"Improving" our Itinerary with RideMax?

[degrapevine]

Hi, everyone!
With our trip quickly coming up (yeah!), I am getting a little worried about the crowds and how much we'll get done.

Our plans are:
Tuesday, June 21st - Arrive at SNA, pick up rental car, head to hotel, do grocery run and spend evening at DD.
Wednesday, June 22nd - Be at DL at 7:30 (8 AM opening), spend day doing "left" side of park, then fireworks.
Thurday, June 23rd - EE at DL, spend day doing "right" side of park, lunch at BB, and parade.
Friday, June 24th - Legoland
Saturday, June 25th - (Laundry morning!) DCA at 9:30 (10 AM opening), do as much as possible, Block Party Bash.
Sunday, June 26th - Church in Yorba Linda, Hollywood, Drive back along coast, stop at beach (just to look!), evening at DL (Fantasmic).
Monday, June 27th - Morning at DL to re-do favorites, then over to DCA for dinner at Ariel's and the Electrical Parade.
Tuesday - Back to SNA, drop off rental car, flight leaves at 11.

We have been WDW Passholders for over 10 years and are very familiar with the FastPass system as well as knowing which rides to go on early that don't have FastPasses.
I'm pretty sure that we could do well using the great tips we've gotten from the DIS and our past experiences.
However, I've heard great things about RideMax and think it could alleviate some of the anxiety I have about "getting everything done."
It's only $15 and includes a 30 day money back guarantee.
Has anyone here used it personally and had great results?
Would it help to better organize our days, rather than just having a kind of overall plan?
Our kids are 10, 7, and (almost) 5 and are used to being "on the go" at parks - we're not the type to just go walking around - we like to get things done!
Should I go ahead and order it?
This will probably be our only trip to DL (for a long time, anyway!) and (just like everyone else!) want it to be enjoyable and as stress-free as possible.
So what do you think?
I'd love to hear some of your first-hand accounts of how well it worked for you.
Or will our 4 1/2 days be enough to do everything (including most shows)?
Any comments or suggestions on our itinerary (actually mine - DH is taking an "observer's position" on the planning!) would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thanks, DISers!
Rose

 

[Judy from Boise]

I really think you are making this a little too hard!
If you get to the park that early it is pretty easy.....first stop should always be Indy or Space mountain, picking up a FP for a second ride. Then off to fantasyland for all of the rides, then matterhorn since it has no FP.Then hit the remaining "mountains". After that the park is your oyster......use FP for the e-tickets, and head over to DCA when you hit your "crowd tolerance" level.

 

[HaleyB]

I agree. Don't worry. It will look crowded to you because of the scale of the park but we always do fine and only go to DL for 1 day most of the time. Start to the left and use FP and you will be fine.

You may want to read up on FP disconnect in DL. I don't know if this is still current info (we skipped our trip last year because we went to WDW for 3 weeks) but it used to be that you could get a second FP on certian rides even if your current FP said it was not time yet. We always just check if there are short lines for the machines and we are walking by them anyhow.

 

[Boo Mc]

I know you didn't specifically ask this question but here's my two cents. You might want to skip Hollywood unless it's a lifelong dream or something. It's not the glamorous place it might seem and I'm not sure your kids would be that interested (It's actually a little seedy IMO but I hope I don't get flamed by any residents for saying that). My kids are the same age and I don't think they would be too interested. Anyway, just thought you might be better off spending that time at the beach (doing more than just a look - maybe a quick swim) or going back to DL. Hope you have a good trip - we'll be arriving at DL on the 27th - hope the crowds aren't too bad!

 

[CalGal]

I can't imagine you'll get much out of RideMax. I haven't heard a lot about it. I like to be a little flexible once the parks start getting crowded, using the Information board to give me an idea of queue times. (Info board at DL is at the end of mainstreet on the left side near the entrance to Adventureland). I don't really see anything wrong with your plan, but like the other posters, I like to start all my days at DL and tend to wait until it starts getting crowded before going over to DCA. I basically follow and recommend Judy's strategy.

I tend to do my laundry in the afternoon when the parks are most crowded, perhaps while the kids are napping or swimming. I just love the first couple of hours at DL when crowds are light, and the air is fresh.

