Thread to share experiences with AK rope drop for FOP during EMH

:scared: This sounds so unenjoyable; I just can't. I am so sorry you had this experience. Stories like this and others are why I refuse to rope drop FOP. I know its suppose to be amazing but it's just a ride. Maybe I will think its worth the chaos of rope drop once I ride but I highly doubt it.

I can’t imagine fighting through the rope drop chaos when there are much better options available.
 
Maybe a stupid question, but are there photographers out by the tree at 7:20 when they open the gates?

We have an 8am TH breakfast and they added EMH. We have additional days at AK so we are going to leave it. We may possibly try to RD Navi and then head to TH if we are towards the front. Otherwise, it might be a nice time for photos if everyone else is running to Pandora
 
We just did this on April 30. EMH opened up at 8:00a. We did not want to risk the bus making us late so we got a Lyft ride and arrived at the park at 6:50a. They weren't even letting people in through security yet, but did soon after we got there. We went to the left side to wait. By 7:20a they let us as far as the tapstiles, and we were let through them no more than 10 minutes later. It was just my husband and I on this trip and we were quite literally in the front of the line at the stopping point on the bridge onto Discovery Island. I was so smug my plan had worked. And then all hell broke loose. Even though they said to walk, people ran and pushed their way through, even though we were all going to basically walk ourselves on, people ran anyway. My husband grabbed onto the backpack I was wearing, but it was no use and we ended up getting separated to the point that I couldn't see where he was for a little while. I slowed down and we reconnected shortly before the funneling into the line started. It was at that point that everyone tried to push their way through and there was a few seconds where we got really squeezed by all the people around us before we made our way into the line. Even with all of this we still pretty much just walked on the ride, which was absolutely amazing. I didn't check the time once we got off, but it was very shortly after 8:00a. We had a FP for later in the day but we knew we'd want to ride it twice, and I wanted to see what rope drop experience was like in case we needed to do it with the kids. While I'm glad my husband and I were able to do it, I will not consider rope drop with my children this fall when we go back. It was too chaotic and the thought of potentially getting separated from them in that mob is just too scary to me. DH and I getting split up was one thing, the kids, just not worth the risk. Hopefully we get a FP and don't have to deal with rope drop in the fall.
If our plan is to rope drop EMH and ride Navi will we still be in the crush or will we be going in a different less crowded direction? Thank you for any input.
 
If our plan is to rope drop EMH and ride Navi will we still be in the crush or will we be going in a different less crowded direction? Thank you for any input.
You are going in a different direction, but if you are there early enough, you will still be in this crowd at the beginning of it. We are thinking of rope dropping Na'vi, but my plan is to be walking into Pandora about 15 minutes before park open. From reading accounts, they will have already let the crowds start into FoP, which is when all of this craziness happens.
 


I don't understand why disney is allowing this to happen? At every RD I've been to they usually walk to so far or to the ride or area before allowing people to go ahead on their own and tell people not to run. So is disney waiting for someone to get trampled? We've walked fast during RD just to keep up with the crowds, but never have been ran over.
 
I don't understand why disney is allowing this to happen? At every RD I've been to they usually walk to so far or to the ride or area before allowing people to go ahead on their own and tell people not to run. So is disney waiting for someone to get trampled? We've walked fast during RD just to keep up with the crowds, but never have been ran over.

Agreed - I was screamed at once by a CM at rope drop in MK (before they let everyone onto Main Street early) for not keeping the slow walking pace (I couldn't help it with the crush of the crowd behind me) he was setting, so these reports of families getting separated, people running and pushing are really upsetting!
 
Our last visit was in Oct. Park had EMH starting at 8am. Our bus did not drop us off at AK until 7:35. (We waited at our bus stop at the Contemporary from 5:55 until 7:20. Grr.) When we got there there were already loads of people there. However, we managed to be walking off FoP by 8:25. It was organized chaos.

Are you me? I showed up at the bus stop at Coronado Springs before 6:00, and the first AK bus didn't come by until well past 7:00 (also, it filled up before reaching all the bus stops at the resort; I was lucky to get on it). I got to the park maybe half an hour before rope drop when I'd wanted at least an hour. Like you, though, I was through it by 8:30 or so; my regrets were less about getting there later than planned and more about how much dang time I'd spent at a bus stop. I kind of wonder if being in the middle of the pack was a good thing; it was a pretty solid river of people but it was pretty well controlled.

I can’t imagine fighting through the rope drop chaos when there are much better options available.

There may not always be, though. When I rope-dropped FoP it was because I only had one park day and was ending it in MK to see HEA, which was also new to me. Also, if people are limited to only one day at AK they may not want to wait for closing and risk not getting on at all if there's a malfunction or some other problem that gets it closed down early for the night.
 


There may not always be, though. When I rope-dropped FoP it was because I only had one park day and was ending it in MK to see HEA, which was also new to me. Also, if people are limited to only one day at AK they may not want to wait for closing and risk not getting on at all if there's a malfunction or some other problem that gets it closed down early for the night.

One thing I’ve learned after 10+ years on these boards is that rope droppers don’t like to be told that their way isn’t always the best way. Fortunately, not many follow my advice and late nights still see the shortest lines of the day.

I’ve been doing this a long time and the only ride I’ve ever had close unexpectedly on me was Ripsaw Falls at IOA about 20 years ago. Universal made it right and gave us free tickets to return another day.
 
