RideMax Users Thread (FAQs Linked in First Post!)

[kathyfranklin]

We've used RideMax for every trip since it became available for WDW. Last week though, it didn't work for us. It was insane crowded. I don't blame RideMax because I don't think there was any way to predict the unusual crowds. If we ever go back to WDW, I will use RideMax again because for us,except for this trip, it worked beautifully.

Yes - just to clarify my earlier (longer - sorry) post. It was crowded, very crowded, - so it's not like we didn't wait for anything. We did. Our longest wait was with FP for Soarin and TSM. Those waits were probably 20-40 mins. I do think those waits were longer than RM had predicted. But, we had anticipated larger crowds, more time needed to move around - so had built in breaks. So - we pretty much stayed on, or ahead of schedule. We planned to get and use Fast Passes. We saw standby times of popular rides consistently of 60, 70, 90, 120 minutes. Several times we saw 130. 170 was the longest standby time we saw - for TSM.

A major benefit is simply in having your plan ready. This might not be important for a single or a couple, but with a family it really helped having everyone oriented in the same path - without trying to get everyone's input on "what next?" as the crowds are building by the minute.

And, we never started mid-day - so someone who did should probably comment on the accuracy of afternoon or evening starts.

 

[sandym718]

That's too funny! We'll be pretty easy to spot-- it will be me, dh, my mom and dad, and our two boys (who are almost 5 and almost 3). Are you guys hopping to DHS for F! that evening? That's our plan-- we've got the dining package at Mama Melrose. I'm guessing we'll run into each other more than once! --Katie

We decided to skip F! this go around due to the reduced showings/crowds. We're headed to Epcot that evening to walk around the WS a bit and catch Illuminations.

 

[Geeg]

I have downloaded and paid for this - but I just get lots of writing - the program doesn't load - does it make a difference that I am on a Mac?

 

[torsie24]

I have downloaded and paid for this - but I just get lots of writing - the program doesn't load - does it make a difference that I am on a Mac?

Could do....I didn't think to check if it runs on a Mac.....

 

[lovedisney99]

Get it if you haven't already. It is easy to use and very fast as long as you have high speed internet.

I'm going down on Friday and just ordered the software a couple of days ago. If the wait times are anywhere close to what the ridemax says I'll be extremely happy. It's easy to use so go for it!

 

[Geeg]

Could do....I didn't think to check if it runs on a Mac.....

Apparently it does not work on Macs. And it states it on the download page. I just didn't look. Doh.

Oh well for what it's worth, I also emailed support and got an instant reply. Good service.

 

[Jennifer in WA]

We were at WDW March 31-April 7. I just have to say that RIDEMAX really made our trip wonderful!!! We used the plans for our Epcot day on April 1, MK day on April 2 (which was listed as a red day on TGM) and then for Animal Kingdom on April 4. We would've used the plan for HS on April 3, but the flu hit our family as well as thunderstorms, so my DH and 3 of the 4 kids did that park and just made do the best they could without a plan. RIDEMAX was so right on and accurate, it was scary! On a "red" day at MK, we were able to do everything we wanted WAY ahead of time, with time to go back for more. Our Epcot and AK days were the same. My DH was kind of laughing at all of the planning I did at first, but after the first day or so....he was raving about how awesome it was and he couldn't believe it. Even my kids were saying how great it was to have the plan. We'd wait 15 minutes for a ride...and then come back by it an hour later and see it posted at 90 minutes. It was so great. Have to admit, I was skeptical and was planning on asking for a refund when I got back. But, no way! It was AWESOME!!!

 

[torsie24]

We were at WDW March 31-April 7. I just have to say that RIDEMAX really made our trip wonderful!!! We used the plans for our Epcot day on April 1, MK day on April 2 (which was listed as a red day on TGM) and then for Animal Kingdom on April 4. We would've used the plan for HS on April 3, but the flu hit our family as well as thunderstorms, so my DH and 3 of the 4 kids did that park and just made do the best they could without a plan. RIDEMAX was so right on and accurate, it was scary! On a "red" day at MK, we were able to do everything we wanted WAY ahead of time, with time to go back for more. Our Epcot and AK days were the same. My DH was kind of laughing at all of the planning I did at first, but after the first day or so....he was raving about how awesome it was and he couldn't believe it. Even my kids were saying how great it was to have the plan. We'd wait 15 minutes for a ride...and then come back by it an hour later and see it posted at 90 minutes. It was so great. Have to admit, I was skeptical and was planning on asking for a refund when I got back. But, no way! It was AWESOME!!!

Another tick in my RM column!! What an awesome product!!! If only I'd thought of it, how awful to have your job be going to WDW all the time and checking ride lines!!

 

[Geeg]

And just in case anyone was wondering - since I posted I have since had an email letting me know they have refunded the amount.

The service was excellent.

I obviously haven't used the product, so can't comment on that, but I would say if you are unsure, and wonder if it might be a drawn out process to get a refund if dissatisfied, then I'd say go for it. My experience, simply from the service I have had, was that it was prompt, polite and very efficient.

 

[ekatiel]

Apparently it does not work on Macs. And it states it on the download page. I just didn't look. Doh.

Oh well for what it's worth, I also emailed support and got an instant reply. Good service.

