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View Full Version : Ridemax questions - Anyone have reports on it?



Terri
02-11-2005, 11:13 AM
Hi all,

I've been hearing about RideMax here and there and am wondering if it's all it says it is. :confused: I just visited their website and it sounds almost too good to be true.

After spending 45 years in the park, I still get trapped by crowds, etc and I just assumed there was no way out of it.

If you have actually used ridemax, could you please tell me your experience with it?

rentayenta
02-11-2005, 11:48 AM
It is all it's cracked up to be. We used it for our trip this past December and it really did make the day less stressful. Not only did it plan out a very doable day, it answered the dreaded question of [/I]what to do next?[I]. I wrote all about it in my trip report- the search function will let you look up past reports. There is a fellow poster here on MP named RideMaxMark who will answer any questions for you.


I planned out three itineraries for each day that were dependent on our arrival time at the park.

I figure what's another $12.95 when I am already spending alot of money on a trip :)

bradk
02-11-2005, 12:13 PM
this won't help much, but..

i haven't actually made use of it yet, but i was so excited about the prospects, that i bought an annual subscription (since my trip is more than 3 months away). i did a lot of research on it beforehand and nobody has ever said it made their trip for the worse, that's for sure. everyone i've seen who has used it has spoken highly of it.

it's definitely a lot of fun to play with, and it's very possible. even the infamous itineraries of the unoffical guide stem from a software program that sort of does the same thing, only is far more generic. ridemax goes day by day, park hours, considers rides that are closed, etc.

it's not going to eliminate waits by any means, but it uses statistical information to determine which rides will have the shortest wait times at any point in the day. the comparisons between wait times and actual ride times in the final report is quite interesting to say the least.

the one thing i wish it did more than anything else was combine both parks, but i guess it makes sense because it tries to minimize walking time as well.

you should also read the FAQ and help they include. for example, it's suggested you run the same itinerary through a few times because each report will be different and it's possible you get a better schedule the 2nd or 3rd time around.

Vault Disney
02-11-2005, 05:52 PM
Is this web based or do you install it on your system?

SCUBAbe
02-11-2005, 05:56 PM
I used it once. It was great...it does keep you on a schedule though, but it can be flexed somewhat. :)

bradk
02-11-2005, 07:06 PM
Is this web based or do you install it on your system?

it's software for pc only that you need to download and install. another bummer, unless you have a laptop, it has very little portability.

Family5LovesDisney
02-12-2005, 05:02 AM
I have been on the website and it looks like it would be well worth the money. My husband says that the program was built on simple Industrial Engineering principles. He thought it was a great way to apply them. So I am going to sign up and use it for our trip next month. I will let everyone know how it goes!
We will have a lap top with us and our lap top has wireless interent access so we can still hook up even though DLH doesn't have internet connections in the rooms.

rentayenta
02-12-2005, 07:14 AM
it's software for pc only that you need to download and install. another bummer, unless you have a laptop, it has very little portability.


Even if you don't have a laptop or your hotel doesn't have wireless (as was our case at the DLH) you can print up as many itineraries for one day as you like. We made itineraries that began at 8:00, 9:00, and 10:00 am in case we wanted to sleep in or whatever. The plan is flexible. We did 3 for each day and it was awesome. You can plan for shows and breaks too. You can do both parks in one day; just have your ending time at one park be your beginning time at the other. It's really fun to play with :)

Family5LovesDisney
02-12-2005, 09:08 AM
Even if you don't have a laptop or your hotel doesn't have wireless (as was our case at the DLH) you can print up as many itineraries for one day as you like. We made itineraries that began at 8:00, 9:00, and 10:00 am in case we wanted to sleep in or whatever. The plan is flexible. We did 3 for each day and it was awesome. You can plan for shows and breaks too. You can do both parks in one day; just have your ending time at one park be your beginning time at the other. It's really fun to play with :)
No wireless at the DLH OH
Guess we will do what you did and do it all before hand. Thanks for that tip.

rentayenta
02-12-2005, 09:21 AM
No wireless at the DLH OH
Guess we will do what you did and do it all before hand. Thanks for that tip.



I think they have it now. They just put it in :) Make your plans just in case.

Family5LovesDisney
02-12-2005, 09:38 AM
I think they have it now. They just put it in :) Make your plans just in case. It would do a world of good for my husband if they DON'T Have it! Keep him away from work for a few days at least! ;)

Brian Noble
02-12-2005, 04:09 PM
My brother and his wife went to the past two Rose Bowls. Each year, they went to Disneyland a few days before the game---the busiest week of the year. Each time, they arrived at about noon---almost the worst time you could arrive. They had young kids on Eastern time, so they were out of there by about 6.

The first year, they had no plan. They experienced only a handful of attractions. As a testament to Disneyland, they still had enough fun to want to go back.

The second year, I bought them a RideMax subscription. Using it, they saw about twice as much as they did the first year, and were very pleased.

JSKoehler
02-12-2005, 06:38 PM
I learned about RideMax just today. Our trip is in just over a month, so I will probably by a 90-day subscription subscription. I have one obersvation, however, and that is that I presume the program data is updated on a fairly regular basis (and can be updated over the web during your subscriptionerod), or it would soon get stale.

Over the years the Unofficial Guide trip plans for WDW (I am an eastcoaster and this will be only the second trip to DL) proved to be fallable as the shift in attendance patterns because of the economy, addition of new attractions, etc., changed crowd denisty and length of stay patterns. While certain basics remained (get there early, travel contrary to the flow pattern, don't eat at traditional times, etc.), other variables were just too, well, variable. One such variable was the popularity of touring plans. As more guidebooks started to use them, it became clear that their popularity was having an effect on wait times (i.e. increasing them since more people new when the best time to hit the various rides were). Many guidebooks have dumped the touring plans now in favor of general tips.

SCUBAbe
02-12-2005, 06:53 PM
I learned about RideMax just today. Our trip is in just over a month, so I will probably by a 90-day subscription subscription. I have one obersvation, however, and that is that I presume the program data is updated on a fairly regular basis (and can be updated over the web during your subscriptionerod), or it would soon get stale.



After I followed a couple of schedules it became clear to me that it was kinda like common sense. If you go early you will get on a lot of rides. The schedule came in handy for when it got busier, but we were so ahead of schedule we were able to leave the park around 12:30pm with only lincoln and star tours left to do....and nobody wanted to do them...LOL...

they have a ridemax version for wdw. It's called mouse pal

http://www.mousepal.com/

bradk
02-12-2005, 07:27 PM
the basic tips are timeless. nothing will ever change that. and if your stay at DLR is long enough, say minimum 3 days off season or 4 or 5 days when its busy, ridemax may not even be worth it because it does introduce a rigid schedule which without careful planning will get you on everything you wanna ride but will probably end up with leaving you more. if you're limited to 1 or 2 days, it's almost a necessity because you'd be amazed how much time is spent waiting, even when you're on the right track.


I learned about RideMax just today. Our trip is in just over a month, so I will probably by a 90-day subscription subscription. I have one obersvation, however, and that is that I presume the program data is updated on a fairly regular basis (and can be updated over the web during your subscriptionerod), or it would soon get stale.

it does get updated everytime you go into it. it limits how far in the future you can plan things out (they say 2-3 weeks, but it seems to be more like a month or so), but they also advise you plan your itinerary as close as possible to the date because things do change.

i would recommend getting it in advance just so you can play around with it and getting used to it tho.

you might also want to wait until you're within 30 days of your trip (minus the length of your stay). they do promise a money back guarantee within 30 days if you aren't satisfied with it.