Pandora RD strategy? (No FPs)

[NH-to-FL]

FoP first!

If you are going to invest in a rope drop visit, be there early. 90 minutes for a 9am opening and at least 60 minutes for an 8am opening. You will be at near the front of the line and probably "walk on" FoP and then head to NRJ.

Here is the trip report from my Pandora rope drop experience:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/first-visit-to-pandora-8-4-17.3623699/
Wishing you a visit!

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Thank you for posting this. We are so accustomed to MUST RIDE AT RD. But I've been stalking wait times and noticing the same patterns you pointed out.

Unfortunately, not many people follow this advice and the crowds at rope drop are growing larger and larger. I've even read about guests getting up before dawn, securing special transportation like uber, and arriving at the gates two hours before opening in hope of a short wait. Time isn't free, and those guests are exhausted and long gone before the line starts getting short in the evening.

 

[amberwc]

Will there be time to ride FOP after River of lights?

 

[mesaboy2]

Will there be time to ride FOP after River of lights?

To answer that, we would have to know what time ROL starts and what time the park closes on the day you’re asking about.

 

[amberwc]

To answer that, we would have to know what time ROL starts and what time the park closes on the day you’re asking about.

Duh, It's showing a start time of 7:30 pm and the park closing at 8 pm, so I guess no?

 

[mesaboy2]

Duh, It's showing a start time of 7:30 pm and the park closing at 8 pm, so I guess no?

That’s a tight fit. Possible, but I definitely wouldn’t count on it.

 

[KEW]

Sometimes I read RD to FOP can still lead to 2 hour waits. With 2 kids (1 who's too small to ride FOP and 1 who may not want to ride it), I don't really want to do that when they can be instead be exploring the rest of AK. However, I also read what you experienced, where the wait might be 30 minutes if you RD.

Do the wait times for FOP really fluctuate this much when you RD? Is it more based on when you arrive at AK (e.g., if you arrive 90 minutes before AK opens, you'll be off the the ride in the first 30 mins, but if you arrive 15 mins before AK opens, expect there to be a huge line where you might have to wait 1-2 hours)? Do EMH days make a difference?

Our AK date is Dec 19 (hours are 9am-8pm) and is a non-EMH day. I book our FPs tomorrow but already know FPs for FOP are already gone for my AK day. I'm trying to figure out if I should book a 10am FP for Kilimanjaro Safaris (basically aim to try to do RD for FOP beforehand and then make a beeline to KS), but if that's unrealistic, then I'll just skip FOP altogether and do a 9am FP for KS.

What do you think?

FOP - Touring Plans

I know you posted this a while ago, but your trip isn't until December. Touring plans just uploaded this video. He visited AK on an 9 a.m. opening (also non-EMH like your day) on Sunday, November 12 (veteran's day weekend). You might want to watch the beginning part to get a sense of the crowd size/movement. He also does NRJ right after if you're interested.

 

[Wubar]

FOP - Touring Plans

I know you posted this a while ago, but you're trip isn't until December. Touring plans just uploaded this video. He visited AK on an 9 a.m. opening (also non-EMH like our day) on Sunday, November 12 (veteran's day weekend). You might want to watch the beginning part to get a sense of the crowd size/movement. He also does NRJ right after if you're interested.

@KEW, Thanks for posting that video. I am going in January 2018 with my wife and toddler son, and we have a 9:45am FP+ for FoP and were planning on rope dropping Navi. A poster from a different thread had recommended that if we get there super early so we are towards the front of the RD line, that we could probably actually ride FoP first, then go to Navi and ride that, and then hit FoP for a second time using our FP+. I didn't think there would be enough time, but after watching that video, that gives me hope that it might work! Riding FoP TWICE in less than 90 minutes? Has to be a gigantic win if it happens.

 

[solfan68]

Here’s my rope drop plan:
- wake up when i feel like it
- go to park and see where rope drop happened (there may still be blood, sweat and tears on the floor)
- enjoy the parks many great attractions (EE, dinosaur, safari, etc)
- just before closing, ride FOP with a much shorter wait!

My kinda game plan ! LOL

 

[NavyDad]

We have found regular hour days Rope Drop to be very effective buy you need to get the gate about 45 minutes early. An hour would be much better. You want to be near the front of the pack. We did this three times and were off FoP by 5 minutes after official park open time. Works great on regular park open days.

Our results were not so great on morning EMH days. The place was absolutely mobbed on those days and we were much further back even being there an hour before park open.

Also the wait times are just wildly inaccurate. Each morning the posted wait was 120 minutes when we walked under the sign but the whole process took usually about 20 minutes. Later on in the day the posted wait time would drop somewhere between 45-90 minutes but it would actually take 2-3 hours to get through the line.

