RideMax- is it worth it?

[muppetfreak]

Sorry if this has been asked & answered many times, but is Ride max worth the 20 bucks? Is it as wonderful as they say it is? We are heading down in April & I am wondering if it would be a good investment, considering I will have little kids with me this time.

 

[1sttime]

we just got back from our trip and I would say yes, that ridemax was worth the $20 by all means!! We only had 3 days at Disney so wanted to make the most of our time and while we did not necessarily follow the ridemax plan to the minute it was nice to have an idea of what order to do the rides in for the maximum efficiency!! Each night we would plug in which rides we had left that we wanted to do and write out our 'plan' for the next day. We did that and managed to walk right on to both Pirates of the Carribean and Splash Mtn!!

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

I think it totally depends what kind of vacationer you are or want to be.

Type 1) If you like schedules and need to see as much as possible, then you should go ahead and try it.

Type 2) If you are more of a rambler and are going for several days with a leisure visit in mind, then don't worry about it. If you are saving money - a little bit of research on these boards can save you the $20. Read a few trip reports and get a feel for attractions and crowds.

(Can you tell I'm a Type 2? )

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

If you're going at a crowded time- totally worth it! This coming from someone with 140+ trips to DL. I was amazed that it told me to go places at times I would not have normally done... and it worked like a charm! We got so much done. Of course I already knew about FP tricks, etc... but in my mind, if you have certain rides you "must" do and a limited time to do them (i.e., not an AP holder who can come back anytime), Ridemax is absolutely worth it.

Works great at WDW, too!

 

[jason417]

I would say that if you've been to Disneyland numerous times and have read a lot about how to manage the park in the crowds then you won't get as much out of it. However, if you are not familiar with the queue patterns (i.e. Toy Story Mania is busier at opening than in the afternoon, Thunder Mountain lines can get lengthy at night, etc) then you'll get a lot more out of it. Also, if you're not thoroughly familiar with Disneyland it's helpful knowing how far away rides are from each other and Ridemax gives you that info.

 

[toni1227]

Honestly, I got ridemax and ended up getting most of my information I needed here on this board. I messed up though thinking I would get all the FL rides done by 9 am with MM and started my schedule with all the other rides and well that did not happen. So my schedule was messed up. Then my DD got sick the next day and so we did not follow it then either.
But I am a planner and I would probably buy it again next time just because I love playing around with it and maybe next time we would be able to follow it (and to have it there just in case).

 

[Princess_Couture]

I think it totally depends what kind of vacationer you are or want to be.

Type 1) If you like schedules and need to see as much as possible, then you should go ahead and try it.

Type 2) If you are more of a rambler and are going for several days with a leisure visit in mind, then don't worry about it. If you are saving money - a little bit of research on these boards can save you the $20. Read a few trip reports and get a feel for attractions and crowds.

(Can you tell I'm a Type 2? )

Agreed! Ride Max is alright if you want to have a set schedual. If not then its most definitely not worth the $$$ or time. I think it also depends if you have children or not. If you have kids they are going to pull you into 7 different directions at once and would rather not have a time line.

 

[muppetfreak]

Good to know... I have digested all the info I can find on the Dis boards but I feel totally unprepared for what to expect with the kids. (this is the first time we are taking them.) They will be wanting to experience as much as possible, (in 3 short days) not the few rides that DH & I go for each year. So I guess that I will give it a shot. If it keeps the complaining to a minimum, then it is worth it to me..... Oh Goody! More Planning! (the fun part about taking a trip -is the PLANNING )

 

[CanadianPaco]

But I definitely agree about WHEN you go ... we used it in July 07 and we got to ride and see everything we wanted! So even to ensure that much, yes it's worth it!

 

[muppetfreak]

oK, so I caved & downloaded it. Too much fun! It is really interesting. Boy my family is gonna love the "schedule natzi" that I will become Now to figure what rides to do on each day.... I will be curious to see how well it works for us.

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

I agree with the poster that said it will go out the window if you have kids.

I also think it depends on the ages of your kids. I wouldn't consider it worth it if you have toddlers. There are too many variables. Diapers/potty, food, ducks, characters, watch this mommy, etc.

Smaller children don't understand the need to be a certain place at a certain time and why they can't see the thing that is right in front of them now - when they can tangibly see it.

 

[disneydreamertoo]

I bought it for our last visit and it was helpful even if you don't use it exactly as it was meant for. It is way fun to play around with and it will give you a general idea of where to go when. I think it gave me $20 worth of fun and helped with my vacation anticipation!

 

[mechurchlady]

My friend Calvin is like a kid and has to stop and see stuff. I do not do RideMax but know the parks and am mentally picturing the line going around the bobsleds while he is watching a window display or character. Every trip is the stop and look routine. RideMax would not help us at all.

