HOW TO RIDE FLIGHT OF PASSAGE WITHOUT THE WAIT!
There’s no doubt Flight of Passage is one of Disney World’s most popular attractions. This captivating ride is a motion simulator where you sit on the back of a Banshee, a creature that soars through the world of Pandora. I wouldn’t argue with anyone that says it is worth the 3 hour wait, however I have yet to wait longer than 30mins for a ride. Keep reading to learn how !
FASTPASSES
Obviously, your first attempt to avoiding the lengthy lines should be getting a Fastpass. If you are staying on site you can try and book these 60 days in advance. 30 days if you are not staying at a Disney hotel. If you log on the day of your booking window and flight of passage is all sold out, don’t panic. You may still have a chance at securing one. Just go ahead and book what rides you can for that day. If you are new to booking Fastpasses, follow my link below to learn more about making these reservations !
Now depending how desperate you are, you can check back on the app or website each day and try to “modify” your selection. Every once and while new passes become available and if you are logged on at the right time you may be able to snag one. If you previously secured a spot for Navi river journey, you will need to select this one to modify as it is in the same tier as Flight of Passage. You can only have 1 top tier Fastpass per day. Sadly, you will have to give up Navi to get Flight of Passage. But don’t worry, it’s way better!
Another option is to wait until the day you are in the park. When people start modifying or missing their Fastpasses , more windows will open up for use that day. Believe it or not this has happened to me. I got to ride it twice in one day!
ROPE DROP
So you’ve been trying for a month to secure that Fastpass and it just didn’t happen. There is still one more option for you to ride Flight of Passage without the wait. ROPE DROP. If you are new to the concept let me explain. Rope drop is when you get to the park in the morning before your eyes are even open and beat the rest of the crowd to the most popular ride. Each park , except for the one hosting extra magic hours (which is also a great way to ride without the crowd) , does rope drop every morning. This is when cast members allow guest waiting outside the park gates to enter before the official opening time.
How to rope drop Animal Kingdom
In this case, if Animal Kingdom is officially open at 9am, they will open the ticketing gates at 8:15 or so. I have showed up at 730 before and been amazed at how many people are already waiting. As a result, I recommend getting there by 8 at the latest. The time you will spend waiting at the gates is nothing compared to the line up for Avatar if you aren’t up front.
When the gates open, guests will be ushered towards Pandora and showed the line up for Flight of Passage. The ride will begin operating as early as 30 minutes before the official time. So if you are near the front of the crowd, you will be off the ride before the rest fo the park is even open! This gives you a huge head start. You can now rush over to the Safari or Expedition Everest before huge lines form. Going this route also allows you to keep that Navi River Fastpass as your top tier selection.
WARNING: If you hate crowds and no ride is worth feeling like you are in a mosh pit, I would avoid this strategy. The crowd gets excited and pushy depending how close you are to the front.
ENJOY THE QUEUE
After trying all you can to ride Flight of Passage without the wait, just slow down and enjoy the view. Like most Disney rides, the fun actually starts in the queue. So if all else fails for you, enjoy the whole experience that this ride is, including its line up. You will find yourself fully immersed in the world of Pandora, surrounded by glowing plants and flowing waterfalls. The line then takes you inside where you travel through caves and eventually find yourself at the flight of passage base. This is where you will be transported into the body of an avatar. Now you’re ready to ride your Banshee! This whole set up is really cool. It’s all very interactive, you will hardly notice you’re waiting in line.
