WWYD... FP at Epcot or AK?

[PSULion]

We are splitting a day between Epcot (first) and AK. It's our only day at either park.

Original plan: Get to Epcot early, hit Test Track, mission space, Spaceship Earth, (all must-dos) and meet Baymax. Hop over to AK. Late afternoon FP for Safari (only true must-do), Everest (must-do if son doesn't chicken out) and Dinosaur (totally skip-able). We have an adr at Rainforest Cafe at 6:30 (park closing time) so will be there til that time.

New plan: FP at Epcot for test track, mission space (possible bc 2 of us don't do test track and only 2 want to do mission space) and Spaceship Earth, meet Baymax. Hop to AK.

WWYD? We've never done Safari without FP, or in the afternoon for that matter. How bad is it later in the day? How about Everest? Single rider is not an option. We'll have til 6:15 to get them done and head to our ADR.

Typically we rope drop one park and save FP for second park, so that was my first instinct. But in this case, with Soarin closed and needing to do Spaceship Earth early when it's the most crowded, I'm thinking Epcot may be a better use of FP. just not sure what to expect at AK.

 

[Doug M]

Normally i would say use FP for afternoon park but with Soarin down the lines for TT will likely be heavier. I would expect longer lines at AK mid afternoon for Safari and EE, but i would guess combined wait times would be equal or less than TT.

 

[PSULion]

Normally i would say use FP for afternoon park but with Soarin down the lines for TT will likely be heavier. I would expect longer lines at AK mid afternoon for Safari and EE, but i would guess combined wait times would be equal or less than TT.

That's what I'm thinking. I know a lot of people consider AK a half day park,so I wondered if by like 5:00 lines get short.

 

[Doug M]

They do start to empty out about 330 to 4 from the times we have been, by 5 it is considerably less.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

Ak should be empty the last hour or two. I often use that strategy to walk onto all the big ak rides.

 

[PSULion]

Ak should be empty the last hour or two. I often use that strategy to walk onto all the big ak rides.

Thanks!

 

[ars0525]

Just check what times the rides close at AK. Not all are open until park close. Like the safari for example. We were there on 1-9 & I know it closed before the regular park hours.

We had already used our 3 FPs at another park earlier so we just kept checking at the kiosks for a 4th FP.

 

[buccikulju]

I would check out the crowd calendars for the date you are thinking about. Personally I would do AK at rope drop and do your rides. (The Safari in the morning is the so much better than in afternoon, IMO, unless you are doing it right before they put the animals away...sometimes you'll see good interactions then, but remember that ride closes down way before the others). Don't forget to visit the tigers, gorillas, and meerkats! I'd switch Rainforest to lunch (or frankly, I'd skip it altogether. It's at every other mall in the US) After lunch and a rest at the hotel, I'd then head to Epcot with my FPs. With this plan you could have a nice meal at any number of Epcot restaurants.

 

[GillianP1301]

I would probably go with the original plan. As long as you get to EP early for rope drop, you should be able to get TT done pretty quickly. The 3 attractions you want at AK are all the longest line ones, so I would want to keep those FP's.

 

[PSULion]

I would check out the crowd calendars for the date you are thinking about. Personally I would do AK at rope drop and do your rides. (The Safari in the morning is the so much better than in afternoon, IMO, unless you are doing it right before they put the animals away...sometimes you'll see good interactions then, but remember that ride closes down way before the others). Don't forget to visit the tigers, gorillas, and meerkats! I'd switch Rainforest to lunch (or frankly, I'd skip it altogether. It's at every other mall in the US) After lunch and a rest at the hotel, I'd then head to Epcot with my FPs. With this plan you could have a nice meal at any number of Epcot restaurants.

A good plan... But not really what we're looking for this trip. We would skip Epcot all together if not for those 3 rides. No interest at all (this time) in trekking over to world showcase. And we skipped AK last trip, so really want more of the day there to explore. We can spend hours on the animal trails!

 

[PSULion]

I would probably go with the original plan. As long as you get to EP early for rope drop, you should be able to get TT done pretty quickly. The 3 attractions you want at AK are all the longest line ones, so I would want to keep those FP's.

