RideMax Roulette at the Magic Kingdom: Twelve Random Attractions, Four Hours, One Plan!

As I’ve been working on RideMax, I’ve noticed that regardless of how many wait time statistics we gather, or how many Times Guides we collect, if I’m trying to learn how to improve RideMax, there is simply no substitute for simply taking a RideMax plan to the park and trying it to see how well it works.

So in that spirit, I thought it might be fun to choose a group of random attractions, plug them into RideMax, then take the resulting plan to the park.Β Liesle and I did just that yesterday at the Magic Kingdom, and I thought it would be fun to share our experience here.

The Magic Kingdom Plan: Four Hours, Twelve Attractions

I started this process by using a random number generator to select 12 Magic Kingdom attractions. I should say up front that the list wasn’t *completely* random (and I’ll share more about this in the comments if anyone is interested), but here is the list I used, in alphabetical order:

  • Barnstormer
  • it’s a small world
  • Jungle Cruise
  • PeopleMover
  • Peter Pan’s Flight (twice)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean (twice)
  • Snow White’s Scary Adventures
  • Splash Mountain
  • Tomorrowland Speedway (twice)

The options I chose in RideMax for this experiment were as follows:

  • Start time: 9:00am (park opening)
  • End time: 12:50pm
  • FastPass Runner mode “ON” (with the runner willing to skip any attraction)
  • “Water Rides” setting to warmer part of the day (10am-4pm)

Without further suspense, here is the plan RideMax came up with for our April 23rd visit:

RideMax Roulette at the Magic KingdomWith a total estimated wait of just 61 minutes (or roughly five minutes per attraction, on average), I thought this looked pretty decent. There is even a nice gap of “free time” that we could use for a lunch break!

Before I give the play-by-play (with pictures!) of our day at the Magic Kingdom, I’ll go ahead and share the overall actual results of our test:

  • Total Wait: 48 minutes
  • Average Wait: Four minutes per attraction.
  • Shortest Wait: 0 minutes (Tomorrowland Speedway, both visits)
  • Longest Wait: 9 minutes (Jungle Cruise)

The play-by-play account of our visit follows, and I’ll conclude with some thoughts I had on improvements to RideMax as a result of this trip to the park.

Ready… Set… GO!

Monorail GateWe begin our day at the monorail gate, waiting to board. It’s 8:33am. I know this is an exciting picture, the kind of thing most folks dream of when planning that Disney vacation. Save this one for the scrapbook!

Magic Kingdom EntranceOnce through the turnstiles, we wait near the left entrance for the park to open, while watching the opening ceremony. “Good Morning… Good Morning… to YOU (and you, and you and you)!”

Magic Kingdom Main Street USAWe’re walking down Main Street USA, just before 9:00am. Liesle volunteered to be the FastPass “runner” for the first FastPass on the plan, so she’s going to get our Peter Pan FastPasses, while I make my way to the first attraction on the list, the Tomorrowland Speedway.

Magic Kingdom TomorrowlandThe early-morning crowds are headed toward Space Mountain…

Magic Kingdom - Empty Tomorrowland…while I turn left after passing Stitch and move toward the Tomorrowland Speedway. I’m all by myself as I walk over here.

Tomorrowland Speedway - Magic KingdomI’m the very first rider for the day.

It’s 9:02am. Actual wait is 0 minutes, versus the 3 minutes on the RideMax plan. It’s a nice start — I’m slightly ahead of schedule.

Peter Pan FastPassMeanwhile, Liesle acts as our “runner” and grabs that Peter Pan FastPass (she didn’t care for *two* rides on the Speedway anyway πŸ™‚ ). The FastPass has a “ride window” of 9:40am-10:40am, which works well for our planned visit time of 9:56am.

Tomorrowland Speedway - Yellow CarI’m in the first car on the Speedway, taking in the fresh morning air!

Tomorrowland Speedway - Red CarLiesle joins me for the second ride on the Speedway. Red car this time! πŸ™‚

We entered the line for this second ride at 9:09am, and again we walked right on, for a wait of 0 minutes. This time the plan had an estimated wait of 5 minutes, so we’re even a bit more ahead of schedule now.

