Riding FOP standby at closing?

[rznhal]

I haven’t found much discussion on riding fop standby at closing- Has anyone done it and want to share? How close to closing did you get in line?

I’m thinking about getting in line around 7-715(park closes at 8) should I worry about them closing the standby line early?

Thanks!

 

[mesaboy2]

I haven’t found much discussion on riding fop standby at closing- Has anyone done it and want to share? How close to closing did you get in line?

I’m thinking about getting in line around 7-715(park closes at 8) should I worry about them closing the standby line early?

Thanks!

No. This is an oft-cited strategy to ride FOP with a shorter wait.

 

[theskyisawake]

We did this on Jan 6th. We got in line around 740 for an 8pm closing. The wait said 245 min. We were on and off in about 1hr 20min and got to walk through an empty park when we left. Wasted very little of our actual park time. It was great!

 

[cmoliver5]

I did that’s back in September. Park closed at 9. The posted wait was 95 minutes around 8:40 so I grabbed a drink at Satuuli Canteen and hopped in line. Was walking off the ride about 50 minutes later. Great way to do it if you can!

Once the park actually closed there are no more FP time slots so the stand by line starts to move more quickly.

 

[rznhal]

I did that’s back in September. Park closed at 9. The posted wait was 95 minutes around 8:40 so I grabbed a drink at Satuuli Canteen and hopped in line. Was walking off the ride about 50 minutes later. Great way to do it if you can!

Once the park actually closed there are no more FP time slots so the stand by line starts to move more quickly.

THIs is a great idea.....we will grab dessert and eat it in line to make the time go faster! Thanks!!

 

[subtchr]

Son and daughter in law did it on January 1. Got in line 10 minutes before closing, it was showing 120 minute wait, and they were off in less than an hour. (Note that it was miserable weather, hence the relatively short even posted time!)

 

[rznhal]

Son and daughter in law did it on January 1. Got in line 10 minutes before closing, it was showing 120 minute wait, and they were off in less than an hour. (Note that it was miserable weather, hence the relatively short even posted time!)

Ya our weather is supposed to bad....hoping this helps lower crowds

 

[Stacel0711]

Do you think this same strategy would work for Na'vi? We are going Sunday, 4/8, and our fast pass window is coming up soon. I was planning on fast passes for fop at 6 ish ( I would need rider swap for my son) and then getting on standby for Na'vi. The park is scheduled to close at 8:30 pm and we have ROL package with a show time of 8:45 pm. Do you think I could make it to the show by 8-8:15 pm?

 

[subtchr]

Do you think this same strategy would work for Na'vi? We are going Sunday, 4/8, and our fast pass window is coming up soon. I was planning on fast passes for fop at 6 ish ( I would need rider swap for my son) and then getting on standby for Na'vi. The park is scheduled to close at 8:30 pm and we have ROL package with a show time of 8:45 pm. Do you think I could make it to the show by 8-8:15 pm?

It's tough to say. You aren't talking about getting in the line right before closing time, the way I am reading it -- you want to go about 7, is that right? Na'vi has been holding a pretty long line late in the day. Who knows what it will be like by April.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Just keep in mind that the posted wait times are exaggerated at night to discourage late riders.

There have been plenty of reports here if 30 minute actual waits right at closing time when the posted wait is 100-120.

You can get in line right up until closing time. A very common misconception is that the close the line early, but this is not the case.

For our next trip, the plan is to get in line about 45 minutes before closing time and see if we can ride twice. I think it can be done. I know it can't be done in the morning.

 

[Stacel0711]

It's tough to say. You aren't talking about getting in the line right before closing time, the way I am reading it -- you want to go about 7, is that right? Na'vi has been holding a pretty long line late in the day. Who knows what it will be like by April.

Yes, I guess when you put it that way. What time would you suggest trying to get in line? Or maybe we should just rope drop it and then go back in the evening for the fast pass ( if I can get one)? I wanted to do other attractions in the morning that's why I was thinking of trying for both in the evening right before RO?

 

[subtchr]

Yes, I guess when you put it that way. What time would you suggest trying to get in line? Or maybe we should just rope drop it and then go back in the evening for the fast pass ( if I can get one)? I wanted to do other attractions in the morning that's why I was thinking of trying for both in the evening right before RO?

