Please Talk to my Girlfriend

[Albort]

this year will be a tab interesting with the introduction of World of Color and a new Halloween Parade. So everything from the past 2 years will not be able to be applied to this year...

 

[Mister Toad]

I agree with this. Use FastPass and research the best times to do certain things, but I don't think you need a rigid plan like those that RideMax offers. I have had DL trips where I had to be at X by _:__ and Y by _:__, but I've also had trips where I meandered, collected FP's, and just rode things that had short lines in the meantime, and the more laid-back trips were far more enjoyable.

While Ridemax sounds like having something so organized and hammered out that it wouldn't be as fun, speaking from first hand experience its the exact opposite.

People say what they want to go on, you plug it into Ridemax and it spits out a plan. Instead of people wasting time and arguing with the "what do we do next?" things, you just follow the schedule. You ride more and wait less, it is so worth it.

My fiancee and I were out there last Sept. for the very first weekend of Halloween, and in one day we were able to ride pretty much every ride in the park, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones and Pirates twice, with a sit down dinner at Blue Bayou, having preferred seating for fantasmic! and watching the fireworks. Given it was just us and we were there from open to close, but I think the only rides we didnt do were the kids rides in Toon Town, Autopia, the riverboats/canoes (but we did go to Tom Sawyer's island) and the Tiki room.

I say do ridemax, its worth it!

 

[skiingfast]

Hey, I didn't start this thread to get people to debate fastpass! I want you guys to help me convince my partner that we need to plan our visit to Disneyland well.

So, please give her some objective logical reasons.

Thank You!

Oh yeah, nothing like an internet message board to get sidetracked.

Well you're right DL it is an opportunity that every child should have and every adult who never went. I'm sure she will be impressed to see the kids creating memories of a lifetime.

If you haven't picked you days there has been plenty of advice of when to avoid. If you are all set on when you go make the best of it. I would forget ride max. Use fastpass and be reasonable you'll ride what you ride. I like what one poster wrote about have a plan, keep it secret. She won't want to go commando style but will like it if you have an idea of where to go when it's slow and where when it is fast.

Take things slow and prep her on what crowds will be like, the weather and waiting in lines, lots of walking and other possible dillemas. Also let her know positive things like how clean it is, how nice the music is, there will be little performances going on and all the beautiful garden areas. Let her know how exciting the atmosphere will be.

You might let her know that you wrote a message on a board about going to DL and a day later there are 20 replies and nobody said stay home.

 

[wvnative]

Let's see. Not having some sort of plan could make for a less than relaxing trip. We never go these without at least making some PS for dining. It's no fun having hungry kids (that don't want a burger) and not having much of any other choice due to the crowded restaurants.

We never need a ride by ride plan, but we do think ahead by collecting FP's for later use. That way, if we want to ride we can. If not, they simply end up in the scrapbook or we pass them on to someone else. I’m anal enough to set an alarm on my phone to remind when we should pick up the next one too. I can't imagine going in with no plan of attack at all. I mean, I don't know how old your kids are but it's not unusual for Peter Pan and Dumbo to have long lines later in the day. While Peter Pan is cute, I refuse to wait an hour to ride it so we only ride it during MM while the wait is short.

On our last trip, I was insistent on seeing the ELP since it won't be there by the time we go back. We didn't get a spot early enough the first night (sometimes teenage girls move so slow...lol) so we planned better on night 2. Grabbed dinner and a seat to wait. I'm so glad we did. I'll miss it when it’s gone. Same for the Aladdin show. We had to be in line for that like an hour beforehand so we grabbed some ice cream sundaes from Burbank and headed over.

Sometimes you just have to plan for things but that doesn't mean you need a rigid touring schedule. I think you'll be able to meet in the middle as long as she realizes you can't really just wing it and you can keep from playing drill sergeant. lol

 

[blackjackdelta]

For me, I have NEVER waited that long to get a fast pass, maybe 5 minutes at the most, and that was for SM w/ the Ghost Galaxy overlay last Halloween. If the FP line was that busy I wouldn't even bother with the ride in general, standby or FP. Sometimes you can get caught up waiting in a line for a particular FP distribution machine because people don't always pay attention to ALL the FP machines and only wait for one.

