RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
If Na'vi River Journey was twice as long with some animal AAs would that have qualified?
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Avatar Flight of Passage reviews, comments and questions
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
If Na'vi River Journey was twice as long with some animal AAs would that have qualified?
Personally for me? No. It has a disjointed, unclear story or purpose and no finale, no payoff, no reason. It comes across to me as a jumbled mess showcasing some new visual tech.
Again IMHO.
doctornick
Well-Known Member
I loved FoP. I will say that the "issue" with how great one thinks it is probably comes somewhat down to a personal preference of what one wants out of a ride.
The classic Disney headliners often had this fantastic immersive quality where you are engaged in large scenes. The early WDI folks coming from film is evident how they combined elements of sight and sound and showcased them. But those rides don't really immerse you in the sense of actually feeling you are in the place depicted. There's no real suspension of disbelief where you think you are truly in a haunted house, watching pirates or on a time machine watching the history of communication. I think you're always aware that it is a ride and you are in a ride vehicle.
FoP earns its high marks by how believable it is. That you really feel that you are riding a banshee and experiencing that flight. The "story" isn't really anything special, but how it is conveyed is fantastic. So, some might feel it is too short or nothing really happens or that it doesn't have a memorable song or whatnot. That's okay, not every ride is for every person, but I can get how someone could prefer different types of E-tickets -- and this isn't just @marni1971 's thing.
I feel like the Millennium Falcon ride is going to have the same divide. Some people will go bonkers because of how realistic it is in convincing you about the illusion of riding the Millennium Falcon. Other people are going to complain that it's just a Star Tours in a smaller room. There's a trend now among rides, especially as they are increasingly based on IPs, to have them have their primary objective being convincing the rider of the sense of place where the ride exists more than being a long form piece of artwork expressing a concept in three dimensional space that you travel through.
Oh no. I love Star Tours. And Simpsons. And will love Big Bird.
Passage should have been - and was made to be - the best thing since sliced bread. It was good. But not great. Not amazing. My socks weren't knocked off. I was disappointed because of that. But of course, each to their own.
The Empress Lilly
Well-Known Member
No, the power of a topic coming up. That's all.
That, and some only now returning from their first WDW vacation since FoP's opening. It will be a while yet before everybody has been able to ride it and share their thoughts.
Come to think of it, what may also play a part is roughly comparable background, age, and formative years of visiting WDW. If you grew up on Horizons and Imagination then Soarin' is an otherwise fine but nevertheless lesser replacement of the WDW of grand, immerse rides. The verdict of FoP will also be coloured by that. The current era is decent, those screen based semi-thrill rides are fun, but it is not our golden age and not our idea of the pinnacle of what can be achieved in a ride.
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the verdict for FOP is already in and its been a big success
based on touring plan ratings and trip advisor
sedati
Well-Known Member
I enjoy the lighter narrative approach of each Pandoran attraction. There's a set path for both, but from there you are sort of left on your own. I think these really hit the approach Rhode had for Animal Kingdom at least in granting guests the freedom to make of it what they will. Other rides, especially old-school EPCOT ones, really took your hand- directing you and narrating you through each and every step along the way. Everyone's experience was mostly identical, and would be each time they rode.
There's a difference between learning through education and learning through discovery, and I think that's the difference between the EPCOT approach and Rhode's.
I'm not saying this works for everyone (clearly it doesn't) but I think it helps give this park not just a different look, but a different feel.
I did each ride twice and yet didn't feel I'd had the full experience. And this is coming from someone who spoiled myself heavily as I had no expectation that I'd be going down there any time soon. I expected to like it- I enjoyed the movie myself and what I saw looked intriguing and extremely well crafted. But this project as a whole was hammered with negativity from day one. The positive reviews may have received a bit of a bump as so many were expecting something poor (this forum had decided nearly unanimously that Flight of Passage was going to be an off-the-shelf Vekoma Flying Theater, very much a Soarin 2.0 and little more) but then again, some of the negatives seem to stem from those who expected too much (riding your own animatronic banshee.)
I went in with high expectations, but ones tempered. The main reason lies over at Universal. I enjoyed most everything there, but I quickly came to realize that there wasn't one 3-D screen that tricked me (that said, there is a frosted glass effect on the Hogwarts Express that is damn amazing.) I was always aware I was looking at screens and while I appreciated what they could deliver over other disciplines could, the idea that Flight of Passage would likewise come across as just another screen was something I accepted before stepping foot into the land, and once I transitioned onto my banshee that was my initial thought. I was looking at a screen- certainly the best screen, but a screen nonetheless. As I said in my review, I think a lot could be done with the glasses to actually restrict our field of view. And as I said, about a third of the way in, I forgot about the other riders in my periphery, stopped looking up to where the screen ended, and was fully immersed. This ride really did pull me in. The link chair is all you've heard. The dives are incredible. The smells, wind, and mists are executed perfectly. Maybe not the greatest ride of all time, but the best form of simulator and one of the most cohesive and satisfying themed experiences. IMHO
To those who haven't ridden, I'd say don't go in expecting to have your lives changed. But ride it more than once before making any firm conclusions. I do think themed attractions are a bit on you- open yourself to it. Play along with it. Older and familiar rides are easier to do this with than newer ones, especially when we've tracked every step of it's creation. And conversely, I applaud anyone who manages to go in completely cold, but this can have downsides as well as you may be expecting something that just isn't there.
