AK rope drop: how much time for FoP and Navi?

[MamaBear12]

I’m not anticipating getting a FP+ for either pandora ride for our group of 8 (30-days out tomorrow), so planning to 8am rope drop Pandora. We’ll have two under 40” kiddos, so rider swap for FoP. It will be the Thursday of New Years week, so pretty busy time.

How long should we anticipate for standby FoP + rider swap FoP group (fastpass line) + standby Navi? 3 hours? More? I’m trying to decide when we’ll be done to start our FP+ rides.

OR, will rope drop for FoP be insane and should we take advantage of short lines elsewhere and do FoP in the afternoon if/when the wait falls below 2 hours. I read there’s an afternoon dip...not sure how true that is though.

 

[sharonabe]

I’m not anticipating getting a FP+ for either pandora ride for our group of 8 (30-days out tomorrow), so planning to 8am rope drop Pandora. We’ll have two under 40” kiddos, so rider swap for FoP. It will be the Thursday of New Years week, so pretty busy time.

How long should we anticipate for standby FoP + rider swap FoP group (fastpass line) + standby Navi? 3 hours? More? I’m trying to decide when we’ll be done to start our FP+ rides.

OR, will rope drop for FoP be insane and should we take advantage of short lines elsewhere and do FoP in the afternoon if/when the wait falls below 2 hours. I read there’s an afternoon dip...not sure how true that is though.

If AK is opening at 8 a.m., you'll want your group to be AT THE GATES by 7 a.m. If you can do that, your FoP wait will be minimal. I would do FoP, then Na'vi and then the ones swapping ride FoP. You should be able to do all of that and be on your way to the rest of AK in less than an hour. BUT YOU MUST BE THERE AT 7 in order for this to work for you.

If you can't be there that early, then I would wait for the afternoon "drop," but know that you'll be waiting a couple hours.

You could also wait until end of day, but since you need the rider swap, that could be a gamble. If you choose to do this strategy, then I think you'll still want to get in line at least an hour before closing and maybe earlier. Hopefully, someone will come along with better knowledge of rider swap at end of day.

 

[MamaBear12]

If AK is opening at 8 a.m., you'll want your group to be AT THE GATES by 7 a.m. If you can do that, your FoP wait will be minimal. I would do FoP, then Na'vi and then the ones swapping ride FoP. You should be able to do all of that and be on your way to the rest of AK in less than an hour. BUT YOU MUST BE THERE AT 7 in order for this to work for you.

If you can't be there that early, then I would wait for the afternoon "drop," but know that you'll be waiting a couple hours.

You could also wait until end of day, but since you need the rider swap, that could be a gamble. If you choose to do this strategy, then I think you'll still want to get in line at least an hour before closing and maybe earlier. Hopefully, someone will come along with better knowledge of rider swap at end of day.

I was just able to FP+ Na’vi for late afternoon 4:10pm. Would that change your strategy recommendation? Also, when typically is the afternoon “drop”? Thanks!

ETA: Na’vi at 3:50 now.

 

[gharter]

If AK is opening at 8 a.m., you'll want your group to be AT THE GATES by 7 a.m. If you can do that, your FoP wait will be minimal. I would do FoP, then Na'vi and then the ones swapping ride FoP. You should be able to do all of that and be on your way to the rest of AK in less than an hour. BUT YOU MUST BE THERE AT 7 in order for this to work for you.

This is the order I would suggest as well. If you both do FoP right away with swapping, the line for Navi will have grown.

 

[MamaBear12]

This is the order I would suggest as well. If you both do FoP right away with swapping, the line for Navi will have grown.

I snagged a 3:50 FP+ for Na’vi. Now what? ;-)

 

[gharter]

I snagged a 3:50 FP+ for Na’vi. Now what? ;-)

In this case, I would still RD and both do FoP with rider swap.
Your other option is for 1 to do FoP, everyone go over to Navi and ride it, then do FoP for the other person. This is not going to take much more time than skipping Navi.
After riding Navi, you can decide to either keep the FP for Navi and rider later in the day or cancel that Fp and get a different one.

 

[DavidNYC]

Agree that rider swap is fine at rope drop especially if you have Na'vi FP later (Na'vi is likely to be well over an hour wait by the time the second party is off FoP). But also want to re-emphasize that a matter of a 5-10 minute delay arriving at the start of the day could literally make a 1-2 hour difference especially if you'll be making your way to Pandora with a larger group with kids since I'm sure you'll be passed on the paths a lot on the way there.

 

[MamaBear12]

Agree that rider swap is fine at rope drop especially if you have Na'vi FP later (Na'vi is likely to be well over an hour wait by the time the second party is off FoP). But also want to re-emphasize that a matter of a 5-10 minute delay arriving at the start of the day could literally make a 1-2 hour difference especially if you'll be making your way to Pandora with a larger group with kids since I'm sure you'll be passed on the paths a lot on the way there.

This is my concern as well. We'll have 2 in strollers. Would we be better off skipping Pandora at rope drop and instead doing Dinosaur, Everest, etc. to take advantage of the short lines, and then in the afternoon plan to standby FoP when there's a "drop" in the standby time? I feel like that might be a better alternative. If we're going to stand in line, we might as well do it when there are long-ish lines everywhere as opposed to when there are super short lines at other rides.

 

[MamaBear12]

In this case, I would still RD and both do FoP with rider swap.
Your other option is for 1 to do FoP, everyone go over to Navi and ride it, then do FoP for the other person. This is not going to take much more time than skipping Navi.
After riding Navi, you can decide to either keep the FP for Navi and rider later in the day or cancel that Fp and get a different one.

