Na'vi River Journey reviews, comments and questions

[No Name]

Well to be fair I assume James Cameron based his Mountain Bansees on mythical dragons.

Yes, but that does remove a layer of authenticity.

But really, I don't expect much authenticity from today's Disney. Pandora is a pretty good fit compared to what's going on in other parks.

Eh, the mythical creature found its way into Everest. DAK does not need to be bookended on both sides by mythical beasts.

BK for its part would've consisted of Fantasia River Cruise - fictional Hollywood blockbuster creatures. Tutu-dressed hippos. (While the other half of BK would've been IOA's somewhat lacklustre Lost Continent)

Oh, I'm certainly not advocating for Beastly Kingdom to be built like originally planned. That died with Everest, and not a sad death, in my opinion. Though, I would welcome more mythical creatures, but that's beside the point.

All that drives me nuts is Tom Staggs painting AVATAR Land and its creatures as purely mythical.

 

[twebber55]

i see some people are still fighting the fight

 

[Disneyhead'71]

i see some people are still fighting the fight

What do they call it when an artist trades their artistic integrity for a giant pile o' cash?

Call me when DisneyNATURE puts out an educational film about flying on the back of an alien while visiting another planet.

 

[twebber55]

What do they call it when an artist trades their artistic integrity for a giant pile o' cash?

Call me when DisneyNATURE puts out an educational film about flying on the back of an alien while visiting another planet.

i get your point
but i also got it back in 2015 and 2014
just a tired debate

 

[Disneyhead'71]

i get your point
but i also got it back in 2015 and 2014
just a tired debate

True dat. It's built. It is what it is. And there ain't nothing nobody can do about it. Enjoy it or not, your choice.

I just lament the change in tone in America. Back not so long ago, Americans valued education and aspirations to be the elite in a field.

 

[Eckert]

True dat. It's built. It is what it is. And there ain't nothing nobody can do about it. Enjoy it or not, your choice.

I just lament the change in tone in America. Back not so long ago, Americans valued education and aspirations to be the elite in a field.

Aren't we the elite of guns and beer? What's more American than that?!

 

[sedati]

Finally rode not once but twice. Would have gladly ridden many more times. Even having watched nearly every video, I was not able to take it all in. Could the ride be longer? Sure. But I'd actually prefer if they just slowed it down a bit. Wholly immersive and beautiful.

Lots of thoughts and opinions from a first in a long time trip, but not much time to post at the moment.

 

[marni1971]

Three words IMHO.

Waste of space.

 

[Magic Feather]

Three words IMHO.

Waste of space.

What space? The downstairs level of the FoP queue and a bit more? IMHO, its a cute diversion, that nobody should wait more than twenty minutes for, that is one of the most efficient uses of space I have seen Dosney pull off in recent years.

 

[marni1971]

What space?

Each bit it uses.

Confused story, no pay off. No finale, no reason. It's a lighting technology display with no purpose. Even Gran Fiesta and small world have a finale.

And that's without looking at the wisdom of sharing the same building as passage. One fire alarm, one power issue and the land looses both its attractions at once. Genius.

 

[twebber55]

Each bit it uses.

Confused story, no pay off. No finale, no reason. It's a lighting technology display with no purpose. Even Gran Fiesta and small world have a finale.

And that's without looking at the wisdom of sharing the same building as passage. One fire alarm, one power issue and the land looses both its attractions at once. Genius.

shockingly i agree LOL
i mean whats the point of this ride. Its pretty and the AA is incredible but the ride lacks something
if it had a a little thrill to it or a better story line, perhaps with some narration it would ve been better

now in comparison to carsland i would take this over those silly flat rides
But it could ve been so much better

 

[Magenta Panther]

Three words IMHO.

Waste of space.

Matches my opinion of the entire concept of Avatarland. Think of what all those millions spent could have been used for. Plussing Peter Pan's Flight. Creating a Mary Poppins Cherry Tree Lane. A Jungle Book Dark Ride (much better fit in AK than Avatarland). A Disney Villains attraction. So many good ideas that will never be realized by today's TDO which prefers to waste money on flash-in-the-pan non-Disney-generated garbage. Pity.