Dumbo Construction - Magic KingdomAfter exiting the Speedway, we’re still ahead of schedule, so on the way to the Barnstormer, I stop to take a picture of the construction on the second Dumbo.

Dumbo - Magic KingdomThe line for Dumbo is already starting to build. It’s 9:19am.

Barnstormer - Magic KingdomThe Barnstormer is next up on the plan. We arrive at 9:20 — 10 minutes early. We wait for 3 minutes, versus the 1 minute shown on the plan. This is the first time we’ve been on this attraction since the recent re-theming. I like the view from up here!

Dumbo QueueA view of the Dumbo queue from up high on the Barnstormer track.

Storybook Circus - ConstructionA view over the wall of the construction going on at Storybook Circus.

Dumbo IIDumbo as seen from the Barnstormer. Note the Fantasyland construction in the distance. It’s coming along!

Barnstormer - EmptyNo line here as we exit the ride. They’re sending this one out with empty seats.

Dumbo QueueIt’s 9:25am, and the line for Dumbo is already getting a little ridiculous!

Storybook Circus RestroomsWe’re still ahead of schedule, and now seems like a good time for a restroom break. The new restrooms here at Storybook Circus are nice.

Fantasyland Construction - Magic KingdomI stop to take a picture over the construction wall. Progress continues on the new Fantasyland!

It’s 9:34am, and next up, Liesle visits Snow White while I take my turn as “runner” and get the FastPasses for Splash Mountain. Liesle waits for a total wait of 8 minutes versus the 2 minute estimate on the RideMax plan. (I had the iPhone — with the camera — so we didn’t get a picture of Snow White. Sorry! πŸ™‚ )

Empty Splash Mountain

On my way over to get the Splash Mountain FastPasses, I notice there are empty seats on Splash. It’s pretty cool this morning — in the 60’s — so that may be contributing to the lack of crowds. I’m glad we used the RideMax option to visit this later in the morning when it should be warmer!

Empty Splash MountainNot much going on here at the Splash Mountain entrance. It’s 9:40am.

Splash Mountain FastPassI pick up our Splash Mountain FastPasses a few minutes earlier than shown on the plan.

Notice these “expire” at 11:20am, but our RideMax plan doesn’t have us scheduled to ride this until 11:26am, or AFTER the official window is over. That “GP 11:35” in the lower right corner indicates our “grace period” for these should allow us to ride until 11:35am, but we may still be cutting it close. I’m mentally prepared to adjust on the fly if necessary, but we’ll see…

it's a small world - Magic KingdomEven though our plan had me skipping both Snow White and “it’s a small world” while I ran for FastPasses, I was able to make it back before Liesle finished Snow White.

We entered the line for “small world” at 9:47am, and wait for 6 minutes versus the 0 minutes shown on the schedule. This puts us slightly behind schedule for Peter Pan, which is up next.

Peter Pan - Magic Kingdom(Sorry for the crummy picture. It’s just a phone, folks! Β πŸ™‚ )

We arrive with our FastPasses for Peter Pan at 10:08am, which is a bit later than the 9:56am time shown on the plan. We’re still well within the FastPass “ride window” though, so this goes smoothly. We wait for just 2 minutes, versus the 5 minute estimate.

Since we’re still running a bit behind schedule, I’m starting to worry just a little that we’ll end up waiting longer for the Jungle Cruise, which is next on the list…

Fantasyland RestroomsThat doesn’t prevent us from taking a quick break, though. Β πŸ™‚

Magic Kingdom SnackOn our way over to the Jungle Cruise, we also stop and grab our favorite trail mix at the fruit stand in Liberty Square. This is really good stuff, and helps tide us over until lunch!

Jungle Cruise EntranceWe arrive at the Jungle Cruise 8 minutes later than the time shown on our plan, but the estimated wait is still just 15 minutes, which matches the RideMax plan’s estimate exactly.

