AK Plan...which would you choose?

[crazy_cremello]

My trip isn’t until May next year but I’m already finding myself trying to figure out the best plan of action for Animal Kingdom. Of course I can’t do much until I find out which day has EMH for the park but...

I’m going to try my hardest to get FOP FP, if im unsuccessful do I:

- Get to AK on a morning EMH day before Rope Drop and head straight to FOP

Or

- Get to AK before rope drop on a normal park hours day and head straight to FOP?

I can’t work out which time would have bigger crowds as I’ve never had the luxury of using EMH before!

Thanks!

 

[MinnieMom85]

Are you staying on site where you have a chance at booking your FP at like 60+5 days?

 

[crazy_cremello]

Are you staying on site where you have a chance at booking your FP at like 60+5 days?

Yes thankfully we’re staying on site. That’s what I’m going to try and do, choose a day to do the park towards the end of the trip. But if I’m still unsuccessful I need a back up plan! Hoping the middle of May isn’t quite as busy a time so maybe I’ll be lucky with FP! And then if I do get them, I still need to figure out a plan to get on Na’vi River Journey!!

 

[lilfaeriebrat]

I've heard a lot of people suggest hitting FOP at the end of the night shortly before closing instead of shoot for first thing in the morning. Reports are saying that the last hour the posted wait time is highly inflated Like it will say 90 minutes and the wait is actually 30. And every experience I have ever had at any disney park is as long as you're in line before official park closing you will get to go on the ride. So hop in line 15 minutes before closing and you're golden.

 

[gharter]

Since you can book FPs 60 days +, I would start by trying to get a FP toward the end of your trip at least 60+4 or 5.
If that doesn't work,EMH RD is often less crowded that normal RD by a little. Just be sure to get there 45-6- minutes before scheduled opening time. At the official opening time FoP will most likely have a greater than 60 minute wait, often 90+.

 

[Ds4angels]

My plan if I can't get FOP FP is to do FOP between 1-4 when there's "kind of a lull". I figured we'll have a good portion of AK done, the stand by line, is supposed to be pretty cool. Plus it's a/c the whole time I'm in line and AK is a hot park, no matter what time of year. Then if the kids really like it we can get back in line 15 minutes before closing to ride again. Not a perfect plan, but they are going to revolt on me if I make them hit RD every morning

 

[gharter]

My plan if I can't get FOP FP is to do FOP between 1-4 when there's "kind of a lull". I figured we'll have a good portion of AK done, the stand by line, is supposed to be pretty cool. Plus it's a/c the whole time I'm in line and AK is a hot park, no matter what time of year. Then if the kids really like it we can get back in line 15 minutes before closing to ride again. Not a perfect plan, but they are going to revolt on me if I make them hit RD every morning

The standby line is very cool and the FP line misses most of it.
Once you get inside the building, it is air conditioned (usually about 30-40 minute wait). The entire wait outside, obviously is not air conditioned, and that can be over an hour.

 

[Ds4angels]

The standby line is very cool and the FP line misses most of it.
Once you get inside the building, it is air conditioned (usually about 30-40 minute wait). The entire wait outside, obviously is not air conditioned, and that can be over an hour.

Thanks for the heads up on the wait outside. We're going in February, so heat is a relative term . Of course if the line is ridiculous we'll change plans accordingly

 

[Gaugersaurus]

I did both EMH RD & regular RD when I was there last month and I'd say the wait for FoP was about the same for both. However, I was solo and therefore able to weave through the crowd a bit more easily.

If you want to do both FoP & Nav'i River Journey I would suggest doing EMH RD. Head to FoP first then do River Journey, I think the posted wait for River Journey was 30 mins but it took about 10-15 during EMH. For regular park opening the posted wait was 60 mins by the time I got off FoP.

 

[Pookie9922]

I booked my FP last week. My AK day was 60+5. No problem getting FOP for 5 people. Got it for 9:05! It was the 1st FP I booked, right at 7:00. So I'll RD Na'vi and go right to FOP without stressing about getting to RD crazy early. If we are early enough though, I might RD FOP, ride Na'vi and then use FP for FOP again. I also have it in our schedule as the last thing of the day. I'd like to see Pandora at night.

 

[crazy_cremello]

Since you can book FPs 60 days +, I would start by trying to get a FP toward the end of your trip at least 60+4 or 5.
If that doesn't work,EMH RD is often less crowded that normal RD by a little. Just be sure to get there 45-6- minutes before scheduled opening time. At the official opening time FoP will most likely have a greater than 60 minute wait, often 90+.

So am I right in thinking - we arrive on Saturday 11th May so FP opens for us on March 12th I believe? On that day, I would still be able to book FP for say, Thursday 16th May and that would be 60+5? Is that how it works? Never had the opportunity before, I’m so excited!

 

[crazy_cremello]

I booked my FP last week. My AK day was 60+5. No problem getting FOP for 5 people. Got it for 9:05! It was the 1st FP I booked, right at 7:00. So I'll RD Na'vi and go right to FOP without stressing about getting to RD crazy early. If we are early enough though, I might RD FOP, ride Na'vi and then use FP for FOP again. I also have it in our schedule as the last thing of the day. I'd like to see Pandora at night.

Wow you were super lucky!! I’ve read that Na’vi queues don’t get anywhere near as bad as FOP, although still suggested to get there early - is that right? We really struggle spending an entire day at AK to be fair. It’s always SO hot and the only rides we really love are Everest (which we are happy to single rider to save the FP), Dinosaur and It’s Tough to be a Bug. We’ve done the safari on every trip but we might forego this time, we have a drive thru safari an hour up the road from us at home so we don’t really feel like we miss out on stuff! As much as I’d love to try doing FOP last thing at night, I doubt we’ll even be there past 3pm....and I have a Boma ADR I wish to book

 

[Pookie9922]

So am I right in thinking - we arrive on Saturday 11th May so FP opens for us on March 12th I believe? On that day, I would still be able to book FP for say, Thursday 16th May and that would be 60+5? Is that how it works? Never had the opportunity before, I’m so excited!

Yes, that's how it works. On March 12th, you can book up to 60+10 days worth of fastpasses. They recommend putting AK later in the trip. Sounds like 60+4 or +5 is the sweet spot. You can also check ahead of time on Touring Plans to see what's available. it's not 100% but gives you an idea of what has been picked over already. This was my first time too, so I was giddy that I got every FP I wanted (with the exception of SDD, but that was on my day 1, so I wasn't trying) at the almost exact times I wanted. (again, my HS I didn't get TSMM until later in the day)

I think the Na'vi queues are supposed to stay low right at RD because most people go to FOP first. So we will go early to stay safe. I have our AK day being pretty full. This is our one and only trip so I'm trying to fit in as much as possible and try everything once if possible. Lower priority are the treks and trails because we have multiple good zoos here (Los Angeles, and San Diego) but I still like animals and want to see them if possible!

 

[QueenElinor]

Yes, that's how it works. On March 12th, you can book up to 60+10 days worth of fastpasses. They recommend putting AK later in the trip. Sounds like 60+4 or +5 is the sweet spot. You can also check ahead of time on Touring Plans to see what's available.

So I was looking around on Touring Plans and read where it's actually 60 + 14? Is that incorrect? The reason I ask is we won't know exactly how many days we'll be able to be at Disney until a couple of months ahead, possibly even after the 60 day time clock has started ticking. It could be anywhere from 7-12 days depending on what happens with my son's college finals schedule.