Ridemax?

I guess I'm skeptical of all those products. It seems to me that observation and adaptation are more valuable than a "plan."

I took a look at it and am wondering how useful the "personalization" is. I guess it would be great for those really busy days when there's just too much to take into consideration (most historically crowded park, where EMH was the night before, "MK is most crowded on a Tuesday," etc.)

Actually it would be kind of nice for a product to give you a "reality check" as to how much you can really expect to get in in one day. Save some grumpiness. Not sure I'd ever pay for one, but I might use an online free version.

These always look kind of sketchy, but I've heard some folks really love them!

Funny you should ask, SpaceAce. I just posted this the other day over on the DIS boards:

I just purchased this a few days ago and have been playing with it.
It's fun, and I think it's a good way to save yourself from going
bonkers trying to map out a plan of attack yourself. (If you're a
perfectionist like I am, you know what I mean, LOL.)

But I've noticed a lack of flexibilty in the software that I hope will be improved upon in the future.

1) It never asks how many people are in your party. I'm traveling alone
and could take advantage of single rider lines, but the software
doesn't mention single rider lines.

2) The gaps between getting your fast pass and going on a ride can be
huge because they're really trying to minimize not just your wait time
but also your walking time. So for instance, I plugged in my first
afternoon/evening at Magic Kingdom and it had me going straight to BTMR
and getting a FP, but then waiting around for 2.5 hours doing NOTHING
while waiting for my FP window. Not "go ride these other rides while
you're waiting for your FP window." Just 2.5 hours of standing around
twiddling my thumbs.
I had to tweak my hours and add in things I didn't care about doing in
order to get a more reasonable schedule. So I've found you do need to
play around with it a bit. Don't expect it to spit out the perfect plan
right away.

3) I would rather have the option to uncheck the "minimize walking
time" function. I don't mind criss-crossing the park a few times in
order to maximize what I can do in a few hours.

4) There are only 2 touring speeds: Slow and Normal. I would like the
option to be Fast, because I'm traveling alone and I walk pretty fast.

5) Even though I purchased it just a few days ago, and it's supposed to
be good for 90 days, the May calendar isn't on it (it stops at April).
I'm going in May. I've sent them a message asking when/if this will be
updated. (Update: I still haven't heard back from them, which doesn't say much for their customer service.)

One of the neat features of the software is it'll tell you if you're
trying to do too much in the selected time frame. (Guilty as charged.)
It also tells you how long it takes to walk between point A and point
B--good stuff to know.

By the time my trip rolls around, I'll have had a lot more time to play
with it and come up with different scenarios. But the real test will be
how it actually works in the parks. I'll keep you posted.

For the price--a little under $20 for a 90 day version--if I just save 1 hour of time on my trip, it pays for itself. Not bad.

GREAT info, SF. I'm really interested to see how you like it as you continue to learn more about the functionality.

Also, I'm eager to see if you stick to the plans during your trip, or if you just go your own way.

I have a big problem with a program that has you sitting around 2.5 hours with your fastpass. That just makes no sense at all. That's Disney 101 stuff.

I just heard back from Mark Winter of Ridemax and he said the calendar will update to include May at the end of March.

Yes and no. I'm not bringing my laptop with me. I do plan to Tweet about my experiences, though, and I'll put a Twitter badge on my blog so people can follow along if they want.