We only end up waiting 9 minutes, though. This would be our longest wait of the day!

Jungle Cruise SkipperSkipper John did a nice job…

Jungle…and I think these guys will get the point… in the end.

Jungle Cruise LineHere is a picture of the Jungle Cruise queue at 10:43am, just after we exited the ride.

I’m sure glad our RideMax plan had us avoid this mess! (Shameless plug, I know…)

Next up, Liesle will go and get another set of FastPasses at Peter Pan, while I go do the first of two rides on Pirates of the Caribbean.

Pirates of the Caribbean - Magic KingdomAt 10:44am, I wait 5 minutes for this, versus the 7 minute estimate shown on the plan. I’m glad I’m shaving some time here, even if it’s just a bit, as it makes me feel more comfortable about making that Splash Mountain FastPass return time.

By the way, since we didn’t really recognize this guy shown above on the water mist screen in the Pirates attraction, it makes me wonder if we’re the only ones who just never got around to seeing the fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies?

WHO IS THIS GUY?!!

Peter Pan FastPass Ticket - Magic KingdomMeanwhile, Liesle picks up our next set of FastPasses for Peter Pan. These should work well for our scheduled return time of 12:36pm, right after our lunch break.

Pirates of the Caribbean AuctionAfter grabbing the Peter Pan FastPasses, Liesle meets me for round two on Pirates. We enter the queue at 11:00am, for a total wait of 6 minutes, compared to the 8 minute estimate on the RideMax plan.

We exit the ride at 11:16am, which gives us just barely enough time to get over to Splash Mountain before the FastPass “expires” at 11:20am, without having to cut into our 15-minute grace period.

Splash Mountain FastPass Entrance - Magic Kingdom

Even though we could have entered the FastPass line on time, I decide to test the “grace period,” and wait until exactly the time shown on the RideMax plan before entering the queue, at 11:26am. (Liesle lets me brave Splash alone, since she didn’t feel like getting wet.)

As I presented my “newly-expired” FastPass to the Cast Member at the entrance, our conversation went something like this:

Me: <Hand cast member my FastPass ticket, and proceed to enter the queue.>

CM: “You know you’re late for this, right? I’ll let you in, but you should try to be on time next time.”

Me: “I thought I had a grace period.”

CM: “You do. Do you know how long it is?”

Me: “15 minutes.”

CM: “You’re smart!”

Me: < Proceeded to continue into the queue, thinking that the CM’s must not see too many guests who actually know about this grace period. πŸ™‚ >

I ended up waiting just 4 minutes in the FastPass line, versus the 9 minutes shown on the plan. And honestly, I think the FastPass may have only saved me a minute or two over the regular queue, if that, due to the cool weather today.

In retrospect, it probably wasn’t worth the walk over here this morning to get the FastPass. Better taking into account “cool weather” and its effect on the wait at Splash Mountain is probably something we could improve in RideMax.

Tom Sawyer's Island - Magic KingdomI exit Splash Mountain at 11:46am, and meet back up with Liesle, who has been enjoying the big rocking chair in the nearby Briar Patch store.

We decide to head over to Columbia Harbor House for lunch, since it’s near Peter Pan, our first scheduled attraction after lunch. On the way over, I take this picture of the raft returning from Tom Sawyer’s Island.

Lunch at Columbia Harbor House - Magic KingdomWe both decide on the salmon. It was a bit dry and overcooked, but still seemed like a better choice than some of the other “breaded” items on the menu.

Food Receipt
(Merchandise coupon. Click image for a larger view.)

I also noticed this merchandise discount coupon on the back of our food receipt. Good for 20% off several of the merchandise locations around Walt Disney World, as long as it’s used before noon.

Magic Kingdom ConstructionA view from the top floor of the restaurant of the construction going on outside.

"it's a small world" Queue - Magic KingdomAs we leave the restaurant and head over to Peter Pan, we notice the queue here for “it’s a small world.” I’m glad we visited this one earlier!

