To ride or not to ride that is my question?...

[Pua_Squeak]

When my family goes to AK, we are wondering if it would be a better idea to go do all of the other rides at AK while everybody flocks to the Avatar rides? The day we go, the extra magic hours are only at night. We do really want to ride the new Avatar rides though, would it really be smart to get to the park early and try to do the flight of passage first thing? Or do the other rides while the times are short then wait at FOP afterwards?

 

[Lesley Wake]

Wait times have appeared to be lowest in mid-afternoon. If you aren't in the very front of the rope drop crew, you could still end up waiting a good amount of time for FoP(>90 minutes); it seems NRJ tends to stay a short wait for a while because everyone heads to FoP first. It sounds smartest to do as you suggested, ride other things that don't have a long line, and keep track of FoP and NRJ to see when lines are manageable. Or get there at RD, head to NRJ first, then the rest of the park, and try to hit FoP in the afternoon?

 

[csjordan]

You have a couple options..your best bet will be to arrive 45-60 mins before opening and head straight there. Has worked for us twice, been on in less than an hour both times.

Otherwise, as a poster above noted, mid-afternoon is the lowest wait otherwise. Whatever you do, do NOT go around 10-11 am. Longest waits of the day.

Enjoy FOP, it is amazing!

 

[bryanb]

The other option is to ride at the end of the night. It is standard practice to keep the posted wait time very high at the end of the night (if it kept dropping, it would encourage too many people to hop in line), but in reality your actual wait should be less. Also, you'll be guaranteed a spot in line as long as you are inside the queue at closing time. I did this last time, and waited about half of the posted time. It was well worth it, and we got to see a nearly abandoned park on the way out.

Of course, my answer is to do more than one of these strategies. Do a rope drop. Stick around in the afternoon. Go back at closing. It's not as unmanageable as I thought it would be, and it's fun enough that you won't feel bored.

 

[Pua_Squeak]

I managed to get FP's for NRJ around 10-ish. My original plan at the time, was to do RD and head straight for FOP then follow the rest of my FP's. But, now I'm really thinking about hitting KS and everything else and trying mid afternoon as you all suggest for FOP if you think that is the best wait-time time.

 

[bettybooplove]

I had FastPasses for FOP, then changed them over to NRJ and finally I just dropped the AK FastPasses and grabbed some for Magic Kingdom.

I really don't care about Pandora; I tried to watch Avatar two times and didn't make it through either time. If we catch the rides we'll catch them. If not, oh well.

If it isn't a priority for you I would focus on other attractions.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

I'm hoping to get an evening FP for FoP since I've heard they are sometimes easier to come by. The only thing is I heard the queue is really cool and would like to see it too (but without a 2 hour wait) We were planning to try to RD FoP and do rider swap with our baby, but I wish we could walk through the queue as a family. Does FoP have a chicken exit option before the rider selection room? Or would they not even let me in the line with the baby since he doesn't meet the height restriction? I kinda like the way Universal handles this, with a waiting area before the height-restricted part of the ride.

 

[ucfknight]

I had FastPasses for FOP, then changed them over to NRJ and finally I just dropped the AK FastPasses and grabbed some for Magic Kingdom.
I really don't care about Pandora; I tried to watch Avatar two times and didn't make it through either time. If we catch the rides we'll catch them. If not, oh well.

I made it all the way through Avatar (maybe nodded off for a minute or two), but it certainly wasn't something I need to ever watch again. The visuals were pretty, but that's about it.
That said, I was blown away by Pandora at Animal Kingdom. You definitely do not need to love the movie Avatar to really enjoy Pandora. Flight of Passage is now my 1st favorite ride at WDW, despite Avatar being my 1759 th favorite movie.