Pandora RD strategy? (No FPs)

[Carla1183]

Touring plans is telling me to RD N'avi and then do FOP second. I think justification probably is that FOP is going to be a 45 minute wait whether we do it first or second it seems, but N'avi is showing a super short wait at RD.
Is this fairly accurate or touring plans is off and in reality that FOP line is going to be 2 hours when we get out of N'avi? (Friday the week before Thanksgiving, they are estimating the park at like a 3 out of 7)

Basically what's the fastest way to ride the 2 without FPs? I could be convinced to skip N'avi altogether if that makes everything work better! There were FPs available for N'avi this morning (30 days) but all late afternoon/evening and we are leaving early for a 630 resort dinner res. And of course none available for FOP!

 

[BigredNole]

Follow that plan and you will be waiting a very long time. Rope drop FoP and then do Na'vi if you want. It is a nothing ride and almost not worth doing. Its a one-and-done ride. There is no repeat factor to it.

 

[Carla1183]

Follow that plan and you will be waiting a very long time. Rope drop FoP and then do Na'vi if you want. It is a nothing ride and almost not worth doing. Its a one-and-done ride. There is no repeat factor to it.

That's what my gut was saying! How long do you think is an accurate guess of RD wait time for FOP? are we still talking 45-60 mins or longer?

 

[BigredNole]

It all depends on where you are at rope drop. If you are at the gates an hour early, you get in quickly. If you show up as the gates open, you are probably 45-60 minute wait by then. I say it like this and to my sister that is there now...where do you want to wait an hour. Do you want to wait an hour before park opens or do you want to wait an hour while the park is already open? While 1,000s are waiting a long time for FoP, the other rides are all walk-ons. The quicker you are out of Pandora, the more times you can enjoy the other attractions.

 

[Imagineer5]

I would 100% do Flights of Passage first, and if Navi has too long of a wait it really isn't terrible to skip IMO. Flights of Passage is definitely worth getting to the gates an hour before they open, though.

 

[MelSettle]

We just returned. We didn't have a FP for Flight of Passage so we decided to rope drop. We were at Animal Kingdom at 8:20 for a 9:00 opening. I was shocked at the line of people waiting to get in. Once we got in around 8:35 we headed towards Pandora where a HUGE mob of people were waiting. I just knew we were going to be in line for hours. I was actually shocked at how quickly the line moved. The wait time listed was 210 minutes but we were off the ride by 9:30. This ride is like no other and I promise the wait will be so worth it. We had a FP for Navi and it was nice but nothing in comparison to FOP. We loved it so much that later in the afternoon we saw a 135 min wait and decided to go wait again. This time the line crawled and it took a good solid 2 hours to get through. So I would say the morning rope drop is the way to go.

 

[Carla1183]

Thanks you guys! I put FOP first with a note "Navi if there is time and line looks ok" haha. Yall confirmed what I was thinking, that if I wasn't a fan of the avatar movies the river journey is ok to miss.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

If you're interested in an alternate strategy, you may want to wait until later in the evening when the lines are the shortest. Early morning is by far the busiest time of the day for this attraction.

Here's what I found the last time I checked Touring Plans:

At 9:30 am, the posted wait was 210 minutes with an actual wait of 240.

At 9:30 pm, the posted wait was 60 minutes with an actual wait of 30.

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

 

[dtkids]

To add on to this question/scenario...if EMH is at 8 am, still recommend an hour before? Is there really gonna be a mob at 7 am?

 

[CanuckGirl78]

We just returned. We didn't have a FP for Flight of Passage so we decided to rope drop. We were at Animal Kingdom at 8:20 for a 9:00 opening. I was shocked at the line of people waiting to get in. Once we got in around 8:35 we headed towards Pandora where a HUGE mob of people were waiting. I just knew we were going to be in line for hours. I was actually shocked at how quickly the line moved. The wait time listed was 210 minutes but we were off the ride by 9:30. This ride is like no other and I promise the wait will be so worth it. We had a FP for Navi and it was nice but nothing in comparison to FOP. We loved it so much that later in the afternoon we saw a 135 min wait and decided to go wait again. This time the line crawled and it took a good solid 2 hours to get through. So I would say the morning rope drop is the way to go.

Sometimes I read RD to FOP can still lead to 2 hour waits. With 2 kids (1 who's too small to ride FOP and 1 who may not want to ride it), I don't really want to do that when they can be instead be exploring the rest of AK. However, I also read what you experienced, where the wait might be 30 minutes if you RD.

Do the wait times for FOP really fluctuate this much when you RD? Is it more based on when you arrive at AK (e.g., if you arrive 90 minutes before AK opens, you'll be off the the ride in the first 30 mins, but if you arrive 15 mins before AK opens, expect there to be a huge line where you might have to wait 1-2 hours)? Do EMH days make a difference?

Our AK date is Dec 19 (hours are 9am-8pm) and is a non-EMH day. I book our FPs tomorrow but already know FPs for FOP are already gone for my AK day. I'm trying to figure out if I should book a 10am FP for Kilimanjaro Safaris (basically aim to try to do RD for FOP beforehand and then make a beeline to KS), but if that's unrealistic, then I'll just skip FOP altogether and do a 9am FP for KS.

What do you think?

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

To add on to this question/scenario...if EMH is at 8 am, still recommend an hour before? Is there really gonna be a mob at 7 am?

