AK without Pandora

[Jmljasmine]

So we were going to do a half day at AK and have no interest in Pandora. Saw it once and it doesn't draw us. We don't want to pay for Genie plus and want to do Safari, Lion King show, the Dino play area, and see the animals. What is our best approach. Long lines really don't work with our young kids but I'm understanding now Safari doesn't open early (we are early risers).

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

You can definitely accomplish all of AK without G+ in a half day. When are you going? Right now Everest is still closed, I think set to reopen May 1. Best approach is to arrive early and hit your favorite attractions first. There are not a ton so it's easy to tackle AK in a half day. If you are a resort guest, you can arrive early for early theme park entry but just double check the AK hours since it's an early opener park so it can be open as early as 7am for resort guests on 7:30am days.

 

[Jmljasmine]

You can definitely accomplish all of AK without G+ in a half day. When are you going? Right now Everest is still closed, I think set to reopen May 1. Best approach is to arrive early and hit your favorite attractions first. There are not a ton so it's easy to tackle AK in a half day. If you are a resort guest, you can arrive early for early theme park entry but just double check the AK hours since it's an early opener park so it can be open as early as 7am for resort guests on 7:30am days.

August but we aren't EE fans anyway. It's a bit too adventurous for us. I've heard though that it's mostly Pandora early. We went a ways back for early magic hours and ended up standing around when we discovered everything we wanted to do didn't open until later. At the same time we don't want to be in a safari line for 30 minutes. I have 4 kids 7 and under.

 

[Meglen]

August but we aren't EE fans anyway. It's a bit too adventurous for us. I've heard though that it's mostly Pandora early. We went a ways back for early magic hours and ended up standing around when we discovered everything we wanted to do didn't open until later. At the same time we don't want to be in a safari line for 30 minutes. I have 4 kids 7 and under.

30 min is the shortest you will see the safari based on recent wait times. If you want to get there right when safari opens that might be best.. right now it starts at 8am, might change closer to your dates tho.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Agree - get there early, near opening, and head to safari. Many folks will be heading to Pandora due to its popularity. By August, EE should be open again, and will take more of the early morning crowd. Plus, the animals are going to be most active in the morning, especially in August. Perhaps go from the safari right onto the gorilla trail to walk and see the animals on the trail, head to the LK show mid-morning, and then perhaps head to Asia to walk the animal trail there with the tigers (and more). On your way from Asia, stop by DinoLand. If you're not doing Pandora or EE, AK is definitely very doable in 1/2 day.

 

[wisblue]

The Safari is now opening at 8 AM. I’m not sure if that will get any earlier as sunrise gets earlier.

From what you’re saying, you could get to DAK before 8 and maybe stroll around the trail surrounding the Tree of Life before the Safari opens.Then if you get in the line for the Safari shortly before it opens the line will look long but should move pretty quickly. It’s probably as short of a standby wait as there would be all morning. The posted wait would probably be longer than the actual wait that early.

 

[gharter]

We were there last week and did AK without Genie + and had no issues.
We did do FoP as ILL$ as we didn't want to wait 90 minutes in line.
For the first time, for us, with Nemo still closed and Everest closed, and the modified Lion King show, the park felt more like a half day park. We've never felt that way before.

 

[Anna131517]

If you get EE, the only thing that really opens early on your list is Gorilla Falls Trail. You could do that, then safari, then play area, rest somewhere for lunch, then do the Lion King show or It’s a Bugs Life in the afternoon.