Animal Kingdom Rope Drop and FOP..

[glamdring269]

People do and I've done it too. Just be aware that the safari does not open during early entry. So if early entry was 7 am and the park opens at 7:30, the safari typically opens at 8 am. One of my favorite AK early morning strategies is to not buy Genie+ and instead buy the ILL for Flight of Passage. Then you rope drop Navi (almost always a walk on), grab a coffee at Starbucks or one of the Joffreys carts and get on line for the safari.

Have you ever tried to leverage this strategy with Genie+ and stack for an afternoon/evening park like DHS? I never thought about doing it that way but seems like it might actually be a good way to maximize both parks if planning a DHS evening. We're still months out from our upcoming trip (Oct) so who knows what might be the best strategy by then but I'm still trying to do some general game planning right now.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Have you ever tried to leverage this strategy with Genie+ and stack for an afternoon/evening park like DHS? I never thought about doing it that way but seems like it might actually be a good way to maximize both parks if planning a DHS evening. We're still months out from our upcoming trip (Oct) so who knows what might be the best strategy by then but I'm still trying to do some general game planning right now.

I haven't because I never buy Genie+ for AK and when I went in May I had people with me without park hopper tickets. I think it could work with stacking for HS. I did stacking for HS while at the AKL pool so I would think it's doable to spend a morning at AK while stacking in between.

 

[DISfam2401]

Came here for almost this exact question except AK early entry is at 7:30. What time do you think we'd have to leave Saratoga Springs to make it worth it? It's the one ride my kids insist on and I refuse to pay for $$ILL$$. We aren't going to be at the park at closing so can't use that strategy.

 

[BigOHawk]

Came here for almost this exact question except AK early entry is at 7:30. What time do you think we'd have to leave Saratoga Springs to make it worth it? It's the one ride my kids insist on and I refuse to pay for $$ILL$$. We aren't going to be at the park at closing so can't use that strategy.

I would say be "in line" for Early Entry at least 45-60 min early if possible so you'd need to back that up to see when transportation is leaving Saratoga. Maybe Saratoga starts taking buses around 6:15 a.m.?

I wouldn't trust that cast members or hotel know about the bus schedules as I've seen wide gaps in what they tell you and what actually happens which is to be expected as days and times change, etc. Best case you catch a bus before 6:30, be in early entry line about 45 ish minutes early and proceed directly to FOP, then to Navi. There is a great Youtube video on this just search for AK Rope Drop, good luck!

 

[Beer Me]

I’ve rope dropped FoP a couple of times. I think arriving 30-40 before early entry is the sweet spot. There will be a bunch of people in front of you but your wait in the actual line wont be more than 10-15 minutes. There isn’t that much bang for your buck in arriving earlier.

 

[sjuncfan]

We did not have a great strategy for AK a couple weeks ago. We got there super early (first bus from our hotel) but there were still long lines to get into the park and we chose poorly. By the time we got to FOP, we probably had to wait like 45 minutes. Then another 45 minutes at Navi. After those were done, the safari was over an hour. We did Expedition Everest (maybe 30 minute wait). The safari line never died down so we went back to our hotel pretty early to hang out there for the afternoon... definitely didn't get our money's worth at AK that day.

 

[MousetersInc]

Great tips and information much appreciated! I'll have to re-think my strategy.

I guess the question is do you we want to ride FOP once or twice? If once, then I'm skipping it at RD, hitting Navii first, then EE, then Safari and maybe doing FOP at 6:45 for a 7 p.m. close.

If twice, then for early entry at 8:30 I'm on the Disney Port Orleans bus by about 6:30/6:45 then in line for early entry maybe by 7:15/7:30 at latest and proceed straight to FOP then Navi. To ride twice will hop in line just before park close to minimize wait and see the great colors of Pandora at night!

Everybody's tastes might differ, but for me... ONLY TWICE?!

Backstory: Our first trip to Disneyworld was spring 2019. The first thing we did, after checking into WL, was to go straight to FoP. We were younger, our kids were young and starry-eyed, and we all had been nursing that "OMG we're going to Disney" fever for months, and it all got to lead right up to that first exhilarating moment. When we got off, it wasn't a question of whether we'd want a second ride, but of whether we could live with just two.

