Expedition Everest & FASTPASS

[mikerobrewer]

Anyone have any feel for the lines of EE on an Extra Evening Hours day at AK and if FASTPASSES for this attraction will still be available after 1:00?

We will be arriving on Wednesday May 17. The flight gets in around 10:30 AM and by the time we get the rental car, drive to hotel (Wildreness Lodge), get checked in and make it to a park it will be after 1:00.

The Animal Kingdom is open until 6:00 PM but it is has extra evening hours that night so I was planning to go there on our first day, after 1:00. Of course seeing Expedition Everest is of primary importance and my guess is that the lines will be very long for EE.

So I was wondering if we get there at 1:00-1:30 and head straight for EE do you think all of the FASTPASSES will be gone for the day? If so, would I be better off going to DS/MGM on Wednesday and leave AK for another day?

 

[allegracristina]

There's no way to know for sure if the FP will be gone for the day by that time. If you want pretty much guaranteed shorter lines and FP for that ride (so you can ride more than once) I would definately recommend getting to AK at park opening. The parks with evening EMH can get very busy at night. I would get to the park at opening, grab a FP for EE and hop on the standby line. That way, you'll be guaranteed to ride at least twice. There may be short enough standby lines that you can ride more! Have a great time!

 

[mikerobrewer]

The problem is that our flight doesn't get into Orlando until 10:30 so there is no way we can get there at opening on Wednesday. I wasn't looking for a guarantee, just someone that has been to AK since EE has been open and might know if Everest is so busy that the FP are normally gone by 1:00-1:30.

I guess we should probably hit DS/MGM on Wednesday. It is open until 9:00 which should give us plenty of time to hit the major attractions.

 

[Skwinkles]

Someone, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought I remembered that the FP machines are reset for EMH, meaning when evening EMH starts, the machines come online again. So even if the passes are gone at 1, you should be able to get some when EMH starts.

Also, when we were last there in January, we noticed that the ride times were significantly inflated as the park was beginning to close. For instance, Epcot was closing at 9. It was 8pm and Soarin posted a wait time of 70 minutes. We got in line anyway, and the line only took about 15 minutes. We encountered the same thing at Test Track, Space Mountain, and Tower of Terror.

Are you planning on also going to AK on another day of your trip? If so, I would say it couldn't hurt to head over there when you get in. Even if the Fast Passes are gone by 1, I would bet that you would still be able to ride, at least during EMH.

 

[mikerobrewer]

We will probably only go to AK one day and since the animals are more active in the morning it would probably be better to wait until another day. But we are going with 5 teenagers who might not care about the animals anyway.

In fact that is another issue that we have. The teenagers are going on non-Park Hopper 3-day passes (one day they're going to Universal). The adults will have Park Hoppers because we aren't going to Universal and want a little flexibility. So the kids need to make a choice between EPCOT, AK, and DS/MGM (MK is a given since they'll be performing there).

I think EPCOT makes sense since it is so big and will take a whole day. So the only question is whether they go to AK or DS/MGM on the first day and AK only makes sense if they can ride Everest.

 

[ihearttink]

Also, when we were last there in January, we noticed that the ride times were significantly inflated as the park was beginning to close. For instance, Epcot was closing at 9. It was 8pm and Soarin posted a wait time of 70 minutes. We got in line anyway, and the line only took about 15 minutes. We encountered the same thing at Test Track, Space Mountain, and Tower of Terror.

I just read about this in the UG. It said Disney does inflate the wait time so that attraction can close on time. The book's example explained that sometimes at SM the line was held up outside the ride to deter people from getting in line. When they did let the line go in, it when straight through with hardly any wait to get on!

 

[MinnieM3]

Has anyone ridden EE during AK EMH? The last time we were at AK EMH we practically had the rides to ourselves. Is it still this way in AK?

Also, if I do Splash, BTMRR, and TOT....but hate RNR and barely make it on Space Mtn., can I handle EE???

 

[iluvepcot]

We are not early risers and will not be doing any EMH in the am. In fact without park hoppers on our ticket we were going to bypass all EMH and do the park the next day. Hopefully all the crowds who did the PM EMH the night before will not be there. This was what we intended to do for AK.

I was thinking for AK it may be good to do the PM EMH since this park closes so early anyway. The other parks are open after dinner but not AK. For those who have done EMH in the pm since EE, should we change this to go to the AK PM EMH? What is open in PM EMH? Has it been crowded? Is it not worth it to be there? Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[ozziewags]

We are not early risers and will not be doing any EMH in the am. In fact without park hoppers on our ticket we were going to bypass all EMH and do the park the next day. Hopefully all the crowds who did the PM EMH the night before will not be there. This was what we intended to do for AK.

I was thinking for AK it may be good to do the PM EMH since this park closes so early anyway. The other parks are open after dinner but not AK. For those who have done EMH in the pm since EE, should we change this to go to the AK PM EMH? What is open in PM EMH? Has it been crowded? Is it not worth it to be there? Any insight would be appreciated.

BUMP! And, on which side of EE does the line form?

 

[MinnieM3]

Bump Still curious about AK Evening EMH crowds and if EE is and EMH ride.

 

[iluvepcot]

bump again

 

[mikerobrewer]

Hmmm. I am thinking now that maybe the crowds during Extra Evening Hours at AK might not be too bad since no one here seems to know what they're like.

 

[FogliaFamily]

We returned last week from Disney. We went to AK a few times. FP were gone by noon for EE. We got our FP about 10:00 a.m. and could return at 1:30 p.m. My sons loved it - 5 and 7, they each went on it 4 times. We were at AK during EMH. My sons were with my sister and they got on EE no problem. We chose to go on Kali River Rapids and Tough to be a Bug - walked right on each - absolutely no line at all. The EMH during Easter week was 8 to 11. Good luck and have fun!

 

[MinnieM3]

Thank you!!

 

[Poohbear123]

AK is open till 11 PM for EMH? If so, that is great!

 

[snowwite]

The only day we noticed FP gone and unable to ride was when the ride broke down one day last week. We did it the next day. I was disappointed. It just wasnt as cool as people led me to belive. It does not even come close to RnRC.

 

[Toulouse]

AK is open till 11 PM for EMH? If so, that is great!

Only if the park is open until 8pm - evening EMH lasts 3 hours past regular closing, so if it closes at 6, EMH will end at 9, etc.

 

[mikerobrewer]

Thanks for the info!