And from my experience, the IJ FP machines are hard to maneuver through so that may confuse people. Maybe that's why you waited so long?

Same here. Never had to wait more than a couple of minutes for a FP and that is mid August unblocked.

Jack

 

[DisneyWithTot]

I may be in a similar boat - I won't know yet until I get there. We are going with a more laid-back couple so I'm not sure how they will feel about scheduling. I did buy Ridemax yesterday - only $14.95 and with all the good reviews I figured what could it hurt - and set up 4 different itineraries for each day. So far I've figured that the usefulness of Ridemax isn't just the schedules themselves, but what it can tell you about the potential traffic patterns of specific rides on specific days. So, for instance, I figure it's very possible we might want to ride the Small World ride multiple times during the day if we deviate from the schedule since we've got preschoolers with us. So I printed out a day where it's all Small World all the time, so I can see the best times to try to go to minimize my wait time. I also bought the Unofficial Guide to Disneyland which has good general guides about the best times to go on each ride. I really want to bring my laptop with me because I've planned out our first two days, but figured I'd leave the third day up to which rides the kids liked best.

One of the awesome things about Ridemax is you can program in two break periods. I've used the first for lunches/shows and the second for our middle-of-the-afternoon nap/rest time (three or four hours) back at the hotel.

I'll tell you how it goes after I get back. I'm thinking I may have to negotiate some of the scheduling, but the itineraries themselves are very convincing in my opinion. When you look at a schedule for a themepark for a weekend and you see most of your wait times are going to be under 12 minutes and you get to do all the rides you want, it's hard not to want to try it out, for at least the first day I'd think. You have time to figure it out though as the $14.95 price is only for three months's time. So you shouldn't plan on buying it until closer to your travel date if you go that route.

 

[tinkermell]

You need a strategy if you are going to get on the rides. Period. Standing in lines for hours starts to get old, and everyone gets grumpy. Especially if you see the Fastpass line is basically empty, and you know that you still will have around 45 minutes to go in the standby line.

I also highly recommend RideMax. It is a great tool ,and you can keep changing it up until you like what it gives you. The first time I used it, I was amazed at the time we saved standing in line. It also give you advice on the best touring secrets.

Contrary to what you said, the debate on Fastpass was needed. If not, maybe you would have skipped getting those passes, which I believe are the best thing Disney has come up with to save time.

You could get RideMax schedules for everyday, but skip some stuff if you want. But at least they would be in hand and give you something to go with if needed.

Have fun planning!

 

[tinkermell]

this year will be a tab interesting with the introduction of World of Color and a new Halloween Parade. So everything from the past 2 years will not be able to be applied to this year...

Albort, You can bet that RideMax will be keeping a sharp eye on this. At least by the time the OP goes in October, they would have had some time to play with the system.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Bumbershoot: Actually acquiring a FP has its own line, some almost as long as the line for the actual ride itself. Last time I tried to get FP for Indiana Jones, it was an hour wait just to get up to the machine. And when we used it, it only got us about halfway through the Indiana Jones main line. Same thing for Space Mountain. So it helps bypass some of the line, not all of it. There's still a significant wait involved.

To me, it's just more trouble than benefit. It's only useful if you want to use the time gaps to do something else, but to make efficient use of it requires a lot of meticulous planning that can cause more stress than intended.

I've never seen FP lines that long ~ I collect FPs all day. I don't ride Space/Splash & sometimes Indy *only if the Indy line is outside the building - that's the only part the FP line skips ~ I think that needs to be addressed.

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

this year will be a tab interesting with the introduction of World of Color and a new Halloween Parade. So everything from the past 2 years will not be able to be applied to this year...

yipee!!!! anyone else notice this?