On our recent, second trip to Disney, we of course rode it. Don't get me wrong, it was still special and I wouldn't have wanted to skip it. It didn't have quite the same gut-gripping euphoria, though. Maybe that's because we're older and our kids are more jaded. Maybe it's because in 2019 this was (for us, setting aside apples-to-oranges comparisons) the best ride of the entire trip. Our first visit was before Galaxy's Edge, before RotR, before Guardians.

But by any standards, it's still a really fun ride. I recommend watching Avatar (1) before going, or rewatching if it's been years. That movie devotes a lot of minutes to simply celebrating the joy of flight, and the ride just makes that experience that much more real. Also, the appearance of the Toruk or the epic soundtrack will be more meaningful if you've recently watched it, and re-trigger all the feels.

 

[CamillaF]

Also, Dont forget that if you stay for park close and are IN LINE you'll get to ride before closing for any attraction that you are in the queue for (IE Flight of Passage) so if the park closes at 7 and you get in line at 6:58 you'll usually get on that ride within 30 min and be out and on your way. We used this strategy to hit FOP and Navi River a few years back. We timed getting off FOP with just enough time to get in the queue for River.

Used to drive safaris for 2 yrs. It all depends on the Temperature. If it is a warmer morning, the animals will be out and moving. If it is cold out, (30's- low 60's) safaris are usually pretty barren because the animals get to choose if they want to go out on safari and they usually choose to stay in their warm barns until it warms up more outside. 60's you'll start to more consistently see Rhinos, Elephants, Lions, Giraffes, more of the bigger animals.

The 70 degree safaris were usually some of the best. 80 Degrees and above can be good for Pictures because the animals don't move around as much, they tend to stay still

My favorite safaris to drive were always during summer rainstorms or right after the rain. Usually its cool and the animals are extremely active. Elephants love to swim in the rain. Some of my favorite memories of working there was watching the baby elephants playing in the water. There were no other trucks behind us so we watched for a few minutes before someone else came along and we continued.

Thank you for this

 

[snayak]

Have you ever tried to leverage this strategy with Genie+ and stack for an afternoon/evening park like DHS? I never thought about doing it that way but seems like it might actually be a good way to maximize both parks if planning a DHS evening. We're still months out from our upcoming trip (Oct) so who knows what might be the best strategy by then but I'm still trying to do some general game planning right now.

I unintentionally did exactly this for our trip last week. Bought G+ for Safari's and FoP $ILL, and then just started stacking LL for DHS in the afternoon. Had to wait until about 9:30 or 10am to get return times after 4pm, but was able to book TOT, RnRC, TSMM, and MMRR for a delightful evening in DHS. In fact we were done in like 2.5 hours, so we actually hopped over to Epcot via Skyliner for a 3-park day.

 

[kylenne]

I’ve rope dropped FoP a couple of times. I think arriving 30-40 before early entry is the sweet spot. There will be a bunch of people in front of you but your wait in the actual line wont be more than 10-15 minutes. There isn’t that much bang for your buck in arriving earlier.

It depends on what your goals are. The idea behind being at the front of the pack for FoP rope drop is to minimize your waiting for it *and* maximize your touring time when you get off of it. That 10-15 minutes you're spending in the FoP queue can often be the difference between a longer wait at the Safari afterwards, which is where most people tend to head after FoP if they aren't going to Navi. Josh (RIP) used to do these experiments a lot on his blog.

 

[BigOHawk]

It depends on what your goals are. The idea behind being at the front of the pack for FoP rope drop is to minimize your waiting for it *and* maximize your touring time when you get off of it. That 10-15 minutes you're spending in the FoP queue can often be the difference between a longer wait at the Safari afterwards, which is where most people tend to head after FoP if they aren't going to Navi. Josh (RIP) used to do these experiments a lot on his blog.

Indeed! Used to love reading his reports and tips and tricks, GREAT website! He was so funny too in his own way...

