FOTLK vs Dinosaur FP+?

[princessesandpascal]

Hi there, we are working through FP+ tweaking for our trip in May! We do not often go to AK on our trips and therefore have never experienced Festival of the Lion King or Dinosaur before, both of which are things we want to experience on our trip this May. According to EasyWDW, our AK day is a 3 in crowd levels, but it's an EMH morning so the crowds will be a bit higher. We currently have FP+ at KS from 9:35-10:35, EE from 12:30-1:30, and Dinosaur from 1:40-2:40. Both Dinosaur and FOTLK are listed as a B priority, so we aren't sure whether to keep Dinosaur or switch it to FOTLK.

I read online that FOTLK has long lineups and we would have to line up 45 minutes or so prior to the show we want to go in for and I was wondering if that information is accurate? We would be trying to get to the 11am show of FOTLK but don't want to rush our safari to make it. Would we be better off to change our Dinosaur FP to FOTLK seeing as we'll hit Dinosaur during the morning EMH? Thanks for the help!

 

[pkondz]

I'm sure you'll get better info from others, but.
I would not FP FOTLK. Getting in shouldn't be a problem. Especially with crowds at 3.
But Dinosaur can be busy.
I guess one way to look at it is Dinosaur has only room for a few at a time while FOTLK seats hundreds.

 

[minnie mum]

With crowds like that I wouldn't FP lion king either. And if you hit the safari near the beginning of your window you should have no problem making the show..

If its an EMH morning, I hope you plan to be there for RD before 8:00. You could do both the safari and EE, and possibly be on Dinosaur before the regular opening. Meaning you could change your FPs for attractions you want to see later in the morning or afternoon. Just a thought.

 

[CAS239]

No matter the crowd level I really haven't found FP to be beneficial for FoTLK. You don't have to line up super early to get in and get good seats. Definitely keep the fp for Dinosaur

 

[KTR]

We went to AK on a 7 day and got to FOTLK only 10 minutes before it started. We were still able to get in no problem, though we were seated in the back. We got incredibly lucky and a CM came up to my family and moved us to one of the benches in the very front and my kids got to participate in the show. But even had that not happened we still would have been able to see the show without wasting a lot of time in line or a FP+. It actually ended up being my favorite experience in all of WDW.

 

[DisneyFive]

Use the FP+ for Dinosaur. We watched FOTLK our first three visits without FP+ with no issues, and we did use FP+ our fourth year for it. No significant benefit to it IMO. I would still suggest getting there 20 minutes before the show though.

Dan

 

[elgerber]

FOTLK is our favorite show, and we never miss it. That said, I would not use a FP+ on it, nor have I ever lined up 45 minutes before. We have never gotten there more than 15 minutes prior, sometimes more like 5 minutes prior, and we have always gotten a seat. We usually go to the first show of the day. We are never there when crowd levels are a 3, that sounds wonderful

 

[Shmily01]

FWIW, we used a FP+ for FOTLK back when it was in the testing phase and we could still get the paper fastpasses as well (so it was really no loss to us since it was extra). We got in first and were seated at one of the benches in front. My kids were chosen to be in the "parade" at the end. They absolutely were over the moon about that.

 

[ghtx]

No need to line up 45 minutes ahead of time for Lion King. People who recommend that must really really want front-row seats. I would guess that on a crowd level 3 day, you could stroll in 0-5 minutes before show time and still get a seat.

 

[kaetra]

Does the Lion King FP+ put you in a specific seating section.... like... the super cool and 100% best Lion section?

 

[princessesandpascal]

Thank you all! I had a feeling that that other source was wrong because it just seemed so extreme! I'm glad to hear that it isn't the case. We will be keeping our Dinosaur FP!