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Pascomom
05-19-2007, 07:50 AM
The "Enhanced" Fastpasses from AAA are history and our trip June 24-30 will probably be a period of very high crowds:(

Can anyone give me a brief rundown on how ridemax works? (Or maybe direct me to the thread that talks about it.) Is it worth it? Does it really work? Etc.

Thanks

mistofviolets
05-19-2007, 08:25 AM
Basically, it has the list of potential rides/attractions, you say which ones you want to ride and what time you'll arrive/leave and any in between breaks you expect to need. It will automatically generate a rest period. You also choose a pace and whether you'll send someone running for extra fast passes or not.

We found it worked GREAT. I printed off multiple itineraries, and since we weren't planning on staying together the entire time (youngest wouldn't enjoy waiting for dh and oldest to finish various rides) that worked best for us. We'd scan the list and see which had the shortest wait time next :P and switch itineraries every so often. Dh was pleasantly surprised, since he was skeptical about being locked into a schedule. He and oldest did their plan...but were able to ride everything they wanted to twice in a row before going to the next planned attraction.

Anyways...it comes up with when to ride, how long to expect the wait time to be etc. Anything we really wanted to do but didn't like the wait on, I plugged in rideing that ride 5 or 10 times, and then was able to see when it would be the shortest wait.

renodlandlover
05-19-2007, 09:57 AM
Can anyone explain what Ridemax is, exactly, and how you go about finding and using it? Sorry if this is a stupid question!
:confused:

mistofviolets
05-19-2007, 10:59 AM
ridemax.com

Its a program you download to your computer for a small fee.
It generates individual itineraries based on information you give it. It is updated with the current disney info (ride closures and what not) pretty accurately :) It also has info on average wait times etc...so that you can maximize play time, instead of wait time.

Gilesmt
05-19-2007, 03:36 PM
Pascomom, do you live in WA. If so I am one town over and would be happy to meet you in a place that computers work "Starbucks", "McDonald" and show you ride max and you can decide if it would be worth it. I will be going to DL on the 5th and I will use it and I used it in the past.

Pascomom
05-19-2007, 08:06 PM
Pascomom, do you live in WA. If so I am one town over and would be happy to meet you in a place that computers work "Starbucks", "McDonald" and show you ride max and you can decide if it would be worth it. I will be going to DL on the 5th and I will use it and I used it in the past.

Yes, I am a Washingtonian!! Meeting at such a place sounds good, but, I consider myself computer savvy and was wondering if I log onto ridemax.com if I would be able to get the info I need from there. With school winding down and preparing for our CA vakay, things are really busy and I am finding it hard to keep such appoitments, but, if I have trouble after visiting the website, I would love the help. Wow, a Disney fan like us so close! (I know there are probably lots) What is the city in which you live? if you don't mind me asking.

Gilesmt
05-19-2007, 08:58 PM
RICHLAND!

RideMax is easy to use, just sign on and you will figure it out. If you want to see if first I could meet you, if not go ahead and log on. I would not recommend it on slow days but if you are going at a busy time of year and only have so much time, I highly recommend it. But I will say, although we have used it it was not busy at all when we were there last, the lines were less than 1/2 hour at the busiest time of the day, so I would not be able to say how accurate it was, but the big plus to me was that it showed me what lines would be the busiest cuz you could keep playing with it and making all kinds of different stradagies. Also it was very helpful to me to have what times to send a runner over to get fast passes. Without the schedule I would have forgot to run for fast passes, even if I did not keep up with the agenda I remembered the fast passes so that when the lines were long we still could walk right up and get on since we had our fast pass.

Hope to meet you soon. I will be there in 2 1/2 weeks and I can't wait.

Do you mind me asking are you a school teacher?

E-ORLover
06-20-2007, 08:06 AM
How many of you have used this? Would you recommend it? What are your experiences with it?My family plans on being @ Disneyland from July 18-July 20 with a three day hopper pass. There are two boys ages 5 and 9, and the less time spent in lines the better (especially with the 5yr old). My oldest told me he wants to do everything (my response was who doesn't:))

MermaidHair
06-20-2007, 08:14 AM
Here are some links to Ridmax threads I found using Search:

Ridemax (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=67913&highlight=ridemax)

Ridemax #2 (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=70576&highlight=ridemax)

Ridemax with kids (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=68286&highlight=ridemax)

A number of people here really seem to like it. I am looking forward to using it for my trip in August.