 

[DisneyRobbie]

People do and I've done it too. Just be aware that the safari does not open during early entry. So if early entry was 7 am and the park opens at 7:30, the safari typically opens at 8 am. One of my favorite AK early morning strategies is to not buy Genie+ and instead buy the ILL for Flight of Passage. Then you rope drop Navi (almost always a walk on), grab a coffee at Starbucks or one of the Joffreys carts and get on line for the safari.

Save for later

 

[kylenne]

Indeed! Used to love reading his reports and tips and tricks, GREAT website! He was so funny too in his own way...

I miss him dearly. The community really lost a lot when he passed. Everything I learned about touring the parks in a way that worked very well for me I learned from reading his hilarious posts.

 

[stinkpickle]

Came here for almost this exact question except AK early entry is at 7:30. What time do you think we'd have to leave Saratoga Springs to make it worth it? It's the one ride my kids insist on and I refuse to pay for $$ILL$$. We aren't going to be at the park at closing so can't use that strategy.

I would be at the bus stop no later than 6am. We always RD FOP, and we skip Navi, because nobody in our family thinks it's worth any wait longer than 10 minutes. Sometimes, the line for FOP backs up and blocks the walkway to safari when we get off FOP, so we take off for EE and ride it several times, instead.

 

[gharter]

Save for later

We've done that as well and its worked well.
Our last trip, we purchased a LL$ for FoP, then did EE, went on Navi, walked over to Dinosaur, then Everest (not always open for EE) and got in line for Safari before the park opened.
This worked because at least 75% of the people entering go to FoP.

 

[parasail_of_congress]

Obviously it depends on the crowds and time of year, but we prefer to ride EE a few times at rope drop and then circle back to Safari and Pandora around dinner time (or even later). The dinnertime crowds should be similar to the lines if you are there at rope drop but not at the front of it.

 

[TikiRob]

I've given this advice before, but it is worth repeating... I'm probably the only person who takes this approach, but I go right into DinoLand USA. I'm usually the first on Dinosaur and as we travel back in time, I jump off at about an hour before rope drop. Then I can stroll over to Pandora with no wait or crowds.

 

[swaggystackslv]

It's been many years since we've been to Animal Kingdom so curious with Early Entry at 8:30 and going straight to Flight of Passage if we would encounter much of a wait? Never been on the ride! Given the size of park and number of rides in early March is there a good touring strategy anyone can recommend? Thanks!

I personally would recommend rope dropping and heading to the safari, do Kali river rapids, Everest, grab a corn and masala fries, then Lion King show, grab drinks and pineapple/cream cheese spring rolls to enjoy while waiting in line for FOP, or Navi River. We found FOP to be super easy to ride in the afternoons and later in the day because a lot of people park-hop or head back to their hotel if there is a storm that comes through. We rode FOP 3x in a row during one storm. The kids hung out in the gift shop and were treated to an amazing "how to train your banshee" experience by one of the cast members ( had never heard of this... but was so cool!! and FREE!! Then with the remaining time maybe check out Rafiki's watch and the rest of AK's trails.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We went to AK from Riverside on Wednesday. Early entry was 8:30am and 9am for general entry. We arrived at the park at 7:45 and had to wait for about ten minutes before before we could get through the tap posts. We walked to Pandora and went to Navi rather than FoP. The standby line for Flight of Passage was about 75 minutes by the time regular guests got into the park

We went to the safari and it was running when we got there around 8:40, which was before the park opened at 9am

 

[BigOHawk]

We went to AK from Riverside on Wednesday. Early entry was 8:30am and 9am for general entry. We arrived at the park at 7:45 and had to wait for about ten minutes before before we could get through the tap posts. We walked to Pandora and went to Navi rather than FoP. The standby line for Flight of Passage was about 75 minutes by the time regular guests got into the park

We went to the safari and it was running when we got there around 8:40, which was before the park opened at 9am

Any guesses on if you would've opted for FOP what the wait might have been? Still tossing ideas around and we probably won't do Genie+ or $ILL at AK.