AK - most useful FP+s to snag

[ClapYourHands]

Made my FP reservations yesterday, and got the "hard" reservations I wanted (7DMT, SDD, FOP) - so yay!

Now my need for advice:

We will be starting our day at Epcot EMH and then hopping to AK where I've booked our 3 fast passes. Right now I have FOP, Safari, and Dinosaur. I know my kids will want to ride Everest and probably Kali, too.

Would it be better for me to drop Dinosaur or Safari in favor of Everest or Kali? I realize that Pandora is always the hardest to score day-of, but what would be my chances of late-ish afternoon/evening FPs for the other rides? I will try refresh, but if I can't score 4th and 5th fast passes, which lines are (generally) shortest waits for standby? We're going in November, so I'm hoping Kali won't be as popular as during warmer months, but not sure as it was down for renovation the only other time we've been to AK.

 

[mesaboy2]

You may find the FP FAQ helpful, specifically Post #8.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

EE is a single rider if your kids are old enough. That said, I like the Safari, and there is often a wait for it if you go at a busy time. I'm pretty sure you can get Dinosaur as a 4th fp a bit easier. JMO. Congrats on your fp reservations!
Just now, looking at tomorrow, there's a lot of availability for Dinosaur and the Safari fps start 1 pm and after.

 

[Delirium]

Keep Safari. The line for it rarely gets short.

I would not FP Kali as it's popularity on a given day can be impacted by weather. And, based on the timing of your post, we can rule out that you's going in June, July, or August, when interest in Kali is at it's peak. Not sure when you are going, but I would rank Kali as the least priority of those you have listed.

I normally would take Everest over Dinosaur, but an argument could be made for Dinosaur, especially if you can hit Everest in in standby during the last 15-20 minutes of the night. When we were there in October, 2016, we were able to ride Everest 5-6 times in the last 20 minutes the park was open. Obviously, because of the length of the ride, you cannot do that on Dinosaur.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Thanks to you all for confirming my thoughts!

For Everest, I love the single-rider option, but it's a double-edged sword. Both of my kids are old enough, and I know my 10-year-old would ride it alone in a heartbeat (he often does rollercoasters solo at Six Flags where we have season passes). The wild card is my 8-year-old who sometimes chickens out and sometimes doesn't. I think he'd love it if he gave it a shot, but worry that he'd be more likely to back out at the prospect of riding alone. On the other hand, he might back out even if we can ride together, and I'd hate to waste a fast pass on it, if he chooses not to ride. So it's kind of a toss up. It could be a good end-of-night ride, if we don't go back to see Pandora in the dark.

Thank you for thoughts about Safari. I think it's sort of the quintessential AK ride, so I definitely don't want to miss it, and love that every time you go, it's slightly different, depending on what the animals are doing. Good to know the lines don't really go down, as we've only ever ridden it at RD and with FP.

Kali we haven't done, so I was intrigued, and YDS loves water rides, but as our trip is in November, I think I'll chance the weather leading to lower demand.

 

[Klayfish]

Made my FP reservations yesterday, and got the "hard" reservations I wanted (7DMT, SDD, FOP) - so yay!

Now my need for advice:

We will be starting our day at Epcot EMH and then hopping to AK where I've booked our 3 fast passes. Right now I have FOP, Safari, and Dinosaur. I know my kids will want to ride Everest and probably Kali, too.

Would it be better for me to drop Dinosaur or Safari in favor of Everest or Kali? I realize that Pandora is always the hardest to score day-of, but what would be my chances of late-ish afternoon/evening FPs for the other rides? I will try refresh, but if I can't score 4th and 5th fast passes, which lines are (generally) shortest waits for standby? We're going in November, so I'm hoping Kali won't be as popular as during warmer months, but not sure as it was down for renovation the only other time we've been to AK.

Each to their own for sure, but I personally wouldn't do single rider when I'm with my family...there's no need to. FP+ for EE aren't hard to get at all same day, so why ride alone? Kali becomes a standby late in the day, so FP+ for it is a total waste...but they're also easy to get so get it if you want. Actually, same holds true for the Safari. It is a straight walk on after about 5 or 6pm, so you can do without a FP+ for it...and just like the previous two you can easily get FP+ for it. So don't believe that the lines for it don't go down, they absolutely do. I can't tell you how many times we've been on it late in the day/evening and literally the CMs were waiting for guests to come and load the trucks.

