Avatar at 8:00 am? Will the line still be 2 hours?

[3littlecuties]

I wasn't able to get a FP for Avatar. We plan to go on a day that has EMH at 8:00 am. If we head straight to Avatar, how long can we expect the wait to be? We can't run there...we have 3 kids and one with special needs in a large special needs stroller. So we'll be walking at a "normal" pace not a run.

 

[kmchisholm]

Not sure how to share the url but we didn’t have FP to FOP and I shared my experience on how we were done with both rides by 9:31 (park opened at 9am).

Search - Pandora - done by 9:31am for full thread. Here’s excerpt -

Park opened at 9am, we got here at 7:55, they let us in the front gates at 8:20 and everyone went to hold in front of Pandora. About 8:30 they walked the group in and we walked straight into FOP. Walked off at 9:03 and after restroom went to NRJ. Walked off there at 9:31 - actually cancelled a FP we had for later in the day so someone else can enjoy.

 

[3littlecuties]

Nice! Did you have to run to stay at the front of the line? I read one blog where he got there at rope drop but it looked like people were running to stay at the front once they were let through. Since we won't be able to do that, I'm wondering how far behind we will get and how long the line will be by the time we get there.

 

[SarahC97]

I got there close to opening and by the time we made it back there through the crowds it had a 1 hour 45 minute wait posted. I think it's a pretty realistic possibility that you'll have an hour or more wait when getting there right at opening and heading back there. At least that was my experience last month.

 

[Gentry2004]

I would think for an 8am EMH you would still want to arrive before 7am. On 9am opening days they are opening bag check for people at 7:30.

 

[staffieri]

Wes just there Pandora was like 3 hour wait. But here the interesting thing. About 190 people ride the ride like every 6 minutes. Crazy!! So best bet get there first thing.

 

[kmchisholm]

I would think for an 8am EMH you would still want to arrive before 7am. On 9am opening days they are opening bag check for people at 7:30.

Yep - that’s exactly what we did. Note, we went on a Tues in Oct and it wasn’t an EMH morning so the crowd was low.

 

[glencoe]

I wasn't able to get a FP for Avatar. We plan to go on a day that has EMH at 8:00 am. If we head straight to Avatar, how long can we expect the wait to be? We can't run there...we have 3 kids and one with special needs in a large special needs stroller. So we'll be walking at a "normal" pace not a run.

For our last visit-End of August which was a last minute trip and FOP was not available on fast pass we decided to try rope drop. However it was an EMH morning so as per suggestions we attempted a 6:16am arrival...our Uber driver got lost...and we arrived 6:55am (from POFQ). They let people in and start to walk to Pandora...people were running!! I refused to be ridiculous and walked quickly (no strollers and my kids can move ages 14 and 21). By the time we got there the line was backed up and at that point the wait was 2.5 hours!! It was not even 8am! We walked around, went on Navi River instead and decided to leave and try to get fastpasses by checking through the day. No luck, on a return back at 11:00 the line went all the way to the bathrooms by Tusker house and then wrapped back up again... CRAZY!! We were told that was a 3 hour wait. Needless to say no FOP that trip. Thank god we had the chance back in June, it was so amazing, but my disney time is too precious to wait on a 3 hour line. I will try again next trip in Nov., or Feb or next Aug.

 

[NH-to-FL]

When I did a 9am opening I was at the park at 7:30am and I "walked on" FoP. If you consider a 90 minute pre-opening wait a "walk-on". They opened Pandora a bit early as I was done FoP by 9:01a. I headed right over to Navi River and was finished by 9:17a. Here is my trip report:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/first-visit-to-pandora-8-4-17.3623699/

For a morning EMH opening I would guess 60 minutes would be enough to get you near the front of the line.
Wishing you a visit!

