On the fence re: Ridemax

[mickeymo]

I ordered Ridemax for our June trip (15-17th) Between Ridemax, the Dis boards and hydroguys tips we were all set! I really thought my dh would balk at that extreme commando style - (8:03 get fastpasss ???!!!) . He was sold during our first hour of the park on Sunday during MM when we completed all of Fantasyland in about 45 minutes and still had time to watch the lines build at the various Fantasyland rides as the hour went on. While it didn't give you specific times for FL rides during MM, it did list an order to ride. DH really got into the spirit of FP running after that -watching his time carefully.

He brought his laptop. We didn't print a spread sheet, but copied the plans into a Word document and e-mailed it to both of our phones... We ended following it just the first day - experienced about 90% of both parks on that first day and still had a 4-5 hr break at the hotel. The next mornings, we would look at it to get a general idea of how to proceed. But, since we concentrated on shows and parades over the next two days, we really didn't need it. We still collected FPs to use in the evenings.

It was the best $15 I spent. We felt that it really helped us get the most out of our time at the parks with plenty of time for rest, relaxation and not fighting the crowds.

One thing I would change on Ridemax is to include the ability to select parades and shows into the plan.

 

[Leofoenget]

hey leo... how was your expeience with the fantasyland rides. did you do mm or regular?

It was regular day (Friday) not early entry. I was in line by 7:30 am. They started to let people in the gate by 7:50 and rope drop by 8am. Most people headed to Nemo. My first ride of the day was Peter Pan. I was behind one family heading to Peter Pan. It was walk on. When I got off I could see the line building. I walked on all the FL rides and was done with FL by 8:30 including Matterhorn. Then it had me get a Space FP and I could have walked on that too but decided to do it later. After that I did various rides and a few not listed. By noon I was done for the morning and I was 2 hours ahead of the plan. I headed back to my hotel for a shower, lunch and a nap. I was back to DCA by 3pm. Did some stuff and back into DL by 7pm. I had collected FP throughout the day so I used them, plus I saw F and Fantasmic. I left the park at midnight. I never waited long for any ride. It was very crowded Friday evening with it being the last day before AP's are blocked out until August. Also I agree, between Ridemax and Hydroguys "getting the most out of a summer trip" it was a perfect DL day.

 

[GrandCanyon]

Yes, RideMax is F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S-!!! In December (12-07-2007). I sent an e-mail to the creator of RideMax to ask a few questions, one of which was whether or not I needed it for an entire year. Here is his response:

If you're just planning a single visit, I can't think of any benefit to
purchasing the annual version of RideMax, other than having access to
our "Tips & Hints" pages. As far as benefitting from having access to
the software more than 90 days out, these tips *might* help with
deciding which days would be best to visit some of the specific attractions at
Disneyland, but I don't think it will take too long to review them.
August itineraries probably won't be available until the middle or end of
June, so purchasing the annual version wouldn't help *at all* in terms
of specific plans for those dates, although you could "play" with
other dates if that is of interest.

I hope this helps... Have a GREAT trip!

Regards,
Mark Winters
RideMax

We now have the short version, but I've gotten addicted to it . . . and may renew!

 

[Barbossa]

We bought RideMax several years ago, and though it's a great program, it's difficult to stick to the plan when you have small children. My kids are 5 and 7 now, I think in a couple years I will purchase an update.