Should a person get RideMax? It is only $20 and might help you and might not but if you can do a plan and follow a routine then I would try it. It is confusing when you hear so many people saying different things.

 

[avalon451]

oK, so I caved & downloaded it. Too much fun! It is really interesting. Boy my family is gonna love the "schedule natzi" that I will become Now to figure what rides to do on each day.... I will be curious to see how well it works for us.

I really enjoyed playing with Ridemax, too, and I found the "tips" section interesting and informative. That said, I ended up writing my own schedules, sort of based on Ridemax, and using the stuff I'd learned on these boards to supplement it.

As far as being a "schedule Nazi"... I think it's a great idea to have a schedule, as long as you realize that it's not crucial to stick to it exactly. I figured out quickly that you always deviate, and that it's ok to deviate a bit. The advantage of having a written schedule on hand, is that you are never standing around with a park map saying, "Whaddaya wanna do now?" "I dunno, what do YOU wanna do now?" Just from running schedules and stuff, you will already have a pretty good idea of what lines will be do-able right about now, or when is a good time to send DH for another set of FPs.

We had very complete schedules for both our trips last year. We happily deviated from them all the time, but because I'd done all the brain work beforehand, we never had to wonder what to head for next. It was planned out so that we weren't crossing and recrossing the park needlessly. And, if we felt like blowing the next part off and sitting down by the Hungry Bear to eat our caramel apples and look for stray Disney kitties, that was cool. So it was actually LESS stressful for us, to have it all planned out ahead of time. Just be ready to go with the flow.

 

[DangerMouse]

I agree with the poster that said it will go out the window if you have kids.

I also think it depends on the ages of your kids. I wouldn't consider it worth it if you have toddlers. There are too many variables. Diapers/potty, food, ducks, characters, watch this mommy, etc.

Smaller children don't understand the need to be a certain place at a certain time and why they can't see the thing that is right in front of them now - when they can tangibly see it.

Sorry, YMP, but I have to disagree with you here. I used RM quite successfully with small children several times. My kids became happily dependent on their "Schedule Nazi", and it really helped with the whole "what are we doing next?" issue. There never was an issue, they just said "where now, Mommy?" and were quite happy that we didn't wait in any line longer than 15 minutes.

I know this doesn't work for every family's touring style, but my family loved it when we were first discovering how to navigate the parks and zig when others were zagging.

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

Good points Danger - I have distracto-children! I've learned to go from uber-scheduler (as I am a detail-oriented listmaker/multitasker) to a go-with-the-wind tourer. We let the kids guide our day instead of the other way around.

We've also been blessed that we have been so many times that we feel absoloutely no need to tour. We're happy if we only hit one or two things and then go home. Heck -we've been to DL some days and never ridden anything because we just haven't felt like it. We do other things - wander, eat, watch ducks.

 

[Mugglemama]

i have 4 children and we've used RideMax very successfully, as well. in fact, i'll never go in the summer without it again. we went in september last year, and i wished once i got there that i'd used RideMax again (wasn't expecting crowds at the end of september). we're going in august this year and i will definitely use it again.

my kids don't mind at all. they are disney fanatics just like DH and me, and don't want to waste precious disney time hanging out in lines if we can get through faster.

i didn't find it difficult with kids at all, and the first time we used it, my youngest was only 2 years old. the others were 6, 9, and 15 at the time. using the RM itinerary went very smoothly, and made our visit less complicated.

but, like i said, my kids are all disney fanatics, so they don't mind running from one place to another all day to get from ride to ride....all they care about it is getting on the most rides possible during our trip, lol!

 

[muppetfreak]

My main thought behind getting it was just to avoid the "where should we go next?" (not to mention that it is just fun to play with.) This way we punch in all the rides that are "must sees" & it plans it for me. I know that a schedule is never followed exactly, but with 5 people in my family I know that there would be 5 different opinons

 

[Snow Orange]

Ikes. Traveling with DH, pre-teen, pre-schooler, toddler. I would have to hunt down a PC to use (being a MAC) and had decided not to use RideMax with the wee ones in tow. Now I'm in panic - 17 days out thinking I should do it. Any other advice?

I already have a plan in hand that seems pretty good - but only from info from you guys - no other input.

 

[dopeydoc&sleepy]

Our first trip to Disneyland was this past October. Being a planner myself, I purchased Ridemax and would do it again. I set up a spreadsheet for each ride for the duration the park was open for each day we were there (idea from the disboards). With children (10, 8 and 5) I knew we needed to be flexible; at meals we would ask the kids what they wanted to do or see and while we waited for our meal, DH and I planned the next several hours. Ridemax times were more accurate than the times Disney had posted at the ride!