I am thinking I may not need to use Ridemax

[RweTHEREyet]

Now that I paid for it and have looked at it, I am not even sure if I am going to use it or not.

We will have 4 full days in both parks in addition to a Sunday devoted to Food and Wine with a Sweet Sunday seminar and our last day when we will probably sleep in, get checked out and spend a few hours in the parks waiting for my son to pick us up for the weekend.

With this much time in the parks do I really need to even fiddle with Ridemax? Won't we be able to fit everything in and then have time to re-do our favorites a couple of times over.

And if I do decide to just wing it what are the key things I need to keep in mind, if anything.

 

[blackjackdelta]

Now that I paid for it and have looked at it, I am not even sure if I am going to use it or not.

We will have 4 full days in both parks in addition to a Sunday devoted to Food and Wine with a Sweet Sunday seminar and our last day when we will probably sleep in, get checked out and spend a few hours in the parks waiting for my son to pick us up for the weekend.

With this much time in the parks do I really need to even fiddle with Ridemax? Won't we be able to fit everything in and then have time to re-do our favorites a couple of times over.

And if I do decide to just wing it what are the key things I need to keep in mind, if anything.

I have yet to see the need for ridemax but there are a number of folks that think it is a necessary piece of software. Based on the time you have, I think not.

Jack

 

[Mister Toad]

Now that I paid for it and have looked at it, I am not even sure if I am going to use it or not.

We will have 4 full days in both parks in addition to a Sunday devoted to Food and Wine with a Sweet Sunday seminar and our last day when we will probably sleep in, get checked out and spend a few hours in the parks waiting for my son to pick us up for the weekend.

With this much time in the parks do I really need to even fiddle with Ridemax? Won't we be able to fit everything in and then have time to re-do our favorites a couple of times over.

And if I do decide to just wing it what are the key things I need to keep in mind, if anything.

I would totally agree that its not necessary. Personally, I would do Ridemax days 1 and 2 (or even just 1) to get a lot of attractions in. I would just say find out what you want to do over and over and do that on the other days. At least that way you can get almost everything in and then go from there.

Good luck!

 

[pixiewings71]

I have never used RM and I do not feel it's needed. We went so many times and we never regretted not having RM.

 

[HydroGuy]

I have yet to see the need for ridemax but there are a number of folks that think it is a necessary piece of software. Based on the time you have, I think not.

Jack

Necessary? At DLR not for me. Helpful? For sure. Here is a post I made on another thread recently that may clarify...

For me it is totally worth it on busy days. If you are fortunate to visit on a light crowd day I suspect you will conclude it was not worth it.

An anecdotal story to clarify what I mean...

Last summer I was at DLR with all four of my kids, one niece, one nephew and one of my kids' girlfriend. So I toured with seven - count 'em - seven teenagers that day - all good kids and we had a truck load of fun.

DS18 and his GF wanted to see Mickey at Mickey's house. The others did not want to see Mickey. They wanted to ride Star Tours. Star Tours makes me feel sick and I decided it was good time to hop into DCA and get FPs for Soarin Over CA.

So... I sent DS18 and his GF to Toontown to see Mickey and told him (based on my RM inspired spreadsheet) the wait would be X minutes that day at 9:30AM. I sent the others to Star Tours and told them the wait would be Y minutes. And I headed for DCA and knew it would take me 15-20 minutes to get there and back to Star Tours. We all planned to meet at Star Tours afterwards.

DS18 and GF got to Mickey's house and called me because the line was really long and asked me if he should still wait. At this time I was walking into DCA. I told him RM was pretty good with wait time data and they should stick it out.

Turns out RM was right on with wait times for Mickey's House and they got to see Mickey right when they expected. I got back to Star Tours from DCA right when the other kids got out and, knowing DS18 and GF were still in Toontown waiting for Mickey, judged we had time to ride Buzz LY thru standby before they got back. Why? Because RM said the Buzz line would be like 5 minutes and we could visually see Buzz from Star Tours and see the line was very short. So we rode Buzz and as were coming off the ride DS18 and GF were just getting back from Toontown.

RM's predictions allowed me to tell DS18 how long his wait would be, allowed them to judge if that was worth it to them in order to see Mickey (it was), allowed them to know how long Mickey's line was without having to walk all the way back to Toontown, allowed me to have enough time to get Soarin FPs because I knew how long ST would take for other kids, and finally allowed us to get in an extra ride on Buzz LY. All because we had a pretty good idea of how long the wait times were according to RM.