Peter Pan Magic Kingdom - FastPass QueueWe decide to head over to Peter Pan a bit early, but either way we would have still been in the official FastPass return window, which was good from 12:05pm to 1:05pm.

We enter the FastPass line at 12:26pm, for a 3 minute wait versus the RideMax estimate of 5 minutes. This is a NOT the time of day for the standby queue!

Magic Kingdom Fantasyland CrowdsAs we exit Peter Pan and head over to Tomorrowland for our final attraction, I take this picture of the crowds in Fantasyland. Why do people do this to themselves?!! Β πŸ™‚

Magic Kingdom CastleI also paused for a quick picture of the castle, taken from Fantasyland.

Tomorrowland Speedway Crowds - Magic KingdomOn our way to the PeopleMover, I notice the crowds now for the Speedway. I’m glad we visited this early in the day!

PeopleMover - Magic KingdomWe arrive for our last attraction of the day: The PeopleMover!

At 12:42pm, our actual wait is about two minutes, versus the one minute shown on the RideMax plan.

Castle - Magic KingdomThe view of the castle from the PeopleMover.

Tomorrowland Speedway - Red and Yellow Card“PeopleMoving” over the Speedway!

What Did We Learn?

As we finally wrapped up our day, there were a few things I want to observe:

  • We could better take into account “weather” factors as they relate to Splash Mountain. (This would also apply to Kali River Rapids at Animal Kingdom.) The standby line was so short that I really didn’t need that FastPass.
  • For this particular plan, the FastPasses worked out really well, despite Disney’s recent enforcement of the FastPass window. We obtained three FastPasses, and the RideMax plan had us using all of them within the allowed timeframes, though one of them crept into the “grace period.”
  • I’m guessing if we had a plan that extended LATER into the day, we may have run into more FastPass timing issues, which could have caused us to manually adjust our plans on the fly. Given that timing the standby lines isn’t nearly as critical later in the day, however, this may not have been a big deal — though it could cause problems if shows or parades were involved. This is a case where using the mobile version of RideMax to “recalculate” with those shows in mind might be helpful.
  • We received “surprise” FastPasses for PhilharMagic along with the Peter Pan FastPasses. We may need to add a “tip” to the RideMax plans advising customers to ignore these things, since they normally aren’t needed, and trying to fit this in during the time shown on the FastPass could really mess up a schedule!
Which brings us to…
Exiting the Magic Kingdom

Our Exit!

Twelve attractions in four hours, including a nice break for lunch, with an average wait of just four minutes per attraction. What a great way to spend a Monday morning!

What about YOU? As you read this report, did you have some ideas for improving RideMax? Are there suggestions you have?

Please post your ideas below!

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Disney FastPass Changes!

OK, you’ve all probably heard by now the FastPass rumor that Disney plans to start “enforcing” the FastPass windows at Walt Disney World beginning March 7th, 2012.

Is the rumor true? I’m not sure just yet. But you can be sure I’ll be in Walt Disney World on March 7th to check this out, and I’ll report back here on my findings!

Since some of you have asked how this might affect RideMax, I’ve included this short video to help explain what this change means, and how you can use RideMax to help plan for it.

Disney FastPass: Changes Coming?
Disney FastPass: Changes Coming?

Enjoy!

 

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Stop and Say “Hi” in the Magic Kingdom Tomorrow!

I plan to be in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom tomorrow morning, December 27th. If you see a really tall guy wearing a RideMax shirt collecting wait time information, be sure to say hello!

Although I’ll be something of a moving target, if you’re using the mobile version of RideMax in the park tomorrow, you should be able to track my movement fairly well by noting the wait times I post in RideMax.

I hope to see some of you tomorrow!

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RideMax Reviews – Thanks!

RideMax Reviews - Thanks for spreading the word!

As the author of RideMax, it’s sometimes amazing to me how little paid advertising we’ve had to do for RideMax. Happy customers who have actually used RideMax at Disneyland or Disney World, and who then recommend RideMax to their friends, has really done most of this work for us.

