Struggling with plans for AK on a EMH day

[Amy11401]

I am really struggling with our AK day for mid October. On the day we are going there are morning EMH that we planned on going to. I thought that when there are EMH everything in the park is open but when I look at the attraction schedule some things don't open until 9:00 such as the animal trails and many things such as the Boneyard and the Wildlife Train don't open until 10:00. My original plan was to go on trails and see animals right away and then go on the Wildlife Train etc. But it does not seem like that will be possible due to the hours things are open. My problems are my son really wants to ride the Wildlife Train and explore Rafiki's Planet but we are only there a limited time because we have reservations at Chef Mickeys at 5:00 and originally we wanted to take a mid day break but I don't think that is going to happen. Here are our FPs
10:05-11:05-NRJ
11:25-12:25-Dinosaur
12:25-1:25-safari
I keep trying to move our FPs up to earlier but have been unsuccessful. Any suggestions for a plan for that day would be appreciated.
Also with our schedule will there be enough time to go to Rafiki's Planet?

 

[-_Stitch-Up-Scrump_-]

I am really struggling with our AK day for mid October. On the day we are going there are morning EMH that we planned on going to. I thought that when there are EMH everything in the park is open but when I look at the attraction schedule some things don't open until 9:00 such as the animal trails and many things such as the Boneyard and the Wildlife Train don't open until 10:00. My original plan was to go on trails and see animals right away and then go on the Wildlife Train etc. But it does not seem like that will be possible due to the hours things are open. My problems are my son really wants to ride the Wildlife Train and explore Rafiki's Planet but we are only there a limited time because we have reservations at Chef Mickeys at 5:00 and originally we wanted to take a mid day break but I don't think that is going to happen. Here are our FPs
10:05-11:05-NRJ
11:25-12:25-Dinosaur
12:25-1:25-safari
I keep trying to move our FPs up to earlier but have been unsuccessful. Any suggestions for a plan for that day would be appreciated.
Also with our schedule will there be enough time to go to Rafiki's Planet?

I do not know if this will be much of a help, but maybe just do the Wildlife Train at 9, then after the Safari, you can do all the trails and maybe ride some more rides. Since you have reservations at Chef Mickeys, you can probably spend 2 hours at the park or something after your last fastpass.

 

[Amy11401]

I do not know if this will be much of a help, but maybe just do the Wildlife Train at 9, then after the Safari, you can do all the trails and maybe ride some more rides. Since you have reservations at Chef Mickeys, you can probably spend 2 hours at the park or something after your last fastpass.

Thanks....Well that was going to be our plan but for some reason it seems the Wildlife Train does not start running until 10:00.

 

[goodeats]

What are your must sees besides your FP rides? Are you attending EMH?

 

[nighttowll]

Is there anything else you guys are wanting to do or are planning to do at AK? It’s kind of hard to advise you if we don’t have the full list of what you want to do.

Are you guys interested in the Wilderness Badges? That could be something fun to do while waiting for other attractions to open.

Also, be aware a trip to Rafiki’s Planet Watch takes up a big chunk of time. Plan at least 1.5 to 2 hours.

• Walk to the train station from previous attraction.
• Wait to board.
• Ride train over.
• Walk from the train station to where the attractions are located.
• Stop and do the Wilderness Exploreres badge at Habitat Habitat.
• Watch the animal show. (If you plan on watching the animal show, you’ll have to wait for that to start, then it lasts 20 minutes.)
• Visit Conservation Station
• Visit the petting zoo
• Walk back to the train station.
• Wait to board.
• Ride the train back.
• Walk to the next attraction.

You can see that if each step above only takes 10 minutes, that’s 2 hrs right there.

 

[Amy11401]

What are your must sees besides your FP rides? Are you attending EMH?

We plan on attending EMH. Our only must sees besides our FPs is the Wildlife Train and going to the Invertebrates at Rafiki's Planet. There are other things we could do if we have time. We are going back in the evening the next day and most likely will try to ride FOP at park closing then(We could not get a FP for that.)

 

[Amy11401]

Is there anything else you guys are wanting to do or are planning to do at AK? It’s kind of hard to advise you if we don’t have the full list of what you want to do.

Are you guys interested in the Wilderness Badges? That could be something fun to do while waiting for other attractions to open.

Also, be aware a trip to Rafiki’s Planet Watch takes up a big chunk of time. Plan at least 1.5 to 2 hours.

• Walk to the train station from previous attraction.
• Wait to board.
• Ride train over.
• Walk from the train station to where the attractions are located.
• Stop and do the Wilderness Exploreres badge at Habitat Habitat.
• Watch the animal show. (If you plan on watching the animal show, you’ll have to wait for that to start, then it lasts 20 minutes.)
• Visit Conservation Station
• Visit the petting zoo
• Walk back to the train station.
• Wait to board.
• Ride the train back.
• Walk to the next attraction.