SeansMom
06-20-2007, 08:57 AM
We've used RideMax twice and loved it. It DID shorten line waits. I didn't follow the plan always, but I'll say this: If you break your day into morning and afternoon, and do a plan for each, it works better IMO. Also, I did multiple plans, because it's hard to say if your kids will love a ride or not.
If you use RideMax, get PS for some meals, and don't push too hard, you should still have a great time, even with the heat and crowds.

mistofviolets
06-20-2007, 09:34 AM
We did ridemax, and I printed up several itineraries so we could still "hang loose". My dh and older dd would take off with one, and youngest and I would do another, meeting up again after a few rides. My kids *loved* playing with the software beforehand, building their own itineraries. For rides we *had* to go one, but didn't like our anticipated line waits, we put that in and said ride 12 times or something like that, and then chosed the shortest wait timeframe.

We could have had fun without ridemax, but, I think its a better investment than the guidebook! Just having an idea of where it would be least crowded was very helpful in avoiding that sense of overwhelm when you walk through the gates the first time.

Tell oldest to just have fun, and anything you don't do is just another reason to come back soon!

E-ORLover
06-20-2007, 09:40 AM
Thank you for the responses. I have another question, can ridemax be used for DCA as well?

mistofviolets
06-20-2007, 10:09 AM
Thank you for the responses. I have another question, can ridemax be used for DCA as well?

Yes! :)

Leap for Joy
06-24-2007, 10:12 AM
... I'll say this: If you break your day into morning and afternoon, and do a plan for each, it works better IMO.
Did you accomplish this by forcing a long afternoon break, or by choosing to get in line for your last ride at an early time? We usually do it as an afternoon break to allow for late fastpass use.

SeansMom
06-24-2007, 10:23 AM
Did you accomplish this by forcing a long afternoon break, or by choosing to get in line for your last ride at an early time? We usually do it as an afternoon break to allow for late fastpass use.


No, I put in that we'd be ENTERING the park at 2:00, for example, and then put in what rides we wanted to go on. It seemed to work better for planning. We also ran some programs on the SLOW mode, knowing we'd want more time in some areas.

I orginally divided the park up into sections for the person in our party who has some mobility issues, but we still ended up criss-crossing DL and then back and forth between parks. Next time, I think I'd stick to total immersion in sections of the park, say, NOS, CC, and FL, with plans to eat and see the shows in that area. Even though we've been many times, I still haven't seen all the shops and shows because we get so busy doing rides.

Leap for Joy
06-25-2007, 05:42 AM
Thanks SeansMom, that sounds like an interesting way to approach it.

partyoffive
07-28-2007, 06:27 PM
Ok, so maybe this is a stupid question, but I have no idea what the Ridemax system is and I am very curious about it. Can someone tell me what it is and how it works! Thanks -

mistofviolets
07-28-2007, 06:34 PM
ridemax.com :)

There is a small fee to download; then you tell it things like when you're going and what times you'll arrive/leave...what you want to go on (it has a list) and it comes up with a schedule of lowest line wait times.

CamCay
07-28-2007, 08:08 PM
i got it two years in a row and it was always accurate regarding wait times and which time of day you should ride a particular ride for the shortest wait times, i will download it again for our next trip.

stan4d_steph
07-29-2007, 04:49 AM
Ok, so maybe this is a stupid question, but I have no idea what the Ridemax system is and I am very curious about it. Can someone tell me what it is and how it works!I have merged your thread with a similar thread. See above for responses.

Rapunzelthorn
07-29-2007, 09:53 AM
Approximately how much is the fee?

Leap for Joy
07-29-2007, 10:04 AM
Approximately how much is the fee?

Here's the link to the site: ridemax.com (http://www.ridemax.com/)
For the Disneyland version, a 90-day subscription is $14.95 and a one-year subscription is $24.95. The WDW version is a bit more.

Mickeygirlforever
07-29-2007, 08:47 PM
We go to Disneyland often (2 times a year, not like everyone else that goes one a week!!!), but we were wondering if it's worth the fee to use it or if it's more helpful to those that don't go that often or are new to Disneyland. Is it benefitial for me to use??

PrincessLeia
07-31-2007, 05:24 PM
I think Ridemax is a great investment of $15 to have a plan. We have used Ridemax several times during busy (Christmas) and less so (October). We are also non-APers.

Once you use it for a few trips, you may get the hang of the timing and not need it. But I think it's worth it.

I also echo the suggestion to make several priority seating reservations. You can make multiple reservations at the same/similar time so you have options throughout the day and don't end up only eating from the churro and corn dog carts (which isn't so bad though, is it?). We always make several PS reservations, but always seem to always choose Napoli in DTD.
have fun.