Avatar Flight of Passage - is it all that?

[Christine]

Even if you hop in the queue just before park closing, there's a good 45 minute wait, at least.

Park closing varies. My general wait time was 35-40 minutes from scanning in to walking off. That was last July.

I have a hard time wrapping my head around the rope drop thing. People end up standing outside the main entrance for 45 minutes, then in another area for a few minutes and say they only had a "10 minute wait" for FoP. No, you had about an hour and 10 minute wait.

 

[evlaina]

Park closing varies. My general wait time was 35-40 minutes from scanning in to walking off. That was last July.

I have a hard time wrapping my head around the rope drop thing. People end up standing outside the main entrance for 45 minutes, then in another area for a few minutes and say they only had a "10 minute wait" for FoP. No, you had about an hour and 10 minute wait.

It's because you're not wasting actual park time. Assuming opening is 9am, if you showed up at 9am you'd have a two hour wait probably, then have long waits for every other ride in the park as well. If you show up at 8:15am, you have a "10 minute wait" for FOP, but then you can go to Navi, the Safari, EE, whatever with minimal waits because so many others are heading to FOP.

 

[Jonfw2]

Is it worth 3 hours you could be experiencing different things at AK? No it's not, but I don't think that's the right question.

The question is: is it worth setting your alarm to grab a Fast Pass for it the second your window is open and then structuring your park schedule around it? If that's the question, then the answer is absolutely yes.

 

[poooh]

I'm not a fan of the franchise, but I had a great time on the ride and I appreciated the technology. I wouldn't wait 3 hours for anything, but I think up to 90 minutes is a fair wait for FOP imo. It's not my favorite ride ever but I would be disappointed if we missed it.

 

[MarkinNM]

Wow, great replies and see it is overwhelming a great attraction, as I have read about the queue line being a part of the overall attraction and how Pandora changes during the night. I have not yet seen the movie, not even 2 mins worth, just never fancied my attention and still does not. For our Aug trip this year I was able to score FP+ on both of our AK days for FoP and just was wondering if it was worth the time as we love AK, by far our favorite park in Disney, so looking forward to it!!

 

[AllieBoo]

It's the only ride I've ever waited more than 30 min for (we waited about 90 min for it), and I do think it was worth it. It is unbelievable! I think you need to do it at least once.

 

[tguz]

When we can get fastpasses, we do it. Last year we didn't ride it and we were ok with that. I wouldn't wait crazy long times to ride it. I would wait 30-40 minutes.

 

[Alesia]

If you aren't able to score a FP for this attraction,then there is no way to avoid waiting in some form to get on. Whether you are waiting in a crowd to be let into the park, got there an hour before the park opens - you are waiting. Even if you hop in the queue just before park closing, there's a good 45 minute wait, at least.

I don't really consider waiting for the park to open part of waiting for the attraction since I would be doing that regardless of what my first stop in the park would be and it isn't eating up park time. Also, we use that time to eat breakfast.

 

[tinkerbella16]

Every time I have ridden it, I had a FP. I will say that this is the only ride that left me speechless when I rode it for the first time. It is incredible.

 

[Christine]

It's because you're not wasting actual park time. Assuming opening is 9am, if you showed up at 9am you'd have a two hour wait probably, then have long waits for every other ride in the park as well. If you show up at 8:15am, you have a "10 minute wait" for FOP, but then you can go to Navi, the Safari, EE, whatever with minimal waits because so many others are heading to FOP.

Oh, I totally get that aspect of it but that's never what is posted on these FoP threads for strategy. It's more along the lines of "if you can't get a FP, go at rope drop for lower wait times. Oh and make sure you get to the park 45-60 minutes prior to rope drop so you can be in front of the crowd."
That's not a shortened wait time in my view, but yes, it does eliminate wasting park hours in line.

 

[dominiondad]

We thought it was great. How long you're willing to wait depends on a lot of things - how often you go, how long you are at WDW, how many other rides to you want to get to, weather, etc... That said, FOP is the ride I would be willing to wait the longest for.

 

[Mmouse1588]

My husband made me wait in a 90 minutes for it and i was annoyed the whole line thinking of all the things i could be doing with my time. As soon as we got off i was sooo happy we waited. it was awesome and incredible! When we got off the line was down to 50 minutes so we popped right back in line. It was so good.

