other
rides prior to adventure land opening and then we head over there for the FP's and Indy, Splash, etc. This will be the only day that we will do Fantasyland.
You will find others just love Ridemax.

Jack

 

[Mister Toad]

We always do our own thing. On MM we hit PP first and then the other
rides prior to adventure land opening and then we head over there for the FP's and Indy, Splash, etc. This will be the only day that we will do Fantasyland.
You will find others just love Ridemax.

Jack

Thanks Jack. I've always used it in the past, but I just have this feeling that the way we have done it before would work better.

 

[Dobie]

I use Ridemax, but more as a planning tool/preview of what to expect for wait times at different times of the day.

I don't want to ride Indy, then run back to Buzz for a fastpass, then ride Haunted Mansion, then use my Buzz fastpass, then run to Splash for a fastpass, etc.

Plus, if you go first thing in the morning on a blackout day, you can easily ride everything, and collect fastpasses for evening.

Way more relaxed!!!!

 

[Mister Toad]

I use Ridemax, but more as a planning tool/preview of what to expect for wait times at different times of the day.

I don't want to ride Indy, then run back to Buzz for a fastpass, then ride Haunted Mansion, then use my Buzz fastpass, then run to Splash for a fastpass, etc.

Plus, if you go first thing in the morning on a blackout day, you can easily ride everything, and collect fastpasses for evening.

Way more relaxed!!!!

Thanks, thats my plan. Be there 8am on Sunday and do a whole lot by 10am before crowds pick up.

 

[carolinamama]

Since this was our first DLR experience, I bought RideMax and brought along several different scenarios. But we realized super fast that we didn't need them. We took advantage of Magic Morning and knocked out most of Fantasyland. We used the same FP strategies that we use in WDW, and they worked fine. I think RideMax gave me a mental idea, but it wasn't something we followed.

 

[Mary09]

I've never used Ridemax but I was there July 7-11 and we never waited in line much just by thinking it out. We waited 40 mins. for TSMM in the middle of Sat. but that was about the longest. We did some FastPass riding and also some single rider line on Indy once. Tower of Terror was a walk-on during an Aladdin show. Fantasyland was done in one morning at opening. When the parks were mobbed we did things like Animation Academy, the train, Pirates, Mr. Lincoln, etc.

 

[Hound 109]

Thanks, thats my plan. Be there 8am on Sunday and do a whole lot by 10am before crowds pick up.

Toad, will you folks be enjoying MM on your Sunday visit?

If not, your (& my) normal "FL first" strategy won't work as well since some rides will already be mobbed with people when you are allowed in at 8am. (such as PP, Dumbo, Matterhorn....maybe even our favorite poor driving amphibian ).

Are you only going the one day?

 

[Lissame]

Toad, will you folks be enjoying MM on your Sunday visit?

If not, your (& my) normal "FL first" strategy won't work as well since some rides will already be mobbed with people when you are allowed in at 8am. (such as PP, Dumbo, Matterhorn....maybe even our favorite poor driving amphibian ).

Are you only going the one day?

I was just going to mention this. Going at 8 to do FL only works well on non-MM days.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Toad, will you folks be enjoying MM on your Sunday visit?

If not, your (& my) normal "FL first" strategy won't work as well since some rides will already be mobbed with people when you are allowed in at 8am. (such as PP, Dumbo, Matterhorn....maybe even our favorite poor driving amphibian ).

Are you only going the one day?

I agree that Peter Pan and Dumbo probably won't work out for you on a Sunday without MM, but we have still had very good Sunday morning experiences without MM. We have gone at different times of the year, President's Day weekend, Memorial Day weekend, summer weekends, Sunday before Thanksgiving, Easter weekend, etc. Our experience has been that Mr. Toad, teacups, Matterhorn, and Alice often, not always, still have very short waits. So if Sunday is the only day you are going and you enjoy these rides, I say FL is still an ok starting point. If you'll be going back Monday, save the FL stuff for then and start with something else on Sunday.

 

[blackjackdelta]

I use Ridemax, but more as a planning tool/preview of what to expect for wait times at different times of the day.

I don't want to ride Indy, then run back to Buzz for a fastpass, then ride Haunted Mansion, then use my Buzz fastpass, then run to Splash for a fastpass, etc.

Plus, if you go first thing in the morning on a blackout day, you can easily ride everything, and collect fastpasses for evening.

Way more relaxed!!!!

I would not do that either. We have two teens with us that move along and so do we. Many rides do not have FP's in the summer in the evening hours. I go to ride the rides and have fun with the kids and our system works very well for us.

Jack

 

[HydroGuy]

I still feel better having approximate wait times throughout the day (see below). But as for following a RM itinerary at DLR, we have done it but not this time. At WDW I pay more attention to RM.

 

[Mary09]

I was just going to mention this. Going at 8 to do FL only works well on non-MM days.

Last Sat. we showed up for MM at 7:45 and spent about an hour in Fantasyland. We didn't wait more than 5 minutes for anything. I'm not sure if that extra 15 minutes really bought us much except maybe a jump on the PP line.