You can see that if each step above only takes 10 minutes, that’s 2 hrs right there.

I had thought it would take a long time which was why I wanted to hit it first thing in the morning before all of our FPs but unfortunately it does not begin until 10:00.

 

[goodeats]

I would do safari during EMH and then do the Trails when the park opens. Then after dinosaur you’ll have a big chunk of time for Rafiki’s planet watch. Change your Safari FP to a something else later? Maybe Everest? Although you could probably ride that during EMH too. I think everyone will be in Pandora.

Yes a break doesn’t sound possible if you want to come back to AK before Chef Mickeys.

 

[Amy11401]

Worse case scenario is we can try to rope drop one of the rides we have a later FP for and then cancel or modify that FP for a different ride earlier in the day. I just have to find a way to get the train ride and the snakes in since they are my son's only request.

 

[Amy11401]

I would do safari during EMH and then do the Trails when the park opens. Then after dinosaur you’ll have a big chunk of time for Rafiki’s planet watch. Change your Safari FP to a something else later? Maybe Everest? Although you could probably ride that during EMH too. I think everyone will be in Pandora.

Yes a break doesn’t sound possible if you want to come back to AK before Chef Mickeys.

Thanks...I think that might work out. We were originally going to do Everest but I was not sure if it will be too intense for DS who will have just turned 5. He likes rollercoasters but the biggest one he has been on are the traditional wooden rollercoasters that are found in many amusement parks.

 

[-_Stitch-Up-Scrump_-]

Thanks....Well that was going to be our plan but for some reason it seems the Wildlife Train does not start running until 10:00.

Ohhhh, then you could go do like EE at 9 or something and then after your last fastpass do the Train and the Trails.

 

[ClapYourHands]

I think you could manage all three of your FP choices as standby during EMH.
Strategy 1:
Make sure you get to the park early, like 45-minutes to and hour before EMH starts. Most reports are stating that they are letting people into Pandora before the park even starts, so that people at the front of the pack are getting off those rides by the opening time.
Since most people want FOP, you will have slightly less jostling as you go for NRJ.
After exiting NRJ, you will still be way ahead of the pack, so Safari should pretty much be a walk on.
After that, go to Dinosaur, where you might have a line, but it shouldn't be crazy because it will still be EMH and so many people will still be tied up in Pandora.
By that time, everything will be open and you can do some animal watching before hopping on the first train to Rafiki's Planet Watch.

Strategy 2:
Start at Dinosaur, then walk up to Safari where lines should still be relatively short during EMH.
After both of those rides, it should be 9, so check out the Gorilla exploration trail that is right next to Safari.
Go to Pandora for 10:00, where you'll use your FP for NRJ.
It's a short ride, so you should be heading out by 10:15 or so to catch the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch.
Modify fast passes for something you'd like to go on later in the day. Since you've used one FP in a park, you can even modify your others for a different park, if you have park hoppers. Since you'll be at the Contemporary for an early dinner, you could easily go to MK or take the monorail to Epcot for a ride or two after you finish up.

 

[Amy11401]

I think you could manage all three of your FP choices as standby during EMH.
Strategy 1:
Make sure you get to the park early, like 45-minutes to and hour before EMH starts. Most reports are stating that they are letting people into Pandora before the park even starts, so that people at the front of the pack are getting off those rides by the opening time.
Since most people want FOP, you will have slightly less jostling as you go for NRJ.
After exiting NRJ, you will still be way ahead of the pack, so Safari should pretty much be a walk on.
After that, go to Dinosaur, where you might have a line, but it shouldn't be crazy because it will still be EMH and so many people will still be tied up in Pandora.
By that time, everything will be open and you can do some animal watching before hopping on the first train to Rafiki's Planet Watch.

Strategy 2:
Start at Dinosaur, then walk up to Safari where lines should still be relatively short during EMH.
After both of those rides, it should be 9, so check out the Gorilla exploration trail that is right next to Safari.
Go to Pandora for 10:00, where you'll use your FP for NRJ.
It's a short ride, so you should be heading out by 10:15 or so to catch the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch.
Modify fast passes for something you'd like to go on later in the day. Since you've used one FP in a park, you can even modify your others for a different park, if you have park hoppers. Since you'll be at the Contemporary for an early dinner, you could easily go to MK or take the monorail to Epcot for a ride or two after you finish up.

Thanks for all the suggestions! We will be at MK that night after Chef Mickeys.