Truthfully, the only ride in AK that's hard to get FP+ for is FoP and maybe Na'vi.

 

[saraheliz]

I'd probably switch to Everest but either way you should be ok to get a 4th FP. We were there in April and there was plenty of availability for Dinosaur and Kali, and a good amount for Everest, although a little less from what I could see. We even snagged FoP as a 4th FP, but obviously I wouldn't count on that!

 

[DisneyMaleficent50]

If its not Thanksgiving week i would switch to everest and snag 4th fastpass for dinosaur. It should be doable. Most people in November are not thinking water rides so you should be good there too. Also if you are going to stay all day when we went to Rivers of light show last weekend Everest was showing a 5 minute wait at 810. Show time was 845.

 

[ClapYourHands]

If its not Thanksgiving week i would switch to everest and snag 4th fastpass for dinosaur. It should be doable. Most people in November are not thinking water rides so you should be good there too. Also if you are going to stay all day when we went to Rivers of light show last weekend Everest was showing a 5 minute wait at 810. Show time was 845.

Not Thanksgiving week - Jersey Week (though we are not from NJ and didn't know it was a thing until I started reading these threads).

We are planning to RD Epcot for EMH, and then head over to AK midday and stay to the end. My kids usually prefer rides to parades or shows, so I'm hoping we can use that to our advantage. If they do want to do ROL, I don't care about our seats, so maybe we can try Everest half an hour before ROL if lines thin, and then slip into the ROL seating area at the last minute. Dinosaur is probably too long a ride to do that.

 

[Klayfish]

Not Thanksgiving week - Jersey Week (though we are not from NJ and didn't know it was a thing until I started reading these threads).

We are planning to RD Epcot for EMH, and then head over to AK midday and stay to the end. My kids usually prefer rides to parades or shows, so I'm hoping we can use that to our advantage. If they do want to do ROL, I don't care about our seats, so maybe we can try Everest half an hour before ROL if lines thin, and then slip into the ROL seating area at the last minute. Dinosaur is probably too long a ride to do that.

You'll have to make your own judgment on if you want to see ROL or do rides. I'm usually what many would call a WDW "apologist" here, but even I thought ROL was a one and done for us...it was not impressive at all.

Around dinner time, the park really clears out. So many of the rides that have lines during the day are walk ons. Dinosaur, Safari, Kali, PW. Even the line for EE really drops. Night time is the best time to knock out ride after ride after ride.

 

[DisneyMaleficent50]

Keep what you have then. You can ride everest several times before show starts. There is also some decent viewing if you just stand and watch from around the lake

 

[ClapYourHands]

You'll have to make your own judgment on if you want to see ROL or do rides. I'm usually what many would call a WDW "apologist" here, but even I thought ROL was a one and done for us...it was not impressive at all.

Around dinner time, the park really clears out. So many of the rides that have lines during the day are walk ons. Dinosaur, Safari, Kali, PW. Even the line for EE really drops. Night time is the best time to knock out ride after ride after ride.

Thank you! I've heard ROL is weaker than the other shows, so it might be anticlimactic after seeing what's offered in the other parks at closing. There are plenty of non-ride things to do before the attendance thins out, so I might just stick with my FP plans, do other things, and then get into lines in the evening as crowds leave.

Question about evening Safari. Can you see much? We will be there just after daylight savings time ends, so it will get dark sooner. Is there value in going after sunset? I've always thought it would be kind of a waste, but maybe there are some animals that might be more active than during the heat of the day.

 

[Klayfish]

Thank you! I've heard ROL is weaker than the other shows, so it might be anticlimactic after seeing what's offered in the other parks at closing. There are plenty of non-ride things to do before the attendance thins out, so I might just stick with my FP plans, do other things, and then get into lines in the evening as crowds leave.

Question about evening Safari. Can you see much? We will be there just after daylight savings time ends, so it will get dark sooner. Is there value in going after sunset? I've always thought it would be kind of a waste, but maybe there are some animals that might be more active than during the heat of the day.

Once it's pitch dark, then it's very hard to see the animals as there is very little lighting. If you have nothing else to do, it's still worth going because you never know what you'll see...but for best "viewing" you'll want at least some light. What you'll see is completely random...we've had great tours mid-day and we've had some not so good. Same for evening and morning.