Some questions about strategy

[Moomduck1]

We haven't been to WDW in a few years. We're somewhat familiar with booking the fastpasses online and the magic bands. But there are quite a few new attractions since the last time we were there that I'm starting to feel a bit overwhelmed trying to coordinate fastpasses and dining reservations. There's 4 of us going, and we are in our 50s and 60s. We will be going in the middle of January. I'm hoping that it won't be terribly crowded, but I expect the newer attractions (Avatar land in AK) and restaurants (BOG in MK) to still be in demand.

My original plan had us going to AK on our first day, but now I'm wondering if I should either change it to another day or add an afternoon later in the vacation in order to snag some fastpasses. In the past, our AK day was usually a 1/2 to 3/4 day experience. But now I'm wondering about the Avatar land. I'm ok if I miss the Rivers of Light show. But I'd like to see the 2 new Avatar rides. Do you suggest trying to get one fastpass later in the week and one on the first day? If we can snag one?

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed as I initially didn't think we'd have much of a wait for anything, and now I realized that I forgot to account for AK.

 

[GillianP1301]

I would definitely suggest putting your AK day later in your plan, or at least an evening later in your plan. I have not seen many reports of success in getting FOP FP for anything earlier than day 3 or 4 of a trip.

 

[Shellyb84]

Make sure to try for the FOP FP+ first - NRJ is not hard to get. If you don't get a FP+ for FOP, we've had good luck rope dropping it.

 

[Moomduck1]

Thank you everyone! I'll try for the FOP first, later in our trip and work my way back towards the beginning. We will rope drop if no luck on the FP. Hopefully we can get one for FOP and then get one for NRJ on another day.