Best strategy for EMH at AK now when you are staying offsite?

hi lovely wise people!

so its unavoidable as EMHs is now every single day in our upcoming trip. we are staying off site and want to ride FOP at AK. I am trying to plan a tour having never been to AK before. here are the questions that are rolling through my brain!

  1. will EMH make the park more busy or do we think that because its every day it will balance out?
  2. what is best to fast pass late morning/mid day then? say we get in at 9am and go straight to Kilimanjao safari for 9ish, should we fp KRR next and then EE, or should lines at around 9:40 be still maneagable at KRR so we can fp EE and Dinosaur? will Dinosaur end up with a horrible queue? or will Kilimanjaro already have a massive queue at 9am?
  3. will they let us in the gate at 9am on the dot? or maybe a few minutes earlier?
  4. I have seen our best bet (unless I get FPP) for FOP is to go near the end of the day now. DO we think because the onsite guests aimed to be there in the morning that maybe nights will be even more quiet? could this be a blessing in disguise for us off siters?
  5. OR are all the hotels really really really busy and thats why they have added EMH every day? or are they trying to accomodate/ lure people to AK because Toy Story land won’t be open yet?

as you may be able to tell I am starting to question every decision I have made LOL It’s our first time there and we won’t be able to go back for several years so I really want to make the most of our time! please help! and thank you for your help too!

With EMH everyday, I’m not sure that overall it will make the park busier every day.
For sure, it should affect the morning crowds and wait time at 9:00 when off-site guests have access to the park, but I don’t think it should make a difference late afternoon and evening.

I think your plan to get in line for FOP near the end of the day is still your best bet.

As for your other FP+, I would say that lines grow way quicker in the morning at KS and EE compared to KRR and Dinosaur.
To avoid crowds, you could go the other way around, by 9:00 RD Dinosaur (and PW if you want), followed by KRR and have a FP+ for EE and KS.
If an early KS is a priority, I think it could be done without FP+ and the wait time at KRR and/or DInosaur should be under 30 mins at 10:00.

As to why Disney end up with the idea of EMH everyday at AK almost until Toy Story Land opens, it is easier to manage the EMH crowds with fewer CMs (compare to an “all guests” 8:00 opening). And maybe there’s still many available rooms in the WDW resorts and they try to attract more guests onsite.

As another guest staying offsite, this new schedule has been the first real stressful happening for our upcoming June vacation. I would love it if @len or @Brian could give us some insight as to what those of us who stay offsite should do to maximize our time since lining up 90 minutes before official park opening isn’t going to be an effective strategy for June 2018.

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thanks!

yes if Len and Brian have any insight that would be awesome! I need it before fast pass day though lol