How bad is Nav'i ? since we have FB for FOP later in the day What time should we plan on arriving? we are staying at YC
 
You read my mind! We will be there first week of June, and I am wondering the same thing! We will be staying at All-Star Music this time, so I'm just not sure what time we need to be at the bus stop for 8:00 AM EMH at AK. We would like to be there as early as possible. Just not sure how early the buses will run at our hotel before EMH. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Reading my mind as well. I've been stalking The Dis for a thread like this. We are second week of June also staying at All Star Music. I have Fast Passes for FoP on our DAK evening and on our DAK morning day but its later than we probably want to stay in the park that day. So, I considering the dash to Pandora to ride Navi and FoP during morning EMH. I have teenagers and I think they will want to ride FoP as many times as possible.

This is our first time to fly to Orlando. Usually we have a car. So we will be dependent on Disney transportation unless I decide to use Uber or Lyft for this morning. I'm worried about a bus not coming in time. I wish they would get that upgrade with bus wait times on the app before we go but I'm losing hope for that.
 
One thing I’ve learned after 10+ years on these boards is that rope droppers don’t like to be told that their way isn’t always the best way. Fortunately, not many follow my advice and late nights still see the shortest lines of the day.

I’ve been doing this a long time and the only ride I’ve ever had close unexpectedly on me was Ripsaw Falls at IOA about 20 years ago. Universal made it right and gave us free tickets to return another day.

And I'm glad you're sharing alternate options, because it's going to help inform my approach on my next visit, which won't have the same constraints as my last.

I get that malfunctions are fairly unlikely, but will point out that getting tickets to return another day would not have helped me, as I had literally only one day in Orlando with the expectation that it would take me at least two years before I could make another trip. I chose to do rope drop because it presented the least risk, and because, as I said, I had other evening plans. All I'm saying is that people might have reasons for not listening to you--that there might be situations where your way isn't always the best way.
 
So we are planning on rp FOP the 3rd week of June...how early do the buses start running and what time would anyone recommend being at the bus stops? We are staying at CBR if that makes a difference
 
Now that it is Memorial Day weekend and the summer trips are starting is rope drop worse? Trying to decide on whether or not to talk my daughter-in-law out of rope drop / it would be the only way she could ride it but is it worth it? She can’t wait until the end of the day because she is flying out on AK day
 
How long will the wait be for Navi an hour after opening? Touring plans is showing about 35 minutes at 10am after a 9am opening. Does that sound right?
 
One thing I’ve learned after 10+ years on these boards is that rope droppers don’t like to be told that their way isn’t always the best way. Fortunately, not many follow my advice and late nights still see the shortest lines of the day.

I’ve been doing this a long time and the only ride I’ve ever had close unexpectedly on me was Ripsaw Falls at IOA about 20 years ago. Universal made it right and gave us free tickets to return another day.

Thoughts on Rope Dropping vs. evenings when parks close relatively early? We're going in November, and it looks like AK closes at 8 every night.
 
Thoughts on Rope Dropping vs. evenings when parks close relatively early? We're going in November, and it looks like AK closes at 8 every night.

I checked a few evenings from mid-November 2017 for some examples.

The posted wait times averaged 210 minutes shortly after 9 am and 70 minutes shortly before 8 pm.

There were no actual wait times posted for the days I checked, but the recent actual waits have been about a third of the posted time near the end of the evening.
 
Early morning is by far the busiest time of the day for this attraction.

There have been plenty of recent reports of 20 minute waits later in the evening, which is what we plan to do in a couple of weeks.

Much quicker and less stressful.
I was wondering about this. I have yet to experience either of the Pandora rides, and only went and took a quick peek at Pandora during my AK day on my last trip. I really want to see it at night, as it seems like it would be neater at night. Planning to stay until they kick us out of the park, so is there a good bet we could get on FOP without too drastic of a wait closer to closing time? I'll do the EMH mad dash if it's necessary, but since we're going back to AK that evening anyway until closing, maybe there is no need? I'd rather go enjoy the rest of the park while the mob descends on Pandora and do Pandora at night anyway.
 
I was wondering about this. I have yet to experience either of the Pandora rides, and only went and took a quick peek at Pandora during my AK day on my last trip. I really want to see it at night, as it seems like it would be neater at night. Planning to stay until they kick us out of the park, so is there a good bet we could get on FOP without too drastic of a wait closer to closing time? I'll do the EMH mad dash if it's necessary, but since we're going back to AK that evening anyway until closing, maybe there is no need? I'd rather go enjoy the rest of the park while the mob descends on Pandora and do Pandora at night anyway.

I’ve seen days where the waits have been 8 times longer on the morning than the evening. 240 vs 30 for example. I’ll take the shorter wait any day.
 
I’ve seen days where the waits have been 8 times longer on the morning than the evening. 240 vs 30 for example. I’ll take the shorter wait any day.
I think we'll take our chances on waiting until late then. The Pandora rides are really the only ones we'd want to do when we return in the evening anyway, so if there's a bit of a wait, no big deal. Thanks for the tip!
 
So this totally depends on when you are going. If the EMH hours are the added ones in May or June, those have been much more lightly attended. If you go on a day when the EMH was originally scheduled then you will most likely have a massive RD crowd. We went to the second half of EMH that was added for the first Fri of May. MK also had EMH that morning. We had a 10 min wait for Navi at 8:35 and FOP was a half hour wait as a previous poster experienced. But I also looked at the wait times for the normal Mon EMH our week and they were much more typical. So in short, normal EMH, be there an hour early, added June EMH might be a completely different experience and you may be able to show up a lot closer to RD time and have a reasonable wait.
 

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