Here is a dummy copy of what my RM spreadsheet looks like for DL (Note data below is not real RM data).

 

[rentayenta]

I don't need Ridemax but like to use it for the mornings. I have been to Disneyland hundreds of times throughout my life but during the last few trips, especially during peak times, I like having a plan. Plus it's really fun to play with.

 

[Dobie]

I don't need Ridemax but like to use it for the mornings. I have been to Disneyland hundreds of times throughout my life but during the last few trips, especially during peak times, I like having a plan. Plus it's really fun to play with.

As always, I agree with rentayenta. I think its a fun toy. It lets me help build the anticipation for my trip. It also helps me identify things that I can do during non prime time.

 

[Eeee-va]

The nerd in me totally wants to do the spreadsheet.

I think you'll be fine without Ridemax provided you know the basic traffic patterns of the park. When I used it in June 2009, Ridemax made us rush to hurry and do things just because they were on our itinerary. I feel like we didn't get to enjoy the atmosphere very much. (Though in fairness it was a very busy time so it was hard to enjoy the atmosphere anyway.)

And on those two occasions when the thing our itinerary told us to do was broken down, we would just be thrown for a loop and not know quite what to do. (It also gave me bad advice about Tarzan's Treehouse, always advising me to do it shortly before park closing, when the treehouse closes well before then. I did tell them about that when I got back and they kind of implied they knew it : and would fix it in a few days.)

Anyway, it can certainly be helpful. When the park is busy, it can be VERY helpful. If the park is busy and you don't know the parks and/or have a limited time for your visit, I imagine it would be priceless. In your case, I don't think the parks will be too bad (unless there are WoC soft-openings, and if those cause longer ride waits Ridemax won't be able to help you!). So if it were me, think I would probably pass on it, but it's up to you.

(For myself, visiting around WoC's official premiere, I'm strongly considering that spreadsheet thing! )

 

[RweTHEREyet]

So, how do you go in and set it up for a day like we will have on our first Sunday when we have Sweet Sundays scheduled at 10:30 and then we want to make sure we see Aladdin and also schedule the fireworks for that night. I am not sure when to start the day in Ridemax and when to end it, etc.

My other issue is I am not sure how to break down my rides on each day. I am used to TGM telling me what park to go to on which day and what attractions to do that day. And I know what I want to do at WDW. With only two parks and not being familiar with the parks and some of the rides and attractions, I am not sure how to set it all up.

See my dilemma? I guess it would be a little easier for me if Ridemax included putting in Aladdin, etc.

 

[HydroGuy]

So, how do you go in and set it up for a day like we will have on our first Sunday when we have Sweet Sundays scheduled at 10:30 and then we want to make sure we see Aladdin and also schedule the fireworks for that night. I am not sure when to start the day in Ridemax and when to end it, etc.

My other issue is I am not sure how to break down my rides on each day. I am used to TGM telling me what park to go to on which day and what attractions to do that day. And I know what I want to do at WDW. With only two parks and not being familiar with the parks and some of the rides and attractions, I am not sure how to set it all up.

See my dilemma? I guess it would be a little easier for me if Ridemax included putting in Aladdin, etc.

As you have read, throw out the idea of TGM's "which park which day". At DLR it is more like "which park which hour". Which means DL and DCA should be treated as one large park with two gates. You get most bang for the buck by moving back and forth.

Keep TGM's idea of getting to the parks early, dining early, collecting FPs and doing slow loaders (e.g., Fantasyland) first thing.

I would recommend you consider using RM for DLR like I used RM for WDW before my first visit there - I used RM to "test drive" different scenarios and got a feel for traffic patterns before we came. Totally convinced me I had unrealistic expectations for Epcot and allowed me to scale back. Once we got to WDW we did not really follow any RM itineraries, except for Epcot which we did more or less.

Back to your original question about whether you need RM - it is true RM is not for everyone. RM philosophy does parallel TGM a lot - unlike the UG philosophy which I do not like.

Also be sure to check the RM online tips they provide.

HTH

 

[RweTHEREyet]

I cannot believe you took the time to do that spreadsheet. I work in accounting and with numbers all day long, and that spreadsheet made me dizzy.

