On Trip Now- Not a TR, Just Some Thoughts, Any Q's?

[Bubblegum1286]

I will most definitely post a TR, but we've only done one of our three days in the parks, so I'm not doing a TR yet. I did want to give some tips for people who are currently planning their vacations and browsing right now...

-Bought our tickets (plus on character meal that we'll do tomorrow morning) through Get Away Today. No problems there. I called to confirm everything with them the day before we left, and the customer service person I spoke with was very sweet. We got into Anaheim LATE on Friday night (like 10:30), but still dragged our butts up to DTD to cash in our ticket voucher (bring ID and the invoice). It was kind of hard getting in, because we were meeting a crowd as they were exiting the park, but I have NO regrets about getting our tickets the night before. Definitely do this if you get your tickets through anyone but Disney. We got right into the park the next morning and were ready to go.

-In the extra magic hour, there was a 5 minute wait for Dumbo, a 5 minute wait for the Tea Cups, no wait whatsoever for Pinocchio (just walked right on), no wait whatsoever for IASW (walked right on), no wait whatsoever for Snow White. 5 min wait for Casey Junior. Hit these first if you have little ones and can take advantage of the extra magic hour. We (and our 3 kids) rode at least 4 or 5 rides in that first hour of being in the park.

-Take your iconic family photos then as well. We got one extra magic hour day and used it our first day there. In that hour, we took advantage of the empty park to snap iconic castle pics, pics in front of Walt and Mickey, etc. NO ONE was standing in our way. There aren't ANY people in the background of these shots, and we went at peak season.

-Ridemax saved our day. I did get off the plan a few times, but we more than made up for it. Ridemax was a LIFESAVER. We are here with our three kids (6 to 3), my mom and my brother. My mom can't walk as fast as she used to, and we have three little ones, so I selected the "slow" pace. We still got to do the following attractions yesterday:
Dumbo, Teacups, Casey Jr., Storybook Land Boats, Pinocchio, Roger Rabbit, Minnie's House, character meets with: Goofy, Pooh, Tigger, Eyore, Mary Poppins, Thor, and Captain America, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain (x2- different groups), Buzz's AB, Great Moments with Abe, Tiki Room, Jungle Cruise, Indiana Jones (x2- different groups), Star Tours (x2- different groups), Finding Nemo Submarines, Mickey's Soundsational Parade, Winnie the Pooh, Tarzan's Tree House, shop for ears, 2 snack breaks, long lunch at Hungry Bear, dinner at French Market, and PLENTY of time to sit and rest as the group needed. Whew! We could have watched the fireworks or Fantasmic! if we wanted, but I have a sensitive kiddo who can't handle loud noises, so we skipped those. Maybe another time.

All that to say, Ridemax was a HUGE blessing. During the scheduled breaks, if none of us were really aching for a break, we'd run and grab fastpasses for a ride we didn't think we'd get to do (like Indiana Jones). It all worked out just fine. I think we ended up skipping 2 things on the list because the weren't as into it as I thought they would be.

When we go back on Wednesday, we'll do Pirates, Space Mnt, repeat a bunch of the favorites, add in the Carousel maybe, I don't know. It's kind of just whatever we want to do since we knocked out that busy and long first day of "musts" for everyone. I knew ahead of time what everyone's interests were, so I tried my hardest to pack all of that in. That Ridemax plan was PACKED. But man, I'm SO impressed!!

Anyone with Ridemax questions can toss them at me, or questions about rides this week (Innoventions was down this weekend, but that wasn't posted on the DLR website), lines, wait times, etc. please toss them out! Going to CA on Tues and back to DLR on Weds! Tomorrow, it's Santa Monica beach!!!

Kat

 

[Mimi2Cam]

dragged our butts up to DTD to cash in our ticket voucher (bring ID and the invoice).

Where do you go in DTD to "cash in" the voucher?

In the meantime, I hope you have a fantastic time! I admire your dedication to share your experiences in real time.