Someone on here was able to get it to work with a Mac-- they had to download another program to make their computer run like a pc or something . I think it was mentioned somewhere in this thread if you want to dig. If I get time later today, I'll try to look for it. --Katie

 

[Geeg]

Someone on here was able to get it to work with a Mac-- they had to download another program to make their computer run like a pc or something . I think it was mentioned somewhere in this thread if you want to dig. If I get time later today, I'll try to look for it. --Katie

They actually sent me a link to that but it was £25 - so it seemed to end up quite expensive. Thanks anyway.

 

[Madzac]

Thanks everyone for all the advice and info about Ridemax... it sold us on it and I purchased it last week in preparation for our upcoming trip. I am having a blast running programs! I love planning stuff like this!!!!

A question for those of you who have used it, especially with children. I have run some plans on normal and some on slow. We will be a group of 6, three adults and three kids 7, 4, 1. I like the "normal" plans better in many occasions... will we be too rushed with having to get in and out of a stroller? Do I need to try to make it work on slow speed do you think? I would hate to plan it all out and get off right away, since the plans are fairly different. I would love to hear if people feel rushed on the normal speed or if it is managable.

Thanks!

 

[ScotnSteph]

June dates are up. I was hoping they would be avialable this week. I just checked and they are there. Just wish I had time to play around to night, but I need to run the kids around. Ortho, work, swimming, driver's ed. Ugh! I need a vacation.

 

[bwilcox]

Apparently it does not work on Macs. And it states it on the download page. I just didn't look. Doh.

Oh well for what it's worth, I also emailed support and got an instant reply. Good service.

You can buy a program called Parallels, which runs your Mac like a PC when you open it. I don't know all the technical stuff, but I downloaded Ridemax using this and it works perfectly! It is a little expensive if you want it only for this, but we use it for other things too as many programs just aren't "Mac friendly."

 

[dansamy]

You can buy a program called Parallels, which runs your Mac like a PC when you open it. I don't know all the technical stuff, but I downloaded Ridemax using this and it works perfectly! It is a little expensive if you want it only for this, but we use it for other things too as many programs just aren't "Mac friendly."

I think most mac users need to have some sort of windows-like utility to be able to open non-mac-friendly programs. There's quite a lot of programs and games that either won't run or run poorly on a mca.

 

[dansamy]

Thanks everyone for all the advice and info about Ridemax... it sold us on it and I purchased it last week in preparation for our upcoming trip. I am having a blast running programs! I love planning stuff like this!!!!

A question for those of you who have used it, especially with children. I have run some plans on normal and some on slow. We will be a group of 6, three adults and three kids 7, 4, 1. I like the "normal" plans better in many occasions... will we be too rushed with having to get in and out of a stroller? Do I need to try to make it work on slow speed do you think? I would hate to plan it all out and get off right away, since the plans are fairly different. I would love to hear if people feel rushed on the normal speed or if it is managable.

Thanks!

With a stroller, I would use "slow". Simply because there is a lot of getting in and out of a stroller and that is time consuming.

 

[lovedisney99]

How do you get the program to let you ride Soarin first thing at Epcot rather than grab a fastpass? Should I just do a 25 minute or so break first thing for Soaring then plug in the rest? Why would the program make you get a fastpass at 9:03 am?

 

[DaveStroem]

How do you get the program to let you ride Soarin first thing at Epcot rather than grab a fastpass? Should I just do a 25 minute or so break first thing for Soaring then plug in the rest? Why would the program make you get a fastpass at 9:03 am?

Because if you get your FP first thing the return time will allow you to get another FP for something else on your list quicker then the 2 hours that it will be later in the day. Also depending on when you are going, FP for Soarin' can go quickly and the return time can extend out till the evening.

Why do you need to ride Soarin' first thing?

I understand with KS at AK because the animals are more active in the morning, but I would much prefer an afternoon ride on an air conditioned Soarin' to get out of the heat of the day.

RideMax optimizes wait times and walking times. So while you would be riding Soarin' first thing in the morning, you are extending the wait times on your next ride and the one after that.

 

[ekatiel]

Thanks everyone for all the advice and info about Ridemax... it sold us on it and I purchased it last week in preparation for our upcoming trip. I am having a blast running programs! I love planning stuff like this!!!!

A question for those of you who have used it, especially with children. I have run some plans on normal and some on slow. We will be a group of 6, three adults and three kids 7, 4, 1. I like the "normal" plans better in many occasions... will we be too rushed with having to get in and out of a stroller? Do I need to try to make it work on slow speed do you think? I would hate to plan it all out and get off right away, since the plans are fairly different. I would love to hear if people feel rushed on the normal speed or if it is managable.

Thanks!

We're using slow at every park except for AK. I just couldn't get a decent plan on slow at AK, so we're going to try the normal speed for that day. We'll have a stroller, too. --Katie

 

[sandym718]

How do you get the program to let you ride Soarin first thing at Epcot rather than grab a fastpass? Should I just do a 25 minute or so break first thing for Soaring then plug in the rest? Why would the program make you get a fastpass at 9:03 am?

As the above poster stated, sometimes it does make sense to get a FP right away. However, I also understand sometimes families/kids want to ride a certain ride first. We've done that (for Dumbo and AK), by scheduling a break, in that area, for the ride. You could do a 25 min. break at Sunshine Seasons, for example, at 9:05. Then the plan will have you pick up from that area. We don't need to do this in Epcot, b/c the kids want TT first, and that's where it has us going. You could also try dropping the FP runner option - I doubt it would have all of you go get a FP first, just try it and see what happens. Probably the break is the best option, though.