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I would not go to Disneyland without Ridemax.* I would not even go to Disneyland without Ridemax if someone else were paying. Not everyone will like Ridemax. For some people, vacations and regimentation are simply opposites that cannot be reconciled. Not me. The planning of the vacation is more fun to me than the vacation.
I don’t worry about lack of spontaneity, I worry about standing in line. What’s spontaneous about standing in line? At Disneyland, if you don’t have a plan, you will stand in line. I haven’t discovered any ride I like so much that I would wait an hour for it. With Ridemax, you can ensure that you only ride when the lines are short. Ridemax tells you what to expect and then you can plan accordingly. For example, if the only time you are free to go to Disney California Adventure (DCA) is at 6:00 p.m.and you hope to ride Toy Story Mania at that time, you will have to wait in line for an hour. Because Ridemax is able to predict the wait for the date and time of day you hope to go, you can decide whether it’s worth it to you to go on that ride at that time.
Also, Ridemax’s predictive powers made splitting up our group much easier. With one part of the group determined to go on Tower of Terror and Mulholland Madness and the other desiring some nice kiddie rides, this was invaluable. I was able to predict what the wait would be on the kiddie rides that time of day and plan fun stuff for the 3 yr old to do while the others used up all the fastpasses.
Ridemax helped me to manage expectations. Our family was slow moving and needed to take a long afternoon break. Most nights we couldn’t stay in the park very late, because we wanted to be at the park very early the next morning to beat the crowds. Obviously, these constraints cut in to how many rides we could ride. Not only did Ridemax help us maximize the number of rides we could ride during our limited time in the park, it also helped me to understand how many rides we would realistically be riding. I could tell my family: “here’s what fits in the time we have today”–and that helped forestall possible disappointment.
Ridemax is written by people who understand the fastpass system and Disney strategy inside and out. Lots of people understand how important it is to get to the park thirty or forty minutes before it opens. But it is common for those same early arrivers to make the mistake of immediately proceeding to the ride they like the best: Space Mountain, for example, and to ride it while there is no waiting. Ridemax asks you to have a little faith and to do some counterintuitive things. Go to Space Mountain and pick up a fastpass even though there is no waiting. Don’t ride it! Why? Well, if you are also planning to go on Dumbo and Peter Pan (or some other popular yet low capacity rides for which there are no fastpasses) you should ride those first–you will then be free to use the fastpass at your leisure.
Caveat: It’s not perfect
While I would definitely buy Ridemax again, it isn’t a perfect program. There are several ways in which the program could be more sophisticated. On the other hand, it costs $15 for a part year subscription, and I wouldn’t want to pay more than that, so how much sophistication can I reasonably hope for?
One thing to understand is that planning your visit to Disneyland with Ridemax will require a little time and trial and error. (If you are a planner, this process is interesting and fun. If you’re not a planner–well, your effort will be rewarded when you don’t have to stand around waiting in the heat.) You probably won’t use the first itinerary you come up with. You will want to make several different itineraries to learn what fits and what doesn’t and to see what tweaks–adding a ride here, or subtracting one there–will make your plans work better. This is especially true if you plan to visit Disneyland and DCA over several days, because it will make more sense to plan certain rides for different days. There are some days that are better for visiting Toontown and some that are better for visiting California Adventure, etc. Also, you probably wouldn’t want to try to ride Peter Pan and Finding Nemo the same day. These things become more obvious as you play with your itineraries.
One obvious problem is that Ridemax doesn’t currently let you schedule shows or parades at Disneyland (they just added this functionality for Disneyworld) into your day. You can schedule two breaks, but that many not be enough when all meals, shows, parades, etc. are considered. I found that the best way of handling breaks or trying to find time to see the shows was to simply select all the rides we wanted to go on, but omit the breaks. If my schedule didn’t end up with natural gaps in it, that meant I had too many rides scheduled. The truth is, the best time to see the shows is during the afternoon when it is hot and the rides are very crowded. Ridemax automatically tends to leave gaps in your schedule during this time because it is the worst time to ride the rides anyway.