 

[No Name]

Na'vi River Journey would work well if it had a capacity of like 4,000 guests per hour. There'd rarely be a line, so you couldn't come off too disappointed. As it stands, the long wait leads people to believe it's better than it is, and so they come off disappointed.

 

[marni1971]

Na'vi River Journey would work well if it had a capacity of like 4,000 guests per hour. There'd rarely be a line, so you couldn't come off too disappointed. As it stands, the long wait leads people to believe it's better than it is, and so they come off disappointed.

Even with no wait it comes across as.... lacklustre. I pity those who wait an hour in line for it.

 

[Horizonsfan]

Even with no wait it comes across as.... lacklustre. I pity those who wait an hour in line for it.

When I visited, they were putting 4 adults into each row, which was way too cramped. IMO, the dumb rider setup lowers the experience as well. Who wants to feel like a sardine for the whole ride?

Any chance it could be retooled in the next couple of years? Seems like with a few more animated figures, a voiceover, and some added effects at the shaman, you could have a satisfactory diversion.

 

[networkpro]

I don't think the river journey could be saved. Pandora has turned into hippieland. They've got the drums, just missing the kumbaya singers.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I don't think the river journey could be saved. Pandora has turned into hippieland. They've got the drums, just missing the kumbaya singers.

It could be used as a staging area to baptize the Na'vi.

 

[sedati]

And that's without looking at the wisdom of sharing the same building as passage. One fire alarm, one power issue and the land looses both its attractions at once. Genius.

Is there something about how this was done in Pandora that made it such a uniquely poor decision? Hasn't this been done many times before?
EPCOT Center seemed ingenious in its multi-attraction pavilions. Imagination, Wonders of life, and The Land all housed more than one experience beneath their roofs. The Magic Kingdom did this as well. West of the castle you have Peter Pan, Philharmagic, and the Hall of Presidents all together. To the east Pooh and Fantasy Hall (formerly Snow White and Toad.) Tomorrowland fit Buzz, Monsters, and the People Mover all within a single structure.
This has been done in the international parks as well, with Mermaid Lagoon in TDS being the best example. I always thought the massive indoor Discovery Mountain concept (http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2009/10/grand-tribute-to-tim-delaney-part-two_31.html) looked like an amazing loss, but perhaps they dodged a bullet.

 

[marni1971]

Is there something about how this was done in Pandora that made it such a uniquely poor decision? Hasn't this been done many times before?.

I can't think of a facility in recent times where a single issue causes an entire new land to effectively grind to a halt. As it has done quite a lot. Twice last week alone.

Let me reiterate I think the land looks gorgeous.

 

[sedati]

I can't think of a facility in recent times where a single issue causes an entire new land to effectively grind to a halt. As it has done quite a lot. Twice last week alone.

Let me reiterate I think the land looks gorgeous.

I am confused about how a fire alarm can shut the whole facility down. Something large like a mall will be broken up into zones. An alarm can trip in one area and not set them off everywhere. Hopefully this is an issue they can address, though safety is always paramount. Wasn't some new equipment brought in after the land opened?

Last month I was unable to get in a ride of my beloved Peoplemover as there was some kind of huge issue in Tomorrowland. Buzz, Monsters, the Peoplemover and Orbiter (possibly Carousel, and who knows about Stitch as it wasn't operating) all went down together. We were luckily on Space Mountain when this happened and thankfully, that ride wasn't effected though the Peoplemover's work lights did ruin the darkness.

I seem to remember problems at both Disney and Universal being reported on these forums where whole sections of a park go down. I'm not sure if this is due to computers or electrical, but I don't think the idea of an area grinding to a halt is a new one.

There's growing pains- there's letting things slide when routine sets in, and then there's age and degradation. In short, there's always something. That's not an excuse. I'm sure if my long wait was ruined by a breakdown I'd be heartbroken. They absolutely should work on getting it as reliable as possible, but I'm just not sure the fault lies in the layout. Fire alarms are one thing, but stacked attractions or adjoining ones may share the same power issues regardless though I'll defer to anyone with more expertise on that matter.