Avatar Flight of Passage reviews, comments and questions

BrianLo

BrianLo

Well-Known Member
FOP is just straight up top notch ride design. Carefully paced, fully immersive, meticulously crafted around every corner. It's got the best queue in the world. It's still a traditional simulator, so if your preferred ride style is a thrilling coaster or a slow moving dark ride it won't supplant your favourite. But I think this is what a properly designed ride looks like given the tools.

It's by no means my top five, but it's one of those flawless rides, even if I like several others that have more glaring flaws (JTTCotE is too truncated, Forbidden Journey is a story mess for example).

FOP isn't good or bad because it's a simulator. It's good because it's an actually well put together ride. A lesson for you Universal...
 
surfsupdon

surfsupdon

Well-Known Member
disneygeek90 said:
I think to compare Diagon Alley and Pandora aesthetically isn't completely fair. One takes place in a magical city of London. The other takes place in a more natural, other worldly setting. I think Pandora does a wonderful job immersing you in the simplicity and beauty of the world, while Diagon brings you to the hustle and bustle of Downtown London. The theming for both are excellent, for what they're trying to accomplish.
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I just felt there was nothing there. Aside from the rides, there were two restrooms, the food place/bar, and a gift shop. The lush landscaping can be found throughout WDW. I'm glad you liked, just as I did too. Guess I just never connected with it.
 
surfsupdon

surfsupdon

Well-Known Member
I'm nervous bc FoP I think puts Soarin to shame. Soarin really has the "I'm sitting here staring at a screen" vibe and you can obviously see the screen ends. FoP was so immersive it was incredible!
 
dreamscometrue

dreamscometrue

Well-Known Member
tribbleorlfl said:
Question, does FoP have rider swap? My daughter is not quite tall enough to ride, yet.
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According to WDW website, it does. :)
Rider Switch Attractions at WDW.jpg
 
GoofGoof

GoofGoof

Premium Member
disneygeek90 said:
I go to the parks alone fairly often and it's awesome. Though when I go with family we will often op to use it as well, as my mom doesn't usually ride the single rider rides and my bro, dad and I will do single rider. I don't think that's necessarily abusing the system. We are choosing to ride separate in lieu of a longer wait. Even if it does get backed up, it's shorter than the standby.

Now when people try to claim they didn't know, that's absolutely abusing. My family always makes fun of how much they tell you that you will be separated, but I guess some still ignore the memo. :rolleyes:
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There's nothing wrong with a group of 3 people choosing to enter the single rider line and sit separate. The "abuse" only comes in when they get to the front and then ask or demand to be seated together. It's not really abuse, but taking advantage of the Disney practice of not confronting guests and telling them no. I also think the single rider line should be adults only (at Disney that means 10+). Nobody should be trying to have a young child sit alone on a ride just to beat the line. It's not fair to the kid or to the other guests sitting with the child.
peter11435 said:
I'm not saying what your family does is abusing. It is not. But when a large enough percentage of guests experiencing an attraction decides to do what your family does the whole system fails. And when you have an attraction like FOP with a 2-3 hour wait large percentages of guests will do what they can to minimize that wait.
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The single rider line should in theory even itself out over time. If a large number of families chooses to ride single rider and sit separate eventually the single rider line will get long enough that it will no longer be beneficial and people will start using the regular queue. In most cases the line doesn't get that long and it almost always is faster.
Single rider comes in handy on a ride like Test Track with 3 seats across and only 6 per car. I'm not sure if it's as beneficial for a ride like FoP where larger groups queue together for individual "seats".
 
disneygeek90

disneygeek90

Well-Known Member
I decided to go yesterday. Got in FoP line at 2:40, posted wait was 110 minutes. I was getting sorted into my room by 3:55, off the ride about 4:10. The line was moving consistently which was nice.

When I said one person leading up to the first split, she placed me in the 2nd lane. It seemed everyone in that lane was a single rider. So it seems they are somewhat using the advantage of being able to fill shows in with singles, they're just actually using only single riders and not those that would be choosing the single rider line, which is fine. I think this also helps them not having to yell down the row for a chance that there's a single rider nearby.
 
ShoalFox

ShoalFox

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
I rushed FoP in the morning on Friday, and while the line was pretty much constantly moving, I still ended up waiting 2.5 hours because there was EMH that morning (I'm never going to wait that long again for anything). When I finally did get on the ride I was BLOWN AWAY from the moment it started. I am still awestruck by how incredibly immersive and thrilling the ride is. I was smiling and laughing during the whole experience, and for many minutes after unloading.

While outside, I did notice a covered up sign at the entrance as well as a turned off digital display below it. I'm assuming this is for a single rider line.
 
C

coasterphil

Well-Known Member
Now that the lines seem to have settled down into a more reasonable length, I made it over to check out FOP. I'll say that I'm certainly in the minority who were unimpressed by the attraction. It's Soarin 2.0, no more no less. Now that doesn't make it a bad attraction by any stretch (Soarin' is awfully fun after all, at least before the terrible new CGI film), but calling it the best attraction in Orlando seems to be a result of Disney fans starving for an E-ticket. It wasn't so much more immersive just because I felt something between my legs and had a few extra scents sprayed in my face. You may not have legs dangling in front of you, but if you're not staring straight ahead then you'll easily see the other theaters bouncing around.

Maybe I'm being too harsh, but I think this community and some of my friends definitely oversold the attraction (and Pandora as a whole, but that's another thread). It's a solid addition to AK and an enjoyable ride for what it is, but I wouldn't even give it top billing in the park.
 
