AK Itinerary help

[Leslie]

We (2 adults) will only have 3 hours in the AK on Tues. 4/29. Since this is not an Early Magic Hour morning, our hours will be 9am-12pm. The only show we might do is the Birds of Prey - if it's still there. How can I best plan this morning? In what organized order would you suggest riding/touring? I want to have a plan since our time is so limited.

Thanks for your help!

 

[JLS]

We have done this approach several times during the summer and found it to be "fullproof" for AK. It involves plenty of walking, but you should not have to wait in any lines...

Make sure you are at the entrance about 10-15 minutes before opening (sometimes they drop the rope early). Proceed straight to the Kilamanjaro Safaris Ride and get a fast pass (probably the return time will be soon - in 30 minutes or so). If you are interested in characters, proceed straight to the Camp Minnie Mickey with the character trails. There should be no line at all, so get your pictures taken then (this area of the park gets PACKED later on and there can be 30 minute waits for each character). Then do Its Tough to Be a Bug right away (also should be no line). Proceed over to Dinoland USA and at the time your FP is first valid for Safaris, you can get a FP for Dinosaur. Get one! (if there is no line for Dinosaur then, go ahead and ride it). Then ride Primevil Whirl and walk around Dinoland. You will need to then go back to Safaris before your FP window expires. Ride Safaris. On your way out of Safaris, experience the Gorilla walking trail - you don't want to miss this.

Then walk over to Asia and get a FP for Kali River Rapids. Check the times on the bird show if you are interested in that. Hopefully your FP return time will be about 11:30 for Kali by this time. Then go back to Dinoland and Ride Dinosaur using your FP (if you didn't already ride it). Go back to Asia and either see the Bird show if time permits, or to the Maharajah Junkle Trek. Then use your FP on Kali River Rapids.

There - that is your 3 hour commando tour of AK. Good luck!

 

[Steven Barrett]

Leslie,

JLS in the previous posting has a good plan. Here's an alternative one: Get to the park 20 to 30 minutes before the official opening time (there is often good entertainment out front before the park opens). On the Times Guide, find out when the first Flights of Wonder show is scheduled (usually around 11:00 A.M., and its an excellent show). Ride Kilimanjaro Safaris. Ride DINOSAUR, then take a photo out front with Dino-Sue. Ride Primeval Whirl. See It's Tough to be a Bug. Go to Kali River Rapids, and if the wait is more than 15 minutes, get a FASTPASS; otherwise ride it. Go to Flights of Wonder. If you have any time left, walk the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail and/or the Maharajah Jungle Trek, then the trails around the Tree of Life and in the Oasis. Early morning touring usually minimizes line waits; FASTPASS definitely helps but requires more backtracking. If its an unusually crowded morning, use FASTPASS more liberally (if any wait is more than 15 minutes). Have a great time!

Steven Barrett, author of the "Hassle-Free Walt Disney World Vacation" and the "Walt Disney World Hidden Mickeys" book, both published by The Intrepid Traveler Publishers

 

[JLS]

I agree with Steve and his plan sounds good too. But just to clarify, I suggest getting FP at Safaris right when you get there rather than riding it (even if there is no line) because the ride itself takes 20-25 minutes or so to ride, and by that time lines will form at other rides or at the Character Trails at Camp Minnie Mickey. if you grab the FP, you can get on another ride right away with no wait, and then go back to Safaris with no wait. But obviously if crowds are minimal that day then my plan probably is a lot of backtracking for nothing. When we did this plan it was in July - VERY crowded week. Have fun whatever you do! I would suggest definitely not missing Dinosaur - it is a GREAT ride, but scary for young ones. Also don't miss the Gorilla Trail in Africa. If you need to eliminate something, I would say eliminate Kali River Rapids - its not that great and not very long. Most parks have a similar river rapids ride and many are better than this particular one. Plus, if you are really pressed for time, getting wet could slow you up and be a hassle.

 

[pennylynn]

Just one more suggestion. Even if you get there early there might already be a line waiting to enter the park. But what most people don't know is that if you go into the Rainforest Cafe there is a park entrance at the back of the gift shop. I've never seen a line there.