 

[TSRE]

What I like about Ridemax is that it eliminates the standing around going "What do you want to do next? I dunno, what do you want to do next". We go for a similar length trip as you will, and usually only use Ridemax in the morning. And if we ever aren't in the mood to do what it says, we just don't. I just view it as a place to start. Since you already payed for it, I'd throw a few itineraries together, and leave the Sunday open to do the stuff you have planned, plus whatever else you have time for / want to do.

Back to your original question about whether you need RM - it is true RM is not for everyone. RM philosophy does parallel TGM a lot - unlike the UG philosophy which I do not like.
HTH

Just curious, what is the UG philosophy? I'm more familiar with Ridemax and TGM.

 

[HydroGuy]

Just curious, what is the UG philosophy? I'm more familiar with Ridemax and TGM.

UG as in Unofficial Guide to WDW by Sehlinger. Since you know TGM you probably know the UG folks have a very business like, "let's peel away the magic" philosophy. It is not very fun.

 

[Eeee-va]

I completely missed that you already paid for it. In that case I would do as others suggested and at least make up sample plans, and maybe try them out for a couple days. For example, the first day I'm there, I try to do everything new I want to see and the first full day I'm there, certainly all my favorites. (This probably stems from a trip to Disneyland with my best friend at the time, when I was rather younger. We had a great time in Disneyland and figured to do the temporary overlay the Rescue Ranger Raceway--which I REALLY wanted to do--the next day. Early the next morning an earthquake hit and my friend's mom was terrified to stay, so I never ever got to ride it!)

ANYWAY--you could definitely come up with a plan to do all your top priorities in one day, or figure out what to do in the mornings, etc.

And if nothing else, playing with it a little will give you a new way to look at the rides. The very first itinerary I did it suggested the first thing I do in the morning (after picking up a Fastpass) was It's a Small World. It blew my mind! That advice most likely would have minimized our time spent in lines. (I ended up using a different plan and bypassing It's a Small World but it was still pretty neat.)

It has a 30-day money back guarantee, right? If you are in that window, I would try it, and if you don't like it/don't think it will be of any value to you, ask for a refund.

Have a great trip!

 

[RweTHEREyet]

Well, I think I have come to the conclusion that Ridemax certainly knows more than I know about DL and CA, and I can't go wrong in at least creating several plans and giving them a try.

At least I won't be walking thru the turnstiles, park guide in hand, and asking my DH, o.k., what do you want to do? When we go to WDW, I always feel so sorry for the folks that I see doing that very thing, and now I won't have to be one of "those" people. So, thanks, everyone for the encouragement to give Ridemax a try.

 

[skiingfast]

UG as in Unofficial Guide to WDW by Sehlinger. Since you know TGM you probably know the UG folks have a very business like, "let's peel away the magic" philosophy. It is not very fun.

What does TGM stand for?

 

[Canadian Traveler]

We always have gone to Disneyland during the "off" season and we use it....It ensures that we get to see everything and do everything.... It is a really good way to do everything and we are always there 5 days... We were sure glad last time as our last day was rained out and if we had not gone threw everything we would have been upset. We always left the last day for misc stuff....

 

[RweTHEREyet]

What does TGM stand for?

TGM stands for Tour Guide Mike, which is a comprehensive planning tool for Disney World. Mike used to be a VIP tour guide for Disney and now has his own business. It is a program that requires a lot of input initially about your trip and the members of your group, but the results and information you get back are incredible. I love and use TGM for almost every trip, and that is even though we have been to WDW hundreds of times.

I sure wish he had a counterpart on the West Coast. While Ridemax is better than nothing, I am just used to TGM.

 

[skiingfast]

TGM stands for Tour Guide Mike, which is a comprehensive planning tool for Disney World. Mike used to be a VIP tour guide for Disney and now has his own business. It is a program that requires a lot of input initially about your trip and the members of your group, but the results and information you get back are incredible. I love and use TGM for almost every trip, and that is even though we have been to WDW hundreds of times.

I sure wish he had a counterpart on the West Coast. While Ridemax is better than nothing, I am just used to TGM.

Thanks, I kept thinking Tour Guide M, and wasn't sure.

 

[TSRE]

UG as in Unofficial Guide to WDW by Sehlinger. Since you know TGM you probably know the UG folks have a very business like, "let's peel away the magic" philosophy. It is not very fun.

Yeah, I see what you mean. To me, the magic and the suspended disbelief is the whole point