I just don't get the whole arriving 2 hours early and waiting for RD vs arriving anytime and waiting in line for 2 hours - or am I missing something here?
Or are all the other lines also looooong wait too?
I arrive, on average, 50 minutes before an EMH day at AK (I don't mind waiting a bit for FoP). You get back into the park and on FoP usually before the park even opens (so that actually saves you time going through security and through the tapstiles and actually physically getting into the park proper), then off that ride and on to NRJ which you get on and off without a line. The rest is gravy; meaning you have choices and most rides outside of Pandora are still close to being walk-on's. I'm a hopper, so I hit Pandora during EMH and hop over to EPCOT right after and get there a little past regular park open.
I don't go on really crowded holidays, that changes the dynamic. But, for me, it definitely saves park time, lets me ride FoP multiple times if I want to, and I'm a morning person.
ETA; So, that's what might be missing in some individual's timeline; if EMH is at 7, you get there around 6 and are on and off FoP just a little after 7. So you are through security, through tapstiles, through the entryway of the park, have ridden the most popular ride and off of it in time for the EMH opening time. It does vary when you actually get done with FoP because sometimes they have issues with guests loading, AND, I will add, every now and again FoP is totally down because of technical difficulties... then, in my experience, everyone heads to Safari. lol