Posts

Posted on

Ridemax

Our only child is a teen, so we’re done with most of the little kid stuff that Disneyland has to offer. That means fewer rides that appeal to us and the prospect of standing in long lines several times a day. Or so we thought! Enter Ridemax.

Ridemax promises more magic, less wait. And they totally deliver in ways that are hard to imagine until you’ve experienced it for yourself.

Ridemax is a planning tool designed to help you spend less time standing in line at Disneyland (and Walt Disney World), and more time doing the things you want to do! They are like the NSA of Disney Attraction Wait Times. And when you’re spending hundreds of dollars a day on admission alone, don’t you think that it’s a good idea to spend more time doing what you are paying for?

As far as the rides were concerned, we were basically interested in Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Matterhorn, Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. The sample ride plan below is for just some of those rides. As you can see, we did all the rides we came for (on Day 1) before lunch.

We’ve obscured much of the image above to protect Ridemax’s intellectual property. The portions highlighted in yellow are the breaks scheduled by Ridemax. We planned our rides first, then scheduled our meals into those breaks. As you can see, we were left with plenty of time for spontaneity. And that meant more Princess and Character Photos than ever before!

Those that argue against Ridemax often argue that when you plan everything out to the last minute you rob yourself of the magic that is accidentally finding your way into something you might not have experienced otherwise. But with 6 hours of break time in our plan, how could we not? Not only did we do everything we wanted to quickly and efficiently, we actually had more free time to explore and have fun than if we had wasted hours just standing in line.

Others argue that there’s no fun in keeping a schedule. Well, if schedules are a problem for you, you might be right. But it’s a schedule for fun, so we didn’t mind. And we weren’t able to keep it exactly as planned, either, due to temporary ride closures. But that allowed us to stop and enjoy some Beignets while we waited. And with all that information at our fingertips (much more than I have shared in that one image above), we were well informed on how best to handle the temporary closure and make up for it once it reopened.

Ridemax is much more than just a schedule. It’s a complete dossier of expert advice on how to make the most of your Disneyland (or Walt Disney World) visit. You’ll discover things you didn’t know, best places to watch a parade, and even which line is shortest at Pirates of the Caribbean. To get all of this intel you’ll need to purchase the package that includes the PDF. Because that’s the only place you’ll find much of it.

My personal promise to you is that you’ll love Ridemax and that you’ll never want to do Disneyland any other way once you’ve experienced it. But don’t just take my word for it, Ridemax promises a 30-Day money-back guarantee on all of their products.

And no, they didn’t pay me to write any of this. I love them enough to write it for free, and you will too!

Posted on

Main Street Electrical Parade

I first saw the Main Street Electrical Parade, not long after it’s debut in 1977, at Walt Disney World in Orlando. And it made a lasting impression. To this day, it’s my favorite Disney parade.

I’ve seen it a number of times over the years, including once at Disney California Adventure in 2005, and most recently in what will become its final performance at Disneyland.

That’s right, it’s time to say goodbye to our old friend the Main Street Electrical Parade. Originally scheduled to end on June 18, 2017, the parade got an extension, due to its popularity, and will now run until August 20, 2017.

The Main Street Electrical Parade will be replaced by Paint the Night, which refreshes the characters and music for a younger generation. Paint the Night doesn’t appeal to me in the same way that the Main Street Electrical Parade does, but it’s not about me. It’s about hoards of kids that don’t know what they are watching anymore, and the new parade fixes that with updated soundtracks, LED Lights and impressive new technology.

For me, one of the best viewing locations is just across the street from It’s a Small World, just past the reserved seating area, there is a small area that remains open for public viewing that not a lot of people know about. You can safely arrive about 1 hour before the parade and easily find a space to call your own.

If you’d rather have a bench to sit on, stroll just past the castle on the right side, as your head in the direction of It’s a Small World. There are benches along the left side of the walkway, directly across from Pixie Hollow, that makes for great viewing. But you have to get there early. Like 2-3 hours early.

