AK Touring Plan

[kyanmama]

Sorry to post yet again looking for touring plan advice, but I'm hoping some of you experts actually like helping annoying newbies like me haha!
This is what I've come up with for Christmas Day. Me, DH, DS3, DS8. We'll be there for EMH 7:00am. Am I being way too ambitious with our plans? I know we are zigzagging a bit, but not sure how to avoid this given our FP times and ADR. Any advice is appreciated, even if it means completely rearranging entire plan.

Arrive around 6:30 for 7:00EMH
Navi River
Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl (DH and DS8)
Triceratop Spin and Boneyard (me and DS3)
FP Everest (8:30-9:30) *hopefully do RS so DH and me can both ride with DS8
Kilimanjaro Safari
10:20 Tusker House breakfast
12:00 Lion King
12:55-1:55 FP for FOP (DS8 and DH)
12:55-1:55 FP for Navi (DS3 and me)
1:55-2:55 FP Kali River Rapids
(Time for Maharajah Jungle Trek in here somehow??)
3:00 Finding Nemo
Break at hotel (AKL)
8:30 ROL (dining package)

No idea if I'm trying to do way too much. I am using Touring Plans but don't know how accurate their projected wait times are.
We can definitely come back early evening before ROL if needed. Maybe try to do another safari or another ride after ROL?

 

[LSUfan4444]

I don't know if I would do Kali in the middle of the day like that. You will get wet, you could get soaked. If you're taking a mid day break Id move Kali back till right before you leave.

Other than that, things look good.

 

[kniquy]

my best advice for Kali is to bring some disposable ponchos. They used to have a center section on each raft which you could place your belongings to keep them dry. When i went in April those were no longer there, so if i didn't have a poncho me and my pocketbook and cell phone would have gotten wet. I had an extra one and saved a mother and daughter.

that ride is very weather dependent -- if it is really warm there will be long lines, if it is cooler then you could forgo the FP and like PP mentioned do it as your last ride. I might switch the FP to the safari as that can have longer waits, especially on a holiday .

Don't forget to include a bugs life -- it is a cute experience.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I agree with the others on Kali. I would not want to be soaked and then sit to watch Nemo. I would try to do it right before you leave.

I actually disagree with the PP who suggested Bug's Life. I think it can be scary for younger children.

 

[kyanmama]

Thanks for the advice so far. Okay I switched things a bit--

Arrive around 6:30 for 7:00EMH
Navi River
Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl (DH and DS8)
Triceratop Spin and Boneyard (me and DS3)
FP Everest (8:30-9:30) *hopefully do RS so DH and me can both ride with DS8
Kilimanjaro Safari
10:20 Tusker House breakfast
12:00 Lion King
12:55-1:55 FP for FOP (DS8 and DH)
12:55-1:55 FP for Navi (DS3 and me)
It's Tough to be a Bug
3:00 Finding Nemo
3:45 FP Kali River
Break at hotel (AKL)
8:30 ROL (dining package)

Can't get a FP for safari at a time that works...

 

[siskaren]

my best advice for Kali is to bring some disposable ponchos. They used to have a center section on each raft which you could place your belongings to keep them dry. When i went in April those were no longer there, so if i didn't have a poncho me and my pocketbook and cell phone would have gotten wet. I had an extra one and saved a mother and daughter.

that ride is very weather dependent -- if it is really warm there will be long lines, if it is cooler then you could forgo the FP and like PP mentioned do it as your last ride. I might switch the FP to the safari as that can have longer waits, especially on a holiday .

Don't forget to include a bugs life -- it is a cute experience.

They have free lockers by Kali (well, free for 2 hours).

Also, the OP's 3 year old and 8 year old might not think It's Tough To Be a Bug is cute.

 

[nighttowll]

Your plan looks pretty good to me. You won't have lots of time to window shop or really look at the animals, but if you simply move from on attraction to another, you should be fine.

