AK non-EMH day

[epcotobsessed]

So either the park hours changed or I messed up and we are going to AK on a non-EMH day. We haven't been since just before Pandora opened and I am wondering what the best strategy is - we have a FOP FP at 12:30pm but also wanted to ride Navi. On a non-EMH day, would we be better off RDing Navi or RDing other parts of the park? If we could, for instance, ride Primeval Whirl, Dinosaur, and EE in the first hour, I think I would rather do that and just wait for Navi later, but I am not sure what crowds are like in the non-Pandora part now. Thanks for any advice - I hope what I'm asking is clear!

 

[Alesia]

If you go straight to EE, you can ride it 2 or 3 times and then move on to dinosaur and primeval whirl. You should be able to get all of that done in the first hour.

 

[Tondee]

Watch the times on the MDE app. I believe Na'vi is a walk on for the 1st 30 minutes as everyone is getting in line for FOP. You would be able to knock it out, then go do the rest of the park.

 

[epcotobsessed]

Watch the times on the MDE app. I believe Na'vi is a walk on for the 1st 30 minutes as everyone is getting in line for FOP. You would be able to knock it out, then go do the rest of the park.

Thanks - to put my OP in a perhaps easier-to-understand way, I am trying to weigh the advantages of walking on all non-Pandora attractions vs. walking on Navi. I feel like we should be able to walk on at least a few non-Pandora attractions if we head there at RD vs. only being able to walk on Navi and maybe one other ride since Pandora is a fair distance from other rides. I am leaning toward heading away from Pandora at RD, but we'll see.

 

[gharter]

If you don't have a FP for Navi, I would do that at RD. Usually, the line isn't too long for about the first 30 minutes (although I have seen it at 60 minutes) as opposed to FoP, where the line just grows and can be well over 90 minutes after the first 30 minutes.
After Navi, I would head to EE. You should be able to ride a few times before the crowd catches up.

 

[motherof5]

If you go straight to EE, you can ride it 2 or 3 times and then move on to dinosaur and primeval whirl. You should be able to get all of that done in the first hour.

We might have to try this. Thanks for the info.

 

[epcotobsessed]

If you don't have a FP for Navi, I would do that at RD. Usually, the line isn't too long for about the first 30 minutes (although I have seen it at 60 minutes) as opposed to FoP, where the line just grows and can be well over 90 minutes after the first 30 minutes.
After Navi, I would head to EE. You should be able to ride a few times before the crowd catches up.

Thank you

 

[Alesia]

I have to say that Na'vi River Journey was the only real disappoint of our latest trip. I wouldn't wait more than 5 minutes for it.

 

[Ensusieasm]

So either the park hours changed or I messed up and we are going to AK on a non-EMH day. We haven't been since just before Pandora opened and I am wondering what the best strategy is - we have a FOP FP at 12:30pm but also wanted to ride Navi. On a non-EMH day, would we be better off RDing Navi or RDing other parts of the park? If we could, for instance, ride Primeval Whirl, Dinosaur, and EE in the first hour, I think I would rather do that and just wait for Navi later, but I am not sure what crowds are like in the non-Pandora part now. Thanks for any advice - I hope what I'm asking is clear!

I promise you will wish you used your rope drop time to go straight to Pandora, but NOT to Navi River, get right on FOP. Yes I know you have that 12:30 fast pass, but please believe me when I say you will wish you got to experience FOP twice!
Arrive at the park an hour and a half before opening. They will let you in the park 45minutes early, and they will open FOP thirty minutes early. You should be getting off FOP at the regular scheduled park opening time. Then head over to EE and other rides. You will be glad you did.

 

[MomOTwins]

Arrive at the park an hour and a half before opening.

See, this is what I don't understand about the "arrive way before the park opens to be at the front of the rope drop pack" strategy. How is it any better to wait 90 minutes at the gate starting at 7:30 than to show up at 9am and wait 90 minutes in the actual ride queue? Seems WORSE to me to do the first since at least the ride queue has nice scenery, and since, you know, sleep.

