LOL - Message I just got from someone at AK

[sonofanarchy]

Fast pass sucks. Just waited 1/2 hour to do safari. Could only do one today. All booked. Not even busy today.

I guess we can mark him down as one of the ones who doesn't like it.

This is from a real nice guy I rented points from for our summer trip. He told me he'd send me updates on stuff like FP+ and MB.

 

[Schmeck]

Fast pass sucks. Just waited 1/2 hour to do safari. Could only do one today. All booked. Not even busy today.

I guess we can mark him down as one of the ones who doesn't like it.

This is from a real nice guy I rented points from for our summer trip. He told me he'd send me updates on stuff like FP+ and MB.

"All booked" and "not even busy today" don't add up. So if it's not busy, why not just do standby? And what does "can only do one" mean?

 

[sonofanarchy]

"All booked" and "not even busy today" don't add up. So if it's not busy, why not just do standby? And what does "can only do one" mean?

Don't know. Just the messenger.

My guess is, not busy is relative. Not busy at Disney means not waiting 4 hours for a ride. Standby's of an hour for the Safari don't necessarily indicate it's busy by Disney terms. Can only do one I'm guessing means headliner. Sent from a cell phone.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I've only been to AK twice, both on busy Summer days, and I've never waited more than 15 minutes to get on Safari - morning, midday, or late. its my favorite ride, so we do it as much as possible. Guess I've been lucky

 

[Donaldswife]

Weird, because on the two different apps I have to check wait times one is showing only a 15 min wait for the safari and the other a 20 minute wait in standby. Really don't even need a fastpass, seems to be pretty dead.

Maybe they got into the FP line behind a large tour group or something. Every now and then that happens and the wait time is longer in the FP line for a short period while a large group goes through. Should not have stopped them from riding again though as all the wait times appear to be very low today at AK.

 

[jwhtewolfd]

i'm in line for the safari right now. it's my last day so i'm doing my favorites over and over. that means that since 9 am i've ridden safari twice, walked the jungle trek and ate lunch. the line is long, slow and does not correlate with the crowds in the walkways. fpplus line was just looped around all the way back to the standby entrance when i got in line 10 minutes ago.

FPplus is a fail for me. the rides that are normally 5-10 minutes have been 25- 40 minutes for the last two weeks. i have come this same week every year sine 2011 and i've never seen lines like these. not crowds in the walkways or restaurants. just lines.

i

 

[Magpie]

I don't understand... did your friend wait half an hour in the standby line? That's not too bad. If he waited half an hour in the FP line, there's a problem somewhere.

It's better to try the Safari during the afternoon parade, though. Wait times drop significantly when everyone heads off to see the parade and Africa gets cut off. (Are they still doing the afternoon parade? )

In general, I don't use FP (minus or plus) in Animal Kingdom. Getting there early, or getting there late and staying until close, are both tactics that work well for me.

 

[princessekrus]

So this is what I have been concerned about, and am desperately trying to figure out what to do with my AK day when we go in February.

We are RD people, and I am sure we can get there by RD... BUT - I wanted to try something different this year, since we always do AK in the morning, and then usually hop to another park in the afternoon... I wanted to reverse it this year, and get to AK later - possibly even after lunch, and stay until closing.

We have never seen the JJ parade, and my DD4 loves parades, so I thought this might be fun for her. I would also like to do Nemo show and the Safari. Those are my only "musts" - I don't care about Everest (makes me sick, and my girls aren't big roller-coaster fans), and I am guessing it will be too cold to get soaking wet on Kali, although if it's hot, I'd do that.

So..... If I get to AK around 1pm - how long will I likely wait for the Safari without FP+? (since I would like to use it in the morning for something else). The day I am looking at is has a Touring Plans overall rating of 5, AK is a 4, and Josh at EasyWDW has the day at a 7, with AK being "Recommended".

I could potentially use FP+ to make it work, but I would like to try to make it work without FP+, so I could use that in the morning at another park.

Thoughts?

 

[shalom]

I don't understand... did your friend wait half an hour in the standby line? That's not too bad. If he waited half an hour in the FP line, there's a problem somewhere.