Jbres_

Jbres_

Member
I went to Animal Kingdom last night at 11; When I walked into Pandora, my breath was taken away; I think I said omg every 2 minutes and stopped to take pictures of the beautiful bioluminescent plants and the ground. First, I went on FOP which had an 85 minute wait. At first I was skeptical about getting on the ride because of the long wait but figured, when in Disney!

So I get in line and I have to say, I have never been happier with a queue in my life. The flow of the line kept you moving, but not to the point where you weren't able to rest your feet from time to time. Also, when you stop you get to look at all of the amazing scenery surrounding the ride.

Flash forward to the end of the line, I love how they split up the groups from the single riders at this point and I would not have done it any other way because the experience of this queue was one for the books. I think my only complaint is the fact that they used me as a single rider in a group that was still low a person or two and there were parties of two or three still waiting, but hey, I got on the ride!

FOP itself is one of the most technologically advanced motion simulators out there. I had gone to Universal the day before and rode the new Jimmy Fallon ride and it was nothing in comparison.

My favorite effect of the entire ride was how you could feel your Ikran breathe. It just made everything all the more real.

It gets a 9.8/10 from me!
 
MisterPenguin

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
Jbres_ said:
I went to Animal Kingdom last night at 11; When I walked into Pandora, my breath was taken away; I think I said omg every 2 minutes and stopped to take pictures of the beautiful bioluminescent plants and the ground. First, I went on FOP which had an 85 minute wait. At first I was skeptical about getting on the ride because of the long wait but figured, when in Disney!

So I get in line and I have to say, I have never been happier with a queue in my life. The flow of the line kept you moving, but not to the point where you weren't able to rest your feet from time to time. Also, when you stop you get to look at all of the amazing scenery surrounding the ride.

Flash forward to the end of the line, I love how they split up the groups from the single riders at this point and I would not have done it any other way because the experience of this queue was one for the books. I think my only complaint is the fact that they used me as a single rider in a group that was still low a person or two and there were parties of two or three still waiting, but hey, I got on the ride!

FOP itself is one of the most technologically advanced motion simulators out there. I had gone to Universal the day before and rode the new Jimmy Fallon ride and it was nothing in comparison.

My favorite effect of the entire ride was how you could feel your Ikran breathe. It just made everything all the more real.

It gets a 9.8/10 from me!
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Welcome to your first post!!
 
jaklgreen

jaklgreen

Well-Known Member
coasterphil said:
but calling it the best attraction in Orlando seems to be a result of Disney fans starving for an E-ticket
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I can only speak for myself, but this couldn't be farther from the truth. I thought FoP was amazing and I do not compare it to Soarin. The only thing in common is that they both use a screen. I am not "starving for an E-ticket". In fact I prefer the much more sedate rides like People mover and Living with the Land. I thought FoP was done very well, the quality of the visuals was stunning and it felt much more immersive then any other ride. You know that you are barely moving but when you "dive" you actually feel like you are falling a great distance. I did not have any issues with seeing the edge of the screen or the people next to me because I was too busy enjoying the ride. Short of being in a 3D room all by yourself, there is not much more that they can do on an attraction. And to actually say that you can see other people if you turn your head so the ride is not that great just makes you sound like you are grasping to find something wrong with the ride itself. I really don't know what people want anymore. I am in my mid 40s, so before the whole "tech" age. The most exciting ride out there was the one that you all went against the wall and they spun the sucker around and you stuck to the wall because of centrifugal force. I am amazed at what they can do now and how immersive rides are. I actually feel sad for those who go on these amazing amusement rides and think they are just OK.
 
B

bh_trade

Member
Went on this ride for the 1st time 6/20, posted wait time (at 8:13am, no early access that day!) was 165 min but we waited no more than 90-95 min. My entire family found the experience to be spectacular, and worth the 90 min wait. Imo best theme park ride I've ever been on, very immersive and visually stunning, but never motion sickness inducing like many simulator rides can be when they try too hard to impress
 
ChrisFL

ChrisFL

Premium Member
coasterphil said:
Now that the lines seem to have settled down into a more reasonable length, I made it over to check out FOP. I'll say that I'm certainly in the minority who were unimpressed by the attraction. It's Soarin 2.0, no more no less. Now that doesn't make it a bad attraction by any stretch (Soarin' is awfully fun after all, at least before the terrible new CGI film), but calling it the best attraction in Orlando seems to be a result of Disney fans starving for an E-ticket. It wasn't so much more immersive just because I felt something between my legs and had a few extra scents sprayed in my face. You may not have legs dangling in front of you, but if you're not staring straight ahead then you'll easily see the other theaters bouncing around.

Maybe I'm being too harsh, but I think this community and some of my friends definitely oversold the attraction (and Pandora as a whole, but that's another thread). It's a solid addition to AK and an enjoyable ride for what it is, but I wouldn't even give it top billing in the park.
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Completely disagree. I've been much more of a Universal fan the past several years and had no big hopes for Pandora. i didn't even plan to go see it anytime soon until a friend said he wanted to go....everything was nice including the landscape, as we all expected. I had NOT expected to be completely blown away by FOP and had to process what just happened for a while. That never happened to me on nearly any other attraction, probably not since the first time I rode Spiderman at IOA.

This is now within the top 3 of my favorite all time attractions, and I've been to many parks around the U.S. and Asia including 9 of the 12 Disney parks.
 

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