ridemax

[vbecky]

Anyone have any opinions or know when ridemax will update? It only goes to the 15th of Dec. I thought it usually shows more dates than that? Thanks

 

[StoneSword]

I haven't used ridemax, as I was introduced to Touring Plans early on. Is there something particularly useful with ridemax that I should consider?

 

[HydroGuy]

Anyone have any opinions or know when ridemax will update? It only goes to the 15th of Dec. I thought it usually shows more dates than that? Thanks

That is about right. Folks always want their schedules sooner but the fact is that even if you had them you would want to rerun all itineraries right before your trip anyways to get the latest and greatest info.

 

[HydroGuy]

I haven't used ridemax, as I was introduced to Touring Plans early on. Is there something particularly useful with ridemax that I should consider?

RM offers a lot more flexibility than TP for creating itineraries. I have used both.

 

[vbecky]

I know isn't that right. Just very anxious I guess. I would highly recommend ridemax you input which rides and attractions yiu would like and it calculates when you should do them. I was very surprised the first time I used it how great it worked!
I guess I will patiently wait lol.

 

[jkattk]

RM offers a lot more flexibility than TP for creating itineraries. I have used both.

I've actually tried both as well and find TP a lot more flexible and easy to use. I guess it depends on what you want to do with it. I want to input the rides I want (and meals/breaks) and the time I want to start and to be able to see their suggestion on the order and how long it will take. Then I like to tweak the ride order myself. TP does all that well. RM makes you enter an end time as well and randomly adds in breaks or has you wait in lines instead of getting fastpasses to fill up the time until that end time - I found this totally non-useful to have to keep guessing at an appropriate end time and not being able to force a fastpass pickup instead of standby line, etc.

 

[HydroGuy]

I've actually tried both as well and find TP a lot more flexible and easy to use. I guess it depends on what you want to do with it. I want to input the rides I want (and meals/breaks) and the time I want to start and to be able to see their suggestion on the order and how long it will take. Then I like to tweak the ride order myself. TP does all that well. RM makes you enter an end time as well and randomly adds in breaks or has you wait in lines instead of getting fastpasses to fill up the time until that end time - I found this totally non-useful to have to keep guessing at an appropriate end time and not being able to force a fastpass pickup instead of standby line, etc.

I have not tried TP itineraries recently. Last time I tried you could only add a ride once per day. RM let you add the same ride multiple times. RM would let you start your day at any time. TP did not. RM would let you add breaks. TP did not. RM would let you choose different FP strategies. TP did not. If things have changed I need to go back and check it again. I let my WDW subscription lapse but my DLR subscription is still active.

On the other hand, I love TP's Lines app for my the iPhone. Totally rocks!

 

[Blue32]

I have not tried TP itineraries recently. Last time I tried you could only add a ride once per day. RM let you add the same ride multiple times. RM would let you start your day at any time. TP did not. RM would let you add breaks. TP did not. RM would let you choose different FP strategies. TP did not. If things have changed I need to go back and check it again. I let my WDW subscription lapse but my DLR subscription is still active.

On the other hand, I love TP's Lines app for my the iPhone. Totally rocks!

Hydroguy...

Does the Lines app use wait time estimates like Ridemax? Or is it user updated like mousewait? I've seen mixed reviews on both.

 

[jkattk]

I have not tried TP itineraries recently. Last time I tried you could only add a ride once per day. RM let you add the same ride multiple times. RM would let you start your day at any time. TP did not. RM would let you add breaks. TP did not. RM would let you choose different FP strategies. TP did not. If things have changed I need to go back and check it again. I let my WDW subscription lapse but my DLR subscription is still active.

On the other hand, I love TP's Lines app for my the iPhone. Totally rocks!

Hmm, sounds like TP has made some improvements recently then (I've only tried them in the last few months). You can add rides more than once now. You can specify your start time including EMH which RM doesn't seem to include. You can add breaks, or meals at certain places so that it will tell you the walking time to get there and include it on the map. You can also put in non-ride attractions like shows, parades, etc. You can specify fastpass or no fastpass but not "fastpass runner" like RM. That feature doesn't help me though since it will be just me and my 5 year old going so obviously we're not separating - so like I said probably depends on what features are most useful for your situation. It's nice that there are two options.

 

[ArchOwl]

Ridemax is all about the least amount of time spent in line. Therefore, it doesn't let the user do a lot of choosing. The computer basically creates an itinerary for you in lieu of your own.

TP is all about you creating your own itinerary and it doesn't much care about wait times or whatever. I mean you get that information, but it doesn't prioritize least amount of time spent in line as RM does.

So I think it really depends on what you want to use it for. If you truly want to get the maximum number of attractions with least amount of time waiting, go with RM. You do have to be ok with them coming up with the itinerary, at least for part of the day. If you want to make your own itinerary and get information about wait times, etc, then go with TP.

 

[jkattk]

Ridemax is all about the least amount of time spent in line. Therefore, it doesn't let the user do a lot of choosing. The computer basically creates an itinerary for you in lieu of your own.

TP is all about you creating your own itinerary and it doesn't much care about wait times or whatever. I mean you get that information, but it doesn't prioritize least amount of time spent in line as RM does.

So I think it really depends on what you want to use it for. If you truly want to get the maximum number of attractions with least amount of time waiting, go with RM. You do have to be ok with them coming up with the itinerary, at least for part of the day. If you want to make your own itinerary and get information about wait times, etc, then go with TP.

TP does also have an "optimize" feature that does exactly what RM does except that it doesn't add random large break times, etc - it puts the rides in order that takes the least time. When I tried RM the reason I would have needed to change their suggested itinerary was that their suggested itinerary was to first ride a ride with a 50 minute wait time, then ride one with a 45 minute wait time, then take a 2 hour break. Now it doesn't take a computer to figure out that it would be more optimal to get a fast pass, then do something else for that 2 hours, then get the 2nd fast pass and ride the first ride... Glad it works for you, I'm just giving my experience that I couldn't get RM to make an itinerary that I couldn't easily beat myself.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

I don't normally use any touring plan, as a vet I know all the tricks...BUT I use Ridemax when at DLR over very busy holiday times, especially when I have out of state family with us. The parks were near capacity Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, and we did virtually everything (some more than once), with plenty of time for shopping, dinners, etc. using Ridemax. It was eerily accurate. Plus I like the Ridemax app as well. JMO! It is well worth it for touring in a short period of time, or over a busy period.

 

[jkattk]

I stand corrected on my statement on TP not having the fastpass runner option that RM does - I just logged onto TP to update my plans and discovered a checkbox asking if I want to use a fastpass runner. They must have just added it.

 

[HydroGuy]

Hmm, sounds like TP has made some improvements recently then (I've only tried them in the last few months). You can add rides more than once now. You can specify your start time including EMH which RM doesn't seem to include. You can add breaks, or meals at certain places so that it will tell you the walking time to get there and include it on the map. You can also put in non-ride attractions like shows, parades, etc. You can specify fastpass or no fastpass but not "fastpass runner" like RM. That feature doesn't help me though since it will be just me and my 5 year old going so obviously we're not separating - so like I said probably depends on what features are most useful for your situation. It's nice that there are two options.

I went back yesterday and took another look at their itinerary generator and it is completely different than the last time I checked some 2-3 years ago.

The truth is I don't use itineraries much any more - at DLR or WDW. I did some five years ago, but not anymore. Sometimes I run them just to get a sense of how the software thinks one should start touring a park.

I am not sure now which one is more flexible between RM and TP. TP has made huge strides and gotten somewhere close to where RM was some seven years ago.