Touring Plans vs. Ride Max?

[Belia]

Hello-
We used TP for our WDW trip 2 years ago and loved it- I loved messing around with different plans in advance and was very happy with how it worked and the Lines app that comes with it. But I read somewhere that something called Ride Max might be better for DLR?

None of us have never been to DL so we definitely want to use something- do any of you have any experience with either?

P.S. I should say that we're looking at a Spring Break 2022 trip so I'm assuming (fingers crossed!) that things will be MUCH more back to normal with fastpasses, max pass, crowd capacity, etc. So that's where I'm starting with my planning- a regular, before-times DLR experience.

 

[Kristi Ziehl]

Wish I could help you. I've never heard of Ride Max so I'll have to check it out.

 

[Winnowill]

Touring Plans at DL is fairly unreliable. I used it at WDW and was pleased with it, but discovered how hard it falls down at DL. Part of the issue is that TP relies on people reporting actual vs posted ride times through the app. For some reason it seems that people are more likely to actually do that at WDW vs DL.

 

[Lauren in NC]

I used TP at WDW and loved it, but I wouldn't bother with it at DL. I'd honestly recommend just coming here and asking for help a few months before your trip. In the before times, there was a lot more go-with-the-flow necessary at DL as opposed to WDW (tourists are surprisingly more predictable than those rascally locals ). For instance, a normal DL touring day for us would've been to start out in Fantasyland and knock out as much as possible (after getting a FP for Space Mountain), then heading over to Tomorrowland and doing that, while grabbing FPs for BTMRR or whatever else was looking particularly gnarly that day. It was more having a general knowledge of what rides had FPs that went quickly (RSR) or which rides were very slow loaders (all of FL) and then being able to make smart decisions based on that. A ride-by-ride listing of my day would not have been so successful.

 

[avalon451]

I've used both in the past, and they're fun to play with and get a feel for what you're doing (RideMax is better), but once you have an idea how things work, your best bet is to make your own plans, using the advice you find here, especially in the tips threads at the top of the forum. Another great (free!) resource is Disneyland Daily-- Casey regularly updates her plans and information to the latest information, and she tests her own touring plans monthly. https://disneylanddaily.com/

 

[BecAus]

I've used Ridemax a few times for our trips to DLR and really like it. I like how they set out their plans and you can fiddle around with them till you're happy with the plan you've got. It's around $15 which I think is pretty reasonable in the scheme of things in the cost of a Disney trip (we come from Australia).
But..I'm not sure in the current situation of newly reopened etc.. how useful they currently would be but I imagine by 2022 they would be back to 'normal' planning.
As stated above, now that we've been to DL quite a few times, I tend to make my own plans or deviate quite a bit from the plan I end up with from Ridemax but I still like to use the program for my planning - I like how it sets everything out and I enjoy fiddling around with it in the months leading up to my trip - it's only a small outlay in the scheme of things for us.

 

[Belia]

Does anyone know offhand if RideMax comes with an app? So I can adjust my plan on the fly in the parks? I did that with Touring Plans in WDW and it was really nice.

I'm a planner with a touch of OCD so I like having options!

 

[BayGirl22]

I've used TP at both DLR and WDW and have been happy with it.

I don't rely on it as my only source. The way I use it is to lay out where I'll be each day and a potential ride order, then do my research here and elsewhere on what's happening in the parks. From there I will tweak my plan and "Evaluate" (not Optimize) to see how efficient I can make it. We are typically right ahead of the crowd, and I have backup plans in my head as needed. DLR is more manageable than WDW and has typically required less planning too.

 

[avalon451]

Does anyone know offhand if RideMax comes with an app? So I can adjust my plan on the fly in the parks? I did that with Touring Plans in WDW and it was really nice.

I'm a planner with a touch of OCD so I like having options!

Weirdly, it has an app, but only for WDW. Maybe because WDW is about 10x more complicated to plan than DLR.