Ok. So, I'll keep the FP+ for now and see how the morning goes. Would you agree with David (above) that if we get there by 7am, we should do the FoP-Na'vi-FoP (rider swap group) plan, but if we don't arrive by 7 do FoP standby later in the day (and take advantage of low lines elsewhere at 8am instead)?

 

[MamaBear12]

Agree that rider swap is fine at rope drop especially if you have Na'vi FP later (Na'vi is likely to be well over an hour wait by the time the second party is off FoP). But also want to re-emphasize that a matter of a 5-10 minute delay arriving at the start of the day could literally make a 1-2 hour difference especially if you'll be making your way to Pandora with a larger group with kids since I'm sure you'll be passed on the paths a lot on the way there.

Have you done rider swap at FoP by any chance? I'm worried that getting the rider swap set up when we enter will allow a ton of people to pass us, resulting in potentially much longer wait times. Are they pretty efficient with making sure you don't lose your place in line when you set up the rider swap?

 

[DavidNYC]

This is my concern as well. We'll have 2 in strollers. Would we be better off skipping Pandora at rope drop and instead doing Dinosaur, Everest, etc. to take advantage of the short lines, and then in the afternoon plan to standby FoP when there's a "drop" in the standby time? I feel like that might be a better alternative. If we're going to stand in line, we might as well do it when there are long-ish lines everywhere as opposed to when there are super short lines at other rides.

I wouldn't count on too much of a dip during Xmas week. I can see a solid 4 hour wait most of the day . . . I think rope drop is unfortunately your best shot. It won't be pleasant - but not much that week is!

 

[DavidNYC]

Have you done rider swap at FoP by any chance? I'm worried that getting the rider swap set up when we enter will allow a ton of people to pass us, resulting in potentially much longer wait times. Are they pretty efficient with making sure you don't lose your place in line when you set up the rider swap?

Have not and you'll have to play by ear since I also wouldn't count on how rider swap is handled now will be the same that week. If it's not done right at the queue entrance, I'd get everyone on line other than the kids, the 2nd group, and 1 from the first group who can go to where you need to register for the swap. It looked like at SDD they had a separate line to manage rider swap which looked a pain. If they have that, you want to get your place in line. While I don't usually advocate for line saving, I think it's OK if the other part of the party is on the line needed to set up the swap.

 

[MamaBear12]

I wouldn't count on too much of a dip during Xmas week. I can see a solid 4 hour wait most of the day . . . I think rope drop is unfortunately your best shot. It won't be pleasant - but not much that week is!

We’ll be there the week after New Years (Thursday, January 3rd to be exact), so I’m hoping not quite as busy a Christmas week, but I’m sure it will be up up there. :-S

 

[MamaBear12]

Have not and you'll have to play by ear since I also wouldn't count on how rider swap is handled now will be the same that week. If it's not done right at the queue entrance, I'd get everyone on line other than the kids, the 2nd group, and 1 from the first group who can go to where you need to register for the swap. It looked like at SDD they had a separate line to manage rider swap which looked a pain. If they have that, you want to get your place in line. While I don't usually advocate for line saving, I think it's OK if the other part of the party is on the line needed to set up the swap.

Ok. That’s what I was thinking too. Have one adult (A) from initial ride group, kiddos, and 2 adults from rider swap group find CM and figure out rider swap while other two adults stay in line. Then have A join them in line.

 

[raider97]

I was able to get Navi for New Years Day 30 days out. And there is still some availability for it (party of 5). Just to help with your planning. Good luck!!

 

[MamaBear12]

I was able to get Navi for New Years Day 30 days out. And there is still some availability for it (party of 5). Just to help with your planning. Good luck!!

We got Na’vi! 3:50pm. Now to figure out FoP and rider swap...

 

[DavidNYC]

We’ll be there the week after New Years (Thursday, January 3rd to be exact), so I’m hoping not quite as busy a Christmas week, but I’m sure it will be up up there. :-S

Oh! I thought you meant the Thursday between Xmas and New Year. The 3rd will still be busy but immensely less so!

 

[MamaBear12]

Oh! I thought you meant the Thursday between Xmas and New Year. The 3rd will still be busy but immensely less so!

Glad to hear that. We went to MK and EP between Christmas and New Years last year. Never again!

 

[sharonabe]

We’ll be there the week after New Years (Thursday, January 3rd to be exact), so I’m hoping not quite as busy a Christmas week, but I’m sure it will be up up there. :-S

The way the holiday falls this year, I would expect this week to be running a VERY close 2nd to the week before as the busiest weeks of the year. I doubt you'll see that much of a difference from the year you did Christmas to New Years.

 

[gharter]

Ok. So, I'll keep the FP+ for now and see how the morning goes. Would you agree with David (above) that if we get there by 7am, we should do the FoP-Na'vi-FoP (rider swap group) plan, but if we don't arrive by 7 do FoP standby later in the day (and take advantage of low lines elsewhere at 8am instead)?

We were there in October and did RD. Park opened at 9, we were there at 7:50. Already people lined up infront of 8 turnstyles and at least 15 deep. They slowly opened more turnstyles on the right side. We were fortunate and on the right and ended up about 8 people back. They started letting people through at 8:30 and then stopped the crowd just in front of getting into Pandora. At 8:45 slowly walked the crowd into Pandora. Lot of pushing and shoving in the crowd. We got into the first preshow room at 8:55. When we were off the ride, the line was 90 minutes.
So, yes, if you aren't there early, the line builds very quickly. In that case heading to EE and others is a better option. No idea if it will drop during the day. Hasn't happened when we have been there in April or October. Getting in line near closing may be an option, but not sure how that works with rider swap.