Yah. When we did the Safari last January, the park was pretty dead but the standby was well over half an hour, while the FP it was more like five or ten minutes once you walked down to where the actual line started.

Thoughts?

Josh at EasyWDW has long recommended doing AK in the afternoon, and if I remember rightly, his plan wasn't very FP heavy. He's done an "all FP+ cheat sheet" post where you follow him through the parks on the MK and has cheat sheets up on all the parks you might check. I'm thinking that, now he's done the MK, he'll be posting walk throughs in the other parks soon. Hopefully he'll do it at the AK before you go.

Good luck, whatever you decide.

 

[sharonabe]

So this is what I have been concerned about, and am desperately trying to figure out what to do with my AK day when we go in February.

We are RD people, and I am sure we can get there by RD... BUT - I wanted to try something different this year, since we always do AK in the morning, and then usually hop to another park in the afternoon... I wanted to reverse it this year, and get to AK later - possibly even after lunch, and stay until closing.

We have never seen the JJ parade, and my DD4 loves parades, so I thought this might be fun for her. I would also like to do Nemo show and the Safari. Those are my only "musts" - I don't care about Everest (makes me sick, and my girls aren't big roller-coaster fans), and I am guessing it will be too cold to get soaking wet on Kali, although if it's hot, I'd do that.

So..... If I get to AK around 1pm - how long will I likely wait for the Safari without FP+? (since I would like to use it in the morning for something else). The day I am looking at is has a Touring Plans overall rating of 5, AK is a 4, and Josh at EasyWDW has the day at a 7, with AK being "Recommended".

I could potentially use FP+ to make it work, but I would like to try to make it work without FP+, so I could use that in the morning at another park.

Thoughts?

I think you'll be fine. Get there in time for the first Nemo show after 1:00 then check the time for safari. If it's too long, wander the trails until time for the parade. Position yourself as close to Tusker House as possible so you see the parade as it first comes by. Once it passes, you'll be right there at the safari entrance and should be able to ride without much delay. Here's a great site with maps to help you see what I mean:

http://stitchkingdom.com/maps/

 

[Suellen]

It all depends really... I just checked FP+ availablity for today... AK closes in an hour so I can't check that. But right now I could book:


Arrive between
4:15 - 5:15pm
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin®
1
Arrive between
5:15 - 6:15pm
Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid
2
Arrive between
6:45 - 7:45pm
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
3

Test Track at Epcot
Star Tours, Fantasmic and more at DHS....

Of course mind you it is 4:00 on day of... so... if I go to tomorrow I can book anything.

I'm not sure though... once you are in the parking booking (if you are an offsite guest) do they only let you book for the current day? or can you book for the next few days?

 

[PJ]

Weird, because on the two different apps I have to check wait times one is showing only a 15 min wait for the safari and the other a 20 minute wait in standby. Really don't even need a fastpass, seems to be pretty dead.

Maybe they got into the FP line behind a large tour group or something. Every now and then that happens and the wait time is longer in the FP line for a short period while a large group goes through. Should not have stopped them from riding again though as all the wait times appear to be very low today at AK.

I was also at AK today (1/28) - definitely not dead. The FP return line for the Safari at 11:30 was so long and spilling so far into the walkway that after a few minutes they just waved all of us through and stopped scanning. The SB lines for safari were about 60 much of the day when I occasionally checked MDE while we were there. The only time I saw the times you're mentioning (15-20) were after 3:00 when people started lining up for the parade.

Also waited in line about 15 minutes for the FP+ kiosk. (Sent DH to sit down and wait for me because I was getting tired of his whining.

 

[sonofanarchy]

Just wanted to say, I wasn't trying to make lite of the situation. I just found it funny because the gent that I was speaking of and I had conversations about what the new system would be like. We just joked around that he was gonna be down there before I was, and his first message to me was kind of funny.

I really feel bad for anyone dealing with the hassles of FP right now. Can not be a ton of fun.