On the original question, I would do Navi River first if I were you. I think you will still have time to head to the other attractions straight after and ride them without a significant wait, but if you go to do the other attractions first, there is no way you will be able to ride Navi without a long wait.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

See, this is what I don't understand about the "arrive way before the park opens to be at the front of the rope drop pack" strategy. How is it any better to wait 90 minutes at the gate starting at 7:30 than to show up at 9am and wait 90 minutes in the actual ride queue? Seems WORSE to me to do the first since at least the ride queue has nice scenery, and since, you know, sleep.

Because you will walk off the ride just as the park opens and still have low lines everywhere else for the first hour. If you wait in line 90 minutes after the park opens, then everything else you ride after will have long lines too.

 

[rentayenta]

I have to say that Na'vi River Journey was the only real disappoint of our latest trip. I wouldn't wait more than 5 minutes for it.

Why was it disappointing? I see a lot of similar reviews.

 

[Alesia]

See, this is what I don't understand about the "arrive way before the park opens to be at the front of the rope drop pack" strategy. How is it any better to wait 90 minutes at the gate starting at 7:30 than to show up at 9am and wait 90 minutes in the actual ride queue? Seems WORSE to me to do the first since at least the ride queue has nice scenery, and since, you know, sleep.

If you show up at 9:00, you'll be waiting a lot longer than 90 minutes for FOP. We were at AK at 8:15 and we still had to wait an hour for FOP. By 9:00 am the line was over 3 hours.

ETA: A few years ago I got bored and did the math. Showing up to MK 1 hour before park opening saved 3-1/2 to 4 hours of waiting over the course of the day.

 

[Alesia]

Why was it disappointing? I see a lot of similar reviews.

It's a very short, very boring boat ride. There's just nothing to it. I would rather just walk around Pandora at night

 

[MomOTwins]

If you show up at 9:00, you'll be waiting a lot longer than 90 minutes for FOP. We were at AK at 8:15 and we still had to wait an hour for FOP. By 9:00 am the line was over 3 hours.

ETA: A few years ago I got bored and did the math. Showing up to MK 1 hour before park opening saved 3-1/2 to 4 hours of waiting over the course of the day.

I should clarify - I was assuming a 9am park open, not 8am.
The only way it would save that much time is if you did not use fastpass.

 

[Tondee]

I liked Na'vi but it is a short boat ride. Of course, I really liked the lights and the scenery. (I had also liked that part of the movie where he sees everything at night.) I didn't like the shaman/singing but everything else was very cool. We rode it a couple of times that day. Also, when I went by Na'vi about 20 minutes after park opening the 1st week of June, it was a 5 minute wait. We rode it, then hit Dino and Asia. We were finished with those lands by 11.

 

[epcotobsessed]

I am so torn on Na'vi! I have heard it's a must do and that it's totally skippable, multiple times each. I think we will definitely get there well before RD and decide at the last minute which way to go - into Pandora and toward FOP, toward Na'vi, or away from Pandora into the rest of the park. I truly have no idea what we will do but I really appreciate all of the advice.

 

[KelNChrisKYDis]

If you are planning on staying to park closing, NRJ has no line about an hour or so before park closing. We rode it 5x's in a row without getting off. (My 4 year old was obsessed.) It's a very boring ride, imo, but worth riding at least once; it's pretty, the technology is cool, and the Shaman is impressive at the end. But I second a previous poster, if you're going to get there at RD, just do FOP twice, especially if you'll be back at the end of the night. If you're adamant about riding NRJ and not returning, I'd do that first, and then do everything else. We did FOP at a 7am EMH RD and then immediately did the safari without any wait, and it was amazing. We were then able to do EE and Dinosaur before the rest of our party arrived at 10, including having a relaxing breakfast and people watching.