How feasible is it to go to Animal Kingdom, Rope Drop FOP, then hit up Navi and then still get to the safari without much wait? For context, we are going on April 20th. We plan to be at the park 45 min to an hour before extra magic hours begin and we’re staying in the park. Trying to do AK without Genie+. When I put this into Touring Plans, it’s giving me over an hour wait for FOP and then another hour plus wait for KS. Even when I put in a rest for FOP manually to override that assuming we will be at the front of the pack, KS was still over an hour’s wait. Does this seem right?
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You rang??? 
That is a totally feasible plan if you arrive well before the park opens and are at the front of the pack for FOP.
Your plan lf 45mins to 1hr before early entry begins is good - I would lean heavily toward the 1hr
TP is giving you over an hour wait because it’s calculating from exactly when the park opens AND including your walk time. Rope drop time estimates are notoriously off because of that. I don’t think you’ll wait an hour for KS. Perhaps 30 mins?
Edited: reviewing my April 2022 trip pics, my family arrived at 6:35am (we drove from OKW). Early entry was at 7am (the earlier the early entry the less time you have to buffer). This turned out to be a crowd level 6/10 (predicted was 4/10)
We rope dropped FOP and were in preshow at 7:19. We were out at 7:39. We were on Navi at 7:58.
We ate a quick breakfast at 8:12 at Kusafiri Bakery near Dawa bar and then queued for KS at 8:25. We were on truck by 8:55 (30 mins - dang I’m good!)
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My initial thought too. By April 20th hopefully all the spring break and Easter crowds will be dying down. As long as Navi and FoP don’t go down, I would say 30 mins wait for KS. I’m always ok with a tight on time morning plan. I know I’ll be moving with a purpose for a couple hours at least. Then I 'll be a bit more leisurely.
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Animal Kingdom is the most critical rope drop park to be there on the first bus from your resort. Everyone goes to the same place. We’ve always been in the front 20 or so rows of people, but last time we were in the top 20 of guests. We usually are waiting at our resort bus stop about 80 min before the start of early hours to be sure to get the first bus. So far so good.
Yep. So I’ll be buying the ILL for now. AK has less to offer at RD. It seems 3 attractions see the biggest hits at RD.
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Thanks so much, this detail is super helpful. I assume that the same is true at the other parks at Rope Drop too. If I RD Rise at hollywood for example and show up an hour early, would I realistically be able to get in a second ride with little to no wait during EMH? Maybe Smugglers Run or TSM?
The big differnece here is that FOP is super reliable at rope drop and ROTR is not. So there is a big risk of not getting to ride and wasting your EE. That’s why this is the one ILL I buy.
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I followed your rope drop strategy last December on a crowd level 3 day and it worked well. Waits were short or walk-on. I’m pasting in a copy of the beginning of my trip report for that day:
THU DEC 1
EE 7:30 / Rope Drop / All Standby (26,208 steps)
6:34 board bus; 6:50 in line at taps (near front of pack)
Animal Kingdom — CL 3
Flight of Passage
Na’vi River Journey
Kilimanjaro Safaris (8:35)
Expedition Everest #1 (9:20)
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What's Early Entry Like at Animal Kingdom? Our Best Tips for a Wild Morning in Walt Disney World - YouTube Video showing your plan in action
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I love EarScouts
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