Don’t forget that you can create as many itineraries as you need. This is useful not just for envisioning what your day will be like if you enter at 8:00 vs. 8:15 (it’s very different!), but also if you want to parkhop. Simply start your itinerary at the other park at the time you plan to be there and then you will know what to expect in terms of lines and fastpass return times when you arrive. Also, if you end your first itinerary early, to eat dinner or see fireworks, you can then make another itinerary that starts after dinner ends and continues until the time you’ve chosen to leave. Also, if you want to go on Space Mountain three times, just add it to your list of desired rides three times. Ridemax will calculate the most time efficient way for you to satisfy this desire.
Ridemax is not as flexible as would be ideal. For example, there isn’t a way to schedule time for the second parent to ride if you are doing a parent switch in which one parent rides with older children while the other parent waits with the younger (or shorter) child. This isn’t a game ender, even if you plan to do lots of parent switches. You have a few options: plan to use the parent switch fastpass at the beginning or end of your breaks, or have one parent use the fastpass while the other parent takes the other children to the next ride on schedule (with the parent using the fastpass skipping that ride).
Another area in which the program seemed to lack flexibility was in scheduling the runner. Ridemax allows you to indicate that you will be using a runner, someone who is willing to run to another location with the groups’ entry tickets in order to get fastpasses for everyone. Having a runner saves a lot of time. It saves even more time, however, if the runner is okay with the rest of the group going on a ride while the runner gets the fastpasses. However, Ridemax always assumes that the group will wait at the next ride until the runner gets there. If the runner is the Space Mountain person in the family, and everyone else is just standing there waiting and watching the line for Dumbo build, that doesn’t make sense. However, this is another problem that is easy to overcome: just ignore the fact that Ridemax thinks you will wait for the runner and go ahead and get on the ride. The great thing about Ridemax is that you have the rides you plan to go on all mapped out and a predicted time for each one–this makes it much easier to plan how and when you will reunite with your runner (although you will still want your cellphone!)
Thanks to MaryAnn and Sharon whose blogs convinced me to fork over the money for the program. It seemed like an expensive luxury for a single Disney visit at the time, but now I understand that it was an investment in getting full enjoyment out of my parkhopper pass (I did). If you are interested in other positive comments from the web about Ridemax, see here and here.
Look here for more tips on how to get the most out of Ridemax (very helpful). Negative reviews of ridemax are here and here . I think these reviews are mistaken on several points. For each problem they raise, there is either a good response, or at minimum, a reasonably effective workaround. If you have questions about Ridemax or about the points made in the negative reviews, please raise them and I’ll try to answer below.
*I am not affiliated with Ridemax in any way. I paid full price for my use of the program, and I have not received any financial or other advantage from reviewing it here.
My Disneyland tips (and cute kid pictures):
#1: PLAN & RESEARCH. Disneyland can be a hot, crowded and futile experience or a pleasant one. There’s a place for spontaneity in vacations, but Disneyland is not that place. Disneyland rewards the planner.
- The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland is awesome. It is worth the money to buy the current guide.
- Ridemax software is even more awesome than the Unofficial Guide. I wondered if it made sense to purchase Ridemax after I’d already bought the Unofficial Guide. Yes! You do have to play with the program and learn its quirks, but if you are willing to do that it will transform your trip. I would not consider going to Disneyland again without using Ridemax. Thanks Sharon & MaryAnn for this awesome suggestion!
It is true. Disneyland is not for 3 year olds. It isn’t torture for them either [well, attending It's tough to be a bug unprepared might qualify]. But if you don’t have older children, wait. I think six is probably the minimum age that makes sense if you don’t have older children or aren’t a huge Disney fan yourself.
