talk me into trying ridemax

[Aliceacc]

Were you happy with it? comments?

 

[momslave3599]

I can't tell you anything about using it at WDW. I haven't been there since I was a kiddo. However, when we went to Disney Land all the time, we never left home without it. DH was very skeptical at first and didn't want to pay for it. However, after the first day we used it, he was hooked. It was spot on every time, easy to use, adjustable as needed, and it offered basic, easy to use hints that really were helpful. I don't know what to expect with the WDW one as it's such a large park and we are headed there during spring break (3/14-3/22) but it was always right during holidays in Disney Land as well.

I'm anxious to see what else you hear!
Sara

 

[ekatiel]

I just bought it and have been playing with it all weekend! I haven't actually "used" it yet b/c our trip isn't until May, but it has been super fun playing around with schedules and seeing what works best. I can't put in our real dates yet, so I'm choosing dates that are simliar so that I can get a feel for the software. So far, I give it 4 and half stars out of five ! I have run into one glitch where it would tell me I had too few attractions and then when I added one, it would tell me I had too many attractions . I emailed them about that today, so I'll try to get back to you and let you know what they say. Other than the one glitch, it's worked perfectly-- I choose what we want to do, the breaks we want to take, etc, and it spits out a great plan for me! --Katie

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

Um, just one question... what is ridemax?

 

[MickeyPalace]

I just signed up for it today and have begun trying it out. It looks really interesting so far. The only negative on it at this point is that you can't use it to plan on Sundays?? At least at DisneyWorld--maybe Disneyland is different... We will only be there for one Sunday so it won't be THAT big of a deal, but it seems a little odd since a lot of us will surely be touring on that day of the week!

 

[DisneyGalAlways]

I asked for reviews of Tour Guide Mike and was intrigued by Ride Max. Response #11 in this thread links to a review of TGM. The lady there has also reviewed RideMax. Response #39 has a link to the video review of TGM and video review of RideMax. (I hope ScotnSteph doesn't mind my talking about her reviews here too. They were very helpful in my decision-making.)

I've given RideMax a try over the weekend. It is super so far.

I punch in the day I'm going. What time I'll arrive at the park. If I have meal plans and what time they are. What rides and attractions I want to do.

It produces a schedule for what to do in what order to maximize our efficiency and energy.

Good luck. It has a money-back guarantee, if you're not happy with it.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[ekatiel]

Um, just one question... what is ridemax?

RideMax is a software that allows you input the day and time that you'll be at a certain park and choose the specific rides/attractions you want to do. Then, it computes and spits out a touring plan for you that has you waiting in line for the least amount of time. You can also put in breaks for meals, naps, etc. HTH! IMO, it's MUCH better than the "canned" touring plans that several other sites offer b/c you can choose exactly what you want to do, and it tells you, down to the minute, what time you need to arrive there, how long your wait time is expected to be, how long it will take to walk to the next attraction, etc. --Katie

 

[dismagiclover]

Ridemax is fabulous as long as you are primarily interested in rides. Trying to work in the shows to the schedule gets trickier. I think it works especially well at the Magic Kingdom because it is primarily rides. Good luck

 

[DaveStroem]

Um, just one question... what is ridemax?

http://www.ridemax.com/

RideMax is software/subscription that allows you to enter in what rides you want to do at what park. Then it makes your custom touring plan. I think it is great but have not used it in the park yet. I did read on another post that when the woman that did use said that all of the wait times were either right on or were over-estimated but none of the wait times were under-estimated.

 

[DaveStroem]

Ridemax is fabulous as long as you are primarily interested in rides. Trying to work in the shows to the schedule gets trickier. I think it works especially well at the Magic Kingdom because it is primarily rides. Good luck

Have you tried the latest version?

It now has the shows, parades & fireworks listed. You can also specify which show time you want to go to if you have a choice.

 

[maslex]

Is there a certain time to subscribe to Ridemax? Meaning, we will be there from June 23-29th. Should I sign up now or wait until I get the June park hours and our ADR's scheduled?