AK opened at 8 am on Monday. The posted wait was 105 minutes at 8:05. It was 195 minutes at 8:15. That sounds pretty crowded.

 

[dtkids]

AK opened at 8 am on Monday. The posted wait was 105 minutes at 8:05. It was 195 minutes at 8:15. That sounds pretty crowded.

Frick.
Can we grab breakfast in pandora and eat it in line? Or is food a way no-no in the super long lines?

 

[fely1st]

Navi'i isn't worth any waiting, in my opinion not even the time it take without waiting. You won't miss anything. And I usually love all kinds of boat rides.

 

[Carla1183]

Frick.
Can we grab breakfast in pandora and eat it in line? Or is food a way no-no in the super long lines?

If you stop to grab breakfast you're probably amplifying your line a ton I've been thinking we will bring breakfast and eat it while we wait for RD.

 

[Carla1183]

If you're interested in an alternate strategy, you may want to wait until later in the evening when the lines are the shortest. Early morning is by far the busiest time of the day for this attraction.

Here's what I found the last time I checked Touring Plans:

At 9:30 am, the posted wait was 210 minutes with an actual wait of 240.

At 9:30 pm, the posted wait was 60 minutes with an actual wait of 30.

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

We are leaving the park early that day to make a 6:25 ADR at a resort, so we'll have to just see if we can hang with the RDers! It's really one of the only long lines we'll have all week but sounds like its worth it!

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

We've never done rope drop at any park, it's just far too crowded for us. We like to arrive a little later and stay until closing time when the lines are the shortest. My kids like to hit the headliners multiple times and after dark is the best time to do that.

 

[Carla1183]

We've never done rope drop at any park, it's just far too crowded for us. We like to arrive a little later and stay until closing time when the lines are the shortest. My kids like to hit the headliners multiple times and after dark is the best time to do that.

My kids are 4 and 6 so really not able to hang super late just yet. Hopefully in a few years! (And yes, my 4yo is 44" tall, I know thats crazy!)

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

My kids are 4 and 6 so really not able to hang super late just yet. Hopefully in a few years! (And yes, my 4yo is 44" tall, I know thats crazy!)

Those kids may surprise you. My fondest Disney memory is chasing my then 3 year old daughter back to the entrance of Space Mountain moments before midnight with her screaming "One more time Daddy" all the way.

Even when they were little, we always found it much easier to let them stay up late than to make them get up early.

 

[ars0525]

That's what my gut was saying! How long do you think is an accurate guess of RD wait time for FOP? are we still talking 45-60 mins or longer?

Here is my experience from Sunday, October 1st. I drove in (live down here). Getting into AK parking was the longest lines I have ever seen in my 4 years of having an annual pass...I was there at 8:35am & all the lanes were open & each probably 8-10 cars deep minimum. Once I got thru that, parked the car, got on the tram, got to the front entrance (I had no bag so entering was easy whereas the bag check lines were quite long), they already had the gates open so people were flowing thru. I don't know what time they actually opened the park, but it was scheduled for 9am so I think I was pretty close to that? I continued walking into the park fairly quickly (again just me so not having to keep track of others) to Pandora where I immediately got in the line for FOP (it was forming/growing fast & there was a CM moving with a "end of line" sign so that was very helpful). That was at 9:10am cause then I started checking my watch. The line at that point was looped down to Africa along the walkway & back. It took 50 minutes until I got to the actual "real" stand by entrance. From there it was another 15 minutes til I got "inside" the mountain/building. Once inside there is a lot of winding around so another 45-50 minutes until I reached the area where they load you. As a single rider I got sent into a different lane than the groups that were standing around me & it loads similar to Soarin' with groups of people. You then go into a pre-show for 2 rooms before you actually get on the ride. At that point I checked my watch & it was 2 hours as I sat down from when I had gotten in line.

So 2 hours waiting was my experience & I think the ride from when I sat down til I got up lasted about 7 minutes (including a delay they had starting). I will say the line kept moving the whole time even if just a trickle cause the ride kept operating. I heard it had some issues & would be stopped or shut down the day before so that can change your wait time. First thing in the morning it wasn't too hot yet standing outside. It did start raining & there's no coverage so we just pulled out rain gear for a bit. Once you get into the actual standby waiting area the theming is interesting & they have fans mounted to move the air (like 7 Dwarves). Inside it's AC so better. Personally it's a 1 & done ride for me. I haven't seen the movie so I probably can't appreciate it as much & I just wasn't that wowed by it all. Even if the line was a walk on the pre-show rooms are 15 minutes & I really don't care to see them again. Same for the Navi'i ride which I did have a FP for. That was only 10 minutes standing in line with a FP & the ride itself lasted almost 5 minutes, but that's only cause it came to a stop & our boat had to sit in the middle of a scene (probably a good thing so I could see it all). Glad I had a FP for that cause waiting more than that would have been a serious time waste for me.

 

[MelSettle]

Here is a picture of the line waiting to get into pandora at 8:35. It was a mob for sure. But, I just checked the timestamp for the picture I took of my daughter once we got off of the ride and it was 9:28. Keep in mind, the wait time posted was 210 min which was not the case at all. The line really moved very quick. We never stayed in the same place for more than a minute. When we rode it again later that afternoon with a much short line and wait time posted (135 min) , the line moved VERY slow and we sat in the same place for up to 10 minutes and it took a good 2 solid hours to ride.