First let me say, it's not nearly as necessary to have a detailed touring plan for DL as it is for WDW. I've used TGM for WDW and made touring plans for our entire family. For our trip earlier this month to DL, I had the same mentality and tried using RideMax for DL. I didn't like it much. They didnt have info up much before our trip and didn't seem to have weekend info ever. It seems like a good idea, but you can't include shows and if you park hop, you have to make separate plans. It's hard to explain, but I don't recommend it.
I would use the same principles you apply at WDW--such as arrive before opening, hit Fantasyland rides first starting with Peter Pan and Dumbo. Another morning, hit Nemo subs first if you desire to ride it.
We found that if we lined up at security 40 minutes before opening, we would be first/close to first at the gates and get on our first choice ride with little wait. (We weren't fast--with a double stroller and 6 month pregnant me!)
Does CA open later? If so do early hours at DL and then go at rope drop to CA to get on Toy Story Midway Mania. Everyone rushes there, but it's still better than waiting later in the day (just like Nemo.) Even my 2 and 3yr old liked TSMM.
If you have any specific questions or want to see our rough touring plans--I'll be glad to share. Just PM me.
I agree with much of this. Depending on the OP's personality RideMax (RM) may or not help.
I know when I made a first trip to WDW I felt much better having RM even though I never followed any strict itinerary. RM allowed me to "test drive" different touring strategies and get a feel for how the lines built up at WDW.
I have used RM for both DLR and WDW, but often just let it loosely guide me as opposed to following it strictly.
Bottom line is for $15 it may make you feel better to have it than not have it even if you do not follow it. If you do follow RM itineraries then they are usually padded a bit.
Can you get by without RM? Following dr&momto2boys' advice above is sound.
DLR draws less than half the annual visitors as WDW and of those visitors many more at DLR are locals on day trips as opposed to multi-day vacationers like WDW. Hence there is much less demand for TGM-like resources at DLR. But the TGM principles still apply for the most part.
Here are some key differences from TGM advice at WDW:
1. Parkhopping - at WDW TGM is not a huge fan of parkhopping. At DLR parkhopping is a different animal because the parks are so close. We usually park hop at least once every day at DLR but have never done so at WDW.
2. Extra Hours - at WDW they are called EMH and TGM is not a fan and in general recommends you avoid them and any park that has EMH that day. At DLR they are called Magic Mornings (MM) aand you should attend them if you can.
3. Fastpass - has idiosyncracies at DLR that do not exist at WDW. For more info see "Getting the Most Out of FastPass During High Season"
www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=885132. If you are with a 5-year-old then FP is not as big a deal. Those with older kids should bone up.
