On 2/1/2018 we arrived AK 7:55am. They let us thru bag check around 815am and held the crowd again somewhere on Discovery Island until 8:40am. We went right to Navi River, rode twice by 9:15am as standby. Then used 9:30am FP+ on FOP, no wait at all. Used 6 FP+ total that day. Longest wait was 95 minutes for FOP ( a second time) standby at 5:05pm.
FOP was a totally incredible experience. Worth the wait for the 2nd ride! FWIW, I consider the “pre-ride” stuff as part of the ride, not as waiting time. Glad I saw the movie before the trip, made me appreciate the story more.
CL # 3 prediction turned out to be an actual 7 that day. With scheduling first 3 FP+ early, and getting extras as we progressed still allowed us to get everything in we wanted to see. And, Valley of Moara after dark is a MUST SEE.
Overall 4 park days, rope drop to closing at each park with 2 Evening EMH. CL all higher than predicted but a great trip despite that.
Awesome! My trip is May 13th-21st. I’m going to AK on a non morning EMH day. Going to still try to get to the park 90 minutes early via Uber. Not going to even risk the buses because I’m staying at Boardwalk and bus service is bad. lol
How much of the cool stuff do you miss going through the FP line at FOP? I’m so torn over how I want to do this and I make my fastpasses in just a few more weeks.
Joe, you will be there when we are there! Our AK day is Monday the 14th. I’m hoping for an efficient day that is both exciting and relaxing when it can be.
I’ve been dabbling with my schedule. I’m doing a split AK on Tuesday the 15th and on 18th because the EMH crowds for AK on 14th are absolutely insane.
My current schedule (still needs a little work) is:
5-13: Arrival at 3-4pm, Disney Springs evening
5-14: Hollywood Studios
5-15: Morning AK - Afternoon / Evening Epcot (Epcot EMH 9-11pm)
5-16: All day MK with a resort break at lunch time. (MK EMH 9-11pm)
5-17: All day Resort / Pool day (rest day)
5-18: Morning / Early Afternoon AK , then back to resort for Flying Fish dinner
5-19: All day Epcot
5-20: Half-day MK, then resort touring (Contemporary, Poly, and Grand Flo), dinner at Narcoosee’s.
I have many other ADR’s for our trip but was just giving a few examples. I love Seafood places.
We’re staying at Boardwalk Resort (not villas). I’ve been debating between Boardwalk and Beach Club for days now and my friend is fine with either. She just wants a nice view. But I’m torn. I love that Beach Club pool, but I think the views are better at Boardwalk. I booked a “water view” room. Can’t decide.
Nope you’re good. A couple of things I would do though:
Try to get there no later than 90 minutes prior to rope drop. On that day, they open at 8am, so 6:30am. There will already be many people there. If you’re sure you can get there 90 mins or even earlier, then you can schedule a Fastpass for FoP later in afternoon, and walk (briskly) to FoP at rope drop without using Fastpass on it. So you can ride FoP twice (if you guys want).
There are a few entrances. Stay on the LEFT entrance. Many people go straight off the buses and go on the right side. They don’t realize it’s a little longer at rope drop and the people on the left side manage to swindle past. It works. It’s what Brian did in his Flight of Passage video.
Depending on how much in front of the line or atleast somewhat toward the front of the line you can get, you can do FoP then immediately do Navi River without barely any wait. Most people head straight to FoP at rope drop.
This way you can schedule other Fastpasses like Safari, Exp Everest and Dinosaur later. I don’t know your plans but this is what I would do on an EMH day.
The general idea is to completely avoid this:
…which is exactly how it will be if people wait until rope drop or even 15 minutes before rope drop to get to Animal Kingdom.
I know this is crazy, but on Animal Kingdom day it’s the one day where planning is a must. Getting up extra early, not taking the buses, but instead pay for uber or lyft and get there early. The buses don’t start running until an hour before opening. I’d take Uber and spend the money to get there early early. Other people will as well.
You pretty much miss almost all of the cool stuff on the FPP line, sadly. The entrance and paths are cool, but the only glimpse of the labs etc is through a small dark window about half way through.
But, while I would have liked to see the lab, I’m still fine with not waiting 3 hours to do so.
@JJT Yea I forgot about that. And then there is the idea of getting to AK very early and being in front of the pack so you can do FoP without using a FP, but the cast members still put you through the FP line with the initial rope drop entries don’t they? I can’t remember.
it’s such a tough call. I almost feel like at this point its not worth the wait to see the extended queue because the ride is still so new. This ride is clearly not going anywhere anytime soon, so that cool queue is gonna be there down the line.It just seems like it’s gonna be an insane wait just to walk through some amazing stuff thus making the whole day’s plans revolving around that initial wait. I think I’m gonna get an afternoon FP for it, and also try to RD it, and if it’s an insane wait, just skip it in the morning and run over to NRJ.
I feel like if Disney made an “After Hours” pass for Animal Kingdom like they have at Magic Kingdom, people would jump all over that. I know the After Hours pass at MK is expensive ($119 for 3 hours), but in regards to being able to do Flight of Passage multiple times, Navi River, Expedition Everest, and Dinosaur I almost feel like it would be worth it.
I might make a petition for Disney to do it. I mean it’d be more money for them, and Disney loves the cash.
I’m planning on going to Ak for emh but NOT heading toward Pandora. Is there a way to get away from the crowds? I keep thinking I should change my days and NOT go to AK on EMH but maybe I’ll be able to get a lot done everywhere else in the park while the rest of the world is in Pandora?
The huge crowd for AK that is heading to Pandora will begin to be let in a good 25-40 minutes before scheduled RD.
I’d say if you arrive there less than 30 minutes before RD, you will have some normal security and tapstile lines to get through, but then it should be free-sailing as you head in other directions.
Just this morning someone on chat remarked that they were almost walking on all the non-Pandora rides right after RD, so fingers crossed for your day!
I am going first time next month. Have FPP for FOP at 11:30, then lunch, then Safari and KRR. Plan was to head right (?), do Dinosaur, then EE, then meet others at NRJ approx 10:30 and be out in about an hour for FOP. does this seem viable? and with most at RD headed to Pandora, how early would we need to get there (9am open)? I guess how long does it take for that opening line to dissipate? could we show up 9:15-9:30 instead of 7:30? (planning around my teenagers LOL)
