To Ride Max or not to Ride Max...That is the question.

clairabell29

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Joined
Oct 21, 2008
Messages
339
I've only heard mention of this. Would you suggest getting Ride Max for March 29-April 2? Or should we just go with the flow? We will be with a 3 year old and a 6 month old.
 
I would go with the flow with your little ones. :goodvibes At least one morning hit Fantasyland first because I suspect the three year old will love it there -- you may not get out for awhile! Have a good time!
 
I love Ridemax and use it everytime I go to the park unless I absolutely know it's a slow time. I think using it with small children is even more important than with older ones. It's only $14 or something for a 3 month use. Run a few itineraries. Use your MMs if you have any. You'll be amazed at how many rides you'll get to.
 
I have never used Ridemax. I really don't think it's something my family needs or would even utilize so I just skipped it. :) I say wing it, I'm more of a wing-nut anyway. :)
 

I would say it depends a lot on your style, how many times you've been to DL, and what kind of experience you are looking for. We used it when we hadn't been in awhile and knew the parks would be crowded (by the opening/closing times posted on the official calendar.) It worked surprisingly well and certainly had things ordered in a way that I wouldn't have chosen, but made a very smooth touring plan. Feel free to IM me if you have more questions. I think I still have a copy of an old schedule if you'd like to see the format.
 
Depends on how valuable the $15 is to you. We used it Ride Max for our last trip. It made planning SO MUCH FUN! We came up with all sorts of itineraries and really got us pumped. It also was great for just getting ideas on the ride lengths, time to walk to the next attraction, etc.

Ride Max also works really well if you want to pack in a TON into one day and want to make sure it actually happens.

That being said, we barely used our itineraries when we were on the trip. Most of that was because it was value season so there were barely any lines.
 
I really like ridemax. It is fun to plan everything out. Even I do not end up following everything I am glad to have some sort of plan ahead of time.
So if you are a planner type then I would recommend it.
:)
 
I loved playing around with Ridemax, and for our first trip I used it extensively. However, you can actually do better by writing your own itineraries, using Hydroguy's tips compilation: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1520483 Especially "How to avoid long lines"

Ridemax is good for a quick, easy itinerary. It has a few drawbacks, though. It doesn't take Magic Morning into account, so you have to plan those yourselves (and I would SO take advantage of MM, especially with little ones, to do all of Fantasyland in that first hour with low lines!).

Also, you can't schedule both DL and DCA in one day, except by making separate itineraries (for example, scheduling a long "break" from noon-4 p.m, say, and making a separate DCA itineray for those hours)

If you want to ride a ride twice in a day, it will always schedule them back to back. Even if that doesn't make sense, time-wise.

It doesn't make the best use of FastPass, always. There were times it spit out itineraries for me that they didn't have us collecting our first fastpass until we'd already been on one or even two rides.

Sometimes its scheduling is just... wrong. For example, I was trying to run an itinerary for MM, by putting in all the Fantasyland rides on a non-MM day. It consistantly had us riding Dumbo last (AFTER Snow White, Pinocchio, the Carousel, those other low-line rides)... with a 35-40 minute wait. Makes no sense. Maybe they've fixed that glitch since I used it last fall.

It doesn't account for parades, shows, etc. You have to schedule breaks around those things to fit them in.

So every time I printed out an itinerary that seemed pretty close to what we wanted, I still ended up writing all over it anyway, making little changes and adding in shows, DCA hopping, etc. So it was just easier to use it as a reference when writing my own itinerary.

As far as using a touring plan as opposed to "going with the flow"... It's so subjective. Really depends on who you are and what you want from your trip. If you are an AP holder who can get back often and do the things you missed, it's much easier to just do what you feel like, whenever. If this is a big trip for your family, once in a lifetime or once in a long time... and you want to get the most out of it with the least stress-- doing the scheduling ahead of time makes it much less stressful. You have a plan that will fit a lot in without tiring you out, or making you wait in long lines. You never stand around with a map, saying, "Whaddaya wanna do? " "I dunno, whaddaya wanna do?" As long as you understand that your plan will NOT go exactly according to... well, to plan... you'll be fine. You'll have a basic outline to follow, and you can deviate from it if you feel like it or if the kids get tired out. :thumbsup2

HTH! :)
 
Avalon: I tried different itineraries (for example our first night we are only going to be there from 6:30 pm on and wanted to see how many rides we could schedule in that night after getting suggestions from people on this wonderful board). Anyway, I noticed ridemax would move them around and change times with the same rides listed. Strange.
 
toni, that's true. It even tells you to try to run your itinerary several times, because it will change things around for you and try different things. So you can pick which one you like best.
 
Since this is a big trip for our family as we live so far, I am definitely going to purchase the Ridemax. I may not use it entirely but I want to get the most of our time there. If there is anything that can help with that, I'm in on it. I don't like to over plan as it is nice to go with the flow a bit and one can get too stressed by following a plan in detail. But, each to his/her own. For me, I like something to give me some guidance so I'm not so overwhelmed when I walk in. I haven't been to Disneyland since 1984 so I don't know the park at all anymore.
 
I've only heard mention of this. Would you suggest getting Ride Max for March 29-April 2? Or should we just go with the flow? We will be with a 3 year old and a 6 month old.
I too think you should go with the flow being you have little ones.
 
Thanks Avalon! I will probably go back and do some new one's just to see b/c there are some things I do not like such as when I put in the grizzly ride it is at 10 am and I do not want to get wet first thing in the morning!!!
 
I too think you should go with the flow being you have little ones.

on the other hand, RideMax can cut down SO much on your wait times in line, that it can be indespensible when going with small kids. it's REALLY hard to stand in long lines with toddlers and babies!
 
I have a five, three and one year old....

At first i thought for sure Id do ridemax but then our trip dates changed so much and i didnt have a chance to use it...we ended up leaving in like three or so weeks sooooo We went with the flow.

The facts are that unless you are going in an absolutely busy, peak season and it is absolutely super important to you THE PARENTS to have extreme and high expectations for you & your three year old....then.....

I was given THE BEST advice by a fellow DIS member....with kids this age its all about enjoying the little things. Enjoying the moments....BOY did that become so true when we were there.

Its hard to think that way if you are planner like me but at the end of trying to plan the "perfect" trip for us...I just decided to do as she advised me to do....relax, go with it....enjoy it....enjoy the magic in the kids eyes....

Ahhh, wish we could relieve it.

There are plenty of stuff that a three year old (unless really tall & even then I would NOT allow my three year old, no matter how freakishly tall he was to ride....he watches nick jr. not indiana jones kwim???) So unless you or your spouse plans on riding (single rider option) then it wouldn't even matter.

I would do Toontown and Fantasyland first then the take the train and do Tomorrowland...and Frontierland...etc....I would def do a Character breakfast for a three year old. I loved that instead of chasing the character all around they were there (Minnie & Friends, Goofy's Kitchen were my favs) very awesome!

If you have more questions, no matter how silly you may think PM me...I want to pay it foward....the great advice I got from this board was priceless.

Oh Pluto's Dog house sold Mac and Cheese with Apples and Juice/Milk BIG hit with my kids and with mommy and daddy's wallet!!!! LOL:banana:
 


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