 

[Dallet66]

We used the trip planner from the unofficial guide last time and it was so wonderful! We rode everything on the list each day and finished early enough to go swim at the hotel and then go back for dinner or whatever else we wanted to do. We are using it again this time, utilizing the online one so I could tweak it a bit. I'm glad you're having a great time!

 

[Bubblegum1286]

Where do you go in DTD to "cash in" the voucher?

In the meantime, I hope you have a fantastic time! I admire your dedication to share your experiences in real time.

Thanks!! This site has been SO helpful, I just wanted to help out some others maybe.

When you get to DTD, you can walk up to any regular ticket booth in between the two park gates (on the far East end), and go to any open window and they'll take care of you there. GAT told me that I didn't even really need to bring the invoice they emailed me as long as I had my driver's license, but I brought it just in case.

 

[AuntieKels]

I will gladly take you up on your offer for RideMax questions!

Did you get the subscription + ebook? If so, is the ebook worth it?

Are you able to continuously change your plans even during you trip?

We're going with extended family, are you able to make a plan A for most of the party and plan B for babies and slow moving grandparents?

What happens if you get off track and run into a character or have to take a break for some reason? Do you pick up where you left off or go to the point you should have been at if you didn't take a break? Or would you get on your phone and recalculate a schedule?

Thank you so much for offering to help with this kind of stuff! I hope you're having a wonderful trip!

 

[JadeDarkstar]

I am also interested in knowing more about ride max as the above posted asked most of my questions too I will wait to see the answers. Also how did you get two EE/MM ?

 

[Girimama33]

Thanks!! This site has been SO helpful, I just wanted to help out some others maybe.

When you get to DTD, you can walk up to any regular ticket booth in between the two park gates (on the far East end), and go to any open window and they'll take care of you there. GAT told me that I didn't even really need to bring the invoice they emailed me as long as I had my driver's license, but I brought it just in case.

That area is not considered DTD...it is the Esplanade. That must be why the PP was confused because you cannot get your park tickets in DTD (or redeem vouchers for them).

 

[elaine amj]

My trip is coming up and I'm planning to get ridemax too - any tips you discovered when first learning how to use it?

 

[momof4fans]

I will gladly take you up on your offer for RideMax questions!

Did you get the subscription + ebook? If so, is the ebook worth it?

Are you able to continuously change your plans even during you trip?

We're going with extended family, are you able to make a plan A for most of the party and plan B for babies and slow moving grandparents?

What happens if you get off track and run into a character or have to take a break for some reason? Do you pick up where you left off or go to the point you should have been at if you didn't take a break? Or would you get on your phone and recalculate a schedule?

Thank you so much for offering to help with this kind of stuff! I hope you're having a wonderful trip!

Don't mean to butt in here but I was reading this thread and I'm a Ridemax user and I LOVE it! I'll tell you what we did on our previous trip in August 2013. I was a first time user of Ridemax. I have two teenage boys and two girls 6 & 8.

Are you able to make plan A for most of the party and plan B for babies and slow moving grandparents? You certainly could do that. I didn't make another plan, this is what I did: I created a plan with only the rides that my older kids would want to ride. When my husband, the teenagers and my oldest DD were doing more exciting rides I took my youngest DD and got a fastpass and then did things her speed. I have 3 adrenaline junkies and one timid child haha. For example, while everyone else was riding Space Mountain my youngest DD and I would get Star Tours FP and ride Dumbo and the carousel and anything else we could fit in. Then we would meet everyone for Buzz and ride the monorail then split up when our Star Tours FP time had arrived. While my husband and older kids were on Star Tours my DD and I would ride Storybookland Canal Boats, etc. It works really well for me because I get motion sickness very easily and can't ride Space Mountain or Star Tours. I just did rides in the area that the rest of my family was in. Also, my youngest DD and I tend to be the FP runner. Our upcoming trip will be more challenging because we have outgrown the stroller so my youngest DD is going to have to hoof it with me to get FP's instead of riding along in the stroller.

Subscription for the ebook: As far as the ebook goes. I did purchase it with my recent subscription. It wasn't terribly helpful to me. I already knew everything in it. A good refresher though. I will say that if you are new to the parks or haven't been in awhile the ebook could be very helpful. It has a lot of pictures with very good detail. The tips use the pictures to help explain strategy. I enjoyed it and don't regret buying it.

