AK Day: Safari > FOTLK > Nemo before noon?

[karly05]

OK, this is one of those "do I have time?/Will this work?" threads.

Monday, April 20. Josh has AK Highly Recommended. 9 am opening, no EMH. Well past Easter, but it is Massachusetts Spring Break week.

The current show schedule (Jan 15) has the first FOTLK at 10 am and the first Nemo at 11 am. (I know on my Feb trips 11 am has always been the first Nemo show.) Will these probably still be the first times for each of those shows on 4/20? (I know nothing's certain.)

My goal:
Rope Drop. Hit the Safari first thing
See the 10 am FOTLK
See the 11 am Nemo

My wish:
To prebook my 3 FP+ for Safari, first show of FOTLK, first show of Nemo. BUT I'm guessing that's impossible, because I figure I won't be able to hold a Safari FP in the 9 am hour and get a FP for FOTLK that would be overlapping.

My plan:
FP+ Safari for the earliest time possible
Once I'm done with that, hightail it to FOTLK for standby*
FP+ the first show of Nemo (did that in 2014, FP time was like 10:40-10:55)
*If I booked my 3rd FP for an afternoon FOTLK, do you think that once I was done with the Safari I could move my FOTLK FP to the first show?

My overall goal for my primary AK day is to do those 3 things plus Flights of Wonder, Maharajah Jungle Trek, QS lunch at Flame Tree or new Harambe Marketplace, and get out of AK by 3 pm so I could go visit AOA/POP before a 7 pm dinner at Epcot.

What does anyone think?

 

[SmithSmith]

Ever consider doing the Flights of Wonder show at 10:45? It would be much easier to get there instead of Nemo.

 

[SeilerBird]

You don't really need a FP for FOTLK or Nemo. But why do you want to do those shows so early in the day when it is still cool out? I would do both shows in the afternoon during the hottest part of the day. I would suggest Flights of Wonder after the Safari at 10:30 then head for Nemo and FotLk after lunch.

 

[SmithSmith]

This is what I'd do to save me and my feet from backtracking too much.

9:00-9:30 safari
9:40-10:30 FotLK
10:40-11:15 FoW
11:20-12:00 Flame Tree <-- I thought the earlier you got there, the less crowded it'd be
12:10-12:30 Maharajah <-- could easily be switched with Flame Tree
12:40-1:40 Nemo <--- Definite FP
Out of the park by 2

I like the idea of FP a later FotLK and moving it up if you decide its necessary, but KS and FotLK FPs are not likely to be needed.

OR

You can make a safety FP for the safari for later in the day in case you miss RD and FP FotLK as usual and only use it if it's needed because...

Josh from Easy WDW tested FP+ for FotLK one afternoon in October and had this to say:

FP+ is largely useless here in my estimation. I arrived 35 minutes early only to find about 100 people already in line in front of me. Maybe 150 people with FP+ arrived behind me. Had I arrived at the same time in standby, I would have been towards the front of that line and found a similar spot in my choice of sections, instead of being routed over to elephant.

 

[nemodeb]

Probably doable. I find sometimes I underestimate the time it takes to get from point A to point B, especially if there are crowds. Sounds like you've got a full day.

I can't wait to see the new Harambe Marketplace.

 

[dachsie]

Are you sure you could rope drop Safari and make it to FOLK at 10? I cant walk quite as fast as some people do. I liked the morning schedule of:

9am - Safari
10am - FOLK FP+
10:45 - flights of wonder

then for afternoon:
1pm - Tusker House
3pm - Nemo FP+
4pmish - Dinosaur FP+

I am going end of February. Original plan was:

9am RD - Dinosaur, primeval whirl and what ever else in Dinoland
11am - Nemo FP+
12ish Safari FP+
1pm Tusker House
2:45 - Flights of Wonder
4pm - FOLK FP+

Now i am not sure which to do

 

[JadeDarkstar]

I am not doing Nemo however I am planing FOTLK and Safari, then we want to do a trail, Everest and Dinosaur. With a 9am we would be done with those by 11:20 if we have nothing else pop up.
We are going to make AK and HS a one day together park. Morning at AK, evening at HS.