Kate on King Arthur's Carousel
If you can afford it, it is wonderful to stay in a suite rather than a standard hotel room. We saved money on food and were more comfortable with a kitchen and it was wonderful to have a bedroom for the kids to nap or sleep in while we stayed in another room.
Leaving the park in the middle of the day for lunch and naps is the great idea that everyone says it is. If you have children younger than 10, it is probably a must. But budget lots of time! Unless you are staying within short walking distance of Disneyland it will take a long time to leave and return. (And the problem with getting a suite is that in general the hotels with nice family suites are further from the park entrance). It doesn’t matter whether you’re riding the ART shuttles or the shuttle to the parking garage. It will take a while. And your children might take a while to settle in their beds for a nap. To avoid disappointment, alot plenty of time! 1-4:30 or even 5:00 p.m. is realistic.
Having tried both the ART shuttles and parking at the park, if the price is about the same– it was for us– I recommend taking the ART shuttle. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, but you will have to wait and have a few hassles either way. I thought that both the ART and the Disney parking were pretty impressive given how many people there were.
The fact that long afternoon breaks are such a good idea also makes getting a multiday pass a very good idea. We were lucky to have 5 day passes and I was really glad. The difference in cost between a 3 day pass and a 5 day pass is not large. The big expense comes in paying for that many more days of lodging and food.
- Last Shuttle Ride; Amelia waves goodbye to Disneyland
Unfortunately, visiting Disneyland is really expensive. But, I think we covered the park so thoroughly with our multi-day pass we won’t need to return for 5 years.
Do take bottled water. My friend Amanda recommended this. The water in Anaheim isn’t the best. Even if you are okay with that, keep in mind that picky children may balk. Also, you don’t want to spend your precious time at the park searching for fountains. Buying water at the park is crazy–each bottle costs $$. Staying hydrated is a must though, because it will probably be hot and you will be walking a lot. You could buy bottled water at a local grocery store, but remember California has a bottle deposit, so you might want to bring your water from home.
Look for two more posts about Disneyland coming up: one devoted to Ridemax software exclusively (I grew to love that program!) and one more focused on our Disneyland favorites and experiences (include more cute kid pics, of course).
Pretty! But there’s no place like home. (I’m pretending I didn’t see that [final? fingers crossed] display of snow and cold).
We have popcorn popping on the apricot tree:
Popcorn popping on the apricot tree
and daffodils and hyacinths:
Could someone tell me why I didn’t plant more bulbs? I need better follow-through. I keep buying bulbs and then not planting them! That’s an expensive mistake and a sad one, when I see these and think there could have been more . . .
Having fun at Disneyland before the flu
Are you familiar with the debate about price-gouging laws? An anti-price-gouging law is one that seeks to prevent people from taking advantage of others during an emergency. For example, in the aftermath of a disaster, should a business be able to triple, quadruple or octuple the price of water, ice, or batteries? If people need water badly enough, they will pay almost anything for it. It makes us angry to see someone callously profiting from someone else’s distress. It just seems deeply, deeply wrong. That is why these laws exist. Economists tell us, however, that these laws are not a good idea. Profit is powerful motive. If profit convinces a shopowner to move heaven and earth to have ice shipped in–despite all the associated difficulties and hardship in a time of emergency–because he will then reap a fat profit, then, the argument goes, many will benefit. There will be more total ice available. We want extortionately priced ice in our time of need, because the regular cost ice will have already been sold or will not be available at all. Anti-price gouging laws result in fewer necessities being made available to the people for whom they are necessary.
