Ride Strategy--FP, Rope Drop, Breakfast, Morning Xtra Magic??

[JayMass]

Curious what people think about these ride strategies?

My family and I have been going to Disney for five or six years. We have always only done one day as we are coming from the Boston area and also have relatives to visit in Florida. This year however, we are going to do three days. I'm wondering about strategies to get on rides that typically have long waits (especially during April Mass. school vacation week).

Here's one scenario:

We want to ride Flight of Passage.

Should we:
a. try to get a FP for it
b. get to AK for rope drop and head straight there
c. Reserve breakfast 8:00 am (9 am Park open) at Tusker House and head over after we eat
d. Just take advantage of Morning Extra Magic Hours at AK

Last year we went to Morning Extra Magic at DHS hoping to get on Slinky Dog but as soon as we got in, the wait was 60 mins +. (We ended up doing RRC and ToT x2).

What do you think?

 

[Calee]

At AK, PPO breakfast puts you at a disadvantage. I would try to get a FP first. If that doesnt work out I would rope drop EMH but that means being there at least an hour before the scheduled open. Often they let people in to Pandora early, and if you show up right when the park is to open you will be at the back of the pack.
You could also get in line right before park close.

 

[mamamelody2]

That is a VERY busy time so even if you are staying onsite and therefore have 60 day FP, you may not be able to get FoP with only 3 park days. I would still try, but it's not likely. If you rope drop FoP, like PP says, be there at least 60 minutes before park open. If you get there near opening time, you will be way behind the pack. Basically 90 percent of the rope drop crowd heads to FoP, so if you are interested in EE, you can often head there and get several rides in with little to no wait before the rest of the park opens. For FoP, I would get in line shortly before close. Posted wait time will be inflated. For instance, we did it when it was posted at 90 minutes, but it was 50 minutes. We were fine waiting that long especially since then we could see the queue which is very cool, which you bypass if you have a FP.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Also the best strategy for getting a fast pass is to go out from your reservation the farthest then work back. If you have a 3 day pass that will give you at least 5 days to use them so start with day 5 and book the pass then move forward. To me, the hardest pass to get is Slinky Dog, which is hard even with a 5 day window. Looking at availability, it shows FOP being unavailable at 60 and 61 days out, but not 60+ 2, 3, 4 or 5. It shows availability at 60+ 2 and 3 afternoons only, while later dates show morning fps available.

ETA: FOP was our number 1 priority, so I was up when the window opened and went straight for the latest possible date and secured the pass.

 

[JayMass]

Thanks everybody for your input. Do you think rope drop on an EMH day is better than rope drop on a nonEMH day at AK? What about the other parks?

FoP is definitely a priority for me.

I watched a video on Touring Plans where the host rope dropped EMH at MK. Instead of going straight to 7DM he went on a few other rides and then went to 7DM. His theory was that 7DM was a 30 min wait almost instantly and that it would stay that way throughout EMH. The other rides, however would start out with little to no wait time and increase as it got later. So he walked onto Peter Pan and did a few other rides before going to 7DM where the wait was still about the same. After he got off 7DM the wait times for Peter Pan, etc. had increased. So his strategy paid off.

I'm wondering if this might work at AK. I am aware that he went when crowds were not as large as when they surely will be when we go during April School Vacation week (4/19-4/21).

Thanks so much, you guys are the best!

 

[running2disney]

I did Spring Break time at Disney this past year and even with being at AK for rope drop, we waited about 90 mins for FOP. I would definitely try to get a FP if possible. If not, we found the wait was closer to an hour later that evening (which was the shortest we saw it all day)

 

[disneyinthespringtime]

Think touring Plans has advice on doing FOP at RD too. Suggest checking. I do not think the 7DMT strategy of coming back later works for FOP.

Re: EMH vs normal - I would do it on a normal day so increase my ability to get to the gate over an hour ahead of park opening time (even earlier and so tougher to make happen on an EMH day).

 

[VandVsmama]

Another option is to also get in line for FOP about 5-10 min before park closing.

 

[OhMari]

When is Boston’s Spring Break Week.

 

[summerw]

Here is Josh's experience rope dropping it for an 8am EMH. We did it last year and I'd say our experience was very similar. Be prepared for people to be intense during a brisk walk uphill.

https://www.easywdw.com/easy/blog/a...p-touring-strategy-at-disneys-animal-kingdom/

 

[JayMass]

When is Boston’s Spring Break Week.

Instead of a Spring Break, New England has a February Vacation from 2/17-2/21 and then an April Vacation 2/20-2/24. We used to go in February but then kids activities at home got in the way (it was also really busy because the vacation starts on Presidents Day weekend). Last April it was super crowded because it coincided with Easter. My guess is that this year will be better. When we don't battle Easter crowds we only have other Northeast families on school vacation to fight.

 

[JayMass]

Here is Josh's experience rope dropping it for an 8am EMH. We did it last year and I'd say our experience was very similar. Be prepared for people to be intense during a brisk walk uphill.

https://www.easywdw.com/easy/blog/a...p-touring-strategy-at-disneys-animal-kingdom/

Holy Cow! This is awesome!! I love this!!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

 

[JayMass]

I did Spring Break time at Disney this past year and even with being at AK for rope drop, we waited about 90 mins for FOP. I would definitely try to get a FP if possible. If not, we found the wait was closer to an hour later that evening (which was the shortest we saw it all day)

How early did you get thee for RD?

 

[HuskieJohn]

It sounds like your EMH day for SDD you didn't arrive early enough. If you go to EMH you still need to arrive about well before the open to get on the headliner before the mass of EMH stragglers get in line.
Talking about 30-45min early.

Agree with summerw on using Josh's break down.

Also for a second set of data/info there is a TouringPlan youtoube video where Brian does a rope drop to FOP and breaks things down nicely even though its over a year old.
If interested search "Flight of passage with no wait"


I combine the info from these two sources to form my plan...I just keep in mind that WDW may change any of the procedures for the day I arrive.

 

[WDW_Diane]

I just posted a story soon my blog about Early Risers at WDW — it’s about how my nephew and his family got to do everything they wanted to. Details on how they did it, etc. My blog is TheCastleTraveler. —hope it helps.