Ridemax? Touring plans?

[Mackysmycat]

Which is better? What's the difference? Is it worth it to get? Any advice? Thanks!

 

[Dizzy4DL]

Which is better? What's the difference? Is it worth it to get? Any advice? Thanks!

The DL version of Touring Plans is in it's "baby" stage and doesn't offer customized touring plans yet.
They gave me a free trial, I don't know if that's available anymore.

RideMax is a lot of fun to play with,
and if I were going in March it would be a must for me.
It will get you on more rides, with less hassle.

 

[LLS]

Don't know about Touring Plans but I highly recommend RideMax. We've used it for all our trips (DLR and WDW) and it is SO worth it!

 

[mvf-m11c]

I have both the Touring Plans account and both ridemax programs for DL and WDW.

Touring Plans has a lot of great tips about the parks, rides, restaurants, planning, etc. The crowd calender on the website is another good tip to look at how the crowds will be during those day (but this is based on past history dates, it can be really crowded on those slow days). Just as Dizzy4DL said that TP does not have the customize plan like Ridemax, but it does give out good tips for ride planning. "The Unofficial Guide" books have very good tips. The book has way more information than the website does.

Ridemax is a very great program to help plan on which ride you want to go on and what time to return to it during the day based on crowd history of those days. I also like the way on what time to get a FP for that specific rides. I wish the DL ridemax also includes the shows just like the WDW version.

If you want to know anything about the parks, rides, restaurants, etc I would get Touring Plans. For customize ride planning, I would get Ridemax.

 

[Dizzy4DL]

I have both the Touring Plans account and both ridemax programs for DL and WDW.

Touring Plans has a lot of great tips about the parks, rides, restaurants, planning, etc. The crowd calender on the website is another good tip to look at how the crowds will be during those day (but this is based on past history dates, it can be really crowded on those slow days). Just as Dizzy4DL said that TP does not have the customize plan like Ridemax, but it does give out good tips for ride planning. "The Unofficial Guide" books have very good tips. The book has way more information than the website does.

Ridemax is a very great program to help plan on which ride you want to go on and what time to return to it during the day based on crowd history of those days. I also like the way on what time to get a FP for that specific rides. I wish the DL ridemax also includes the shows just like the WDW version.

If you want to know anything about the parks, rides, restaurants, etc I would get Touring Plans. For customize ride planning, I would get Ridemax.

A perfect explanation!

 

[starshine514]

I have to second the un-recommendation for the touring plans website for Disneyland right now. I signed up for the free trial membership a couple of months ago, and they sent out an email at the beginning of the year that they are now charging for the service (but are giving it free to me for another three months since I signed up early). I used their website extensively for WDW last year, but their DL one isn't up to that level yet. They do let you create your own plans, but don't give any indication of what time it should be after each step, or if you are crowding in too much or choosing the wrong order - and they don't have maps yet. They do have estimated wait times for most of the rides at most times of days, and they have some nice pre-made plans. However, their crowd level tracker is unreliable (I hear it was severely off last week - hadn't accounted for the kids in LA still being out of school for holiday break).

I haven't tried RideMax, so I can't say either way for it.

 

[Mackysmycat]

It sounds like I should do RideMax. Now just to be clear, I'm pretty organized with being on top of fast passes, what rides we like and what restaurants we want to go to. Is it still worth it to get it for a more OFFICIAL organized plan? or is it more for Disney *newbies*....

 

[mvf-m11c]

However, their crowd level tracker is unreliable (I hear it was severely off last week - hadn't accounted for the kids in LA still being out of school for holiday break).

I completely agree with you about the crowd tracker. When I looked at the WDW crowd tracker when I was there in the middle of last month. I thought it would be low crowds, but it did seem like an average crowd during my visit. But the TP has based on past history of those days and now it is completely different with more APs at the DLR. Even though it is not accurate, it gives you an idea of what it will be like during that day.

 

[mvf-m11c]

It sounds like I should do RideMax. Now just to be clear, I'm pretty organized with being on top of fast passes, what rides we like and what restaurants we want to go to. Is it still worth it to get it for a more OFFICIAL organized plan? or is it more for Disney *newbies*....

Ridemax is good for both newbies and veterans. It good for what rides you select and the time to go on those rides. The program also shows what time to get the FP and return on those specific times. You also get to select what time you enter the park and select a time to take a lunch or dinner break. I would say that it is worth it no matter if you are a newbie or a veteran at the DLR or WDW.

 

[Mackysmycat]

Ok one last question.... if my trip is for mid March, is it too early to get it now? I want to plan NOW for our March 18th trip, but it says this on the RideMax site so I am confused...

In general, we recommend using Ride Max as close to the date(s) of your visit as possible. We normally make touring itineraries available 2-4 weeks in advance. So if you are planning a visit for the beginning of July, for example, you should be able to use RideMax starting in early-to-mid-June to create your itineraries.

 

[HydroGuy]

Ok one last question.... if my trip is for mid March, is it too early to get it now? I want to plan NOW for our March 18th trip, but it says this on the RideMax site so I am confused...

If you bought it now and ran itineraries for mid-March, and then between now and then something changed (park hours, ride refurb, the RideMax wait time estimates, etc.,) then your current itinerary would be unreliable. Hence you always want to run RM as close to your trip as possible to have the latest and greatest data.

So why buy it early? So you can experiment!

Further, RM cannot create itineraries until park hours are published and Disney does that 4-8 weeks in advance. Thus RM does not even allow you to create itineraries very far in advance (usually 4-6 weeks). It is likely you cannot run mid-March now. But you can experiment with other similar days in January or February.

 

[Mackysmycat]

So I could get it now, and run an itinerary for fun, and then next week run another one for fun.... and well keep running it until I have it just the way I like it, and it's a week or two out from my trip, when things aren't likely to change anymore? I'm just excited. I can't stand it. 63 days to go. lol

 

[ShaunaM]

when we are going to be there presiden'ts week so i think I would lkie to try this...

for those of you that have used ride max do you find that you feel really tight to a schedule and cannot relax? I don't want to feel regimented but as the days go by for our dates the projected crowds are getting worse.

 

[Mackysmycat]

When we went to DW in October, friends of ours were going at the same time. He used RideMax to plan his trip - and planned mine as well. I didn't follow it to a T - used it more as a guide. I'd like to try and follow it a little better this time around to get even more out of our experience. The biggest tip I think is if you get off track - don't try to catch up. Just skip something and move to the next thing so your whole day isn't messed up lol

 

[pokee99]

So I could get it now, and run an itinerary for fun, and then next week run another one for fun.... and well keep running it until I have it just the way I like it, and it's a week or two out from my trip, when things aren't likely to change anymore? I'm just excited. I can't stand it. 63 days to go. lol

YEP! I got my Ridemax back in October. I have plans for March, but wasn't sure if we'd have to postpone for summer, so I got the one year subscription (still a bargain, if you ask me).

I've been playing around with it. It's good to get familiar with how it works, and then you'll better know what times/breaks to put in to maximize it's potential.

We cannot get a 'real' itinerary until a few weeks before we leave.

I am so glad to have this...it's really saving my butt with my grumpy DH. It helped sell the vacation to him (he didn't want to go)...

 

[Mackysmycat]

Excellent - thanks!