We had a little experience with these concepts this weekend. Returning from Disneyland, Amelia suddenly came down with stomach flu (AGAIN–it just won’t leave our family alone) and was sick. Our minivan was significantly um, impacted. What do you do at 10:00 p.m. on a Saturday night upon arriving in a city where you don’t know anyone (St. George, UT) and you have a difficult cleaning job ahead of you? Accessing water and/or electricity would be difficult and we didn’t have any of the appropriate cleaning supplies. I tried to think about what we could buy at Walmart to help, but our lack of access to water and electricity was an obvious limitation. It felt hopeless. (I had unpleasant visions of being the driver of a stained and stinky minivan for the next ten years–never mind the 4+ hours we would have to drive to get home). But Pdad is never without hope. While I told him that it was a waste of time to call the local car detailing places because they simply aren’t open that time of night, he called anyway. No luck, it seemed. But then someone called him back and made an offer–drive out to Hurricane (improbably pronounced Her-i-ken), pay me $150 in cash, and I will fix it for you. To put this in perspective, our local car detailing place would have done all the upholstery in the entire car for $25. Since the entire car was packed with vacation junk, we only wanted one seat done. But–it was Saturday night, it was late, and the guy already knew that vomit was involved. Sold for $150! I think it may be some of the best money we’ve ever spent.
We’re going to Disneyland. I’ve already gotten some great tips, but I would like to hear even more. Please share your wisdom born of experience. What would you do differently? What did you do that worked out really well? I am especially interested in advice from people who took both younger and older children to Disneyland. Did you split up and have one adult go with the older child(ren) and another stay with the younger children? Did you do lots of switching off? How did you prepare younger children for the potentially frightening rides? Also, what did you carry with you into Disneyland and how did you carry it? Water, chapstick, ponchos? In a purse, a backpack, a waistpack?
The weather, a few hours after our unsuccessful campground hunting odyssey
I had a nice day today. It was a surprise.
At the beginning of the summer, I’d planned to be on vacation this week. But at the last minute, Pdad’s week of vacation time became a day of vacation time (!) (I shouldn’t complain—his company has always been generous with vacation time. But if I never complained when I shouldn’t, I would be a better person than I am so far.)
Although I hadn’t done the advance planning that I like to do, I was hoping to salvage our plans with a last minute weekend camping trip. Yes, a lot of the sites were reserved, but there are also the first come, first serve sites, right? Um, not really. Although I hurried and drove up there on the ranger’s explanation that the campgrounds would probably fill up about late afternoon on Thursday, I was sorry to discover that in fact they were full already. Apparently, communication between the campgrounds and the rangers is poor. To learn which campgrounds have tent sites available, you must drive to each campground and locate the camp host. So my thought of hurrying up there to nab a spot? Well, it turned into a three hour round trip as we made our way to each campground in succession, finding no luck in the end.
However, it was a very nice ride. I was pleased with myself for having done it as I am such a timid driver. It was an accomplishment. The scenery was gorgeous. I surprised myself by being able to enjoy it even though I was busy trying not to fall off the mountain and not hit other cars, and even though I was having no luck getting a camping spot. Duncan and Kate were wonderfully well-dispositioned and surprisingly cheerful captive passengers and conversationalists (well, Duncan–kudos to Kate for sleeping). Best of all, next time, when I plan ahead, and make reservations well in advance, I know just which campground I will pick. Granite Flat sits just above a pretty turquoise reservoir, and I am already enjoying next summer’s trip in my mind.
Meanwhile, I arrived home just a couple of hours before the the thunder, the lightning, and the rain. I hadn’t checked the forecast when I hatched the last minute camping plan. I am not a fan of rain while camping! No worries though, because I am sleeping in my marvelously soft bed tonight. Yes, it has been a pleasant day.
So, Pdad and I were discussing if/where/when to go on vacation.
Duncan (overhearing) said: “I want to go back to Zion [National Park]! I want to go back to Zion! I want to go back to Zion!”
Pmom: “Well, maybe we should consider going back. Everyone liked it and Duncan has mentioned it several times.”
Pdad: “Duncan, what did you like about Zion so much? Was it the hikes we went on?”
Duncan: “I liked the things that were all lit up in the dark!”