The only thing I'd do differently is NR.

Check out the thread where they have been discussing RD heading toward Pandora first thing in the morning. The general consensus seems to be if your party is made of fit adults who can keep a good pace and take being jostled a bit, go for it. However, many have said they wouldn't feel comfortable taking children or older family members into that crowd. Also, most of the ones reporting success surviving the crowd have reported arriving at least 1.5 hrs or more before park opening to put them at the front of the crowd. I know most people are heading to FOP, but you still have to get in that crowd to make it to NR and not sure I'd want to try that with a 3 year old. If nothing else, make sure you know what you are getting into.

Since you've already got FP for both rides, I'd go straight over to Dinoland, the opposite way of the crowds. This will give you a little extra time on that side of the park. You might even be able to squeeze a few extra rides out of EE if your husband took your older son there, as soon as finishing at Dinoland. If you all really want to ride NR together, maybe try for the end of the night.

 

[nighttowll]

They have free lockers by Kali (well, free for 2 hours).

Also, the OP's 3 year old and 8 year old might not think It's Tough To Be a Bug is cute.

I second this. My sister who is now in her 20s claims to still be traumatized from this attraction. She still refuses to watch it. I mentioned us doing this on our upcoming trip, and she said if she had to watch this show, she would rather not go to Disney at all! She rode Dinosaur, HM, and even EE, and was fine on all of them, not scared in the least. But ITTBB did her in. She was 10, and this show made her cry.

 

[kyanmama]

Your plan looks pretty good to me. You won't have lots of time to window shop or really look at the animals, but if you simply move from on attraction to another, you should be fine.

The only thing I'd do differently is NR.

Check out the thread where they have been discussing RD heading toward Pandora first thing in the morning. The general consensus seems to be if your party is made of fit adults who can keep a good pace and take being jostled a bit, go for it. However, many have said they wouldn't feel comfortable taking children or older family members into that crowd. Also, most of the ones reporting success surviving the crowd have reported arriving at least 1.5 hrs or more before park opening to put them at the front of the crowd. I know most people are heading to FOP, but you still have to get in that crowd to make it to NR and not sure I'd want to try that with a 3 year old. If nothing else, make sure you know what you are getting into.

Since you've already got FP for both rides, I'd go straight over to Dinoland, the opposite way of the crowds. This will give you a little extra time on that side of the park. You might even be able to squeeze a few extra rides out of EE if your husband took your older son there, as soon as finishing at Dinoland. If you all really want to ride NR together, maybe try for the end of the night.

Thanks SO much for your advice. I'm conflicted now though. Yes, we have FPs for navi (me and DS3) and FOP (DH and DS8 ride and I use RS). However, ideally I would love to ride navi as a family as well. What are the chances we'd get an evening FP for navi after we've used up our initial 3? Is it a hard to get FP?

 

[kyanmama]

I second this. My sister who is now in her 20s claims to still be traumatized from this attraction. She still refuses to watch it. I mentioned us doing this on our upcoming trip, and she said if she had to watch this show, she would rather not go to Disney at all! She rode Dinosaur, HM, and even EE, and was fine on all of them, not scared in the least. But ITTBB did her in. She was 10, and this show made her cry.

Oh my goodness! I thought ITTBB was a show...? Clearly I don't know what I'm talking about. What's so scary about it?

 

[neverlandsky]

We saved Kali for last and was able to score it as a 4th FP. Yet see if you can move it to later making it your last thing you do before break. I got soaked head to toe. I took off my socks beforehand and stored everything in the locker.

Bugs life is indeed scary for young children. Child 3/4 next to me in parent's lap and we were sitting in last row in the back was screaming I wanna go, I wanna leave over and over again. My 14/12 kids, DH, & Me jumped in a few parts. It was our first time.

Everest denied us a rider switch due to single rider line. So heads up for that.

Definitely don't miss Flights of Wonder. It was a huge hit for us.

