Flight of Passage Question

JayMass

Dis Dad #871 Disney Deadhead
Joined
Oct 18, 2019
Messages
549
So I have never been on FoP. I had a FP+ for it for last April and then Covid hit. I really want to ride it. I'll be at WDW for 3 days in late August. I know a whole lot will change by then, BUT...what is the best strategy for riding? Rope Drop? Last Ride of the Day?
 
I think last ride of the day is best unless you don't consider the extra time before opening as time spent (like some people). My wife isn't a morning person so getting there 45 minutes before they start letting people in isn't worth it. Usually the posted wait time at park closing in inflated to discourage people from getting in the line.
 
First, the ride is awesome, so I am excited for you! If people in your group are open to it, I would rope drop.
You are not tired and cranky yet *plus* if you really like it, you can get back in line!

Late Aug is a (relatively) quiet time, so hopefully the lines are low!
 

According to touringplans, the wait is usually about 40 minutes if you wait until after 3:30. It is even shorter the last hour of the day.
 
We just got from WDW and we rode FoP four times while at AK. We didn't do rope drop. We went to safari first and then rode FoP; had early lunch at Satu'li Canteen and rode FoP again; rode FoP just before dinner and one last time before the park closed. The longest we waited was 40 minutes.

We use touringplans app to monitor queue times and that told us the best times to get in line.
 
Both work. If you do RD, you need to be at the park early enough that you are near the front of the pack. Otherwise, it could be along wait.
We have done it multiple times at closing. We get in line a few minutes before closing time. Wait time usually is under 30 minutes, often less.
 
Rope drop or last ride of the day is always the best option for the shortest wait. However, rope drop right now means being at the park at least 60 minutes ahead of posted opening, or earlier if you really want to be at the front of the pack. But honestly with no FP right now even the mid day waits for FOP aren't terrible. It can sometimes be down to 30-45 minutes which is pretty manageable.
 
Thanks everyone! Looks like I'll probably avoid RD. I'll check on times throughout the day and if it's horrible, I can at least do end of day. I waited 75 mins standby one time for EE which is probably the longest I've ever waited and would never do that again. (It was a last minute trip with few FP+ options).
 
Thanks everyone! Looks like I'll probably avoid RD. I'll check on times throughout the day and if it's horrible, I can at least do end of day. I waited 75 mins standby one time for EE which is probably the longest I've ever waited and would never do that again. (It was a last minute trip with few FP+ options).

The other advantage to rope drop (we got there about an hour before posted opening), is so many less people in the park for the first two hours you are there. We were there in Spring Break season in early April. We took our pictures on the way in with no other people in them, walked straight on to FOP... but also Navi River and then moved out of Pandora where the crowds went for those rides - enjoyed plenty of space as we hit other attractions, low waits. When everything got crazy busy, we were ready for our Yak & Yeti early lunch a little before 11 a.m. Kind of a perfect morning. Then back to hotel to cool off at pool and rest.
 
There is no "rope drop" these days. If you can get to the park an hour before the official opening and get in the first wave you can do it with low crowds.

If you get to the park right at opening or just after, you are too late and the evening strategy is probably best.
 
I agree FOP waits first thing in the morning are often worse later in the day. However, I can't recommend "get in line at park close" because I've been burned with that strategy too many times due to ride outages. I'd recommend checking wait times throughout the day and just going with a line you can live with rather than waiting until the end of day and potentially missing out.
 
I'm in a similar boat - we'll be going in February and with the option of FP up in the air on top of the rest of my party not being early risers, I was wondering what was best. Right now TP suggests going around 4:30PM with a projected wait of 111 minutes making FOP being the second to last item followed by Na'vi River Journey on our plan.
 
The ride is so awesome and we try to ride it more than once. Once with a FP and then again right before close. But this time without FP, we’ll probably head there first and then again right before close. I’ll probably keep an eye on the waits all day and with things moving faster without FP, we may try to get a 3rd ride in.
 
In mid-April, we rode it mid-day and it was about a 35 minute wait. Without FP, standby is generally pretty reasonable for all rides in AK. At the time I’m writing this, FoP is a posted 65 minute wait, expected time on the Lines app is 53 minutes. It’ll probably drop in the afternoon as most people that are park hopping will leave AK to go to a park that is open later.
 
So I have never been on FoP. I had a FP+ for it for last April and then Covid hit. I really want to ride it. I'll be at WDW for 3 days in late August. I know a whole lot will change by then, BUT...what is the best strategy for riding? Rope Drop? Last Ride of the Day?

The best strategy? Use historical data as your guide. This is taken from Twitter user @WDWwait who posts daily what the wait times were the day before at each park, with a hourly graph of longest vs shortest waits.

For example, if I were in AK today I'd use the attached summary from yesterday and plan on riding FOP toward the end of the day. I'd also keep checking the current wait time and if it dipped below yesterday's average wait time I'd head over and get in line.
 

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Rope drop. Just back, and rope drop does still work (if you can get to the park at least 45 min ahead of official opening). FoP, then Navi...
 
All parks were open 30-45 min before scheduled opening on very recent trip. Be there 45 min before opening time, go straight to FoP and about 15 min to ride. We took first bus from Beach Club Villas which was right at 1 hour before park open.
 








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