Animal Kingdom Touring Strategy

[Swaggerwagon]

Does anybody rope drop EE? We like rope drop (kids are morning people) so I’m thinking about skipping Na’vi River this trip, getting FOP FastPass for afternoon/evening and then making a right turn at rope drop. Has anybody done this lately? I’ve never been to Pandora, will we miss out on a lot by skipping Na’vi this trip?

 

[MomOTwins]

Navi River is beautiful, but it is over very quick, and I would be furious if I had waited more than 30 minutes for it (we always do FP, since my kids are too little for FOP). Yet the standby line during the day is consistently around 2 hours. Since you can only get one Pandora FP, why not rope drop Navi and get a fastpass for Everest? Then you don't have to miss anything. In my view, the best uses of FP+ at AK are (1) either Pandora ride; (2) EE; and (3) Kilimanjaro safaris. We have always been able to ride everything else at AK with a 20 minute or less wait if you time it right and keep checking wait times on the app.

 

[pitpat]

You can even rope drop Navi (don't have to arrive super early, it's walk on just before opening time), then hit EE with little wait. And of course you can still get an EE FP for another ride.

 

[djc9699]

We rope dropped Everest in December and March. Rode 4 times in 45 minutes in December. March was a little busier but still managed 3 rides the first hour. My daughter loves this ride and the dash towards EE is much calmer than going towards Pandora.

 

[larie21]

IMO you’re not missing much by skipping NaVi. It’s a pretty ride but not a must do for us. On our last trip, we rope dropped NaVi & then rode Everest 4 times in a row before a line built. Everyone goes to FoP, so you should have Everest to yourself for awhile.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

My plan for our November trip is to RD AK on day 2. I *think* it's an AM EMH day. My plan is to go over to Everest first and then do Safari, Dino, LK show, Nemo show. Basically as much non Pandora stuff as we can. IF we are lucky enough to get a FOP FP+ we will head over to Pandora when it's time for our FP+. If we don't get a FOP FP+ we probably won't even head into Pandora until it's almost time to leave. Just so we can take a peak. We will be leaving the park around noonish this day. I have no desire to do the mad dash at RD for Pandora.

I believe on day 5 or 6 I have us sleeping in and arriving at AK around 12, I'm sure we will get a FOP that day and then we are staying until close. We will explore Pandora when we get there, use up our FP+ at FOP, EE and Safari (my FP+ plan) and then do Pandora at night. I want to see it during the day and at night. We will ride Navi closer to park close.

 

[Swaggerwagon]

IMO you’re not missing much by skipping NaVi. It’s a pretty ride but not a must do for us. On our last trip, we rope dropped NaVi & then rode Everest 4 times in a row before a line built. Everyone goes to FoP, so you should have Everest to yourself for awhile.

Thanks! Everest is the kids favorite ride, I think they will get a kick out of riding it over and over again!

 

[Swaggerwagon]

I have no desire to do the mad dash at RD for Pandora.

Me neither! I’m hoping that by going to Everest first we can have a more peaceful morning. My husband gets a little grumpy in big crowds, I don’t want him to start any aggressive stroller pushing around Pandora, hahaha!

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

I'll also note that it is completely possible to rope drop both NRJ and EE with little to no wait. When we went in November, we arrived for rope drop and went on NRJ. We were off of the ride before the park technically opened. So we went and stood at a 2nd rope drop barrier and went to EE.

 

[catccc]

Hoping for more reports of rope dropping Navi and getting done before official opening! We have a 9:30 FOP FP+ and I want to run over to Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl and still be either right on time or a tad early for our 9:30 FOP FP+.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Thanks! Everest is the kids favorite ride, I think they will get a kick out of riding it over and over again!

That's my plan with DD too. We've done this before and it really is so much fun!

 

[michelepa]

How old are your kids?
We went the second busiest week of the year and did single rider for Everest since we wanted to use fp for rides that don't have single rider.

Also I agree with other posters Navi although you should see it is a let down and I would be so upset if I waited in a line more than 30 minutes for it.

But FoP was just fabulous. I wore a patch to combat motion sickness so I could ride it. OMG. Not sure again if your kiddos would be up for it but looking around at all the young children I must not only have weak constitution but be a real chicken-flash to Tower of Terror

 

[Swaggerwagon]

My kids are 12, 10 and 4. The older ones love thrill rides, they are kind of crazy. The 4 year old is pretty laid back, he’s happy eating a snack and people watching while the big kids are on the rides. That’s a great tip about using the single rider line, they would be absolutely fine with that, thanks!