AK itinery - please critique

[Monima]

We will be at AK on Friday Sept 1st with DDP. Husband is diabetic and needs regular meals, our oldest has back issues and needs breaks from walking. With this in mind we planned the following:
8:35 b'fast at Tusker House, skip meet and greet as we will be back for dinner
9:00 "RD" FoP
9:45 FP Na'vi River
11:15 FP Kilimanjaro
12:30 lunch rainforest cafe, planning on splitting 2 or 3 meals
2:00 Lion king to get out of the heat
2:45 FP Mount Everest - oldest daughter and FP Kali for the other 3ppl
3:30 meet at Flights of wonder
4:00 collect autographs and pennies
4:45 dinner at Tusker House
5:55 Burudika Dancers
6:30 Henna art at the market
7:15 explore Discover Island, get a drink, shop for a Banshee,...
8:00 Drum Ceremony in Pandora
8:45 RoL we have vouchers
9:30 Tree Awakening

Wondering if we can fit the Tree in on the way to RoL?
Any suggestion are welcome and appreciated.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

My only suggestion would be to rearrange your dining as you will be walking all the way from Africa to the entrance of AK for the Rainforest Lunch and then back to Africa again. I would consider a pre-park opening breakfast at Rainforest, lunch at Tusker House (it is right next to Kilamanjaro and Lion King) and dinner at Yak & Yeti (perhaps a little later in the evening as it's very close to ROL) if you want all TS meals.

 

[Monima]

My only suggestion would be to rearrange your dining as you will be walking all the way from Africa to the entrance of AK for the Rainforest Lunch and then back to Africa again. I would consider a pre-park opening breakfast at Rainforest, lunch at Tusker House (it is right next to Kilamanjaro and Lion King) and dinner at Yak & Yeti (perhaps a little later in the evening as it's very close to ROL) if you want all TS meals.

Thank you very much.
We booked dinner at Tusker House because it included a ROL voucher and we did not like Tiffins. I have been looking for a better breakfast option, but it's pretty booked up. I will keep trying and hoping for cancellations

 

[Beer Me]

You can't rope drop fop with an 8:35 Tusker House ADR. You should probably be in line at the gate by 8am (if not earlier).

 

[TXPyroMom]

You can't rope drop fop with an 8:35 Tusker House ADR. You should probably be in line at the gate by 8am (if not earlier).

I was thinking the same thing. It would be hard enough to eat in 25 minutes, but they have been lining people up for the rides by 8:30.

Even if you some how managed to get near the front, you would still have a decent wait and the attraction takes awhile because of the 2 pre shows.

 

[Linkura]

You are going to have quite a long wait after your breakfast for FOP. My suggestion would be to get breakfast at your resort and get to AK by 8am at the latest. Then have an ADR at Tusker House for lunch or dinner with the ROL package.

 

[Monima]

Thank you all for the suggestions. This is harder than I thought.
I did see threads that mentioned that you could get seated earlier then your booked time if you are there early. And I really just made the b'fast reservation so we could be inside before the crowd. BUT if they let ppl in at 8:30 there is really no advantage to a ressie before opening.
So it sounds like everyone's vote is to cancel our b'fast ressie and RD FoP ?

 

[mariemarie]

I think you're on the right track. You could always rope drop FOP and mobile order breakfast at Satuli Canteen for right after you ride. On Friday, they let us into Pandora and the FOP line 15 minutes before park opening (into the park 45 minutes early), and we were off of FOP by 8:20. If you ordered breakfast before, you could be eating by 8:25...mobile ordering worked incredibly well for us. This assumes you arrive at the park an hour or more before opening

 

[Linkura]

Thank you all for the suggestions. This is harder than I thought.
I did see threads that mentioned that you could get seated earlier then your booked time if you are there early. And I really just made the b'fast reservation so we could be inside before the crowd. BUT if they let ppl in at 8:30 there is really no advantage to a ressie before opening.
So it sounds like everyone's vote is to cancel our b'fast ressie and RD FoP ?

They would seat you early, but even if they do seat you early and you get out quickly, it will not give you any advantage and, more likely, you'd be at a disadvantage.