 

[siskaren]

Oh my goodness! I thought ITTBB was a show...? Clearly I don't know what I'm talking about. What's so scary about it?

It's a 3D show like Mickey's PhilHarmagic or Muppet Vision 3D, but what's scary about it is things like large animatronic spiders dropping from the ceiling (well, they're attached to wires, so it's not like they're falling in people's laps).

 

[kyanmama]

We saved Kali for last and was able to score it as a 4th FP. Yet see if you can move it to later making it your last thing you do before break. I got soaked head to toe. I took off my socks beforehand and stored everything in the locker.

Bugs life is indeed scary for young children. Child 3/4 next to me in parent's lap and we were sitting in last row in the back was screaming I wanna go, I wanna leave over and over again. My 14/12 kids, DH, & Me jumped in a few parts. It was our first time.

Everest denied us a rider switch due to single rider line. So heads up for that.

Definitely don't miss Flights of Wonder. It was a huge hit for us.

Do you think we will need a FP for Kali mid afternoon? Or should I drop it and try to rearrange things so we all get on navi together?
Or, I could keep plan as is (but omit Navi at RD) and try to score a FP for all 4 of us after we use our other FPs I guess (in the evening). Not sure if this would be possible...?

 

[nighttowll]

Thanks SO much for your advice. I'm conflicted now though. Yes, we have FPs for navi (me and DS3) and FOP (DH and DS8 ride and I use RS). However, ideally I would love to ride navi as a family as well. What are the chances we'd get an evening FP for navi after we've used up our initial 3? Is it a hard to get FP?

Do you think we will need a FP for Kali mid afternoon? Or should I drop it and try to rearrange things so we all get on navi together?
Or, I could keep plan as is (but omit Navi at RD) and try to score a FP for all 4 of us after we use our other FPs I guess (in the evening). Not sure if this would be possible...?

Someone please tell me if I'm wrong, but on a day that parks sometimes close to capacity, I don't see getting a 4th FP for anything happening. Even on slower days, it can be hard to get a 4th for anything you'd really need one for. FP for headliners tend to run out very early in the day based on what I'm seeing posted on TP. So, I wouldn't count on being able to get a 4th FP for anything on Christmas Day. You'd have to luck into a last minute cancellation.

You can always still try for NR first thing in the morning if you want. I just wanted you to be ware of what you'd be getting in the middle of.

There's no point in dropping Kali. You can't replace it with NR without giving up FOP. NR and FOP are in the same Tier 1 Grouping, so you can only do one or the other FP, not both. Of the two if you have to do one standby, you want it be NR.

Oh my goodness! I thought ITTBB was a show...? Clearly I don't know what I'm talking about. What's so scary about it?

It is a show, but it is 4D show. The premise is that bugs want revenge on humans for trying to swat and kill them over the years, so they decide to take their revenge on the captive audience and attack. If it had just been a 3D movie, I think my sister would have been ok, but all the other 4D effects really freaked her out. She has very mild sensory issues, and it was just too much for her. At times, the show uses special effects to make you feel like bugs are touching you, little puffs of air, water, effects in the seat itself. Then you have all the 3D attacks, the loud noises, people screaming in fear (I've read Disney pipes in some screams for effect) not that there aren't enough real ones, and add in that it is a fairly dark theater, all this creates lots of scared kids. By the time the giant spiders dropped from the ceiling at the end, my sister was hysterical. I've heard stories of kids are old as 12 being scared.

 

[kyanmama]

Someone please tell me if I'm wrong, but on a day that parks sometimes close to capacity, I don't see getting a 4th FP for anything happening. Even on slower days, it can be hard to get a 4th for anything you'd really need one for. FP for headliners tend to run out very early in the day based on what I'm seeing posted on TP. So, I wouldn't count on being able to get a 4th FP for anything on Christmas Day. You'd have to luck into a last minute cancellation.