 

[DaveStroem]

You can sign up for 90 days or 1 year. The dates are not up till about 2 months before your trip. I would wait till a bit closer to your trip.
The down side is that you won't be able to see the suggested days till you sign up. This will only matter for making your ADRs for TS meals.
Rule of thumb for chosing the best day is to go to the park the day after that park had an EMH.

 

[ekatiel]

You can get either a 90 day or a year subscription. They say it's best to wait until about a month out from your trip so that your dates will be loaded in their system (right now it only has dates through the end of March). But, I just couldn't wait , so I went ahead and bought it once we were well within our 90 window of the trip-- I wanted to be able to use it during our stay to change plans at the hotel in the evening, etc, so I waited until it wouldn't expire until after our trip was over. That was about as long as I could stand to wait! ! Just know that you won't be able to input your specific dates until about a month out from your trip. That doesn't stop me from playing, though! --Katie

 

[Tinkerbell2B]

I have been playing around with Ridemax for a couple of weeks now. Overall, I really like it. At first I didn't like the no Sundays deal, but that is easily dealt with by substituting in another day. The one thing that I dislike (I know I have said this before) is the EMH schedule is only available for MK in the mornings. This will be my first time to use EMH and I would have liked the extra planning help. I am a planner. I would really love for Ridemax to add this feature. My trip is next month, so I will get by with what I am being given now. No planning utility is perfect for everyone, but if you're not going to take advantage of EMH, RideMax is pretty close!

 

[ekatiel]

Not to hijack this thread (well, maybe to hijack it for just a minute)-- But I can't seem to find the Backlot Tour on the list of attractions at DHS. I've never been to WDW before, so I could possibly be missing something (is it not an attraction that you wait in line for?), but I'd really like to have it on the list to choose from. Anybosy know why it's not there? --Katie

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

Now that I have learned what RideMax is I can answer the OP question...
I hate touring plans! Go in value season.

 

[dismagiclover]

Have you tried the latest version?

It now has the shows, parades & fireworks listed. You can also specify which show time you want to go to if you have a choice.

That's great news I may just have to use it for our upcoming trip. It will make my life easier!

 

[Aliceacc]

Now that I have learned what RideMax is I can answer the OP question...
I hate touring plans! Go in value season.

We're both teachers; we can ONLY go during summer Value season.

Still, 3 kids, hot sticky FL heat, crowds, lines.... If spending $20 on a decent plan helps alleviate the discomfort factor, it's money well spent.

I'm not saying we have to follow the plans to the letter. I'm big on serendipity. But I'm also happy to take the advice of people who know more than I do.

 

[DannyDisneyFreak]

We're both teachers; we can ONLY go during summer Value season.

Still, 3 kids, hot sticky FL heat, crowds, lines.... If spending $20 on a decent plan helps alleviate the discomfort factor, it's money well spent.

I'm not saying we have to follow the plans to the letter. I'm big on serendipity. But I'm also happy to take the advice of people who know more than I do.

Yeah, I see your point... I just hate admiting people know more about Disney than I do LOL I'm a self proclaimed WDW expert But seriously, I've just gone to WDW so many times since I was a kid and had become a Disney touring plan comando to the point that my family was worn out from our vacation so I pledged to ditch touring plans altogether and only go during the slowest times, so sorry if I offended you at all. Somehow I easily offend folks with my recomendations on what time of year to vacation, someone told me before that I did not care about his kids education bc I would suggest he take him out of school. I hope your family has a wonderful vacation whatever time of year you vist and that if you use RideMax it will be benificial, I have heard many people rave about TGM also. Have a magical day!

 

[DaveStroem]

Not to hijack this thread (well, maybe to hijack it for just a minute)-- But I can't seem to find the Backlot Tour on the list of attractions at DHS. I've never been to WDW before, so I could possibly be missing something (is it not an attraction that you wait in line for?), but I'd really like to have it on the list to choose from. Anybosy know why it's not there? --Katie

It might not be on there because depending on your dates, it may not be available to be ridden. It is being refurbished with an estimated completion date of 3/28.