Avatar Flight of Passage (FOP) Strategy?

[consultant]

It's widely known Avatar Flight of Passage can be very difficult to get a FP+ even if you have 60-day advanced booking. I heard that the queue theming experience is better for FOP in the regular line. My party is only 2 people. What strategy do people recommend:

A) Use the FP+ if you can get one.
B) Go at rope drop on an EMH day
C) Go at rope drop on a non-EMH day

 

[JETSDAD]

A- there are no queues that I'd be willing to give up using a FP for.

 

[jaysmom4285]

DH and I are not rope drop people. We have never had any problem getting a FoP FP+ on the day that we're in AK, or possibly the day before. It can take some refreshing, but it works, especially for a small party of 2. Even if a time comes up that you don't want, like 8 PM when you really want to do it in the early afternoon, take the 8 PM and then try to modify it. That way, FoP is at the top of the attraction list when you refresh. I did that last week - got an evening FP+ and kept refreshing. If a time came up that was an hour or two earlier, I would take that one and keep working at it. Eventually, a 1:40 PM FP+ came up. And as soon as I tapped in for FoP, I tried for Navi and got it after only a few refreshes for a time that was right after FoP.

 

[JETSDAD]

DH and I are not rope drop people. We have never had any problem getting a FoP FP+ on the day that we're in AK, or possibly the day before. It can take some refreshing, but it works, especially for a small party of 2. Even if a time comes up that you don't want, like 8 PM when you really want to do it in the early afternoon, take the 8 PM and then try to modify it. That way, FoP is at the top of the attraction list when you refresh. I did that last week - got an evening FP+ and kept refreshing. If a time came up that was an hour or two earlier, I would take that one and keep working at it. Eventually, a 1:40 PM FP+ came up. And as soon as I tapped in for FoP, I tried for Navi and got it after only a few refreshes for a time that was right after FoP.

Agree with all of this but want to point out that FOP will be at the top of the list regardless if an available time shows up as it is tier 1 and first alphabetically.

 

[Spencer Wright]

I would recommend prioritizing it as a FP. It seems that most Guests still swarm to AK at RP, so I personally would avoid FOP during opening or Extra Magic Hour. The wait seems to drop a bit in the evening. I waited standby 75 minutes recently in the evening.

I am not normally one to wait very long for Attractions (maybe 25 minutes at most), but it was worth it to see the Standby Queue one time.

How long do you believe you might be willing to wait?

 

[consultant]

Spencer, I'm the same as you. I'm an Analyst by trade and but to the parks enough times that with very careful touring strategy analysis and planning, we typically wait no longer than 25 minutes also in almost any season except on the very highest peak holiday days. Very rarely would we get in a queue for ANY ride that the stated wait time is longer than 30 minutes. We never go in Summer to any of the parks, the heat combined with the crowds is just crazy considering what it costs these days to get into the parks. I take pity on all the exhausted frustrated families I always see in the parks that didn't do their homework. But I guess if everyone knew all the best strategies, that would make them less useful. It's always been complete nuts to think people pay close to $500 for a family of four to enter a park and sit in lines 60-90 minutes for several 2-4 minute rides. The power of Disney.

 

[Miffy]

OP: Is the morning your only option? Because the standby wait time at FoP near park close is usually pretty good. The posted standby wait time is nearly always highly exaggerated close to park closing time, since they want to discourage people at that point. The last time I did this the posted wait was 75 minutes, and we waited maybe 25 minutes, max.

The FoP queue is nice, but if I could get a FP+ instead, I'd do that.

Keep looking and refreshing the app, as a PP stated. It works a lot of the time. Not always, but it often does. And make sure to check the night before.

I've gotten FP+s for FoP while waiting in line at FoP to get to the first preshow room.

Good luck!

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

It's widely known Avatar Flight of Passage can be very difficult to get a FP+ even if you have 60-day advanced booking. I heard that the queue theming experience is better for FOP in the regular line. My party is only 2 people. What strategy do people recommend:

A) Use the FP+ if you can get one.
B) Go at rope drop on an EMH day
C) Go at rope drop on a non-EMH day

D. Go at the end of the evening when the line is the shortest.

We did this recently, and found a 17 minute wait, although the posted wait was 110.

This may be a more efficient use of time than either rope drop options.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Very rarely would we get in a queue for ANY ride that the stated wait time is longer than 30 minutes.

You’re missing out on a lot of very short waits by following this strategy. Disney often intentionally exaggerates the posted wait times, especially in the evening, to discourage late riders.

The actual wait can be 10-15 minutes even if the posted wait is much higher.

 

[pwmitch237]

D. Go at the end of the evening when the line is the shortest.

We did this recently, and found a 17 minute wait, although the posted wait was 110.

This may be a more efficient use of time than either rope drop options.

I vote for either this, or C.

While you can still experience a significant wait at Rope Drop--FoP typically begins operating 45-30 mins prior to park opening. I've gotten to the park at 7:15am and been off FoP at 7:50am, and through with both Pandora rides by the 8am opening time. You're not really losing park time, as the rest of the park hasn't opened yet. The real benefit of waiting standby either before park opening or at park closing is that there are no fastpass riders, which allow standby to move a lot faster.