Back here in the doldrums of the real world I can say that if offered a nice warm slice of bread I'd gladly turn it down for a chance to wait in a long line for either "Soarin 2.0" or "Small World with Cat-Smurfs" once again.
There's a difference between learning through education and learning through discovery, and I think that's the difference between the EPCOT approach and Rhode's.
I'm not saying this works for everyone (clearly it doesn't) but I think it helps give this park not just a different look, but a different feel.
I did each ride twice and yet didn't feel I'd had the full experience. And this is coming from someone who spoiled myself heavily as I had no expectation that I'd be going down there any time soon. I expected to like it- I enjoyed the movie myself and what I saw looked intriguing and extremely well crafted. But this project as a whole was hammered with negativity from day one. The positive reviews may have received a bit of a bump as so many were expecting something poor (this forum had decided nearly unanimously that Flight of Passage was going to be an off-the-shelf Vekoma Flying Theater, very much a Soarin 2.0 and little more) but then again, some of the negatives seem to stem from those who expected too much (riding your own animatronic banshee.)
I went in with high expectations, but ones tempered. The main reason lies over at Universal. I enjoyed most everything there, but I quickly came to realize that there wasn't one 3-D screen that tricked me (that said, there is a frosted glass effect on the Hogwarts Express that is damn amazing.) I was always aware I was looking at screens and while I appreciated what they could deliver over other disciplines could, the idea that Flight of Passage would likewise come across as just another screen was something I accepted before stepping foot into the land, and once I transitioned onto my banshee that was my initial thought. I was looking at a screen- certainly the best screen, but a screen nonetheless. As I said in my review, I think a lot could be done with the glasses to actually restrict our field of view. And as I said, about a third of the way in, I forgot about the other riders in my periphery, stopped looking up to where the screen ended, and was fully immersed. This ride really did pull me in. The link chair is all you've heard. The dives are incredible. The smells, wind, and mists are executed perfectly. Maybe not the greatest ride of all time, but the best form of simulator and one of the most cohesive and satisfying themed experiences. IMHO
To those who haven't ridden, I'd say don't go in expecting to have your lives changed. But ride it more than once before making any firm conclusions. I do think themed attractions are a bit on you- open yourself to it. Play along with it. Older and familiar rides are easier to do this with than newer ones, especially when we've tracked every step of it's creation. And conversely, I applaud anyone who manages to go in completely cold, but this can have downsides as well as you may be expecting something that just isn't there.
Back here in the doldrums of the real world I can say that if offered a nice warm slice of bread I'd gladly turn it down for a chance to wait in a long line for either "Soarin 2.0" or "Small World with Cat-Smurfs" once again.
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The Empress Lilly
Well-Known Member
The opinion of lifestylers and trendseekers. -_- Aided too partly by TWDC itself, partly by being the latest big thing, partly by the energy created by a far greater demand than supply. Long queues, rope-drop stampedes, crowds create a hype as much as screaming girls did for the Beatles.
FoP is fine, but 'best ride in America' is as silly as the acting of the whispering pre-show guy.
In all fairness the general public also love TSMM. And Soarin'.
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
Agreed. There is a story to both Avatar rides but it's not a Splash Mountain type linear story, they are more experience driven like Haunted Mansion or Pirates. They progress, but I'm sure most people when asked about that progression couldn't accurately articulate it.
sedati
Well-Known Member
Soarin was delightful, though I did hit this before Flight of Passage so my bar was low. The Taj Mahal scene stuck out as too fake and the distortion on the Eiffel Tower was rather extreme. There was a surprisingly nice dip over the Great Wall.
TSMM was leagues beyond the other shooters in the area. I could actually tell what I was doing. Men in Black was the only ride the entire trip (including two rides on Mission Space) that made me nauseous. The ride moves like a standard dark ride until it randomly decides to put you in a blender and spin you at high speed.
As both were new to me, I enjoyed them very much though I can see their appeal as being more broad over being anywhere near "the best."
but they re comparing other disney rides
cant use the fan boy excuse for this one
your opinion may be different with the majority certainly nothing wrong with that
not as much as FOP apparently
maybe in a year it wont be the highest rated ride in either disney or universal in a year
everyone in our party thought soarin was awful after riding FOP
I should say I found the dashboard LED night blinding to mask the screen reveal and the way it psychologically blended with the onscreen flashes was very well done.
Lest anyone think I didn't have something good to say. Again, I didn't not enjoy the ride.
Lest anyone think I didn't have something good to say. Again, I didn't not enjoy the ride.
sedati
Well-Known Member
Having heard how this was done it still worked for me and does elicit wows from the other passengers.
My sense is you found this a good not great attraction. If you have the time I'd like to know what you're experience was like: how many times did you ride? With or without fastpass? Etc.
JustInTime
Well-Known Member
Just want to say that I thought the pandora sunset made a spectacular finale. Also IMHO
bclane
Well-Known Member
I like that you used a double negative to be positive. Well done!
DisneyFan18
Well-Known Member
I went to WDW back in June with my family, and we did enjoyed Pandora and FoP, we rode it 3 times. The main reason behind it could be that we weren't sure of what to expect, but we found it enjoyable, even my mother (who tends to dislike simulators, since she gets easily dizzy). And I do agree that while Na'vi River Journey is a cute, it's definitely not worthy of a 75 min wait time...
I saw that someone mentioned an originally planned third attraction, and I wasn't aware of that, could someone please tell me what is known about it?
I saw that someone mentioned an originally planned third attraction, and I wasn't aware of that, could someone please tell me what is known about it?