 

[carolinamama]

WOW - when are those approximate times for? We didn't see times like that at all 2 weeks ago.

 

[HydroGuy]

WOW - when are those approximate times for? We didn't see times like that at all 2 weeks ago.

Sorry, they are fake times to show how the spreadsheet was organized. I was not intending to show real time data. If I added real times in there that would be breaking the user's agreement to keep RideMax data private.

 

[toddbushman]

Hydroguy, I have Ridemax, but have never constructed a spreadsheet like yours. It definitely is a handy pocketcard. Can you provide some tips on how you make one? Do you simply put in Alice like 20 times and say you'll be at the park all day and then when it generates write down every 30 minutes what the wait time it says will be, and repeat for every ride, or is there an easier way? Just curious...

I love using Ridemax myself, but I try and build a plan through multiple scenarios that doesn't have me running back and forth, but still moving in a steady progression while collecting those all essential Fast Passes.

 

[Eeee-va]

We used Ridemax the traditional way in June 2009 and found that it really made us hustle to get everything done and took away all vestiges of spontaneity. We went during a very busy time when we figured Ridemax would be necessary, but in fact it did NOT keep us from feeling the crowds, as one of the testimonials implied at the time. And Ridemax does poorly when rides are broken down--we trekked out to Splash Mountain only to find it wasn't running, and of course Ridemax couldn't tell us what to do then! (We rode Winnie the Pooh and then I think Splash Mountain was running again so we just rode it, though that didn't fit our tight schedule.)

If you're quite savvy about the parks I don't think Ridemax is necessary, though a deconstructed wait time chart like Hydroguy's would be useful during busy times. I considered doing that for our trip in early June 2010, but the crowds turned out to be quite reasonable (and frankly, with WoC's premiere on 6/11, I wasn't certain Ridemax would be predicting accurate wait times anyway--I still don't know how accurate they were that weekend, though I hear they're doing well now). Anyway, for that trip, between the money, the effort, and the perhaps uncertain accuracy at the time, I decided it wouldn't be worth it to us, and I'm satisfied with that decision for that trip.

For a Saturday trip in October that I'm planning, I think I might give Ridemax a go (either traditional and/or deconstructed way), just so we really can cram in as many rides as possible. But if crowds are predicted to be average or lower, I think I'd probably just go my own way. Though if you are confident in Ridemax's data (and I understand you generally can be), I definitely see the appeal of a wait time sheet in all but the lowest-attended days.

 

[HydroGuy]

Hydroguy, I have Ridemax, but have never constructed a spreadsheet like yours. It definitely is a handy pocketcard. Can you provide some tips on how you make one? Do you simply put in Alice like 20 times and say you'll be at the park all day and then when it generates write down every 30 minutes what the wait time it says will be, and repeat for every ride, or is there an easier way? Just curious...

That is pretty much how I did it. I have some shortcuts over yoru description because I am a computer geek and I have it all fairly automated now. But ultimately I have to run it over and over.

When I first made it in 2005 it took many hours. Now I just update some key data and it is pretty fast.

 

[Mister Toad]

Wow thanks for all the reply's

We do NOT have MM on Sunday, but we will also be there on Monday as well. I kinda laid out a plan for both days, and I am starting to think we should flip-flop what we do each day to allow for us to take advantage of fantasyland in the early AM.

I will try to see what I can do about switching the two around. What is a good place to start on a MM day? Anywhere BUT fantasyland?

FOLLOW UP: I have done FL in the AM on Saturdays, which I think are also Magic Morning and it hasn't been too bad. Are Sunday's worse than Saturdays?

 

[Hound 109]

Toad, if it was me visiting (in a group of 4 young adults) on a Sunday / Monday (no MM), I'd do my first 1-2 hours of each day something like this:

Monday (i'm doing this first) - Be at the front of the turnstile & at rope drop, go to:

- PP first (always first)...be one of the first on with no wait.
- Dumbo (if you're doing it)
- Alice or Matterhorn (both sides) or vice versa.
- Pick up a SM or Indy FP (& if no line also ride it).
- the rest of Fantasyland (Toady, Teacups, Carousel, Storybookland & don't forget Pinocchio).....or
- .....or the left side of the park. (Splash, Pooh, HM, BTMRR & others)
- Pick up second FP at SM or Indy.

Sunday (because i'm doing PP & Dumbo on Monday, i'll avoid on Sunday)

- Runner picks up FP at Indy or SM.
- The rest head to Alice or Matterhorn.
- Fantasyland rides (keeping monday's touring in mind...if there's a long line, move on).
- Pick up FP at Indy or SM (between 8:55 & 9:05). Maybe check out Buzz's line at this point while you're walking by.
- Left side of Park. (if long lines at Splash or BTMRR, FP them for later...if not ride them. But get HM, Splash BTMRR & maybe Pirates done early.
- Pick up your 3rd FP (at BTMRR, Splash or Buzz) between 10 & 10:15am.
- Don't forget Davy Crocket's Canoe ride when it opens.

Main thing is don't get hung up in lines on Sunday if you can FP for later or ride them on Monday.

Feel free to critique my thoughts guys since i didn't use Ride Max.