 

[Monima]

I think you're on the right track. You could always rope drop FOP and mobile order breakfast at Satuli Canteen for right after you ride. On Friday, they let us into Pandora and the FOP line 15 minutes before park opening (into the park 45 minutes early), and we were off of FOP by 8:20. If you ordered breakfast before, you could be eating by 8:25...mobile ordering worked incredibly well for us. This assumes you arrive at the park an hour or more before opening

Wow, there is really no point in making an early ressie at all. Thanks for the info.
Was it an EMH day, or do you mean you were done with FoP at 9:20 ?

 

[mariemarie]

For the next month, AK is opening everyday at 8 for everyone, and EMH is at 7. Fingers crossed that they keep this up through Labor Day, at least, because it was so pleasant for us!

 

[Monima]

For the next month, AK is opening everyday at 8 for everyone, and EMH is at 7. Fingers crossed that they keep this up through Labor Day, at least, because it was so pleasant for us!

Wow, from EMH at 7am until RoL at 8:45pm would make for a looooong day.
When do they announce EMH ? Cause right now it shows AK opening at 9am on Sept 1st and I kinda need to know so I can book my FPs accordingly. My FP day is June 30th.

 

[Linkura]

Wow, from EMH at 7am until RoL at 8:45pm would make for a looooong day.
When do they announce EMH ? Cause right now it shows AK opening at 9am on Sept 1st and I kinda need to know so I can book my FPs accordingly. My FP day is June 30th.

We probably won't know by then, unfortunately. Disney loves to add stuff like that just a few weeks in advance nowadays. Be sure to keep checking here and the official site.

 

[Mickeymouseisking]

Wow, from EMH at 7am until RoL at 8:45pm would make for a looooong day.
When do they announce EMH ? Cause right now it shows AK opening at 9am on Sept 1st and I kinda need to know so I can book my FPs accordingly. My FP day is June 30th.

Yeah, it's annoying...we just did our fastpasses for August and it's still listed as 9:00 opening. If they extend it - extra hour in the park! Yay!

Whenever the park opens you'll need to be in line for getting into Pandora, so cancel the breakfast.

 

[Monima]

Thanks for all the info, you guys and girls are great.
If we do EMH and need a break, how much time would it use up to head to the resort for a nap?
Is that more hassle then what i will be worth?

 

[finedice]

No, at DAK, you can do almost everything AT LEAST once (except show times might foul that up a little), and include a nice long afternoon break with a swim and a shower. Of course, this depends on your touring strategy, FP use and park hours too...

Oh, and your daughter might just book the Kali FP with all of you, and use the tiny wait for single riders at EE... (an extremely smart move).

 

[squirrel]

Thanks for all the info, you guys and girls are great.
If we do EMH and need a break, how much time would it use up to head to the resort for a nap?
Is that more hassle then what it will be worth?

I find it is. I tried the first year when I had my niece who was 4. It was a big waste of time. A good 3-4 hours. After doing it twice, I gave up and let her sleep in the stroller.

Every family is different. I can do rope drop and go until 2 am when I'm at Disney. I can sleep at home.

 

[Calee]

Have you been to ak before? There are a lot of attractions you are skipping and spending a lot of time eating, which is why I ask.
I like Tusker house but no way would I eat there twice in one day, and no way will you make it through that meal and fop in the time you have allotted.
Are you on the deluxe dining plan where you get 3 table service per day? If not there are good quick service options at ak and I would replace at least one of your table.service with quick service plans.

 

[Monima]

Have you been to ak before? There are a lot of attractions you are skipping and spending a lot of time eating, which is why I ask.
I like Tusker house but no way would I eat there twice in one day, and no way will you make it through that meal and fop in the time you have allotted.
Are you on the deluxe dining plan where you get 3 table service per day? If not there are good quick service options at ak and I would replace at least one of your table.service with quick service plans.

This is our first trip to Walt Disney. We are using the deluxe plan. There is a lot more we would like to see, but we do not want to feel rushed. Some of us need regular sit down breaks due to physical conditions.
We might cancel breakfast so we can RD FOP. I would love to hear your suggestion for b'fast quickmeal places.

 

[srwarden1928]

IMO Flame Tree BBQ is as good as some TS meals. In fact, I like it better than the local "go to" BBQ restaurant, which costs twice as much as Flame Tree. That could get you a good meal in less time than TS.