RideMax Users Thread (FAQs Linked in First Post!)

[bellebookworm9]

Assuming the schedules remain similiar the week before our trip, RideMax has spit out the perfect touring plan (for us!) at Hollywood Studios!

We will be doing Jedi Training first and then during the rest of the day see/do:
TSM 2x to 4x
Indiana Jones
Beauty & the Beast
Parade
Lights, Motors, Action
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Magic of Disney Animation
HISTK playground (I'd rather cut this out for more Character time though)
Fantasmic
Lunch at Sci-Fi Dine-In

Only, it has scheduled us to line up for Fantasmic only 45 minutes before the show. For mid-September, is that enough line-up time to make sure we will get in the stadium/theatre?

Are you going to the late show/early show? When we went in May, it told me to be there 65 minutes early for the early show (9pm). I arrived super early around 7:15, so obviously got a great seat. Either way, it should be enough time, but if you have free time and want to play around with it, it probably wouldn't hurt to arrive a little earlier especially for the earlier show.

 

[lroger01]

MurphyJoe,
RideMax plans are designed to fit exactly what you want to see, in the time you have to see it. You really have to look at the ride wait times and determine if the times are acceptable to you. If not then you play around with your plan. Maybe delete some attractions, lengthen the time you spend at the park, take fewer breaks, or whatever.

If you really want to ride Dumbo first then make a simple park plan that starts at opening, has 3 attractions (Dumbo and two minor ones) and ends about 60 to 90 minutes later. In the plan that comes up, look and see when Ridemax says you'll be done riding Dumbo. Then make a second plan that starts at opening with a break in Fantasyland that ends at the end of Dumbo time. Put the rest of your attractions in this plan along with any other breaks, and you should end up with a forced-Dumbo first RideMax plan!

 

[LizEN]

I've monkeyed around with my RideMax plan for AK and as some have mentioned, it tends to put KS later in the day. In the Sept heat, I was thinking to start the plan later and just head to KS directly at rope drop so we see the most animals possible.

My question is, when does the first tour leave after rope drop and what time makes sense to start the RideMax plan? Right now I have us set to start a plan at 9:40am, but am thinking that's too early...

 

[DaniB]

Assuming the schedules remain similiar the week before our trip, RideMax has spit out the perfect touring plan (for us!) at Hollywood Studios!

We will be doing Jedi Training first and then during the rest of the day see/do:
TSM 2x to 4x
Indiana Jones
Beauty & the Beast
Parade
Lights, Motors, Action
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Magic of Disney Animation
HISTK playground (I'd rather cut this out for more Character time though)
Fantasmic
Lunch at Sci-Fi Dine-In

Only, it has scheduled us to line up for Fantasmic only 45 minutes before the show. For mid-September, is that enough line-up time to make sure we will get in the stadium/theatre?

Are you going to the late show/early show? When we went in May, it told me to be there 65 minutes early for the early show (9pm). I arrived super early around 7:15, so obviously got a great seat. Either way, it should be enough time, but if you have free time and want to play around with it, it probably wouldn't hurt to arrive a little earlier especially for the earlier show.

Thanks for replying Belle. So far it's only listing the early show for us.

I'm trying to play around with RideMax to come up with a bit more time before Fantasmic, but it's hard. I cut out a lot of "maybe if there's time" attractions as well. The above list is everything we really, really want to do/see.

 

[DaniB]

I've monkeyed around with my RideMax plan for AK and as some have mentioned, it tends to put KS later in the day. In the Sept heat, I was thinking to start the plan later and just head to KS directly at rope drop so we see the most animals possible.

My question is, when does the first tour leave after rope drop and what time makes sense to start the RideMax plan? Right now I have us set to start a plan at 9:40am, but am thinking that's too early...

We will be at Tusker House for 8am on an morning EMH. So to fix KS as our first ride, I ended up putting a break at 9:05-10:05 for KS and Pangani Trail.

Then I had to play around with RM more as it kept putting KRR at the end of the day. I would like to have time to dry off before our Boma and P&PF Voyage though. I finally have a plan that has KRR right after our "break" at 10:15. We're going in September.

I keep reading a lot of people saying AK and DHS can be "done" in less than a day. However I found it hard to set up a schedule with all the different show times... Ended up with only KS, PT, KRR, MJT, FN, Boneyard, DI Trails, and FOTLK. I guess because we have to leave early for our Boma ressie.

I THOUGHT the parade would be at 3:00 PM like MK and now we won't be able to see it...

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Is that morning at the MK an EMH morning?

Yes, the morning I am scheduling is an AM EMH and we are planning to arrive before 8am for the EMH. I've been playing around with this a lot and some of the plans do give me Dumbo first, but others don't. It just seemed a little strange given that tip #1 on the itinerary is "The reason Dumbo is the first attraction on your plan is that the ride can get very busy early in the day" even on itineraries when they don't list Dumbo first.

 

[LizEN]

Wondering if you think they will add in the MSEP dates for September? How far ahead is Disney posting these?

Thanks for any help. I had just put together my plan for Sept the day before they announced the extension!

 

[Mr.Toad's Revenge]

I have used RM many times for WDW and will be using it for the first time for my first DL trip. I noticed there were no show and parade options for the DL version. Where can I view the current show and parade times? I have made several plans that give a 3 to 4 hour break in the afternoon, is it worthwhile to go to DCA for this time or are the crowds similar during these times?