 

[NiceOneSimba]

I have been a RideMax plan for a long time. The first time we used it (about 10 years ago), it was seriously like magic. We were just walking on rides and by the time we got off, a huge line had built behind us. It saved us so much time in line. I don't use it as much now because I have a better idea of the traffic patterns in the park, but I feel like every plan I've ever run has given me an order to do things that I woudln't have anticipated, but ended up saving us so much time in the end.

 

[nutshell]

I loved RideMax when I was a DL newbie.

 

[JStu]

does ridemax come with park recommendations like TP does? I.e., looking at my week of travel (2/2022) will it make recommendations on which parks to avoid and which to go to to try and best avoid crowds as possible?

 

[TikiTikiFan]

If you really want a set list to follow, Disneyland Daily always has touring plans and she updates them constantly. I used to use them quite a bit and they usually were accurate! It does help to just have a list to follow sometimes.

 

[avalon451]

does ridemax come with park recommendations like TP does? I.e., looking at my week of travel (2/2022) will it make recommendations on which parks to avoid and which to go to to try and best avoid crowds as possible?

It sounds like you’re thinking of DLR like WDW, and it’s just not. At WDW people recommend which of the 5 (is it 5?) parks to start your day, often avoiding those with EMH, and the difference is that there’s only 2 at DLR, and they’re literally yards apart. If you have Early entrance privileges from staying onsite, that works well for DLR. Parkhopping is super easy because DL and CA so close.
Having used both TP and RM, I’d echo following Disneyland Daily. Casey is at DLRoften and updates her plans all the time. They’re much more specific than the other two- which really are more useful for WDW.

 

[bkone]

We've been to DLR 3 times in the last 10 years and I felt like I had a good system down. BUT the lack of fastpass/maxpass has really thrown me for a loop! My kiddos are definitely not used to waiting in 45 min+ lines, so I'm looking to maximize our time as much as possible. I love Disneyland Daily, but the lack of an annual pass has really slowed down bloggers I think as Casey hasn't updated in a while and the plans from a month ago seem to not correspond with current times. I'm contemplating trying RideMax just to get some more tips to avoid the crazy lines. Anybody tried it lately?

 

[dougpederson]

If you have young children you can always do rider swaps. That's pretty clutch.

 

[PirateBrigade]

I use TP at DL and it's been mostly useful for gauging trends/expected trends in the parks. But, like others mentioned, not many data points from people. Sometimes, i was the sole data collector for the app on any particular day.

Given how cheap it is, it's handy to have as part of your arsenal, but don't 100% rely on it.

Also, I don't think its data is valid currently...it might become more useful once attendance caps are fully gone and the annual pass replacement returns.

 

[silver236]

I use TP at DL and it's been mostly useful for gauging trends/expected trends in the parks. But, like others mentioned, not many data points from people. Sometimes, i was the sole data collector for the app on any particular day.

Given how cheap it is, it's handy to have as part of your arsenal, but don't 100% rely on it.

Also, I don't think its data is valid currently...it might become more useful once attendance caps are fully gone and the annual pass replacement returns.

I used TP (well...I tried) at WDW last September. You're 100% correct. They just don't have the data points they need for their system to work in current conditions (even at WDW).

 

[CeeKay]

We've been to DLR 3 times in the last 10 years and I felt like I had a good system down. BUT the lack of fastpass/maxpass has really thrown me for a loop! My kiddos are definitely not used to waiting in 45 min+ lines, so I'm looking to maximize our time as much as possible. I love Disneyland Daily, but the lack of an annual pass has really slowed down bloggers I think as Casey hasn't updated in a while and the plans from a month ago seem to not correspond with current times. I'm contemplating trying RideMax just to get some more tips to avoid the crazy lines. Anybody tried it lately?

I cannot say enough about RideMax. It has been PHENOMENAL every time I've used it, and I can highly recommend it. As others have noted, it's nice to be able to play around with start times and such and see what works best for you.