AK Safari....early or after lunch?

[Wes1stTrip2016]

Hello all - we have a reservation for Tusker House at 10:30am.....I am wondering if we should just wander about and take in the sites from 9-10:30am and FP safari for early afternoon OR do the safari as soon as we arrive then head to brunch...thoughts?

 

[rwdavis2]

Safari first so you don't have to use a FP for it. Assuming you're getting there at rope drop.

 

[loves to dive]

Yep, I'd do Safari right when I got there, again if you got there at Rope Drop.

 

[siskaren]

I don't see why you couldn't do the safari first thing, especially since it's right next to the restaurant. Just wandering around during the first 90 minutes the park is open, and lines are the shortest, seems like a waste of time to me.

 

[Wes1stTrip2016]

So, we will get there at park open (which shows 9am) and go directly to the safari...use time after to look around until our TH reservation, then plan our fast passes for after.

Our little boy will be too small for Expedition Everest - I was thinking to FP+ Kali, Dinosaur and maybe Lion King? Does that sound about right?

 

[siskaren]

You might not want to take a 5 year old on Dinosaur - it scares people a lot older than that.

 

[samsteele]

I'd second the PPs and suggest you do Safari at rope drop. Maybe turn around and do another Safari asap right after if you enjoyed? One thing to note with Safari is the temperature. If its going to be a truly hot day, the animals are more active & visible early in the a.m. After Safari, go to your ressie or maybe a quick walk through Pangani Trail to see if the baby gorillas are out?

 

[KimBean]

Depends on the kid. My DD who was 14 last time hates dinosaur scared her and my DD who was 6 liked it. Head straight for Safari!!! Not only will it be the shortest wait even with a FP later, it will be the coolest so the animals are the most active. Of course I haven't been able to go at sunset yet. I've heard this is going to be nice.

 

[Stefecatzz]

IMO, it depends on the time of year you are there & the weather that day. If it's really hot, try to make your FP for early morning or evening when the sun is setting so there will be more animal activity. If it's winter & it's a cold day (yes, it does happen in Orlando!) it might be alright in the afternoon. I was there last year in Nov & Dec & it got down to the 30's at night & was windy & cold during the day. The animals have free roam of the area so the weather will make a difference.

 

[Wes1stTrip2016]

IMO, it depends on the time of year you are there & the weather that day. If it's really hot, try to make your FP for early morning or evening when the sun is setting so there will be more animal activity. If it's winter & it's a cold day (yes, it does happen in Orlando!) it might be alright in the afternoon. I was there last year in Nov & Dec & it got down to the 30's at night & was windy & cold during the day. The animals have free roam of the area so the weather will make a difference.

We are going 2/27 - 3/5 - so the weather will be mild...we can always go again in the afternoon should we need see much in the morning.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We always go to safari for the first ride. Never waste a FP. Line is never longer than a few Minutes. And animals are likely to be out and about.

 

[ktlm]

We like to go to Safari at rope drop and ride standby, and then we also do a FP+ to ride it again a little later. We have done Safari in the afternoon and I was worried the animals would be napping or inactive, but it was actually one of the best Safaris we have taken. The animals were all up and about and very active. I wouldn't worry that much about time of day for the animals unless it is a sweltering hot day.

We have done 10:30 ADRs at TH our last few trips. We typically do Safari and then walk the trails looking at the animals or maybe go see a character or two before hitting TH. I agree that Dinosaur might be scary. DD is 9 and she still hates it. You might want to try to watch it on you tube, but it may be too dark to tell anything. DD wasn't real big on Kai at that age because she did not like the soaking that everyone got, but some kids absolutely love it. Lion King will be a great choice for him. When we were there a couple of months ago we did it without FP+ with no issues. The FP+ people were getting let in first at that time (if they have not changed it), so you could get better seats with FP+- although the seats in there are all good. We find that FP+ isn't that important at AK. IF the adults really want to do EE, you could use a FP+ on it and take turns. We have also taken turns doing the single rider line for that (DD refused to ride it until last year). Usually we are on doing that in about 10 minutes, but a FP+ would likely be faster.

 

[MrPTato]

I would do at rope drop and also get a FP for the early afternoon.