I think going to Legoland on Friday is good. It's a smaller park, so it will be restful compared to DL, so midway through your trip is smart. I suspect weekends there are much more crowded (but then, that's the case for just about everything).

Just a couple more weeks to go -- lucky you!

 

[degrapevine]

Again, thanks to the great DISers who always come through!

Judy and Haley -
I guess my main fear is that we won't get what we'd like to get done before the crowds get overwhelming.
But we'll plan on being at the parks at opening and EE and using FP and our past experiences to get the most popular (and busy!) rides (e-tickets) done first.
Our itinerary is basically just a master plan of what parks we want to spend the majority in each day.
Depending on what DL rides the kids really like that we don't have at WDW, we may end up there on Saturday morning early and I'll just do laundry some other time!
I guess we need to keep in mind that although the crowds might seem crazy, there will be plenty of attractions and shows that we can do during crowded times - We'll plan to wait to do those until later in the day.
I will definitely read up on the FP disconnect to double check which rides are not connected to others.

Boo Mc-
The Hollywood trip is just for me - But we're only going to the Hollywood and Highland Complex to see the Kodak Theater, Chinese Theater, and climb up to see the Hollywood sign.
I appreciate your comments about the surrounding area - it'll be mid-afternoon when we arrive, so I think we'll be okay.
We will probably walk down to the water at the beach (still picking one - any favorites?) just to stick our toes in!
Pixie dust for small crowds for both of us!

CalGal-
I think we'll pass on RideMax - Using everyone's suggestions on this board and others, I'm sure we'll do fine - and we may want to go on certain rides over and over or add in shows and the program isn't accessible away from your home computer (we don't have a laptop), so any changes we'd want to make wouldn't be possible!
The laundry has to be done before Sunday, but I'll see if I can do it some other time than Saturday morning so we can get to DL early for a better use of our time. (If we drive instead of using the shuttle on Saturday, we can go back to the hotel when the park gets crazy in the afternoon and come back later - Maybe that's a better plan?)
Friday is the first day of the summer that Legoland is open until 8, so it made our choice easy. My DS10 is a Lego Maniac and is in the BrickMaster Club, gets the magazines, and has been dying to go the park for forever. He is going to explode when he finds out we're going!

Again, thanks everyone for all your help ...
Only 16 more days to go (and 5 until we surprise the kids!) - Can't wait!
Rose

 

[CalGal]

Sounds like you are an energetic bunch, but I ALWAYS take a break in the middle of the day regardless of where I stay. You might want to try it at least once. The shuttle (ART) should be fine way for going back to the Residence Inn midday as long as you know the schedule so you don't have to wait long at the transportation center. Be warned though, ART takes a break in the early afternoon. It's probably just as easy or even easier to take the Shuttle over driving if you can work around their schedule. If you drive, you will still need to catch a tram back to your car.

Man, you go to WDW every December! How jealous I am!

 

[degrapevine]

CalGal -
Yeah, I guess our kids are used to going full force at parks ... They've been going since they were teeny tiny.
(DD's first trip was around 2 months!)
Our hotel has a free shuttle that's shared with a couple of hotels, but we'll probably drive at least on Wednesday and Thursday to make sure we get there at opening.
As for going to WDW each December - that's just overnight stays.
We go about 2x a month, with our seasonal passes, so the kids are really park veterans.
We won't push them to exhaustion on this trip (we know their limits pretty well), but we'll take them as far as they'll go!
They're all great sleepers (go down quickly, sleep 10 hours straight) and are ready to go in the morning.
They were meant to be part of a Disney loving family!
As for being "jealous," I could say the same about you being so close to the original Disney park - I guess it's all in your point of view.
We always want more of what we can't easily have!
Thanks again for your helpful hints and kind words.
Rose

 

[HydroGuy]

Has anyone here used it personally and had great results? Would it help to better organize our days, rather than just having a kind of overall plan? Our kids are 10, 7, and (almost) 5 and are used to being "on the go" at parks - we're not the type to just go walking around - we like to get things done!
Should I go ahead and order it?
This will probably be our only trip to DL (for a long time, anyway!) and (just like everyone else!) want it to be enjoyable and as stress-free as possible.
So what do you think?
I'd love to hear some of your first-hand accounts of how well it worked for you.
Or will our 4 1/2 days be enough to do everything (including most shows)?
Any comments or suggestions on our itinerary (actually mine - DH is taking an "observer's position" on the planning!) would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thanks, DISers! Rose

I bought Ridemax two weeks ago for our trip in August. I have used it in the sense that I have created some test itineraries, but have not had a chance to use the itineraries..