If you’re traveling with small children and would like the cast members in the parade to interact with your children, you don’t have to leave it to chance. It is their job to interact with them, but it’s pretty much impossible for them to interact with all of the children along the parade route. So here are two things that you can to do to ensure that your child stands out in the crowd:

The first, of course, is get there early and get a seat right on the edge of the parade route. And second, do something that gets them noticed. One of the families that we saw brought dollar store “glow stick” Princess Crowns with them to the park, and they put them on just before the parade started so that they would be their brightest as the parade came by. It was amazing. I think every single character that could have possibly interacted with them, did.

Posted on

Hotel Keys

Ever have one of those moments when you just HAD to get into your hotel room, like NOW? If you had to wait another minute something embarrassing was going to happen? Well, I had one of those moments on my recent trip to Disneyland. This is my story.

My arms, amongst other things, were full; my 3½-year-old daughter didn’t have a care in the world; my wife (and more importantly, her room key) were nowhere to be found; and my room key wasn’t the least bit concerned about the sense of urgency I had about getting into the room quickly – because it simply would not open. Nothing I was doing with this key was working. Making matters worse, the door lock apparently belongs to the same union as the key because it was taking as long as 5 seconds in-between failed attempts before allowing me to try again.

Hotel Card Key
Hotel Card Key

So with my arms, amongst other things, full; my carefree 3½-year-old daughter entrusted to my care; my wife (and more importantly, her room key) currently lost in Neverland; Mother Nature increasingly upping the ante on my own physical needs; and my key still showing no interest in doing its job; who’d of thought the very same Sister-in-Law that is mostly responsible for creating this lovely trip to Disneyland might actually come to my rescue? Certainly not me! But she did.

It turns out that simply rubbing the magnetic side of your key on your shirt prior to inserting it in the door lock gives the union what it’s looking for, thereby granting you hasty access to your room via a key that was, just moments ago, on strike.

So if you’re planning on having one of those urgent moments at your hotel door, maybe you should consider going on the trip with your Sister-in-Law after all.

Or you could just read The Frequent Flyer on a regular basis, learning at my expense, all while leaving the In-Laws at home.

You be the judge.

Posted on

Disneyland is 50!

My wife and her sister recently planned a trip to Disneyland for their 50th Anniversary Grand Re-Opening. I had very little say in the planning, and much of what I did say was disregarded. So I went and I played by their rules. Which was good for all of us because now I’ve been inspired to write some new tips. The tips that I’ve always known that have been so deeply engraved in my subconscious that I do them without conscious thought. So a new Disneyland section of this web site has been born. And I’ll be writing more basic tips in the near future as well.

It was my Sister-in-Law’s idea to go to Disneyland on the day of the grand re-opening: May 5th, 2005. And my wife cheerfully played along so that we could all go and suffer together. 

It was crowded beyond my wildest expectations; and Disneyland was forcing these large crowds through two very narrow walkways on each side of the media’s “tent city”; which was located directly in front of the castle on the central plaza and the surrounding circle drive of Main Street, blocking all the major access points to the park. There were no benefits for being there on the 5th; we could have gone anytime in the next year and received everything that we received on the 5th. And we could have done so without all the crowds. But no one was listening to me when I tried to sell that idea months ago.

All we got for going on May 5th was frustrated. Frustrated with the crowds, the media, and larger than expected crowds. Disneyland was clearly not prepared for the extra crowds, and they planned poorly when they chose their location for the media circus. 

So my first tip for the new Disneyland section of this web site is that Disneyland, and all the Disney theme parks, will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Disneyland ALL YEAR LONG. You needn’t go now when the crowds are at their worst, and Disneyland is still trying to figure out how to cope with larger than usual crowds. Go in September or October, when the weather is cooler and all the little kids have gone back to school. And you needn’t go to California. All the parks are offering the same celebration, so choose the park closest to you.

Oh, and if your Sister-in-Law has a different idea…. Send her by herself!