 

[CNYMickeyFan]

It's widely known Avatar Flight of Passage can be very difficult to get a FP+ even if you have 60-day advanced booking. I heard that the queue theming experience is better for FOP in the regular line. My party is only 2 people. What strategy do people recommend:

A) Use the FP+ if you can get one.
B) Go at rope drop on an EMH day
C) Go at rope drop on a non-EMH day

A or B. When booking FP+ Start at the end of your trip and work backwards.

 

[shocker]

A & B in combination.

A party of 2 will likely find a FP for FOP the night before or morning of your visit. You will want to ride twice so you'll want the FP.

Also, RD on EMH is preferred to a non-EMH day. Why? Because on an EMH day nobody has FP during that first hour to cut in front of you. On non-EMH day plenty of FP's will be interrupting your wait time. Also EMH days tend to start before non-EMH days, the earlier the opening, the bigger the payoff. Less people show up for a 6am opening than a 7am opening, than an 8 am opening, than a 9am opening. The reverse is true for closing time, the later the better.

I know you've been advised to not miss the queue, but this queue can certainly be missed in exchange for shorter wait time. You've been advised to RD a non-EMH day so you can see this queue. But, you will not be able to control how Disney chooses to load this line when you are in it & they do shunt people & close parts of the queue at will. You may or may not see its entirety even if you try.

Add options D & E to your list above to look like this:

D) after you tap in on your 3rd FP at AK, try for a 4th. I've gotten up to 4 FOP FP's in one day. Grab any time you get, then modify to move time up.
E) ride FOP just before closing, get in line 5-10 min before closing & you will again enjoy no FP cutting as you close out the night on a wonderful ride.

I see no reason you couldn't ride FOP several times in one day with minimal wait.

 

[Marc D]

I usually plan my AK as the last day of the trip, and book the FP+ for FoP on that day first. since we are rope-drop people, we usually rope-drop it on another AK day if well feel like it.

 

[Jorjabelle]

Is it worth it to have a FP for FOP and ride it in the evening if the standby line isn’t too long as well? Is it a different experience each time you ride it?

 

[Miffy]

Is it worth it to have a FP for FOP and ride it in the evening if the standby line isn’t too long as well? Is it a different experience each time you ride it?

FoP is an amazing, unique experience. I could easily ride it several times a day. But is it a different experience each time? It can be, depending on where you're seated, but the show is the same. The thrills, though, are no less thrilling, and each time I ride I notice something I never saw before--and I've ridden it a lot . . . but not nearly enough!

 

[Tomh]

It's widely known Avatar Flight of Passage can be very difficult to get a FP+ even if you have 60-day advanced booking. I heard that the queue theming experience is better for FOP in the regular line. My party is only 2 people. What strategy do people recommend:

A) Use the FP+ if you can get one.
B) Go at rope drop on an EMH day
C) Go at rope drop on a non-EMH day

FP if you can get it for sure. If you can't, then I would try for Rope Drop, on what ever day I am visiting the park. My other go to method is to schedule all of my FP for early in the morning, so I am done with my last pre booked FP by 11:45 or so, and then start using the refresh method to search for a FP for FoP. I had great luck finding FoP FP for my son and I in August. It might not work as well at super busy times of the year (like Christmas) but as long as the crowds aren't insane you should have success with this method.

 

[cjlong88]

You can also get a FP so you can ride it twice, once during your FP window and again at park close. Then you can experience Pandora at night, go through the standby queue (which is great), and have a much shorter wait.

 

[fbarker]

You’re missing out on a lot of very short waits by following this strategy. Disney often intentionally exaggerates the posted wait times, especially in the evening, to discourage late riders.

The actual wait can be 10-15 minutes even if the posted wait is much higher.

The problem is how do you know when Disney is inflating the wait time? Do they inflate the wait time more often than using the "real" wait time? I have also gotten into a line and we waited significantly longer than the posted wait time. So what is your stategy for waiting and choosing the posted wait times that are longer than the actual wait times.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

The problem is how do you know when Disney is inflating the wait time? Do they inflate the wait time more often than using the "real" wait time? I have also gotten into a line and we waited significantly longer than the posted wait time. So what is your stategy for waiting and choosing the posted wait times that are longer than the actual wait times.

You can count on the inflated wait times during the last hour or so of operation. It’s all part of their Line Stacking technique designed to discourage late riders.

We’ve often found the posted wait to be 4x the actual wait late at night.

And when in doubt, ask. The gate attendants do know both times, as both are displayed on their monitors. Take a quick peek when you enter a line sometime and you’ll see what I mean.

Another easy way to tell is just by observing how many people are milling around and how many strollers are parked close by. If you only see a few but the posted time is an hour or more, I would hop in line.

 

[shocker]

The problem is how do you know when Disney is inflating the wait time? Do they inflate the wait time more often than using the "real" wait time? I have also gotten into a line and we waited significantly longer than the posted wait time. So what is your stategy for waiting and choosing the posted wait times that are longer than the actual wait times.

Download the 'Lines' app, they will report actual waits & the posted wait time. The MDE app only shows you posted waits. You can also participate in the Lines app & it will time your wait & post it for others to see.