Re-Run Those RideMax Plans for DCA! Soarin’ Running at VERY Reduced Capacity

Disney California Adventure

This is something of an urgent post for those of you planning a visit to DCA in the near future — especially if your plans include a ride on Soarin’ Around the World. In fact, if prior to 9:00am PDT today you’ve created RideMax plans for DCA which include Soarin’, I strongly suggest you create new plans instead!

Disney has begun refurbishments on Soarin’, but rather than close the ride completely, they’re closing one of the two theaters, which effectively cuts the ride’s capacity in half. Rumors are that the refurbishment could run for several weeks.

As you can imagine, the reduced capacity has resulted in some very long waits for Soarin’ recently, as well as extremely reduced FastPass distribution.

We’ve been keeping a close eye on the FastPass return times at Soarin’ over the last several days. To illustrate just how much the refurbishment has impacted FastPass availability, take a look at the chart below, which indicates the latest time at which you could have pulled a FastPass for the three most popular rides in the park — Soarin’, Radiator Springs Racers, and Guardians of the Galaxy. The chart covers Thursday through Saturday of last week, as well as yesterday (Monday):

Latest FP Availability Soarin’ Radiator Springs Racers Guardians of the Galaxy
Thursday, 8/24 12:40pm 2:35pm 2:50pm
Friday, 8/25 12:55pm 2:30pm 5:25pm
Saturday, 8/26 1:25pm 2:50pm 5:00pm
Monday, 8/28 1:05pm 1:50pm 3:35pm

As you can see, FastPasses for Soarin’ are now running out earlier in the day than they are for either of the other two rides. (Contrast this with earlier in the month, when despite higher crowds, FastPasses for Soarin’ were typically available until early evening.)

As a result of these drastic changes to the wait times and FastPass availability, it’s very likely that once you re-run your RideMax plan, RideMax will have you either visiting Soarin’ earlier in the day, or getting that FastPass sooner than you might have otherwise.

Of course, we do plan to keep a close eye on the situation and adjust the RideMax estimates back to “normal” once the ride comes out of refurbishment.

So for now, re-run those RideMax plans — and stay tuned here for any updates as the refurbishment continues!

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblrmailFacebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblrmail

Why Your Favorite Disney Theme Park Touring Plan is Now Broken

Flight of Passage queue at Disney's Animal Kingdom

In case you haven’t noticed, even with the upcoming Star Wars attractions still many months away, there are a LOT of changes happening at Disney’s theme parks lately. And as a result, that “fool-proof” game plan you used to visit the parks several months ago is probably now broken.

Consider the changes that have occurred over just the past few months:

Continue reading “Why Your Favorite Disney Theme Park Touring Plan is Now Broken”

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblrmailFacebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblrmail

Walt Disney World Spring Break 2017? This ONE SIMPLE TIP Can Save You HOURS in Line!

 

Magic Kingdom Spring Break Crowds

OK, sorry for the sort of click-baity title this time, but if you’re visiting Walt Disney World for spring break this year, there is ONE THING I absolutely recommend doing to prepare for your visit.

As the author of RideMax (a planning tool designed to help people spend less time in line at Disneyland and Walt Disney World), I know you’re probably thinking, “Duhh… He’s going to tell me to buy RideMax.” And while I do recommend RideMax, you’d be wrong if you think that is my FIRST recommendation, as there is something else you absolutely have to do before leaving home if you don’t want to waste hours of your precious vacation time for nothing.

Continue reading “Walt Disney World Spring Break 2017? This ONE SIMPLE TIP Can Save You HOURS in Line!”

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblrmailFacebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblrmail

VIDEO REVIEW: Customer Tests RideMax at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure

Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland

I received a tweet recently from Chad, a RideMax customer who had just returned from vacation using RideMax at Disneyland and California Adventure.

Chad recorded his visit for YouTube, and was kind enough to share links to his videos, which I thought would be fun to share here. After all, it’s one thing to see my own RideMax Roulette reports, but quite another to see a video report like this from a “real customer.”

Here are Chad’s YouTube reports:

Disneyland with RideMax

Disney California Adventure with RideMax

(Disclaimer: Chad has no relationship with RideMax, other than that of an apparently happy customer.)

Enjoy!

 

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblrmailFacebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblrmail

NEW Magic Kingdom Opening Procedure

The Magic Kingdom debuted a new “pre-opening” welcome show yesterday, so I had to stop by and check it out. The new show replaces the railroad station welcome show that’s been a hallmark of the Magic Kingdom opening for many years now.

The new show takes place in front of Cinderella Castle now, rather than the area right after you enter the tapstiles at the front of the park.

Ferry Boat Arrival - Magic Kingdom Walt Disney World

I arrived early and hopped on the ferry boat. Above is the scene as we pulled into the Magic Kingdom at 8:00am sharp.

Continue reading “NEW Magic Kingdom Opening Procedure”

Facebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblrmailFacebooktwittergoogle_pluspinterestlinkedintumblrmail