 

[Delilah1310]

Quick question about timing character meals --
I'm thinking for the early breakfast ones, I'm okay with blocking out an hour.
But for the lunch times, I'm thinking things might get a little backed up, just with other diners taking thier time, etc. -- should I schedule 2 hours for these?

How do you determine how long a character meal will take?
(clearly, we've never been before! )

thanks!

 

[bellebookworm9]

Quick question about timing character meals --
I'm thinking for the early breakfast ones, I'm okay with blocking out an hour.
But for the lunch times, I'm thinking things might get a little backed up, just with other diners taking thier time, etc. -- should I schedule 2 hours for these?

How do you determine how long a character meal will take?
(clearly, we've never been before! )

thanks!

We did one character breakfast at Crystal Palace, and an hour was enough. We got out right at 9. We didn't do any character lunches, but we did do some other sit down lunches at Liberty Tree Tavern, Le Cellier, and 50's Prime Time Cafe, which I scheduled 90 minutes for. I found this to be more than enough time in all cases. Then again, we were 2 adults who shared each meal, and didn't really take a long time to eat.

 

[tpettie]

Quick question about timing character meals --
I'm thinking for the early breakfast ones, I'm okay with blocking out an hour.
But for the lunch times, I'm thinking things might get a little backed up, just with other diners taking thier time, etc. -- should I schedule 2 hours for these?

How do you determine how long a character meal will take?
(clearly, we've never been before! )

thanks!

We had done character dinning at Crystal Palace for lunch 90min is alway been good for us.

have a great first trip

 

[momsavealot]

This is the first trip that I'm going with Ridemax and I'm greatly concerned with the amount of time it gives me before parades and shows. Only 15 min. before the AK parade and only 8 min. before the Flights of Wonder show?? Has ANYONE out there used Ridemax and agreed with the suggested wait times before parades and shows? I am having trouble trusting Ridemax.

 

[bellebookworm9]

This is the first trip that I'm going with Ridemax and I'm greatly concerned with the amount of time it gives me before parades and shows. Only 15 min. before the AK parade and only 8 min. before the Flights of Wonder show?? Has ANYONE out there used Ridemax and agreed with the suggested wait times before parades and shows? I am having trouble trusting Ridemax.

I think we arrived a little before the 8 minutes suggested for the Flights of Wonder. We had free time between Kali River Rapids and it, so we shopped for a few minutes and then arrived at the time suggested on Ride Max's website when you click on "tips & Hints" in the program. I think it was 15-20 minutes early. We also went to the 10am show, I'm not sure if it gets busier later. There was plenty of seating, but we chose to sit on the bleachers in the back, which were almost empty. I haven't done the parade, but if you listen to RideMax's tip about watching it when it doubles back through Africa when there's barely anybody there. I came through a shop near the oasis while it was happening and if I had wanted to watch it I could have, as the crowd wasn't that thick.

 

[siropa]

It is a little hard to fully trust ridemax the first time you use it. but as hard as it is to believe, it really does work out like the program says. I've used it on two trips now during really busy times (4th and easter) and it was spot on. I didn't see those particular shows these times, but try to trust it.

If you are still leery, you can build in a small break in the time right before they recommended you be waiting for the show in the area near by and get yourself there a bit earlier.

 

[Grandma4ever]

It is a little hard to fully trust ridemax the first time you use it. but as hard as it is to believe, it really does work out like the program says. I've used it on two trips now during really busy times (4th and easter) and it was spot on. I didn't see those particular shows these times, but try to trust it.

If you are still leery, you can build in a small break in the time right before they recommended you be waiting for the show in the area near by and get yourself there a bit earlier.

I used it in July and it was right on. The only time I had any regrets was when we decided to NOT follow it. Always messed it up. I will use Ridemax again the next time I go.

 

[2BEKs]

new RideMax user here! this is our first trip, so obviously 1st time using RideMax too... I'm nervous to trust it, but know that something may be better than nothing

Question - how do you all carry your plan in the park??

Thanks!

 

[siropa]

I cut 'n pasted my data for each day into excel. I then added some extra stuff like ADR numbers and park hours and shrunk it down to print out around 3x5 size. laminated the printout and carry it along. On the back side I print out some general times for what the waits should be around the whole day. that way if we decide to make some changes on the fly, we can know what the expected waits would be at whatever time it is.

 

[LizEN]

Anyone chosen to use both? If so, did Mobile Magic help? I was thinking of getting it to check on FP availability so I don't waste time crossing the park if they've run out, or if there's only a 5 minute wait (did this in DL last year and was really angry about all the extra running around).

We're going Sept 4-12 if that makes a difference to the answer.

I can't wait to get there!!!!!

 

[bellebookworm9]

new RideMax user here! this is our first trip, so obviously 1st time using RideMax too... I'm nervous to trust it, but know that something may be better than nothing

Question - how do you all carry your plan in the park??

Thanks!

I cut 'n pasted my data for each day into excel. I then added some extra stuff like ADR numbers and park hours and shrunk it down to print out around 3x5 size. laminated the printout and carry it along. On the back side I print out some general times for what the waits should be around the whole day. that way if we decide to make some changes on the fly, we can know what the expected waits would be at whatever time it is.

I did something similar. I typed it up in Excel then printed it up on a regular size sheet of paper, which I then folded up and put in the pouch on my lanyard to keep it handy.

 

[JarrothsMom]

I am ready for November to come out! It is driving me cuh ray zee
How much longer do I have to wait? It is sitting here on my computer...I look and play with other dates..BUT i wannt mine NOW!