RideMax Questions and Advice on Parks About This Page:

[theidyllmouse]

At Disney World, I am a huge fan of TourGuideMIKE’s Automated Vacation Planner , and always use it when planning my trips relying on it to tell me what day is the least crowded for each park, what order to do rides in to avoid wait times, etc.etc. I was really nervous about what to do at Disneyland till I read about RideMax in my trusty Passporter-I was thrilled to find it- Went to the RideMax site to buy and download it, but it said
In general, we recommend using Ride Max as close to the date(s) of your visit as possible. We normally make touring itineraries available 2-4 weeks in advance. So if you are planning a visit for the beginning of July, for example, you should be able to use RideMax starting in early-to-mid-June to create your itineraries.


BUT there are things I know I need to plan now- For instance, I want to do the dessert buffet that was so highly rated by Jennifer and Dave for Fantasmic-and my Passporter says you have to call exactly 30 days in advance at8 am… SOOOO I guess I am wondering if anyone has used this RideMax- If you have any advice for which parks to do which days, etc… I am taking my six year old for her birthday for a surprise for her first- ever trip to Disneyland- We will be there arriving the night of June 28 and leaving the morning of July 2nd…
Thank for any help and advice you all can lend!

[raftislander]

You have to adjust your thinking slightly from WDW to DL/DCA. I just planned a vacation for WDW with TGM and thought his advice was terrific, but not all of his principles carry over to DL/DCA. First DTD and the parks in SoCal are so close together, everything is walkable. It is very easy to park hop back and forth in a single day, so get park hoppers. Secondly, there are only two parks. DL will always be more crowded that DCA. DL opens first and usually an hour or two before DCA, which normally opens at 10 am. If you are eligible for early entry - Early Magic hours - it will be at DL for one hour and it occurs on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. During EMH, certain portions of DL open one hour earlier; its mostly Fantasyland with some Tommorowland thrown in. It is a good time to get Fantasyland rides done if you are eligible for EMH. If you are not eligible for EMH entry then seeing the fireworks or Fantasmic late the night before and sleeping in the next morning and just planning to be at DCA for its 10 am opening is a good plan. If you want to get a lot done, get up early and be at the parks when they open. Many visitors are locals with annual passes who come just for the day or just for a few hours. It gets busier through the day. As you can expect, weekends and holidays are busier than weekdays and summer is busier than when school is in session. You have managed to miss two VERY crowded weekends, slipping in between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, but you should still expect crowds. As for the fireworks, they get cancelled frequently due to winds. The park is in the middle of a city and not isolated like it is in Florida. So try to see the fireworks early in your stay in case you have to regroup/adjust due to a cancellation. The fireworks at DL are great. Fantasmic's pyrotechnics are smaller and stay closer to the ground so it does not get cancelled as frequently. Fantasmic does not have a theater like DHS. People line up around the Rivers of America to watch. I see that you are trying to get into the dessert buffet. That will provide you a place to watch from, but dont despair if you don't mange to get in. Since you have a little one, you might want to stake out a spot earlier that will assure her a good viewpoint. You dont say where you are staying. You should have nice weather in late June so get up early, hit the parks then, if your hotel is close, take a break and go take a swim. If you dont want a break, walk over to DCA when things get too crowded at DL The Fastpass systems in the two parks are not connected so you can collect fast passes from both parks. There are lots of threads about the rides and the difference in the rides between WDW and DL/DCA so I won't go into to that. I must say, however, that you should not miss the Aladdin show at the Hyperion Theater at DCA. It is like a 45 minute Broadway show. Fabulous!

[Tink and co.]

I, too, am a big fan of Tour Guide Mike for WDW, but that kind of thing just isn't necessary for DL.
Things to know, weekends are always busier, Disneyland always more crowded than DCA. Collect fastpasses all day as you would at WDW (often not necessary during the week). You can have them at both parks at the same time.
My suggestions, use at least one of your early entries for Fantasyland, starting with Peter Pan and/or Dumbo. There are no fastpasses as in WDW, and Fantasyland gets crazy crowded later in the day.
Most importantly, don't panic. You've got plenty of time to do and see everything (probably more than once).
As for the buffet, I'd just pick a night that sounds good and plan around that. We're more likely to spend the early morning at DL, hop over to DCA at opening (straight to Toy Story these days), and then back over to DL in the evening. Sometimes with a rest at the hotel in between DCA and DL.
Nothing against Ridemax at all, but it will have you back and forth across the park in between each attraction and not really able to enjoy the atmosphere of each "land" or area. So, it depends on what type of touring you want to do.

[theidyllmouse]

My goodness have you both been beyond helpful AND made me feel better about the planning thing- THANK YOU! By the way, sorry tohave omitted... am staying at DGC- Special trip for a special little girl:>) And the first time I have been back to Disneyland since I was 7.... My one big thing left now is finding a great place for my German Shepherd while we are at Disney-

[WeatherTed]

Originally Posted by theidyllmouse

My one big thing left now is finding a great place for my German Shepherd while we are at Disney-

We were just there earlier this month and noticed a large dog kennel walking out of DL. I believe it was located near the exit by the baggage check-in. You can't miss it.

[raftislander]

Idyllmouse, you should have a fabulous stay at the GC. It has its own entrance into DCA so you can hit DL early in the morning pick up some fastpasses and then cross over into DCA pick up some fastpasses and head into your hotel for a break. As far as fastpasses go, please take note that attractions that have FPs at WDW may not have them here. No FP for Peter Pan or Toy Story Mania for example. Also know that the Roger Rabbit Ride in Toontown(DL) is not connected to the rest of the fast pass system in that park. You can pull a fast pass for another ride and immediately pull one for this ride too. Same thing with Grizzy River Run in DCA- not connected with the rest of the system. Your original post asked about RideMax. I have heard good things about that program for DL/DCA. I don't think that you need to buy it to have a sucessful trip, but it also isn't very expensive. Most posters seem pretty happy with it. If you want the 30 day moneyback guarantee to mean anything though, you need to wait and purchase it so that the 30 days expires after you return from your trip. Another suggestion for research is to get an Unofficial Guide from your library. While his touring plans are pretty commando (especially if you have a six year old in tow) he gives great information about the loading speed of the various rides. The rides with limited capacity and slow loading speeds develop long agonizing lines(e.g. Dumbo, Nemo Submarines). So while PotC is an extremely popular ride with many age groups, it is a fast loader with a large capacity and can handle a crowd much better than Dumbo which has limited appeal. As there are several rides in DL (especially Fantasyland) that are not in WDW, it might help you make better decisions as to which ride to do first. If you love the planning aspect of your Disney trips and can't find anough things to plan for your trip to DL/DCA remember that DL is a park with a long history and that Walt has his fingerprints all over this park. Research some of the history of the park, you will enjoy your trip there all the more.

[crazydisney]

I am a fan of ridemax and will use it again when we go to DL in August. It was very helpful to us and made our wait times almost non-exsitant (less than 10 -15 minutes) while others we spoke to were waiting 90 minutes or more for some rides. Granted we went at the busiest time of the year and will be there when it is very busy again. Ridemax also has a great tip section. It is very inexpensive and worht every penny.

[theidyllmouse]

Thanks for the tips- Please keep any and all coming :>) I will keep checking back- Everyone is so helpful- I appreciate it-