 

[SaintsManiac]

You can get same day FP for it. I have the last 2 trips.

 

[Beer Me]

Oh, I totally get that aspect of it but that's never what is posted on these FoP threads for strategy. It's more along the lines of "if you can't get a FP, go at rope drop for lower wait times. Oh and make sure you get to the park 45-60 minutes prior to rope drop so you can be in front of the crowd."
That's not a shortened wait time in my view, but yes, it does eliminate wasting park hours in line.

I used to be skeptical of the rope drop strategy but have become a total convert. Yes, you lose some sleep and wait outside the gates for awhile but the benefits are - riding an e ticket attraction immediately (preserving a fast pass for something else) and then enjoying low crowds for an hour or two. You can do so much before noon that it makes the rest of the day feel open and more relaxing.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

It's an amazing ride but I also don't wait in any line longer than 30 minutes. Since it's a brand new ride I may wait 45 minutes for it but that's it. We've only ridden it with FP+ and since we go for longer trips we are able to get two FP+ for it.

My son and his friends waited 2 hours for it during their senior trip last March. He said it was well worth the wait.

 

[MyView]

Wait times and rides are so subjective. We waited two hours, even though we arrived early. In my opinion this is the best ride at WDW right now. AMAZING and such fun. Would I wait two hours again, no because I have done it once. But we have no regrets waiting in line and experiencing FOP. For our August trip we have a fast pass+ and can't wait to experience it again. I think it also depends on how often you visit WDW, perhaps this is your only chance for quite some time vs. coming several times a year to the park. HTH and again we truly enjoyed this ride. PS it also helps watching the movie ahead, not mandatory but helpful.

 

[Christine]

I used to be skeptical of the rope drop strategy but have become a total convert. Yes, you lose some sleep and wait outside the gates for awhile but the benefits are - riding an e ticket attraction immediately (preserving a fast pass for something else) and then enjoying low crowds for an hour or two. You can do so much before noon that it makes the rest of the day feel open and more relaxing.

So, I was always a "rope drop" person, especially back in the late 90s/early 2000s when my kids were young and we had a commando intinerary. But, honestly, I was able to get to the "rope" about 15 minutes prior with no issues. These stories of people getting to the parking lot and main entrance an hour before has sort of soured me to it, although it is a good strategy for sure. I just find that the time to *do* rope drop has now extended to way earlier than it used to be and, honestly, I'm getting a bit tired of Disney and all they extra time you have to invest beforehand to take advantage of the perks. But I'm an old timer now and have too many good-old-days memories getting in my way.

But I do get the value of it. I was just strictly looking at ride wait times and, technically, if you're doing rope drop to get on FoP specifically, which many are, you aren't really getting a shorter wait time, you're just spending it in a different type of queue. It is a more economical use of wait time however.

 

[disneygirlsng]

So, I was always a "rope drop" person, especially back in the late 90s/early 2000s when my kids were young and we had a commando intinerary. But, honestly, I was able to get to the "rope" about 15 minutes prior with no issues. These stories of people getting to the parking lot and main entrance an hour before has sort of soured me to it, although it is a good strategy for sure. I just find that the time to *do* rope drop has now extended to way earlier than it used to be and, honestly, I'm getting a bit tired of Disney and all they extra time you have to invest beforehand to take advantage of the perks. But I'm an old timer now and have too many good-old-days memories getting in my way.

But I do get the value of it. I was just strictly looking at ride wait times and, technically, if you're doing rope drop to get on FoP specifically, which many are, you aren't really getting a shorter wait time, you're just spending it in a different type of queue. It is a more economical use of wait time however.

It's really only 2 rides currently that you need to be there that early for, SDD and FOP. All other rides if you wish to rope drop you are more than fine to arrive 15-20 minutes early.

 

[Christine]

It's really only 2 rides currently that you need to be there that early for, SDD and FOP. All other rides if you wish to rope drop you are more than fine to arrive 15-20 minutes early.

And those are the only two I'd consider rope dropping for in the first place!!!

 

[SaintsManiac]

It's really only 2 rides currently that you need to be there that early for, SDD and FOP. All other rides if you wish to rope drop you are more than fine to arrive 15-20 minutes early.

Mine Train still has a mob at RD.