If you are going to be there close to park opening anyway, I HIGHLY recommend going to ride Na'vi first. Every attraction in the park other than FoP, including NRJ, has very short waits for at least the first hour after opening. We did it the first week of January. Had 8:05 FoP FPs, regular park opening at 8. So we did NRJ first, had a boat to ourselves. Part of our group even took the little ones on it again with no wait (they loved it) while the first half used their FoP FP.

Doing that, you will still have short waits at Everest, Safari, etc. after riding NRJ. Wait time for NRJ later is a tossup.

 

[Stacel0711]

Just keep in mind that the posted wait times are exaggerated at night to discourage late riders.

There have been plenty of reports here if 30 minute actual waits right at closing time when the posted wait is 100-120.

You can get in line right up until closing time. A very common misconception is that the close the line early, but this is not the case.

For our next trip, the plan is to get in line about 45 minutes before closing time and see if we can ride twice. I think it can be done. I know it can't be done in the morning.

Ok, thank you. So maybe it can be done. I don't mind waiting, like someone else suggested - grab a drink and dessert for the kids and just wait. My main concern is making ROL, but we will have fast passes from the dining package.

 

[Stacel0711]

If you are going to be there close to park opening anyway, I HIGHLY recommend going to ride Na'vi first. Every attraction in the park other than FoP, including NRJ, has very short waits for at least the first hour after opening. We did it the first week of January. Had 8:05 FoP FPs, regular park opening at 8. So we did NRJ first, had a boat to ourselves. Part of our group even took the little ones on it again with no wait (they loved it) while the first half used their FoP FP.

Doing that, you will still have short waits at Everest, Safari, etc. after riding NRJ. Wait time for NRJ later is a tossup.

Ok, that sounds good too. The rope drop crowd makes me a little nervous and I wanted to avoid it if possible.

 

[Davey Jones II]

Do you think this same strategy would work for Na'vi? We are going Sunday, 4/8, and our fast pass window is coming up soon. I was planning on fast passes for fop at 6 ish ( I would need rider swap for my son) and then getting on standby for Na'vi. The park is scheduled to close at 8:30 pm and we have ROL package with a show time of 8:45 pm. Do you think I could make it to the show by 8-8:15 pm?

From our experience, it works great on Na'vi. We got in line about half an hour before park closing, and were on the boat in ten minutes (posted wait was 75 min, I think). Then we got in line again (posted wait 30 min.) It was a walk on at that point.

 

[Stacel0711]

From our experience, it works great on Na'vi. We got in line about half an hour before park closing, and were on the boat in ten minutes (posted wait was 75 min, I think). Then we got in line again (posted wait 30 min.) It was a walk on at that point.

Great, thank you!

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Ok, that sounds good too. The rope drop crowd makes me a little nervous and I wanted to avoid it if possible.

Rope drop can be the busiest time of the day for this attraction. I checked several days recently and the wait times were up to 210 within 10 minutes of park opening. The waits were down to 30 within 10 minutes of park closing on the same day.

 

[hsmamato2]

Do you think this same strategy would work for Na'vi? We are going Sunday, 4/8, and our fast pass window is coming up soon. I was planning on fast passes for fop at 6 ish ( I would need rider swap for my son) and then getting on standby for Na'vi. The park is scheduled to close at 8:30 pm and we have ROL package with a show time of 8:45 pm. Do you think I could make it to the show by 8-8:15 pm?

when we tried this Dec 18,we got to NA'vi around 15 minutes before park close,and it was shut down and dark already. no idea why.

 

[Stacel0711]

Rope drop can be the busiest time of the day for this attraction. I checked several days recently and the wait times were up to 210 within 10 minutes of park opening. The waits were down to 30 within 10 minutes of park closing on the same day.

Thank you! I think I'm going to try about an hour before park close and just prepare to wait. I think the kids won't mind as well since it will be later and have gone on rides throughout the day.

Thank you everyone for your input!

 

[HopperFan]

Last trip we had FP+ for FoP. It was the end of the day when we were walking out. I checked the MDE to see what Navi River was and it said 55 minutes. Since I'd never wait that long for it I figured we'd head back to hotel. For kicks I decided to walk to the Navi and look at the posted wait, and it said something like 10 minutes. I asked CMs if that was right, they said yes. We literally never stopped walking until we were seated in boat. 0 wait. So my point is at the end don't trust the MDE at end of day, go to the rides, look at posted and ask CMs if that is correct.