Changing Plan during your trip: I never changed an itinerary during or trip. If you get to the parks 15-30 before opening you will probably be ahead of schedule the entire day. It's fairly flexible. I would say the most important thing is to get to the parks before opening. That is your best strategy.

Getting off track: We had Photopass+ when we went last and we stopped and took pictures everywhere there was a park photographer. I wanted to get my money's worth! haha We took bathroom breaks, grabbed snacks, etc. We were always fine. Honestly, I didn't check my itinerary wait times to actual wait times, I was too busy having fun, but we never waited in long lines in peak season. Again, get to the parks early! That is truly your best strategy! If you find you are way off schedule, skip a ride and get back on track.

I hope this helps.

Stephanie

 

[Butterfly123]

Can you use Ridemax if you park hop?

 

[lvdis]

I just wanted to note that when you buy from getawaytoday, you don't always get a voucher you have to redeem for park tickets. We used them for our upcoming December trip and I initially got vouchers for the park tickets, but when I called to change our dates and add a night to our hotel stay, the lady I talked to said she noticed I had been sent ticket vouchers and mentioned she could send me the actual 'hard' tickets if I wanted when she sent the updated reservation information. I said that would be great, so now I have actual park hopper tickets in hand (well, in my safe right now!). I'm not sure if this is an option they always give you but it was offered to us so I took it. Of course now I have to keep track of them between now and then, but that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

I will have hard tickets from Getawaytoday.com too they have them saved for me for our dec trip that we will pay off in sep. I strictly despise e-ticket and vouchers. Any time I go I like hard tickets in my hand sent by mail. Never had a problem with them.

 

[momof4fans]

Can you use Ridemax if you park hop?

You could. I think you would have to do two separate itineraries though. I planned Ridemax itineraries from 8am to 12-12:30. We left the park and came back after swimming and napping. Usually around 5-6. If we started in DL that morning we would usually go to DCA in the evening. Our last trip was in August, so summer hours which are much longer. Hope that helps

 

[Butterfly123]

You could. I think you would have to do two separate itineraries though. I planned Ridemax itineraries from 8am to 12-12:30. We left the park and came back after swimming and napping. Usually around 5-6. If we started in DL that morning we would usually go to DCA in the evening. Our last trip was in August, so summer hours which are much longer. Hope that helps

Thanks!

 

[AuntieKels]

We are doing a large family trip. Can my sister log into my RideMax to poke around and maybe update it to her families preferences? Or is it one of those things that download onto your computer and you can't share it?

 

[momof4fans]

I'm not sure, sorry

 

[Mimi2Cam]

That area is not considered DTD...it is the Esplanade. That must be why the PP was confused because you cannot get your park tickets in DTD (or redeem vouchers for them).

Bingo. Thanks!

 

[Bubblegum1286]

I will gladly take you up on your offer for RideMax questions!

Did you get the subscription + ebook? If so, is the ebook worth it?

Are you able to continuously change your plans even during you trip?

We're going with extended family, are you able to make a plan A for most of the party and plan B for babies and slow moving grandparents?

What happens if you get off track and run into a character or have to take a break for some reason? Do you pick up where you left off or go to the point you should have been at if you didn't take a break? Or would you get on your phone and recalculate a schedule?

Thank you so much for offering to help with this kind of stuff! I hope you're having a wonderful trip!

- We only got the subscription, but it comes with lots of very helpful tips, so I'm not sure the ebook is necessary.

-Yes. There were times when we got off or slipped into a ride that wasn't on the list during a break time just because the ride was so short, so I just logged on and created a new plan that started in about 20 minutes (so, if it was 3 in the afternoon, I put our start time at 3:20) and included all the attractions we still wanted to do. It just generated a new plan.