 

[3Minnies1Mickey]

OP: You can adjust the pace on ridemax, so how about having it schedule at a slower pace and if you move faster all the better! I'd definitely do RM if I didn't have a Mac!

 

[Foxhound3857]

Eh, what can I say? I guess I was just really unlucky with FP back in the day. *shrugs*

Might also want to save some of the attractions for nightfall. It's my opinion that some of the rides are the most fun under the cover of darkness. The Matterhorn would be one of them.

 

[emacat]

I think having a basic plan is a very good iea. For example, we had read that to get on Haunted Mansion and POTC, we needed to head there as soon as the park opened. Sure enough, we had no wait time at all, freeing us up to relax and avoid a long line at a place with no fastpasses.

As for fastpasses, we love them. I've never waited more than a few minutes to get them, and it cuts down our line time considerably. With kids, it's so nice, because the less time they waste standing in line, the better.

There's no need to plan down to the last second, but a little organization really will make it easier for you.

 

[S. S. Columbia]

I think we should have a good plan and really figure out what to do when, maybe use this RideMax thing I've been reading about.

And, of course, my girlfriend says she doesn't want to do that. "I just want to have a good relaxing time. I don't want to be running around." She thinks the waits will not be too bad.

Your girlfriend wants to have a good relaxing time at DL, and she doesn’t want to be running around.

What’s wrong with that?

 

[AmericanItGirl]

Might also want to save some of the attractions for nightfall. It's my opinion that some of the rides are the most fun under the cover of darkness. The Matterhorn would be one of them.

Teacups is another, because they have the lanterns lit up with different colors.

If your kids are fine with staying up late, Fantasyland has shorter lines after dark. I tend to hit it up after fireworks and almost everything is walk-on or only a few minutes wait.

Fastpasses: Get them early, and get them often (runners are great for the first pass of the morning).

 

[By-Tor and Snow Pup]

Your girlfriend wants to have a good relaxing time at DL, and she doesn’t want to be running around.

What’s wrong with that?

Nothing wrong with that... But - this will be my kids (6 & 7 yrs. old) first trip to Disneyland, my girlfriend and I both haven't been there in years and years, and we will be there on the weekend (Oct. 22-25). I want my kids to actually see attractions not just enjoy the ambiance of the place.

It's my understanding that weekends are always jammed packed.

 

[disneymum58]

We have made trips to Disneyland at least once a year for several years and I still learn lots new each time I go. Last year I travelled mid October with my 10 year old and it was so busy compared to past October trips but we still had a fantastic time! This year I will be visiting almost the same dates as you with DS7. Weekends will be busy but we will be there before the gates open, collect fastpasses to use later and take a midafternoon break! I love to use Ridemax too especially its advice on touring Fantasyland.
You said your kids are 6 and 7. Have you checked the height requirements? Ae they adventurous or somewhat nervous about fast rides like my DS7. Involve your girlfriend and kids in the planning and choosing rides. Use "child swap" if you need to.
My advice is to have a flexible plan with everyones input. I can't imagine taking a FIRST trip without some idea of a plan. It would be far too overwhelming!

 

[S. S. Columbia]

I think we should have a good plan and really figure out what to do when, maybe use this RideMax thing I've been reading about. And, of course, my girlfriend says she doesn't want to do that. "I just want to have a good relaxing time. I don't want to be running around." She thinks the waits will not be too bad.

I want my kids to actually see attractions not just enjoy the ambiance of the place.

Like another poster mentioned, your girlfriend might think that October is 'off season' (like it used to be), but weekends in October are very busy now. (Some days in October are busier than July.) It sounds like your girlfriend wants to stroll into DL about 2 hours after it opens.

Here's are a couple of recent threads that might be helpful:

Is a July trip worth it?
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2454088

How to convince family to plan?
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=36475639

I like RideMax, but please make sure that you don't schedule too many things. You don't want to feel rushed or be tired.

Hope this helps.