 

[Donaldswife]

I was also at AK today (1/28) - definitely not dead. The FP return line for the Safari at 11:30 was so long and spilling so far into the walkway that after a few minutes they just waved all of us through and stopped scanning. The SB lines for safari were about 60 much of the day when I occasionally checked MDE while we were there. The only time I saw the times you're mentioning (15-20) were after 3:00 when people started lining up for the parade.

Also waited in line about 15 minutes for the FP+ kiosk. (Sent DH to sit down and wait for me because I was getting tired of his whining.

That's weird, because one of the apps was the MDE that I checked and it said 20 minutes right when I posted. Something must be wrong with the system. Hope they get the bugs worked out soon.

 

[princessekrus]

I think you'll be fine. Get there in time for the first Nemo show after 1:00 then check the time for safari. If it's too long, wander the trails until time for the parade. Position yourself as close to Tusker House as possible so you see the parade as it first comes by. Once it passes, you'll be right there at the safari entrance and should be able to ride without much delay. Here's a great site with maps to help you see what I mean: http://stitchkingdom.com/maps/

Thanks. This sounds like a good plan. Thanks for the tip on where to be for the parade.

I am definitely worried that fp+ is messing up the "historic" wait times that I have come to rely on. I'm fine with 20 minutes but I am not waiIting an hour to do anything. We go often enough that I will just hit it next time. I hope to see some more reports of wait times and experiences over the next several weeks.

Thanks,everyone!

 

[yooperfan]

I've only been to AK twice, both on busy Summer days, and I've never waited more than 15 minutes to get on Safari - morning, midday, or late. its my favorite ride, so we do it as much as possible. Guess I've been lucky

Unless we arrived right after the park opened, I don't think we ever had less than a thirty minute wait. Either I'm unlucky, or your lucky

 

[crostorfer]

Something very weird is going on.

This is one of the slowest weeks of the year. Someone reported in Monday from DHS, by the afternoon the only tier 1 FP available was for Fantasmic that night. That was from a kiosk in the park, not the app. I don't trust my ride time apps anymore, I don't which is accurate, and they are all starting to report different wait times, by at least 10 minutes a piece.

 

[Shaden]

I really am starting to think that those critical of FP+ are looking more and more correct.... not that people aren't enjoying themselves, but its looking like you are getting much less for your increased price.

Could this be the result of a "bug" ... sure I guess. But reports like these are becoming quite common since everyone was switched over to FP+ ... and this is still without offsite pre-book, and only testing pre-book for APs.

Low crowds, longer than expected lines, much longer than expected FP+ return lines. FPs running out much earlier than they used to. People skipping attractions they would not have in the past. Often from people who go during the same time frame year after year.

 

[sonofanarchy]

I really am starting to think that those critical of FP+ are looking more and more correct.... not that people aren't enjoying themselves, but its looking like you are getting much less for your increased price.

Could this be the result of a "bug" ... sure I guess. But reports like these are becoming quite common since everyone was switched over to FP+ ... and this is still without offsite pre-book, and only testing pre-book for APs.

Low crowds, longer than expected lines, much longer than expected FP+ return lines. FPs running out much earlier than they used to. People skipping attractions they would not have in the past. Often from people who go during the same time frame year after year.

I joked around a lot, but I'm starting to think the same thing. Granted, we're still (God help us all) early on in this process, but as of right now, something is VERY wrong. For the person who likes to sleep in and is A-OK with riding Space Mountain 1 time, no problems. But for us Disney fanatics who want to maximize our time, ride our favorites more than once, and see everything, there's no arguing the point - This is a bust and a HUGE decrease on what we're getting for our dollar.

 

[Laketravis]

I really am starting to think that those critical of FP+ are looking more and more correct.... not that people aren't enjoying themselves, but its looking like you are getting much less for your increased price.

Could this be the result of a "bug" ... sure I guess. But reports like these are becoming quite common since everyone was switched over to FP+ ... and this is still without offsite pre-book, and only testing pre-book for APs.

Low crowds, longer than expected lines, much longer than expected FP+ return lines. FPs running out much earlier than they used to. People skipping attractions they would not have in the past. Often from people who go during the same time frame year after year.

Flattening the curve tends to equalize the experience for everyone.