 

[River Country]

I wasn't able to get a FP for Avatar. We plan to go on a day that has EMH at 8:00 am. If we head straight to Avatar, how long can we expect the wait to be? We can't run there...we have 3 kids and one with special needs in a large special needs stroller. So we'll be walking at a "normal" pace not a run.

when are you going? If its Christmas week plan on waiting with 50,000 of your closest friends

 

[3littlecuties]

when are you going? If its Christmas week plan on waiting with 50,000 of your closest friends

The week before Christmas. Dec 18 is our AK day. I realize it will be crazy but I'm hoping the beginning of the week won't be as bad.

 

[Micca]

I see you're a WDW vet but I'll toss in the obligatory "Keep trying for a FP." Something could open up that would work for you.

 

[3littlecuties]

I see you're a WDW vet but I'll toss in the obligatory "Keep trying for a FP." Something could open up that would work for you.

Yes...we've been many times. Pandora is new for us though and I always find AK to be hard to navigate, in general, for some reason. I'm excited for the new area but it complicates things!

I'll definitely keep trying!

 

[Micca]

I always find AK to be hard to navigate, in general, for some reason

Me too! I know the other parks pretty much backwards & forwards but AK is still unfamiliar to me. That's probably an indication that I need to go more often.

 

[nevergrowup826]

The week before Christmas. Dec 18 is our AK day. I realize it will be crazy but I'm hoping the beginning of the week won't be as bad.

That's my AK day too. i did an 8 am AK opening in August with 10 people. We were fine, just get there early. We got the first bus out of our resort, which unfortunately was not until 7am! We were fine and didn't run like animals, wait wasn't longer than 15-20 minutes by the time we got to the place where they line you up.

 

[3littlecuties]

Me too! I know the other parks pretty much backwards & forwards but AK is still unfamiliar to me. That's probably an indication that I need to go more often.

I don't know what it is! I think things are spread out and the pathways are narrow in some areas and it bottlenecks. I get frustrated every time!

 

[3littlecuties]

That's my AK day too. i did an 8 am AK opening in August with 10 people. We were fine, just get there early. We got the first bus out of our resort, which unfortunately was not until 7am! We were fine and didn't run like animals, wait wasn't longer than 15-20 minutes by the time we got to the place where they line you up.

Good to know! We are staying at AK Villas so hopefully the bus can get us to AK quickly!

 

[nevergrowup826]

Good to know! We are staying at AK Villas so hopefully the bus can get us to AK quickly!

hope so, our problem was that they just weren't running until 7am! we were waiting at 630 after reading the boards! but for this, i'd rather wait than miss that first AK bus! good luck!

For us, they held everyone at the bag check in, then held everyone at the turnstiles, then held everyone at a rope in discovery island. The holding is a pain. I'll never understand why they hold in the park when it seems so much easier and less trampled to just allow people to funnel in through the turnstiles.

 

[pmaurer74]

The week before Christmas. Dec 18 is our AK day. I realize it will be crazy but I'm hoping the beginning of the week won't be as bad.

I will be there the same day. I did get FOP FP but plan to do River and EE during EMH. If I could get on FOP right away I would. I might try right at 8pm when the park closes.

 

[cigar95]

The way the procedures work now, at park opening the line for FoP is being sent up the path towards Harambe, rather than filling in the internal queue. (Quite odd, but it is what it is.) When we got to the park on the one day we rode standby, we were about 30-40 yards up that path - not counting the part snaking through the area right in front of the attraction. I think this was at about 0840, shortly after we were let in to the Pandora area. From *that* point up on the path, our wait was about 35 minutes. If you see the line extending a lot farther back up the path, that suggests your wait will be correspondingly longer. The line moves nominally 200 people every eight minutes.

CAVEAT - this was in mid-September, before the fast-pass mix was changed from 50-50 to 75-25. So this may mean the standby line will move slower than my experience.

However, one thing I feel safe in saying is that the posted time should not be the thing that makes your choice for you. At park opening, things are changing rapidly and that number is not a lot more than a guess.