Should I buy RideMax?

[sunflowersis]

Should I order a subscription to RideMax? We'll be at DL for 3 1/2 days from March 15-18. There's 3 adults and 2 kids, ages 5 and 8. Will it be worth it for us?

 

[DangerMouse]

Yes.

 

[sdaughs]

what is ridemax?

 

[HydroGuy]

what is ridemax?

See "RideMax Critique Plus Conventional and Unconventional Usage on August 1-4 Trip" www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=885134

 

[HydroGuy]

Should I order a subscription to RideMax? We'll be at DL for 3 1/2 days from March 15-18. There's 3 adults and 2 kids, ages 5 and 8. Will it be worth it for us?

On a first visit to DLR? Over Spring Break? Easy question. Yes, order RideMax.

 

[heatherleigh]

Yes, you should.

 

[stevejanelle]

Yes, it'll save you a bunch of time. You'll get to see everything you want ( more than once) with a minimum of wait time.

Steve

 

[DirkLogan]

I am going on my third season of Socal AP's. I have a good understanding of the park layout and the crowds and such. We have been about 50 times in the last few years.

I bought RideMax. I really like it. I haven't used it to the letter, because I have made changes on the fly. I do like seeing what it has to say about the day compared to what I might do.

If you have little or no experience with DLR, DCA, fast passes, the crowds, etc. I would find it to be essential. The first time we went a few years ago, I let my sister do the research on where to stay and what to do and it was horrible. Basically, we went everywhere the crowd was and did everything wrong. It was not a good experience. If that was how it was each time, I wouldn't go as often as I have gone.

Disneyland is 50 times more enjoyable when you know how things work, are able to optimize your day and miss a lot of the crowds.

Hydroguys tips are essential as well as other items posted on the board. RideMax is a definite must have!

 

[rszdtrvl]

DH is against getting RideMax, but I think I am going to do it anyway. He does not like to plan things, and prefers to "wing it".

We will be there at the peak of Spring Break (March 27-31) with only 1 1/2 days at the DL parks (27th & 29th).

DS and I both agree that RideMax is the smartest thing to do, and majority rules. I will be getting my 90-day subscription today and tinkering with it. I bet after DH sees what it does he will be okay with it.

 

[Hawleys]

DH is against getting RideMax, but I think I am going to do it anyway. He does not like to plan things, and prefers to "wing it".

We will be there at the peak of Spring Break (March 27-31) with only 1 1/2 days at the DL parks (27th & 29th).

DS and I both agree that RideMax is the smartest thing to do, and majority rules. I will be getting my 90-day subscription today and tinkering with it. I bet after DH sees what it does he will be okay with it.

Let your husband know that using RideMax doesn't mean you have to follow the itinerary to the minute. As other posters have said, you can tinker with RideMax to get a good idea of how crowds build at different rides and then make your own informed wing it decisions.

Have a fantastic trip!

 

[CandiluvsDisney]

I bought Ridemax for our trip in March. I am pretty frustrated with it. I don't like that you can't do both parks and it doesn't include the parades, shows, etc. Maybe I am not getting it?

 

[clanmcculloch]

DH is against getting RideMax, but I think I am going to do it anyway. He does not like to plan things, and prefers to "wing it".

We will be there at the peak of Spring Break (March 27-31) with only 1 1/2 days at the DL parks (27th & 29th).

DS and I both agree that RideMax is the smartest thing to do, and majority rules. I will be getting my 90-day subscription today and tinkering with it. I bet after DH sees what it does he will be okay with it.

My DH was the same way regarding WDW until our most recent trip. I subscribed to TourGuide Mike and we managed to accomplish more in a few hours every day than we used to do all day and we're talking over Christmas break. He was commenting a couple weeks ago how he loved that this past trip we were able to take time to relax and wander around unscheduled (ha) doing things like look around the Tree of Life (we'd never done that before). He was shocked when I explained that doing these things was very much scheduled and only possible BECAUSE of understanding how to tour and planning our days in details.

Subscribing to a touring service does NOT mean that you can't go with the flow or "wing it". It means you've studied up enough to know which places you want to be at at what time so you can make educated decisions to maximize your time and avoid lines. We switched things up during our trip but each time I gave everybody very limitted sets of choices for what to do and this was based on what I knew were the reasonable options for the time of day/crowd levels. None of them realized that we weren't winging it; they really thought we were. We were to a degree but it was educated winging it. LOL

 

[S. S. Columbia]

... it was educated winging it. LOL

Informed Spontaneity™ <-------- HG

RideMax is one of the few places that has Wait Time information.

And it's only $15 for a 3 month subscription.

 

[stevejanelle]

You can use it for visiting both parks (DL and DCA) in the same day. You're able to schedule a break (up to two) for as long as you want it. Then do a plan for the other park during the break for the first park.
You can also use the scheduled breaks to do the shows (like Alladin).

We did that on our last trip and it works great. We were able to get FP's and ride a ton of rides at DL first, then hop over to DCA for the next many hours, then go back to DL to use FP's and see shows and such.

Steve

 

[mathmom32]

I bought Ridemax for our trip in March. I am pretty frustrated with it. I don't like that you can't do both parks and it doesn't include the parades, shows, etc. Maybe I am not getting it?

Read the tips and hints that are included with your subscription. They are very informative.

We are leaving tomorrow; our first day in the parks is on Sunday. One thing I noticed is that Ridemax tends to leave a big "break" in the day during the busiest times. For example, I entered pretty much everything on the DLR attraction list to be done on Sunday. There was a large break from around 12:30 until 6pm. So I ran a second plan for DCA during that time period.

Another thing I did, which was slightly time-consuming but totally worth it, was to run each ride separately for as many times during the day as RM could fit in. That gave me a list of wait times for every ride throughout the day during our trip. Then I compiled the wait times into a list that I am taking with me each day. That way, we can be spontaneous, yet still be able to know what times are the best times to ride each ride.

 

[CandiluvsDisney]

I also wanted to take some rest time in the afternoons for lunch, nap, swim so it just has been difficult for me to schedule how I wanted. I probably will just keep messing with it.

 

[HydroGuy]

Another thing I did, which was slightly time-consuming but totally worth it, was to run each ride separately for as many times during the day as RM could fit in. That gave me a list of wait times for every ride throughout the day during our trip. Then I compiled the wait times into a list that I am taking with me each day. That way, we can be spontaneous, yet still be able to know what times are the best times to ride each ride.

That is exactly what I do. It gives me more info and helps me make better "spontaneous" decisions.

 

[sunflowersis]

Okay, I guess it's worth it to at least take a look at it. Thanks!

 

[Leofoenget]

I find it really useful at the beginning of the day. Usually what I find, is, I am so far ahead of schedule that I can do more stuff. It may say to ride JC at 10pm, which I think is kind of silly in the dark, but since I am so far ahead I can usually jump on the ride much earlier. Personally, I would rather be less spontanious and not wait in huge lines, than fly by the seat of my pants and stand around all day in line after line. What fun is that??

 

[moljammom]

Is Ridemax better than the Unofficial Guide touring plans? Has anyone use the Unofficial Guide?

Thanks!