Discover Disney without the wait

• Disney bringing best of California, Paris to Florida

By Betsy Malloy
Special to The Advertiser

The lines at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., can seem impossibly long, but a computer program called Ridemax can help you eliminate the wait. Disneyland Resorts

We set out to "do" most of Disneyland's attractions in one day. With guidebooks cautioning that we wouldn't accomplish everything and a June 2003 Consumer Reports survey naming Disneyland among the worst theme parks for long lines, our idea seemed like a fool's errand.

It would have been if we hadn't discovered Ridemax, a software program that transforms the Disneyland experience by creating touring schedules that eliminate waiting.

Computer programmer Mark Winters came up with the Ridemax concept while at Disneyland. "We had been using one of those 'touring plans' from a popular guidebook, but parts of it didn't really seem optimal. The plan directed us to do Indiana Jones right off the bat in the morning ... but I noticed that by midafternoon we were able to get on Indy with very little wait."

Winters started thinking and collecting wait-time wait for different months, days and times of day. He fed the data into a scheduling program he wrote, and Ridemax was born.

It was easy to capitalize on Winters' efforts. After placing an order at www.ridemax.com, downloading and installing the program, I punched in our arrival date and time, and checked off 24 attractions, everything we wanted to do. The program downloaded up-to-date wait times, evaluated thousands of options and produced a personal plan that incorporated a 30-minute lunch break and an hour's afternoon rest.

Entering just after the gates opened at 8 a.m., though armed with the plan, we were skeptical. "Are you sure this thing works?" Prasad asked. By mid-morning, he changed his tune: "By golly, it's right again."

Growing up in the 1950s watching "The Wonderful World of Disney," I thought Disneyland was the Holy Grail of vacation destinations. My childish imagination pictured uninterrupted rides and shows all day long. Forty-some years later, I found the park plagued with long waits and crowds rivaling the ever-multiplying broom-and-bucket brigade from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." In a half dozen visits, I had no patience to wait for Splash Mountain, and no time for the Enchanted Tiki Room.

Using Ridemax, it was as if the Sorcerer waved his magic wand and swept the lines away. With waiting eliminated, we strolled from one ride to the next, rediscovering the "happy" in the "Happiest Place on Earth." The plan ended as we left Splash Mountain, just before the parade.

As Tinkerbell touched off the fireworks over Cinderella's Castle at 9:30 p. m., we toasted Ridemax at a Downtown Disney restaurant and vowed never to enter the park again without it.

When our niece Samantha wanted to visit Orange County last month, I suggested visiting Disneyland in one day and then going to the beach. Sam liked the idea, but wanted to visit to Disney's California Adventure instead.

Although smaller than its sister park, California Adventure's hours are shorter, and friends reported spending a day there last summer without ever getting onto the Soarin' Over California ride. To make matters worse, Sam wanted to do the most popular things more than once. Ridemax came to our rescue, creating a plan that included four shows and nine rides (three of them twice) with no wait more than 15 minutes, a blessing when traveling with an impatient teenager. It worked as well as before, leaving time for dinner at Downtown Disney's Rainforest Café.

On our second day, Sam and I did go to the beach, but there are plenty of other things to do in the Anaheim area:

The Block at Orange: One of Orange County's newest shopping, dining and entertainment venues, and the area's largest movie theatres. 20 City Boulevard, West, Orange, (714) 769-4001, www.blockatorange.com.

Mission San Juan Capistrano: This romantic, partly ruined mission, where the swallows return each spring, evokes California's early history. Corner of Ortega Highway and Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, (949) 234-1300, www.missionsjc.com.

Legoland: Designed as a "country just for kids" ages 2 to 12, Legoland features scale-model buildings and cities constructed from over 30 million Lego bricks, and also offers Lego-look rides and interactive games. One Legoland Drive, Carlsbad, (760) 918-5346, www.legolandca.com.

Knott's Berry Farm: A theme park that started out as an actual berry farm, Knott's todayoffers roller coasters, thrill rides, an old western town and more than 30 attractions for the younger set at Camp Snoopy. 8039 Beach Blvd., Buena Park, (714) 220-5200, www.knottsberryfarm.com.

If you go ...

The pace required to "do" Disneyland in one day may not be practical for everyone, but you can do most of it by scheduling your excursion through the Ridemax program, saving more than $100 in admission costs ($178 for a family of four with one child under 9).

RideMax: Available for Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure; $11.95 for 90-day license, $19.95 for full year. If you're skeptical, there's no risk: If you don't think it's worth the price, get a full refund within 30 days of purchase. www.ridemax.com.

Disneyland/California Adventure: $47 adults, $37 for children younger than 9. www.disneyland.com.

Orange County lodging: For family comfort, or just more room to spread out, try an all-suites hotel such as Embassy Suites (3100 E. Frontera St., Anaheim, (714) 632-1221, $119/night) or Comfort Inn & Suites (300 E. Katella Way, Anaheim, (714) 772-8713, from $59/night). We reserved a two-room suite at the Hawthorn Suites in nearby Orange for $75/night through Quikbook (www.quikbook.com).

Disneyland dining: If you're planning on a full day, have a big breakfast at your hotel, then eat a light lunch and dinner in the park, or have dinner at Downtown Disney's Rainforest Cafe to cool off in its tropical decor.

Disney bringing best of California, Paris to Florida

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Walt Disney World will duplicate two successful attractions from other Disney parks, revamp an attraction and open a high-speed train ride during the next three years.

Soarin' Over California from Disney's California Adventure, which gives riders the feeling they're flying over the Golden State, and the Stunt Show Spectacular from Disneyland Paris, featuring cars, motorcycles and jet skis, will be opening in two years in Orlando. The attractions respectively will be at Epcot and the Disney-MGM Studios.

The resort intends to open an attraction based on the "Lilo & Stitch" movie at the Magic Kingdom, replacing the ExtraTERRORestial Alien Encounter attraction. The new attraction will recycle much of the technology from Alien Encounter when it opens next year.

The only original attraction coming to the park in the next three years is Expedition Everest, a high-speed train ride that climbs to almost 200 feet high.

"We're taking shows we know work well," said Al Weiss, Walt Disney World's president.

Company officials decided to keep the California theme to Soarin' Over California instead of changing to a Florida scenery because of its popularity, Weiss said. But the ride can be changed.

"When we realize that the guests who see it say it's time for a change, it's reprogrammable," Weiss said.

The announcements about future attractions came during a three-day media event in mid-October to which Disney invited hundreds of reporters from around the world to promote its newest attractions. They include the Mission: Space ride, which re-creates a trip to Mars; Mickey's Philharmagic, a 3-D movie featuring stars of Disney's best-known movies; the new Pop Century hotel; and a firework show at the Magic Kingdom.

Disney officials also met with investor analysts, telling them that business is gradually returning after two years of struggle. They also were optimistic that international visitors from Canada and Britain were returning.

But the officials told the analysts that per-capita revenue is down because of hotel discounts and increased visitation by locals, who spend less than out-of-towners, according to a report by Prudential Equity Group Inc.

Attendance at the theme parks is not back to pre-Sept. 11 levels, Weiss said. But, he added, Disney World wasn't going to wait around for a full recovery.

"We're not going to wait," he said. "We're going to drive it with great marketing."