Is EE a must do at AK...

[jjohnson]

in August?

I had planned on it but then was reading UOG again last night & there was a little blurb saying it doesn't make much difference.

What does everyone usually do?

It if makes any difference...we plan on having a late breakfast at Boma & either going back to AK or hop.

Thanks.

 

[hellobigfella]

For me, the primary reasons to do EE at AK would be:

1. hit the Safar and the Tough to be a Bug show
2. beat the 9 o'clock masses to either the rapids ride or Dinosaur (neither open until 9, IIRC).
3. you like getting up early anyway - lol

 

[720L]

Definitely. The safari is a must first thing.

 

[jjohnson]

so...do we need an hour just to go on the Safari?

 

[MelanieC]

Not if you get there right at opening. It does take some time to walk to the ride, but usually for EE people are walking right on because all the buses are waiting one after the other to load people right on.

 

[disneywithdrawal]

Friday morning we were there for the 8 a.m. opening. We went straight to the safari (no wait) and then walked through the Pangani trail. I didn't check the time until then - it was 8:45. Hope that helps.

 

[huskies90]

We did EE last Friday. It was very crowded but we saw everything by 12:30 with the exception of the stuff in Camp Minnie Mickey which we saw earlier in the week.

- Got in around 8 toured the Oasis.
- Got fastpasses for the safari while the rest of my familiy continued to enjoy the discovery island animals.
- Did ITTBAG with no wait. All the EE'ers went right to the safari so this was a walk on.
- After the show, we went to Dinoland. They opened it at 8:45
- Rode Primeval Whirl first ones on no line as most went right to Dinosaur
- After PW went to Dinosaur again virtually no wait.
- After Dinosaur we headed over to do the Safari with fastpass
- Did the African trek at the end of the safari (I forget the name)
- Went to Asia got a fastpass for Kali even thought there was no wait
- Saw Flights of Wonder (great show btw)
- Toured the Asian Animal Trek with the tigers and bats
- Hit Kali (and got soaked)
- Went to the 12PM show of Tarzan

Left the park, went to our hotel to change out of our wet clothes...yuk!!

So yes, early entry can be good. It help that they opened Dinoland early because nobody knew about it.

 

[Kaycee]

For us, the main advantage to doing EE at AK in the summer is because you're likely to see more animals early, before it gets too hot. So, yes, I'd say in August EE is a must do at AK!

 

[bjakmom]

I agree with Kaycee - in August AK is HOT ! HOT ! HOT !

Getting the one hour jump gives you the coolest hour of the day and means you get out and back to the pool sooner ! (We're usually heading into RFC for lunch by noon and glad to get out of the sweltering heat) - they made this park very realistic - you feel like you're in Africa !!!

 

[nhpooh]

We went in August of this year, didn't need EE for AK. It depends on what part of August you go, we went at the end of the month. Still hot but no wait lines. We also did the park in less then a day, more like half a day.

 

[jjohnson]

Thank you for all the replies. I'm going to stick with EE at AK.

 

[ssdeverell]

I have noticed a couple of different places that everyone keeps referring to the Pangani Forest Trail as something you do when you get off the safari. Is that necessary? I ask because we are doing EMH, riding the safari first thing, and then going to eat with Donald at 8:30. I did not want to feel rushed, so I had planned to come back to Pangani.

Thanks,

Stephanie

 

[bjakmom]

Stephanie - you'll be fine to return to Pangani Trail - many people go right there because it's so close to the Safari. We always do the Safari - then Dinosaur - breakfast with Donald (we loved this!) - ITTBAB - then fast pass Kali River - then go back and enjoy the trails while waiting for our FP. We usually go off season and have never found the trails to be crowded.