Annual Pass Previews of Pandora - The World of Avatar beginning May 13

LAKid53

LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
RSoxNo1 said:
Thank you for listening, I appreciate it.

It's a hard thing to explain, but I'll try.

When you have an attraction based on an existing/known IP, you have already developed an emotional attachment to that IP. It can be good, bad or indifferent. With Harry Potter, the reason why people walk into Diagon Alley and start crying is because they had the existing attachment to the property before hand and Universal made it a reality. There's a familiarity there that helps them tell the story.

There are certainly people that have that same attachment to Pandora, but not to the same extent that people have an attachment to Harry Potter or Star Wars. That makes for a significant hurdle when comparing the two areas. Emotion is a huge part of Disney's nostalgia and the appreciation we all get from a ride or a land, but it's often a factor that is rooted more in the source material than the ride or land itself.

When it strictly comes to quality, that can also build emotion but without the previous level or interest it's starting from a lower point. From a quality standpoint, it appears that Pandora is as good, if not better than Diagon Alley, however there is no guarantee it will connect with guests on the same level. That's one of the arguments I make when talking about Africa. From a quality standpoint, it's on par with Diagon Alley, but it lacks that emotional connection with some people. I imagine that a native African may walk through Harambe and get nostalgic. That may create more emotion than that same person visiting Diagon Alley.

So why does any of this matter? In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't. But the reason why Disney and Universal are on their movie based IP kick lately is because when you bring in the emotion associated with an existing franchise you can sell merchandise. In Harry Potter, the merchandise is as much a part of the land as any other thematic element. In Pandora, that's not the case.

What I think people will be unable or unwilling to do is separate their existing emotion, their predisposition to like or dislike something based on an intellectual property when assessing the land. We do that with everything in life and act and opine accordingly.
Click to expand...

Well, I've only seen Avatar once....and when it started playing on cable. So I've got no emotional attachment to the IP. But what Rohde and his staff, along with Cameron, have given us is outstanding.

Yeah, Pandora is small. I can't imagine how overwhelming it would be if Disney had been able to devote more square footage.. and it's pretty overwhelming. One of the guards at the Poly monorail stop said that FoP is Soarin' on steroids. Oh, it's so beyond that.

But I agree with your comments in general. Which is why I'm excited/nervous about SW Land...my emotional attachment is great with that IP.
 
Kman101

Kman101

Well-Known Member
In terms of emotional attachment, a good majority won't have that for Pandora going into it, but wasn't it a big deal at the time of the movie how fans were literally depressed and wanted to visit the land? I'd imagine someone somewhere out there will have an emotional attachment. I did hear a gentleman talking to another guest about how much he loved Avatar. It does have it's fans. But I agree with what @RSoxNo1 says about emotional attachment. SWL will have that hands down.
 
HauntedMansionFLA

HauntedMansionFLA

Well-Known Member
flyerjab said:
LOL!!!

Unfortunately, I have to inform you and @twebber55 that I am currently staring at my computer screen at work. It was a painfully short trip but I already can't wait to get back. It was incredible!
Click to expand...
Well, that was one heck of a trip. Sorry it was short but well worth it. Question, was there any James Horner music playing throughout the land?
 
flyakite

flyakite

Well-Known Member
Hello everyone! I am so eager to show up for my window. I picked a later one, hoping for a more stable presentation. So I am 3-5pm on Sunday, the 21st. Based on everyone else's experiences I expect CMs to let us in at 2pm. I'm thinking about showing up at 1pm. Do you think there will be a line this late in the game and will we get a FP if we show up only at 2pm? I know some of you have rode FoP twice. I assume arriving earlier is better of course. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you very much!
 
Magic Feather

Magic Feather

Well-Known Member
flyakite said:
Hello everyone! I am so eager to show up for my window. I picked a later one, hoping for a more stable presentation. So I am 3-5pm on Sunday, the 21st. Based on everyone else's experiences I expect CMs to let us in at 2pm. I'm thinking about showing up at 1pm. Do you think there will be a line this late in the game and will we get a FP if we show up only at 2pm? I know some of you have rode FoP twice. I assume arriving earlier is better of course. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you very much!
Click to expand...
As of now, they no longer do FP's at the beginning, and are letting people ride everything freely, but that is subject to change. Also, 1:30 is more than enough time for arrival. Have fun!
 
LAKid53

LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
flyakite said:
Hello everyone! I am so eager to show up for my window. I picked a later one, hoping for a more stable presentation. So I am 3-5pm on Sunday, the 21st. Based on everyone else's experiences I expect CMs to let us in at 2pm. I'm thinking about showing up at 1pm. Do you think there will be a line this late in the game and will we get a FP if we show up only at 2pm? I know some of you have rode FoP twice. I assume arriving earlier is better of course. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you very much!
Click to expand...

You won't be let in before the time indicated on your fastpass in your MDE account. Entry into and out of the land is next to Pizzafari. I'm not sure if CMs will allow you to line up 1 hour before your FP time.

My preview window was 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm yesterday, so my FP time was 5:00 pm. I arrived at the entry to Pandora around 5:25. No long line to get in. There are several CMs present to scan your band. Once you walk in, several CMs are handing out paper FPs for FoP. They had stacks of them. I don't know how many slots Disney allowed for each preview period, but the land wasn't crowded. Navi River is a walk on. The standby time for FoP was 10 minutes. The real wait for FoP is CMs assigning both a level and number to each rider, based upon the number of people in their party - it's not like "3 people, go stand in line 4". They have chart sheets and markers to assign riders.

I would plan on getting there maybe 15 minutes before the time on your entry FP.
 
Kman101

Kman101

Well-Known Member
Magic Feather said:
As of now, they no longer do FP's at the beginning, and are letting people ride everything freely, but that is subject to change. Also, 1:30 is more than enough time for arrival. Have fun!
Click to expand...

I got a FP on the 18th so that must have just changed, but Standby for FoP seemed to be open that day as well. 1:30 is when I showed up and waited in line. I was 3-5 and they let us in at 2 and said we could stay as long as we wanted. You can actually show up right at the end of your window and stay as long as you want, that's what they told us.
 
Kman101

Kman101

Well-Known Member
LAKid53 said:
You won't be let in before the time indicated on your fastpass in your MDE account. Entry into and out of the land is next to Pizzafari. I'm not sure if CMs will allow you to line up 1 hour before your FP time.

My preview window was 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm yesterday, so my FP time was 5:00 pm. I arrived at the entry to Pandora around 5:25. No long line to get in. There are several CMs present to scan your band. Once you walk in, several CMs are handing out paper FPs for FoP. They had stacks of them. I don't know how many slots Disney allowed for each preview period, but the land wasn't crowded. Navi River is a walk on. The standby time for FoP was 10 minutes. The real wait for FoP is CMs assigning both a level and number to each rider, based upon the number of people in their party - it's not like "3 people, go stand in line 4". They have chart sheets and markers to assign riders.

I would plan on getting there maybe 15 minutes before the time on your entry FP.
Click to expand...

People were lined up for the 2/3 slots at 1/1:30. They do let you line up and have tape on the ground. However, you don't HAVE to line up. The CM was telling guests that you can literally show up right at the end of your window and you can stay as long as you want. Anytime between the window is fine and they will let you in.

River Journey went from literal walk on to 20 minutes at some point during my time frame. FoP was always at 5 minutes and they were still doing FPs on the 18th.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom