Flight of Passage before rope drop--still a long wait! - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Flight of Passage before rope drop--still a long wait!
So, we stayed on property Wednesday night to get to FOP before rope drop. This is how it went Thursday morning, April 19, 2018.
I'd hoped to get to Animal Kingdom by 8:15 a.m. but, what with one thing and another, we didn't get to bag check until 8:30--still 30 minutes before rope drop. Bear in mind that nearly all spring breaks are over and this is a weekday. [There's a Disney Marathon this weekend, and we saw groups of young people from bands and choirs, so I expect special events increased the crowds more than usual.]
Everyone was allowed through the turnstiles and well into the park, no doubt to keep the entry area clear. We walked until we reached the end of the line, shortly before 9 I think. We were still routed way into the boonies, with the back end passing the line going in the opposite direction near the end. Note: Folks in line actually witnessed people in the back of the line shifting into the middle as they passed, so keep an eye out for this and make noise if you see it!
The line does pass an open concession stand with cold drinks. I passed, as I wanted to keep my bladder empty for the queue.
The line started moving again at 9:10 a.m. and continued to move pretty steadily until we well were into the regular queue. As we passed into the standby entrance, the wait time was listed at 180 minutes. This would be somewhere between 9:30 and 10, on a day when the park opened at 9.
We finally got on the ride at around 10:30. Yes--we arrived 30 minutes before rope drop and STILL were in line for two hours, at an off-peak time of year on a weekday. By the time we got all the way through the gift shop, it was 10:55, so we totally missed the 11:00 showing of Festival of the Lion King, for which we had a FastPass+.
This was the fourth time I've been on this totally awesome ride, and my friend's first time. It was still entirely worth the wait, but you need to be prepared for how long it will take you. I would advise you to arrive at least 45 minutes, preferably 60 minutes, before rope drop if you want a shorter wait than we had.
Also: My mom, who has no history of motion sickness, as well as some friends, have been quite nauseous from motion sickness, beginning about 30 minutes after the ride was over. My friend has a history of mild motion sickness, so she took a Dramamine about the time we entered the line and had no trouble whatsoever with motion sickness.
So if you have any suspicion that someone in your party may have motion sickness problems, please bear this in mind and take whatever precautions seem wise.
Again, despite the enormous wait (and I will generally never get into a line more than 30 minutes long), Flight of Passage is well worth the effort.
Another note: A prominent sign at the normal standby entry points out that there's no bathroom inside, and that NO ONE will be allowed to join their party in the queue, so make sure everyone visits the potty before getting in line.
I hope this is helpful in your planning for the awesome FOP ride.
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