You can always still try for NR first thing in the morning if you want. I just wanted you to be ware of what you'd be getting in the middle of.

There's no point in dropping Kali. You can't replace it with NR without giving up FOP. NR and FOP are in the same Tier 1 Grouping, so you can only do one or the other FP, not both. Of the two if you have to do one standby, you want it be NR.




It is a show, but it is 4D show. The premise is that bugs want revenge on humans for trying to swat and kill them over the years, so they decide to take their revenge on the captive audience and attack. If it had just been a 3D movie, I think my sister would have been ok, but all the other 4D effects really freaked her out. She has very mild sensory issues, and it was just too much for her. At times, the show uses special effects to make you feel like bugs are touching you, little puffs of air, water, effects in the seat itself. Then you have all the 3D attacks, the loud noises, people screaming in fear (I've read Disney pipes in some screams for effect) not that there aren't enough real ones, and add in that it is a fairly dark theater, all this creates lots of scared kids. By the time the giant spiders dropped from the ceiling at the end, my sister was hysterical. I've heard stories of kids are old as 12 being scared.

Yeah, I realized that after I posted (that I'd have to give up FOP to get Navi). I think we'll skip Navi in the morning to avoid the mad rush!
I'm definitely not counting on getting a 4th FP but I'm surprised there are still SO many Navi times left. I'm assuming these get snapped up when people staying off site get to book their FPs..? Again, cluesless. I'll leave the plan and if we score a 4th FP, great! If not, still okay!
Thanks so much for your help!

 

[nighttowll]

Yes remember, all the offsite guests haven't gotten their turn yet. I'd expect them to disappear after the 30 day mark. You'll also have some locals and last minute groups that will grab up any FP that are left. I'd be surprised if there is much of anything left for any ride by the time you actually get there on Christmas. People do cancel, so it's always possible, but I wouldn't depend on it.

 

[nighttowll]

So I just checked TP, and I'd definitely expect everything to vanish at 30 days. FOP and NR are showing all FP as having being distributed from today through Dec 11th. The first availability for NR starts on the 12th, so 30 days.

 

[KEW]

Thanks SO much for your advice. I'm conflicted now though. Yes, we have FPs for navi (me and DS3) and FOP (DH and DS8 ride and I use RS). However, ideally I would love to ride navi as a family as well. What are the chances we'd get an evening FP for navi after we've used up our initial 3? Is it a hard to get FP?

I think the craziness at rope drop is in reference to people headed toward FOP. I think you can hang back a little behind this crowd and still do NRJ as a walk on first thing in the morning at rope drop.

 

[nighttowll]

It's definitely in relation to FOP, but how long would you think a crowd like the one below would take to dissipate when reports are the FOP line is snaking way out of the queue? And the reports coming in right now are fo much lower crowd attendance days. By the time you got done waiting for the crowd to die down, you could have gone and rode something else.


8/16 A Morning at AK, FoP and Navi, no Fast Passes

 

[neverlandsky]

Do you think we will need a FP for Kali mid afternoon? Or should I drop it and try to rearrange things so we all get on navi together?

Or, I could keep plan as is (but omit Navi at RD) and try to score a FP for all 4 of us after we use our other FPs I guess (in the evening). Not sure if this would be possible...?

Arrive around 6:15 for 7:00EMH
Navi River
Kilimanjaro Safaris
Pangani Trail
FP Everest (8:30-9:30) *hopefully do RS so DH and me can both ride with DS8
Jungle Trek
10:20 Tusker House breakfast
12:00 Lion King
12:55-1:55 FP for FOP (DS8 and DH)
12:55-1:55 FP for Navi (DS3 and me)
2:00 Nemo
2:30 - 3:30 FP Kali

Break at hotel (AKL)
Tackle DinoLand USA before and after RoL
8:30 ROL (dining package)
Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl (DH and DS8)
Triceratop Spin and Boneyard (me and DS3)