 

[NavyDad]

Oh man! I'm kind of thinking we'll get in, dump our stroller, each hold


The park closes at 8 the day we are there. So again...not an option! unless we drop our 625 dinner res, but even then it'd be riding at 730p, not 845. If it was open later we could possibly consider going back after dinner.

If you really want to ride FoP just get to the park 1 hour prior to opening. Just get in line and ride it. You will be fine. I find it much easier than trying to pinpoint the time later in the day that lines will drop a bit and hope to ride it before your kids have a tired meltdown.

 

[NavyDad]

@KEW, Thanks for posting that video. I am going in January 2018 with my wife and toddler son, and we have a 9:45am FP+ for FoP and were planning on rope dropping Navi. A poster from a different thread had recommended that if we get there super early so we are towards the front of the RD line, that we could probably actually ride FoP first, then go to Navi and ride that, and then hit FoP for a second time using our FP+. I didn't think there would be enough time, but after watching that video, that gives me hope that it might work! Riding FoP TWICE in less than 90 minutes? Has to be a gigantic win if it happens.

Yes - you can very easily do this but need to get there super early like you mentioned.

 

[KEW]

@KEW, Thanks for posting that video. I am going in January 2018 with my wife and toddler son, and we have a 9:45am FP+ for FoP and were planning on rope dropping Navi. A poster from a different thread had recommended that if we get there super early so we are towards the front of the RD line, that we could probably actually ride FoP first, then go to Navi and ride that, and then hit FoP for a second time using our FP+. I didn't think there would be enough time, but after watching that video, that gives me hope that it might work! Riding FoP TWICE in less than 90 minutes? Has to be a gigantic win if it happens.

Yes - you can very easily do this but need to get there super early like you mentioned.

Yes - I think getting there super early is key. I just read some of the comments on that video and 2 people mentioned they waited 5 hours (!!!) a couple of days before that video's recorded date. Both got in line after 9 for a 9 opening though.

Even though the thought is that the park is crowded on an EMH day, at least in that first, early hour there are no fastpasses to slow the standby line down. Again, though, you can't just get there at the scheduled opening time.

I really appreciate people posting their experiences as it'll help in making our decision when we get there (I am not waiting 5 hours!).

 

[NavyDad]

Just watched the Touring Plans video on Youtube that was posted above. That was our exact experience every day. The only difference was that on the EMH morning everything was a little more crowded. On that morning the line for the river journey was posted at 30 minutes so it was about 40 minutes after park open that we got off the second ride instead of 20 minutes like the normal days.

 

[NavyDad]

Yeah - if you are not in that group that is let in and queued up at the bridge well before park open you may as well skip Avatar that morning.

The thing to keep in mind is that "Rope Drop" is not park opening time. You need to be there at least 1 hour prior. The people that look at wait times at 9:30 and think rope drop is not a good time to ride are confused. By 9:30 there is already over an hour and a half of people queuing up and people have been riding for almost an hour at that time.

In our experience on every day we visited AK this summer rope drop was the absolute best and sure fire way to knock out both Avatar rides with almost no wait at all.

 

[mbcary]

Yeah - if you are not in that group that is let in and queued up at the bridge well before park open you may as well skip Avatar that morning.

The thing to keep in mind is that "Rope Drop" is not park opening time. You need to be there at least 1 hour prior. The people that look at wait times at 9:30 and think rope drop is not a good time to ride are confused. By 9:30 there is already over an hour and a half of people queuing up and people have been riding for almost an hour at that time.

In our experience on every day we visited AK this summer rope drop was the absolute best and sure fire way to knock out both Avatar rides with almost no wait at all.

This is EXACTLY right @NavyDad. We were at the park a little before 7am for an 8am EMH opening. We were 4th in line at our queue for scanning our bands to be let in. We were actually let it at 7:15am! WAY before 8am scheduled park opening.

 

[webcreatrix]

I checked the 8th on Touring Plans and it was a very typical day at AK.

The park opened at 9 and the FOP line was 220 minutes by 9:15.

To contrast, the posted wait time at 8:45 pm was 75 minutes. Based on Disney procedures, the actual time was likely less than half of that.

I can't believe that people still think that rope drop is the best option for this ride. It's simply not true. It's by far the busiest time of the day.

I'm happy to hear this. I now have teenagers who get up for school year round at 5 and 6am. My husband and kids have always hated getting up at early on vacation for RD. We have a long trip planned for next summer, so I think we may do a water park followed by AK in the evening.

 

[nemofans]

Does River of Light help FOP have smaller lines? I am hoping we will go to dinner at 5:20pm, then when ROL starts at 7:15 we will be heading to FOP.