Pdad: “Ohhh, yes. The stars were amazing weren’t they? We won’t forget that.”
Pmom: “Is Duncan talking about the stars we saw or is he describing the glow sticks we played with in our hotel room?
Duncan: “Yes! The glow sticks!”
Parents: “What else did you like?”
Duncan: “We went out to eat!”
Coming soon to a backyard near you: $5 worth of glow sticks, a quick trip to Burger King, and many vacation $$$ saved.
Okay, don’t try to tell me that our National Parks aren’t pretty. Or that point & shoot digital cameras don’t rock. People like me who know nothing can take nice pictures! Last, but not least of all, don’t try to tell me that broccoli aren’t little trees.
Okay, it is seriously disappointing to fall off the bandwagon on a new resolution so quickly. However, I will repent. On this sort of thing, I think it best just to do well going forward rather than trying to make things up, but this is a post-dated Today’s Gratitude post:
I am so thankful for my home. I am thankful to be home. I am thankful for the world’s most comfy bed and that that bed is mine! I am thankful that no one broke in to our home while we were gone. I am thankful that no pipes froze. I am thankful that our washing machine is operational (Pdad turned off the water before we left and forgot to tell me. I tried to attack the laundry mountain and nothing happened. I started seeing visions of $$$ in my head. Boy, was I relieved to discover what he had done.)
*****
Another post-dated trip gratitude post:
I am thankful that I did not throw up.
I am thankful that Kate threw up only once (although when she did, she got me good!)
I am thankful that Pdad threw up only once (he didn’t get me–but that is always a terrible sound to hear at 5 a.m.) That poor guy has vacation-induced illness every time.
Now let’s just hope that the fact that both of them threw up means that this isn’t some horrible food allergy or blockage on Kate’s part. If this turns out to be simply the flu (as I now suspect) then I am thankful for that. She vomited repeatedly last week. I ended up putting her back on breastmilk almost entirely for the remainder of our trip, just to be safe. I have got to get the girl on solids, or I will . . . I don’t know. Eat a cow. Many cows! She is making me hungry!
*****
Hey, a new topic for Today’s gratitude and this one isn’t post-dated! Happy 8 months, Kate! I am so thankful you made it here safely. I am so thankful for you. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father and Pdad encouraged me to make it three. I probably wouldn’t have done it on my own, but I’m so glad I did. I love you baby!
*****
Another post-dated trip gratitude post:
I am thankful that those buffalo showed up! I had read that where we were staying there would be buffalo. Amelia was not amused when she did not see any buffalo as promised. I’m sure that learning to cope with disappointment would have been good as well, but I was happy to see those guys show up.
*****
I am thankful for the beauty of the earth. One thing that a trip to Disneyland can’t offer is a reminder of the grandeur that our Heavenly Father has given us. What a beautiful world! I tend to be a very indoorish sort of person, but I felt a real reverence for his creations on this trip–canyon as cathedral–or something like that. I was able to realize how small, how very insignificant I am (Doesn’t Abraham say something about that like, “Man is nothing, which I had never before supposed? I need to look it up, but I also need to go to bed!), and how fleeting this life is, and feel wonder that he cares for me at the very same time.
Back on the wagon! See you tomorrow!
Today’s Gratitude
I am thankful that in our post 9/11 world, it is still possible to fly without identification. Pdad called me from the airport at 6 a.m. this morning to ask if his wallet was in his pants. Yep. I offered to throw the kids in the van and drive it up to him at the airport (an hour away). If you knew how I felt about driving, you would know that this was quite an offer. (He had a very important meeting). Anyway, Pdad determined that I wouldn’t be able to get there soon enough and he was still going to miss his flight.
In the end, he was somehow able to fly after all, though it necessitated going through extra security. Whew! Now he is in faraway city with no money,* and no ID. I do hope we’ll see him tomorrow. (*Well, okay, exing my tendency to hyperbole: he says he borrowed some from a coworker).