-We also went with extended family. You are not able to make separate plans, but it's very flexible. We went with our three young children, my brother (in his 20's), and my mom. My brother, husband, and I wanted to do some rides that the littles couldn't do and my mom didn't want to do. We simply put these on the Ridemax plan (like Space Mountain) and when it was time to ride it, my mom (or whoever didn't want to do that particular ride) either went to get a snack, sat in the shade, or rode something else. If all adults want to ride something that the littles can't, and Ridemax suggests getting a ridemax for that attraction, get fast passes for everyone who wants to ride. My mom, brother, husband, eldest son (6), and I all wanted to ride Splash Mountain. My youngest two are too small. We all 5 got fastpasses when Ridemax told us to. We all came back to the ride when it was our window. DH, me, and 6 DS rode it together while my mom and brother took the littles to Winnie the Pooh just across the way. When we got off, mom and brother immediately got in the FP line and rode the ride while we took all three kids to a nearby character meet. We did switches like that over and over, and it worked perfectly!

-Sometimes we recalculated, sometimes we skipped it and then picked up that missed ride during a break. Just depends. We didn't miss anything we wanted to do, and we did defer from the Ridemax plan many times accidentally (seemed to happen a LOT more at CA than at DL), but it all worked out!

 

[Bubblegum1286]

We are doing a large family trip. Can my sister log into my RideMax to poke around and maybe update it to her families preferences? Or is it one of those things that download onto your computer and you can't share it?

Yes. It's not a download kind of thing. I just pulled it up on the browser on my smartphone, and my husband also pulled it up. We both used it and referred to it throughout the day. We were both able to log on and make changes as needed.

 

[Bubblegum1286]

My trip is coming up and I'm planning to get ridemax too - any tips you discovered when first learning how to use it?

I would say, start toying around with it before your trip. I started playing around with it as soon as our dates were available to tinker with on the website (which was about a week before our trip). I wanted to know how it was set up, what kind of timing was involved, what tips were mentioned, etc.


I will say: When it says to be somewhere at a very exact time, like 8:03, be there at 8:03. I found that even though DL was pretty crowded this week, if we were off a bit (by even up to 10 minutes), it didn't seem to impact the predicted wait time very much...But at CA, it made a HUGE difference. We were 2 minutes late getting in line for Radiator Springs Racers, and the wait was 20 minutes longer than RM anticipated! It threw off our entire morning. We had to skip so many rides and go completely off the schedule for several hours and didn't get back on track until after lunch. It was a mess.

CA has much more specific hints and instructions than DL. People RUN to Cars Land when it opens. It's chaotic. RM will tell you to stay to the right of the crowd, get there an hour before rope drop, etc. Do it if you really want to stay strictly on the schedule. For us, it was our fifth day in SoCal, we were exhausted, the kids were exhausted, and we were there about 30 minutes before rope drop, and this was too late.

If you have the chance to go to an extra hour day, take RM's advice and do the rides they suggest during this special hour. DL rides they suggest doing during their magic mornings include Dumbo, Peter Pan (which is under refurbishment right now), and (I think) Snow White. It's a good idea to hit these iconic rides first thing in the morning anyway. The wait for these was almost nothing and later in the day the lines by these rides were winding. Finding Nemo is another one that's good to hit in the morning. Ridemax put us on this one very early in the day one day and very late at night another. Both times were perfect for this ride.

If you're completely off track, either skip a ride and do it during a break or skip it and then take the next break to recalculate your day. Just click on "modify plan," then change the start time to a time in the near future when your group will be ready to go, then go through and mark off the rides you've already done, and leave the ones you have yet to do. It will take those and recalculate your day according to the new time frame, and you can get back on track. A new track, but a track.

If you want to meet the Avengers near Innoventions, expect a LOOOONG wait. My boys (ages six and three) saw Thor and insisted on meeting him. Captain America was there too. My husband and brother got in line with the boys while my mom and I took my daughter (5) to the big marble fountain thingy near the Space Mountain exit and the guys were in line for 40 minutes! It was worth it, as the pictures were precious and both characters really took the time to get down on my kids' level and talk to them and make them feel special, but my goodness. The line wasn't even long when my family got into it. That character meet just moves incredibly slow. It threw us off a bit that afternoon, but that's okay, because we just recalculated and got right back on.