Honestly, I'm just as concerned about Spaceship Earth. It is absolutely a must-do. That line builds so much for the first hour or two, and we don't want to stay at Epcot long enough to wait for it to die down. The thought of waiting in that line for a ride only one of us cares about (but it's my son's number one pick, the little weirdo) kills me.

 

[buccikulju]

I'm certainly with you about skipping Epcot (its not my fave) and I love AK. So, yes, maybe do your rides at Epcot first. In that case, I think I would strongly encourage FPs for the afternoon in Animal Kingdom. Even the standby for the safari can get really long even just before it ends (remember it closes before all the rest of the park). Not sure how the new "nighttime" show will affect all this, but just in case...I'd do my Fast Passes for wherever you are in the afternoon.
So do Epcot as early as possible, riding standby, starting with Test Track, then Mission Space, and then Spaceship Earth.

Have fun! And do check out the crowd calendars either at touring plans or easywdw to get a better sense of the traffic flow at the parks on that day.

 

[loves to dive]

I would do AK in the morning, you aren't going to need FP at all if you get there at rope drop. I know you have Rainforest for supper, but like someone has already said, I'd either move that to lunch or skip it all together. You might also think about splitting your FP between people. You have some people who want to ride some rides and others who don't. Give those people the FP for the rides they want. If the kids are too young to ride themselves, have one adult ride with them. As far as SSE, I've stood in the line when it wrapped all the way around and sticking out past the poles and it goes really fast.

 

[GillianP1301]

Honestly, I'm just as concerned about Spaceship Earth. It is absolutely a must-do. That line builds so much for the first hour or two, and we don't want to stay at Epcot long enough to wait for it to die down. The thought of waiting in that line for a ride only one of us cares about (but it's my son's number one pick, the little weirdo) kills me.

I totally get that because it's a fave of my DS as well. I think I was assuming you'd be at EP a bit longer. Even so, unless it's a super crowded day you're going, you should be able to get onto Spaceship Earth without a huge wait. It won't be walk on like it is later in the day, but manageable. I just know that I've done AK as my afternoon hop park and had no 4th FP availability left for any headliners and that was on a less busy day. Fortunately, it was not our only AK day so we didn't miss out on anything, but I would not want to leave that to chance if it were my only AK day. I'd want those FP ahead of time.

 

[PSULion]

I totally get that because it's a fave of my DS as well. I think I was assuming you'd be at EP a bit longer. Even so, unless it's a super crowded day you're going, you should be able to get onto Spaceship Earth without a huge wait. It won't be walk on like it is later in the day, but manageable. I just know that I've done AK as my afternoon hop park and had no 4th FP availability left for any headliners and that was on a less busy day. Fortunately, it was not our only AK day so we didn't miss out on anything, but I would not want to leave that to chance if it were my only AK day. I'd want those FP ahead of time.

Ugh. Really torn. Easywdw has AK as most recommended, and Epcot also green. Touring plans has them both yellow.

I just can't stop thinking that with Soarin closed, everyone will FP test track, and then the people who would have went to Soarin at rope drop will do spaceship earth and even mission space instead, bumping up their waits.

We really want to be at Epcot as short as possible while getting those three rides in. I've got all three scheduled for FP by 11:00 at the moment.

 

[stinkpickle]

I'd stick with the Epcot FP morning plan. AK usually thins out in last hour before closing, so you can tackle Everest and Dinosaur then...probably multiple times. Safari would be the only thing you'd have to wait for.

 

[MainMom]

I would make sure I was at Epcot very early and book it to test track. I would use my FP for AK.

 

[msp2mco]

If you get FP+ at Epcot, I think you will have to choose between Mission Space and Test Track. They are both Tier 1 while Soarin' is down.

 

[PSULion]

If you get FP+ at Epcot, I think you will have to choose between Mission Space and Test Track. They are both Tier 1 while Soarin' is down.

They are... But we don't all ride. So I'm able to split them and my DH and DS1 can do both. I've got them both from 9-10, then Spaceship Earth for all of us from 10-11.

 

[Planogirl]

I would also be at Epcot at rope drop and hurry over to Test Track first thing. I much prefer Animal Kingdom and would personally spend more time there with the luxury of having FP+ too.

It is a difficult decision though.