Ridemax?'s

[mmtwinmama]

Hi - I am on the fence regarding ridemax for our upcoming trip. We will be at DL/DCA on June 25, June 26 and June 29. We've never been to DL. I've been to WDW many many times and used TGM and loved it.

I'm hesitant on Ridemax because the laptop we will be taking is a mac. I do have a non mac at home so could do all the research/prints beforehand. If I purchased and did all the research/prints say the week before we leave, would that work? I love the idea of ridemax. I am a planner and my kids and DH are so used to me using TGM, I don't want this trip to disappoint.

Thanks.

 

[rentayenta]

It will work to do it beforehand- the park hours won't change within a week of your vacation. Just make sure to print up a few itineraries with staggering park arrival times in case someone oversleeps or your plans change. It's really a neat program. I have used both TGM and RM.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Last summer we used it ahead of time and didn't bring it with us. I printed out all kinds of options. Plus you can put in rides at various times of the day to find out what time of day is best for certain rides.

In my opinion, you have to be more aggressive with the FPs than they suggest. I always went to pick them up whenever we could no matter what the plan suggested.

 

[HydroGuy]

It will work to do it beforehand- the park hours won't change within a week of your vacation. Just make sure to print up a few itineraries with staggering park arrival times in case someone oversleeps or your plans change. It's really a neat program. I have used both TGM and RM.

What she said!

 

[mmtwinmama]

Wow, thanks! I'll definitely do it now. I feel convinced!
Regarding the FP's... that's one thing I'll be on top of. If Ridemax does not say to get one, when I am able to I will certainly do it. The FP runner... LOL, that's why I always come home from these trips 5 lbs lighter!!!

 

[DirkLogan]

Hey Hydroguy, how did you figure out to make the chart that you did without taking all day to do it, mind sharing your secret?

 

[HydroGuy]

Hey Hydroguy, how did you figure out to make the chart that you did without taking all day to do it, mind sharing your secret?

I used techno-geek methods. It involved calculating least squares curve fits to wait time data. Once I got it all setup the first time in Excel - that took many hours - I can now crank out the spreadsheet in an hour.

For mere mortals you can just do trial and error as discussed here http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=19868695&postcount=2

 

[Karenann*]

What is TGM? We have used ridemax and love it.

 

[mmtwinmama]

What is TGM? We have used ridemax and love it.

TGM = tourguidemike.com
I've used it many times for WDW. It's great. I will never go again to WDW without it. I actually already signed up again for our next WDW trip in 2012.

 

[HydroGuy]

TGM is a really good resource and I will subscribe to it for every future WDW trip. RideMax too!

 

[Hound 109]

Hi - I am on the fence regarding ridemax for our upcoming trip. We will be at DL/DCA on June 25, June 26 and June 29. We've never been to DL. I've been to WDW many many times and used TGM and loved it.

I'm hesitant on Ridemax because the laptop we will be taking is a mac. I do have a non mac at home so could do all the research/prints beforehand. If I purchased and did all the research/prints say the week before we leave, would that work? I love the idea of ridemax. I am a planner and my kids and DH are so used to me using TGM, I don't want this trip to disappoint.

Thanks.

If you're a "planner" (at WDW) then (imo) RideMax is a must do for a DLR visit....especially to play with ahead of time. If you get a map out & have most of HG's tip threads handy, then you can run different Ride Max scenarios before you go.

The benefit to this is that you'll get a feel for where things are & how the two parks flow. Also, you'll uncover alot of "not good times" to do attractions along with "good times" to do attractions & "to do" areas of the parks.

You can run little 2 hour scenarios (or even two ride scenarios) which i found very handy in avoiding long lines (or bad times or crowded areas to tour).

Many of us have subscribed to ride max & have NO intention of following the touring plan it spits out. But we use it as a guide to prepare our OWN touring plan (using RM, HG's tips & other tips found here).

But spending the few hours playing with RM & reading over all the tip threads gives a visitor enough info to change on the fly if you're ahead of "the plan" or if you just feel like it.

Have fun planning a visit to Walt's Park!

 

[mmtwinmama]

Thanks! I'm sold. Purchased Ridemax. Now I just have to find the time to go through it.

 

[Canadian Traveler]

We used Ridemax last year when we went to Disneyland.... We are not usually planners but the first time we went as a family we used the unofficial guide, the second time nothing then the last time we used Ridemax.

We loved it!!!!!! We got to get on every ride and then some!!! It was so much less stress...

I highly recommend it.

 

[Dobie]

I love Ridemax, too. Unfortunately, the other Dobies are very planning averse, so I use it mostly for self-stimming before my trip.

 

[NewbieMouse]

... the first time we went as a family we used the unofficial guide...

How did you like the Unofficial Guide touring plans? I've been reading this book and was thinking of following these.

 

[HydroGuy]

How did you like the Unofficial Guide touring plans? I've been reading this book and was thinking of following these.

It is just so hard for any printed resource to keep up with things that change so rapidly like ride patterns. See:

The Perils of Printed Guidebooks: Outdated Info in the Unofficial Guide to DLR

Bottom line is any touring plan or strategy is better than none and will put you ahead of the bulk of other visitors. But a soft resource like RideMax is just much better able to keep up with many park trends than a printed resource like UG.

 

[jimsocks]

I've used both and I'll say using the Unofficial Guide plan is a huge improvement over no plan at all. Huge. That said, RideMax > Unofficial Guide Plan - Easily. The ability to customize the plans to your specific situation makes all the difference....and, of course, all the reasons Hydroguy already cited...

 

[dissybroad]

Never heard of RideMax until now. Have been an UG user on past two trips. Sounds like RM requires an iPhone for real time access, is that right?

p.s. I'm a tech moron, but DD will be along.