I’m looking at my touring plan which I have us racing for FOP at RD, along with everyone else. The wait time it’s given me is 96 mins. Okay, but if I move it to the afternoon (3ish), that wait time goes down to 68 mins. So then I was looking at the estimated times for FOP on my day and found this:
It seems like the worst times are the morning.
So, do I try to RD or go much later in the day? We get there early, but an hour early would be a hard-sell for my teens. Furthermore, I’m not 100% sure DH is going to be able to fit in their ride pods. He’s not really heavy, but he’s tall with a definitely nacho chip belly.
Okay. So, you wait approximately the same time (90 minutes) if you go early. But then, you also have to count the fact that you have to arrive SO EARLY for RD to even get an opportunity for that improved time. As such, you, all said, are possibly waiting LONGER.
Furthermore, you might luck out with a FOP day-off FP drop. In the meantime, the time you are saving by NOT getting in line for FOP and doing “everything else” means that even if you get in line later in the day with a longer wait, the time you saved on everything else drops the value down considerably.
When EVERYONE wants to rope drop a ride, it quickly becomes the ride to NOT rope drop and do all the OTHER rides that no one else is rope-dropping!
If you don’t think you’ll be able to get there an hour early, I would go with @ryan1’s advice.
My DH is 6’3 and he said it was a bit uncomfortable for his shins and he just barely fit. He’s a beanpole though so I can’t help with the nacho chip belly part.
Ditto to the above - if you won’t be there 60 to 75 before opening, I’d plan to wait or try for a SDFP later.
As far as convincing the teens, maybe helpful to remind them that it is very normal for AK to open prior to official opening. Ex: I arrived 7:30 for a 9 opening. We went in the park just after 8, into Pandora just before 8:30, and then onto the ride. I was off of FOP before 9. So it isn’t like you will get there just to stand for an hour. You’ll likely be riding…
Oh! I totally forgot they sometimes open early. Really? An hour early? That would change everything. I could get them there for that for sure, but I’d probably be persona non-grata if things don’t work out. Then again, they both have phones… with games on them. Hmmm.
Depending on how far out your trip is, it still seems to be the norm. I think what varies is how early - I was there on a day with big crowds, so that may be why so early, but most people seem to be consistently reporting being off the first ride by 9
This is interesting, my DH is 6’4", and while not quite the pipe-cleaner man he was in his youth, he’s fairly slim. It hadn’t occurred to me that anything would be difficult to ride due to height rather than width…
Are there many of the same day FPs? How likely are we to score one? We currently have a late FOP at 6.55pm and I would love to move it even a couple of hours earlier after an early rope drop start but is it realistic to hope to modify it for five of us?
The other thing is, if you arrive right at RD, you can get a ton of other stuff done rather than heading towards FoP. SO many people think “FoP or bust” and head there right away and get in line, regardless of what it says. If you’re willing to be patient, even aside from the chance at a day-of FP, the line will be about the same and you will have made much better use of the morning.
That’s my fear! I’ll never be forgiven if I drag everyone over there early and it doesn’t work out Many have advised me that we’ll love FOP so much we’ll want to do it twice but I worry we’ll get stuck at the back of the rope drop pack (I’m not going to be someone pushing others out the way!) and if we don’t get off by just after 8 (EMH) it’ll throw the rest of our touring plan and we’ll get stuck in longer queues for everything else…
It does seem to be a trade-off. Shorter everything else and one long line or get the big one over with and have to pay with longer lines on everything else.
The thing is, what if the afternoon crowds get bigger, not smaller? What if my day is the anomaly day when everyone who RDed it also have FPPs and want to ride again? It’s that ‘what if’ that makes me crazy.
Brian of Touring plans, did a video of getting to ride FOP without a FP. If you want to save a lot of time, watch the video because he shows how fast the line builds up. For a busy park day, with a 9am RD. This is what he was able to do.
Took bus and got to the park at 750am. Went thru the check and then into the park. He was in the first about 20% of the people going there, which was most of the people. He kept walking and walking and got to the enterance and the cue, than on the ride and off the ride walking back towards the Navi River ride and it was 858am. He rode Navi and then did a video showing the line as he walked it. It went all the way to Africa and back. He sat down and had a pastry and coffee and it was I believe 930am. He has said, watch the video and show it to those that have a hard time getting up in the morning.
Here is the link to that video.
FYI my husband is 6’4” and had no trouble at all. We rope dropped it (following the same plan we saw in the video posted above) and also had a FP for it later in the day!
I am 6’1", not small, I fit the last time but think it would be too tight this time. I weighed, I believe 250 and did make it with some help from the CM
Oh! Another question… DH is afraid of heights. I know you don’t actually go anywhere on FOP, but with the VR headset on, will he feel like he is? Can he just close his eyes if he starts to freak out?
I have issues with motion sickness. Some people have reported they don’t have problems. I can not ride EE. For FOP, I wore 2 sea bands, on on each wrist and I still had issues with it, at times I had to close my eyes so I could make it thru it. Hardest part is when it makes you feel like you are diving down and spinning. That is very hard for me. For me, this was a one and done ride. I didn’t get sick but was out of sorts for a little bit.
My mother is afraid of heights. She enjoys some coasters like 7DMT, Space Mountain and Big Thunder because the track is not exposed. Splash is great too; she closes her eyes on the big drop. That said she does NOT enjoy Soarin. She prefers to skip it. We did it on our last trip as a whole family (it was an advance FPP selection) and she spent the entire ride gripping the seat with her eyes closed. However, she really enjoyed FOP. She said she closed her eyes during the most intense parts, but she absolutely wants to do it again.
During Soarin you are physically lifted up high in the air while during FOP you are securely enclosed on your ride banshee apparatus. I think that makes a difference to my mom’s height fear.
Many have advised me that we’ll love FOP so much we’ll want to do it twice but I worry we’ll get stuck at the back of the rope drop pack (I’m not going to be someone pushing others out the way!) and if we don’t get off by just after 8 (EMH) it’ll throw the rest of our touring plan and we’ll get stuck in longer queues for everything else…