So with that, here is yet another of those nice RideMax reviews. Thanks also to Rich Pearson, for his kind words here about RideMax. Reviews of RideMax like these from actual customers are so appreciated!

Now a question: How did you first hear about RideMax? A friend? An online article? Please let me know in the comments below!

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New RideMax Version for iPhone, Android, and Mac!

We’re excited to announce a new web-based version of RideMax that works great on iPhone, iPad, Android, and Mac systems! Access to this mobile beta is free to RideMax subscribers.

Disney RideMax Plan for iPhone and Android
Your RideMax plan in a nice portable format for display on iPhone and Android devices!

This new version of RideMax is in “beta” mode right now (which means we’re still testing it and improving it before final release) but even in it’s current “unfinished” state, it’s very usable, and provides new capabilities to the RideMax system as well!

RideMax Planner - Adding Breaks, Options
Many customization options included. Add up to five breaks and decide how you want to utilize FastPass!

Since the new version of RideMax is web-based, there is no need to install an “app” if you want to use RideMax on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device. Simply point your mobile web browser to the application’s home page:

http://ridemax.com/webapp

Here are some of the important features provided in this new release:

  • Create and view your RideMax plans right on your mobile device or web browser.
  • RideMax now saves your plans for later use. Create a plan using a standard web browser and view it later on your mobile device, or vice-versa!
  • Add up to FIVE breaks to your plan for meals or other activities.
  • Report wait times to RideMax. More wait time data allows us to improve the RideMax estimates over time.

Here are some additional screenshots:

RideMax - Share Wait Times
While in the park, report wait times!

Q: I just subscribed to your service. How do I access the new beta version on my iPhone, Android, or iPad?

A: When you subscribed, your download instructions contain a link you can use to activate the beta. Click on this link, choose a username and password, then point your mobile web browser to http://ridemax.com/webapp. Now sign in with the username and password you just selected and start planning!


Q: Will RideMax work on my particular mobile device? What devices are supported?

A: Given the number of mobile device models being produced these days, it’s impractical to test RideMax on all of them. We’ve done extensive work with RideMax on iPhone, and though we haven’t tested it extensively on other systems, it also seems to work on some other mobile “touch-screen” browsers that are based on newer versions of WebKit, such as that found in newer Android models. We’ve also had specific customer reports that RideMax runs on the Motorola Cliq and the HTC EVO, but that it does not work on Windows Mobile devices. We had one Blackberry customer report success, but that was on a very new touch-screen model device, and we don’t believe it will work on the “click-based” Blackberries that are still fairly popular.


Q: What are the pros and cons of using the mobile or web-based version rather than the Windows version of Ridemax?

A: One advantage of the web/mobile version is the ability to modify your plans right from the web or a mobile device. No more need to take the laptop on vacation just to access RideMax! Another advantage is that you don’t need to carry a paper plan with you if you have access to RideMax on your mobile device. With a mobile device, you can also share wait time information and comments with us. This allows us to improve the RideMax estimates further.

A disadvantage of the mobile version is that it’s still in “beta” mode — meaning that it’s incomplete and some of the formatting is less than ideal. Most of the “tips” still need to be added as well.


Q: Aren’t there lower-cost applications for the iPhone and Android that work just as well as RideMax does? Why do I need this?

A: It’s true that there are “wait-time apps” produced by others, but sometimes you get what you pay for! Planning in advance — not just supplying current wait times — is a RideMax specialty, and in our opinion, this is vital to minimizing your overall wait, especially when the park is busy.

Does it really help you to know that right now the wait for Indiana Jones is 60 minutes rather than 90? Either way, you don’t want to stand in that line, right? What you really need is help avoiding that 60-minute-long line, and that’s what RideMax is designed to do!

Take a look at how much you’re spending on your Disney vacation, and we think you’ll agree, the cost of RideMax is tiny by comparison.

This summer we celebrate our 10th anniversary of providing customized itineraries for Disney theme park customers. Why take a chance with some random iPhone wait-time app, when you could be using RideMax instead?

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