Pandora--Riding without a fast pass

I would agree with those saying waiting at the front of the park is no different than waiting in the FOP line. Definitely go at park close.

I went in January on an 8/10 crowd day. Got to the park at 7:30 for an 8am EMH. Went straight to Na’vi River and didn’t wait at all. Went to FOP about 5-10 mins before park close. Posted wait time was 150 minutes. From the time I entered the queue to the time I exited the attraction, it was right at an hour. And the wait went very quickly.
 
This varies. Be out at the bus stop at 6:30 if you don’t want to miss the first bus. On an 8am opening they will let you in the park at about 7:15am.

thanks! i've had mixed experiences the last 2 times i had an 8am EMH at AK. First one waited at the stop from 615 til 7 for the first one to come!!! second time, i just missed the 630 bus because of the long line. Definitely will try 615 again!
 


thanks! i've had mixed experiences the last 2 times i had an 8am EMH at AK. First one waited at the stop from 615 til 7 for the first one to come!!! second time, i just missed the 630 bus because of the long line. Definitely will try 615 again!
What also can happen sometimes if you are at a resort with several bus stops, the bus can fill up at the first stops and head to the park without ever getting to your stop.
 
When we were there last July, we arrived early and got in line about 10 minutes before they let everyone in. (So, not super early) Us and 95% of the crowd walked straight to FOP and from park open to stepping on the ride, it was 45 minutes. Not bad at all!
 


We were there in November. We had FP's, but loved it so much had to go again. We got in line about a half hour before the park closed and we were out in just over an hour. It was actually pretty nice to see the stand by que.
 
We were just there a couple of weeks ago and had great luck towards the end of the night,. Park closed at 8, and we got in line around 7:15 (we had planned to go close to 8, but walked over after RoL). Posted wait time was 95 minutes, and we ended up waiting about 45. (30 minutes to the lab room)
 
I would say it isn't enough to rope drop it, you have to be at or near the front of the rope drop line too. We went last week and part of my family tried to rope drop FOP. They cleared entry and bag check before rope drop. Park opened a couple of minutes before 8am. By 8:10, the FOP line was 3 hours long.

It was also spring break crowds last week.. . the poster does not say when they are going/what the crowds will be that day. We went March 2nd and attempted to rope drop and got there a tad too late and the wait was 90-110 minutes for the stragglers like us (8am park opening).
 
Three of us did standby last Sunday and the posted wait was 105. We waited about that long and it went by pretty fast. We talked to a lot of people in line around us. One guy had ridden it like 6 times before so it was interesting to talk to him.

I will say that's it's well worth the wait though!
 
IF you are staying at a WDW resort, plan to go on an EMH AM day, when the park opens at 7am.
Be there, in line, no later that 6:00 am. That will give you the least amount of wait for FOP.
Even though it's an EMH day, you're not having to wait with non resort guests, and not as many guests take advantage of EMH in the AM as they do for PM EMH.
That strategy worked great for us.
We also had our own car, so beat the resort buses...
 
Would you have to arrive as early on an Early Entry day if you are staying at a WDW hotel?
We got there 1 hour early on a EMH morning. It was our first park day and DS magic band was screwed up so it took us a couple minutes. They open the gates up almost 1/2 hour before park opening and take you to the bridge by the tree of life and wait another 10 mi utes or so. We walked through and was probably the 3rd set of people in. From the time we hit Pandora till the time we walked out was 30 minutes. (10 min after official park opening and the wait time for FOP was 3 hours) The queue is long with a couple different rooms that hold you up a little. Great ride and worth every minute of waiting. But the rest of the park was dead ( everyone was in line for FOP) so we were able to get on so much before 10 AM
 
Arriving at AK at least 70 minutes before scheduled opening is even better. They actually open about 45 to 40 minutes before scheduled opening.

So if park has an EMH Morning and opens at 8am..what time do they open the parking lot?
 
Get your passes and refresh the day of. Do them one at a time. Not only did I get Navi River but FOP as well. One at a time if you can.

FOP is breathtaking...truly.
 
So if park has an EMH Morning and opens at 8am..what time do they open the parking lot?
EMH will be 7am, NOT 8am. Regular park opening is 8 am. So you should get there no later than 0600 to beat the resort buses and be at the front of the line.
Parking lots are all open, attendants arrive about 1 hour prior to park opening, I think...
Again, going on an EMH morning will.dramtically cut your wait time down.
Not a lot of people want to get up that early on vacation, plus you don't have the general public that early, only resort guests.
 
It's a long story, buy I am not able to book fast passes in advance, as I cannot get my tickets until I arrive at the park. Has anyone had a strategy that has worked to Ride FOP without a fast pass? We are just two adults. Thank you!

We were there last June right after FOP opened and I was not able to get a FP for it. We are not an early rising, rope drop family, so we knew our only hope was possibly late at night. We were at AK on a night they were open until 11:00 pm, so we watched ROL at 9 ish, and then headed over to Pandora. The posted wait time for FOP was about 2 1/2 hours, but we didn't think the line was backed out far enough for it to be that long, so we got in line. We ended up waiting right at 1 1/2 hours. It was well worth it, it is the best ride I've ever experienced hands down! Also, once you get in the park that day, keep refreshing the MDE app, you may be lucky enough to score a FP, there have been a fair number of people who have scored same days FP's for it that way.
 

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