Flight of Passage is incredible. The queue itself is a work of art. Every surface is themed in such great detail; the rusty walls, the airlock doors, the moss growing everywhere, the signage. Some areas really make you feel like no person has been there for many years and nature has taken over. I loved this aspect of it. I am not a huge gamer, but I've played the Uncharted games. I was thinking of Uncharted when I walked through the queue. I know it sounds corny, but it kinda felt like being in a real-life video game, especially because everything looks so alien. When you walk over something you can look down and there are plants, or objects, or a themed surface. The queue also nicely progresses through different areas as you go deeper into the mountain base. Then the ride itself was a breathtaking experience. We rode it twice and had a small problem the first time. We were locked into our chairs (pretty tightly, so you cannot move or even touch your leg to scratch an itch) and the CM left us there for about 10 minutes. I figure there must have been a problem with a guest in another room, but it was unpleasant and a bit claustrophobic to be stuck there without knowing what was going on. I find that a CM should stay in every room to make sure everyone is okay, or at least check in on us every couple of minutes. Then suddenly the ride started and you get 'transported' into this gorgeous world with thousands of animals flying, swimming and running around, with wind blowing and water splashing in your face. You're leaning forward on the seat and I found myself ducking and swaying left and right during some of the scenes. It was spectacular and I find it the best ride at Disney World right now, especially if you consider the whole package with the queue.
Na'vi River Journey is a very different experience, but a beautiful ride on its own. The queue here is much simpler, but still gorgeous as the ceiling over the waiting area is covered with all these woven objects, I found that quite impressive. It must have taken artists countless hours to make all that. Disney really spared no expense in the theming of this land. As I wrote in another thread, I had read so much about this being a short ride that I had low expectations, but I didn't find it that bad. It is a slow relaxing boat ride through a beautiful landscape that I think fits into the land and Animal Kingdom very nicely. I have yet to see Pandora at night, but I do wonder how NRJ will compare with just walking around at Pandora at night with the bioluminescence and lit-up plants. If the wait time for NRJ is long, why wait for a short boat ride when you can walk around freely in this huge immersive land with similar alien plants, especially at night like the ride?
The rides were nice, but I was probably most impressed with the land itself. So many alien plants and themed surfaces. I was staring at this huge alien flower/plant that looked so beautiful, it must have taken an artist, or a team of artists, many hours to craft that thing. And the whole land is filled with things like that. As passholders my wife and I love going to Animal Kingdom to just walk around and look at the animals and beautiful theming. We'll probably spend a lot of time at Pandora doing just that.