Aside from having to follow a strict schedule, I have only heard positives about it. I want to post the ridemax link, but this is my second post on this board and the editor will not allow it. Just enter ridemax, then com.

The tips section gives good advice, as in not trying to force it on unwilling people in your group. There are a lot of tips and tricks. Here are a few.

1. Some people think Ridemax ruins spontaneity, while others think it reduces stress by minimizing your line waiting. With smaller children, it can reduce stress in that you can tell them exactly when they will be going on a favorite ride. In addition, it can reduce argument within the group, and wasted time deciding what to do. Finally, if there is a concern about spontaneity, you do not have to use Ridemax all day. Just make an itinerary up until say 2PM, follow it, then be spontaneous the rest of the time.

2. Ridemax strongly encourages you to get to the gate 30-40 minutes before opening, because you can get so much done in that first hour.

3. If you plan on getting there early but are worried you may not make it on time, just create two itineraries -- one for early arrival and another for late arrival. Then follow the itinerary which corresponds to your actual arrival time. Note that Ridemax does not ask you when you will arrive, but asks you when you will arrive at your first ride. If you arrive at DL right when the gate is scheduled to open, you will probably not be getting to your first ride for at least 30 minutes after that.

4. The technical support is excellent. I have contacted the developer twice by e-mail, and received responses by the next day both times.

5. 4 1/2 days should be enough to do everything in both DL and DCA, including all shows and parades. For example, in my test last week I chose Saturday June 25 (happens to be one of your days) because they do not have data yet for August (or July). By arriving at 7:30 AM (for 8AM opening), staying until midnight, skipping all shows and parades, and taking a 2 hour break in the afternoon for a nap, I created a schedule at DL that allowed us to go on every single attraction. I did something similar for DCA. Thus it would be possible for you to do all attractions in 2 days and still have 2 1/2 for parades, shows, and repeat rides. You will probably want to spread it out, but it is worth knowing it is possible.

 

[Judy from Boise]

I do want to encourage you to pace yourself so that you might be able to "close the park" down at night. DL is so magical at night, both in beauty.....and crowds once the fireworks are over . There are rides you must do at night because the ride experience is different. On that list I would put Matterhorn,Alice, and Casey junior.
Also remember that "closing time" really refers to the last moment you can get into the queue for most rides. I think being at DL the last two hours of the night is almost as important (quality/magic wise) as getting there early in the am. For most people this means a nice pm nap

 

[Amy&Dan]

I used Ridemax for our second trip because I felt like we had missed so much on the first one. Then I discovered Disboards and learned the same kinds of tips for free! It was fun to design an intinerary on Ridemax but we never used it exactly, just got a good idea. One nice thing is it allows you to figure in breaks and then pick back up again. Still, you could do this yourself. The most important thing as somebody else said is to get there early! Like WDW, the vast majority of people visiting Disneyland don't get there at opening. I think it takes DL a little longer to fill up than MK. My theory on that one is that so many of the people going to Disneyland are locals who go often and don't necessarily feel like getting there early. Especially on a weekday when they would have to do those L.A. freeways during rush hour! For instance if Disneyland opens at 8:00 a.m. on a Saturday get to the gate by about 7:30 or 7:45 and the gate will open at 8:00. If the park opens later than 8:00 the gates will open half an hour early and you can get onto Main Street. In two hours you could get all of Fantasyland done and maybe even something like Indy or Splash depending on how fast you can manuever. Then head over to DCA to be at their opening at 10:00. Make sure you fastpass something else at Disneyland first however for later, the two parks fastpass machines are not linked. Then when you return to Disneyland later you have a fastpass in hand! I have always been able to use a fastpass after the time to return, just not before ( I do this at WDW too). Disneyland is so much easier than WDW! You can park hop multiple times and do DTD all in the same day, no buses, boats or monorails needed! Since you are seasoned WDW visitors I think you will find this whole thing a no brainer. Buy Ridemax if you want but I think you don't need to!