 

[SmithSmith]

Are you sure you could rope drop Safari and make it to FOLK at 10? I cant walk quite as fast as some people do. I liked the morning schedule of:

9am - Safari
10am - FOLK FP+
10:45 - flights of wonder

then for afternoon:
1pm - Tusker House
3pm - Nemo FP+
4pmish - Dinosaur FP+

I am going end of February. Original plan was:

9am RD - Dinosaur, primeval whirl and what ever else in Dinoland
11am - Nemo FP+
12ish Safari FP+
1pm Tusker House
2:45 - Flights of Wonder
4pm - FOLK FP+

Now i am not sure which to do

Op said they were going on April 20. I've done the safari and the 10:00 FotLK after stepping off the bus at 9:00 on a similar crowd level day. I rushed a bit and went without a Fastpass for either attraction and it was doable, I can't foresee needing to rush at all if you're there before RD.

 

[karly05]

Thanks for all the feedback. I know I'm dealing with some things that don't need FP+, but I've got 3 FP+ to use at AK, and I'd might as well use them.

This is what I'd do to save me and my feet from backtracking too much.

9:00-9:30 safari
9:40-10:30 FotLK
10:40-11:15 FoW
11:20-12:00 Flame Tree <-- I thought the earlier you got there, the less crowded it'd be
12:10-12:30 Maharajah <-- could easily be switched with Flame Tree
12:40-1:40 Nemo <--- Definite FP
Out of the park by 2

I like the idea of FP a later FotLK and moving it up if you decide its necessary, but KS and FotLK FPs are not likely to be needed.

OR

You can make a safety FP for the safari for later in the day in case you miss RD and FP FotLK as usual and only use it if it's needed because...

Josh from Easy WDW tested FP+ for FotLK one afternoon in October and had this to say:

FP+ is largely useless here in my estimation. I arrived 35 minutes early only to find about 100 people already in line in front of me. Maybe 150 people with FP+ arrived behind me. Had I arrived at the same time in standby, I would have been towards the front of that line and found a similar spot in my choice of sections, instead of being routed over to elephant.

Thank you! I like these ideas. I'm such a creature of habit, I just always do the first show of Nemo and catch FoW in the afternoon - this is the kind of "shake-up" I need, to look at other options.

 

[SmithSmith]

Thanks for all the feedback. I know I'm dealing with some things that don't need FP+, but I've got 3 FP+ to use at AK, and I'd might as well use them.



Thank you! I like these ideas. I'm such a creature of habit, I just always do the first show of Nemo and catch FoW in the afternoon - this is the kind of "shake-up" I need, to look at other options.

Awesome! Glad I could help!

 

[bethjones]

Just wanted to answer your original question: no, you cannot FP both the 9am Safari and the 9:30-9:50 FOLK. I've been told that you don't need a FP for Safari at rope drop either. It wasn't an option for me because the first FP available for the Safari was at 10 anyway, so I did the FP for FOLK since I had a FP to burn. I'll be trying this out on a crowd level 3 day so should be ok. Also heading to FoW after Lion King.

 

[karly05]

Just wanted to answer your original question: no, you cannot FP both the 9am Safari and the 9:30-9:50 FOLK. I've been told that you don't need a FP for Safari at rope drop either. It wasn't an option for me because the first FP available for the Safari was at 10 anyway, so I did the FP for FOLK since I had a FP to burn. I'll be trying this out on a crowd level 3 day so should be ok. Also heading to FoW after Lion King.

Thanks, Beth. That's what I'd figured, but it's nice to have it confirmed.

SmithSmith, I like the idea of a "safety" FP for the Safari. I usually have no trouble making rope drop - except for the day on my last trip when there were morning rush hour Bus Issues at POFQ, so you never know!