Seeking expert advice for AK/EE afternoon strategy

[loafskier]

Leaving one week from tomorrow for a short 4-night trip with DH, DS 6 and DD 8. This is only our second DW trip.

Since our time is limited (only 3.5 days in the parks), we are spending our .5 day in AK on Friday, Nov 10 - yes, veteran's day, I'm sure it will be very busy. We are doing the .5 day at AK because our main focus for that park is EE...we managed to hit everything else at AK last year. We definitely want a full day at the other 3 parks.

So, our plane gets in to MCO at 10:30 and we are taking ME to AKL then straight to AK after check in...that will put us in AK around 1pm. DH will bee-line it to EE for fastpasses...but I have a feeling they will all be gone by then . What do you think?

If the FPs are all gone..when do you think is the best time to jump in line? I was thinking to wait until 4pm when the parade starts..maybe that will add relief to the long line. I have also read on these boards that waiting until close to closing is a good idea. The park closes at 6pm that day...do they close the line down according to the wait time. For instance, if the wait time is 90 minutes will they stop letting people into at 4:30?

Any other advice for the best way to get onto EE in the afternoon without a fastpass? We are prepared to wait for the ride...I just want to minimize the wait time.

 

[ChrisAlli]

I'm no expert but we were at AK on Oct 21, all fast passes gone by noon. On Oct 26 we got fastpass at 9:15AM return time was 11:30AM. It's a very popular ride and the lines were always long, shortest standby we saw was 40 minutes.

Now it did break down once and everyone got out of line and then was fixed so got right on.

We saw people entering the park at 4:45, with park closing at 5 specifically to get on EE. Just be prepared to have a long wait and no fastpasses unless you are there at opening.

 

[Karnak]

Just a couple of thoughts. The day you have planned for the Animal Kingdom, Friday, Nov. 10, is the day before Veterans Day, which is on the 11th. I doubt that Veterans Day would have much impact on park attendance anyhow.

The 10th is predicted on the UG as having a crowd level of 6, on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the most crowded, so the park shouldn't be packed; in addition, the Animal Kingdom is listed as one of the two best parks to visit on that date. So things look pretty good for y'all if the UG is correct, and it is pretty accurate most of the time. You just might be able to get those fastpasses.

However, if you do end up having to wait in the standby line, you might want to do so during parade time. The parade starts at 3:45, and most folks stake out their watching spot some time before starting time. So, you may want to get in line for EE at about 3:15 to 3:30.

Keep in mind too, that posted line waiting times are usually not nearly as long as shown. For example, if the waiting time is posted at 50 minutes, it's more likely to be about 35 minutes.

Hope you have a great visit.

 

[loafskier]

One more question about he Veteran's Day Holiday - does FL have school on Friday, Nov 10? MA and NJ (and probably others) do not. I was going under the assumption that FL did not...but crowds should be better if the kiddies are in school that day. Touringplans had DW as a whole at an 8 crowd level that Friday, glad to hear the AK is only a 6 that day per UG...thanks again!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

If it matters, we were there for Veteran's Day last year, and while rooms were pretty solidly booked up, the parks weren't that bad. I think there was also something else going on that weekend, but I can't recall what it was.

If you aren't pressed, you could ride in the single rider line, that's less likely to be so packed. Also, some people have reported actual wait times shorter than what was posted, and...
When we went in the spring, although fastpasses ran out for practically everything by noon, by late in the day, the ride lines were fairly short. Early in the day, the park was PACKED. We would have left ourselves, but we stayed to see FotLK. After the show was over, the park had thinned considerably. We were really surprised.

Good luck.

 

[lovethattink]

If the FPs are all gone..when do you think is the best time to jump in line? I was thinking to wait until 4pm when the parade starts..maybe that will add relief to the long line. I have also read on these boards that waiting until close to closing is a good idea. The park closes at 6pm that day...do they close the line down according to the wait time. For instance, if the wait time is 90 minutes will they stop letting people into at 4:30?

Any other advice for the best way to get onto EE in the afternoon without a fastpass? We are prepared to wait for the ride...I just want to minimize the wait time.

If the fast passes are gone when you get there, I would suggest the single rider line. We did this during the parade and it was a 60 min wait for the stand-by and we only waited 20 minutes for the single rider line. Of course, being in single rider, you would not get to ride as a family, and would probably end up in different trains.

 

[Karnak]

One more question about he Veteran's Day Holiday - does FL have school on Friday, Nov 10?

In Florida each county has it's own school system. There are no independent school systems like they have in, say, Kentucky. Therefore there is no state wide school calendar. Some counties may be out on Friday, while others may not.

Enjoy.