Ridemax - can you still appreciate the parks?

[julieannbabe]

i bought ridemax for my trip back in 2008 and have purchased it - if i visit DL in May.
But i remember on my last trip - i was just rushing to go from one attraction to the other - so i wouldn't get behind on the ridemax plan.

my question is - can you appreciate the park if you are following such a strict plan?

 

[HydroGuy]

Yes. And no. RM is a tool. You use it however you want. You follow it as much as you want. It is designed ti limit how much time you wait in line. For some people that allows them to "appreciate the parks" more because they get to fit more into their day. Others "appreciate the parks" less because they are slavishly devoted to an itinerary on a piece of paper.

There is no reason you need to plan every minute of the day with RM -unless you want to. A good balance is to use RM to plan maybe 50-70% of your day and then allow the rest to be free for shopping, wandering, etc.

 

[Hound 109]

I'll echo what HG says. Use it as a tool....not an 8am - 12midnite "got to follow" guide.

I think it's handy to use if you use it for say 8am-noon....& then say 5pm - 9pm. Leaving the other times open for "going with the flow"

But even then you should have a (non-RM) FP collection strategy (at least during the morning) added to your planning..... & events/parades/shows that would trump or replace Ridemax during certain parts of day.

Pencil in your events/shows first then use RM at OTHER times of day in 3-4 hour blocks. When you do this RM becomes VERY handy. For example when you discover that Matterhorn is 60 min. during a time you've run a 3-4 hour block.....you might consider dropping Matterhorn from this block of time & doing it some other time.

& when there's still confusion with a few rides or attractions....just post here...you'll get lots of opinions.

 

[julieannbabe]

thanks.

with peter pan - RM says if you don't get on by 9am - opening - then to do last thing - at 8pm at night. mad!

 

[HydroGuy]

thanks.

with peter pan - RM says if you don't get on by 9am - opening - then to do last thing - at 8pm at night. mad!

Sorry if that makes you mad. It is not Ridemax's fault. They are just trying help you minimize your wait time in line. It is all those other guests that are the problem!

 

[julieannbabe]

Sorry if that makes you mad. It is not Ridemax's fault. They are just trying help you minimize your wait time in line. It is all those other guests that are the problem!

no it doesn't make me mad - i meant to mad how popular that ride is!

 

[ArchOwl]

Whenever I create an itinerary for Ridemax, which I have used for several trips now, it tells me what to do for the most important hours of the day (opening until 11am and about 6pm untill 9pm). This let's me maximize the number of rides and minimize my wait, which helps me appreciate the park a lot more. For example my itinerary for this Saturday has rides planned from opening until noon or so. Then there is a big chunk of free time for me to wander around the park, take a nap, go shopping, etc. Then the itinerary picks up again around 5pm to let me know which rides will be least crowded before fireworks, etc. I find it has saved me from many a long line, which I appreciate!

 

[julieannbabe]

i wonder what percentage of park goers use ridemax?

any ideas? 10%? more? less?

 

[Darth Boeder]

How much is ridemax?

 

[Dobie]

I use RM as a very general game plan. . .for instance, I might run several scenarios to find out when the lines for Indy or Splash are longest/shortest and plan accordingly.

The other, laid back Dobies would REVOLT if I tried to impose a Ridemax plan on them!

Plus, it is great fun for pre trip stimming.

 

[HydroGuy]

How much is ridemax?

The 3 month use is $15 at DLR and about $20 at WDW. See www.ridemax.com.

 

[HydroGuy]

i wonder what percentage of park goers use ridemax?

any ideas? 10%? more? less?

I would guess 1%. I would be shocked if it was over 3%.

Now Ridemax has some competition at DLR with www.touringplans.com. They have tangled with TP at WDW for the last 5 years. But TP has decided to not let RM have DLR all to themselves anymore.

 

[blackjackdelta]

I would guess 1%. I would be shocked if it was over 3%.

Now Ridemax has some competition at DLR with www.touringplans.com. They have tangled with TP at WDW for the last 5 years. But TP has decided to not let RM have DLR all to themselves anymore.

I would be shocked if it is even 1%. I think people get too glued into the plan and only become frustrated trying to follow the guidelines.

Jack

 

[Disney Dreams]

thanks.

with peter pan - RM says if you don't get on by 9am - opening - then to do last thing - at 8pm at night. mad!

Sorry if that makes you mad. It is not Ridemax's fault. They are just trying help you minimize your wait time in line. It is all those other guests that are the problem!

no it doesn't make me mad - i meant to mad how popular that ride is!

--- We interrupt this RideMax discussion for a British English ---> American English dictionary translation ---

Mad: adverb
British English: "Mad" ---> American English: "Crazy"

Used in a sentence: Using RideMax can make you absolutely mad if you don't want to follow a pre-set plan to enjoy Disneyland, but rather do things impulsively.

--- We now return to our RideMax discussion. ---

- Dreams

 

[DisneyKira]

I love ridemax (for both DL and DW). I would never go to the parks without it. A little trick that I have learned is to tell RM that you want to "walk slowly". If you set this as your option and walk at a normal speed, you should actually get ahead of your itinerary. Also, make sure your itinerary includes lots of breaks. That allows you to go on attractions that are not time-sensitive (they are the attractions that are not in bold) later during your "break" if you decide to do something else when that attraction is scheduled earlier. RM can allow you to be very flexible if you use it as a guideline instead of a schedule. Make several different itineraries for the same day. Make one with e-ticket rides only (that way you know when the best times are for those rides) and make one with all of the rides you want to go on.

 

[HydroGuy]

--- We interrupt this RideMax discussion for a British English ---> American English dictionary translation ---

Mad: adverb
British English: "Mad" ---> American English: "Crazy"

Used in a sentence: Using RideMax can make you absolutely mad if you don't want to follow a pre-set plan to enjoy Disneyland, but rather do things impulsively.

--- We now return to our RideMax discussion. ---

- Dreams

 

[blackjackdelta]

--- We interrupt this RideMax discussion for a British English ---> American English dictionary translation ---

Mad: adverb
British English: "Mad" ---> American English: "Crazy"

Used in a sentence: Using RideMax can make you absolutely mad if you don't want to follow a pre-set plan to enjoy Disneyland, but rather do things impulsively.

--- We now return to our RideMax discussion. ---

- Dreams

Jack

 

[Eeee-va]

I'd guess closer to 1/500 or even 1/1000 people at Disneyland use Ridemax--I'd think most visitors are more casual and haven't even heard of it, and/or are locals or regulars and don't really care to use it.

I thought that Ridemax stripped away some of the magic of the parks (I am the type that sticks too closely to a schedule, so I couldn't deviate).

BUT, that same trip the parks were about the busiest I've ever seen them, before or since--the trips I had without Ridemax were more magical, but they were also generally less busy, which allowed for more spontaneity. So it's hard to say for sure if Ridemax was as big a problem as the crowds. (Following Ridemax, I still did NOT feel like the people in the testimonials who said you won't even notice the crowds because you're so far ahead of them. I still definitely felt the crowds, even though we perhaps didn't spend as long waiting in lines as we would have otherwise.)

 

[julieannbabe]

I would be shocked if it is even 1%. I think people get too glued into the plan and only become frustrated trying to follow the guidelines.

Jack

wow - 1%. i am shocked! i remember someone seeing my ridemax plan in DL and they knew about it - so i thought it was a higher percentage then that.