Pandora, more or less of a success than you predicted?

[DDLand]

On the macro it looks about how I was expecting. Feel and guest areas were below expectations. Integration with Disney's Animal Kingdom below expectations. River Journey slightly above expectations. Flight of Passage at expectation.

Decent enough area. Could have been better.

From a business perspective it seems like DAK has received a much needed shot in the arm, but it still needs major expansion. Its roster and guest areas still need radical expansion.

 

[Kman101]

"Decent enough"? Lol. I'm glad you're opinion is the minority.

 

[peter11435]

From a business perspective it seems like DAK has received a much needed shot in the arm, but it still needs major expansion. Its roster and guest areas still need radical expansion.

I would argue that DAK is currently the best park at WDW.

 

[Kman101]

I would argue that DAK is currently the best park at WDW.

It is.

It could maybe use a dark ride or two and a replacement for Dinorama but it's come a very long way. Easily my favorite park

 

[Sundown]

I was there last week. I enjoyed Pandora. A few suggestions (if helpful) would be:

- add some more bio-luminescence at night. May interfere with animals at the park? But if not, could enhance a nicely themed land.
- add to River Journey. I prefer slow, dark rides. But I felt I was on a boat ride the whole time. Never really felt enveloped in Pandora. The song the Navi sing was quite annoying, loud and didn't make sense story-wise to the ride.
- Not sure if I saw this correctly, but it seemed the sides of the River Journey weren't sculpted? Can this be right? I felt I saw boat, ride track, sides of river, then sculpted environment. Odd..but it was dark.

Great things:
- Satuli Cantina's food was amazing. Seriously.
- Loved the sound effects in the area, especially the calls from the giant animals in woods.
- Imagineers did great job at perspective for floating rocks. I thought this was a fail from photos. But in person is great.
- There are tons of area of Disney touches.
- Flight of Passage is a great ride.

 

[BrianLo]

Integration with Disney's Animal Kingdom below expectations.

Really, its integration was below your expectations? Weren't those rock bottom to begin with?

You'll have to explain to me again your rationale why it doesn't work, now that I've seen what it actually is. I'm still not fully ready to commit to my final thoughts until I go back, but I couldn't resist...

I honestly was surprised at how well it hews to AK's theme. FOP queue surprised me with how heavy on conservation, sustainability, eco tourism and edutainment it went.

 

[JimW]

add to River Journey. I prefer slow, dark rides. But I felt I was on a boat ride the whole time. Never really felt enveloped in Pandora. The song the Navi sing was quite annoying, loud and didn't make sense story-wise to the ride.

Thanks for your feedback, but I do have a couple of questions to help me better understand your perspective:

• I also share your love of slow, dark rides. However, your second statement is confusing to me. Is there a boat ride at WDW in which you didn't feel like you were in a boat? it's a small world, Splash Mountain, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Living With the Land, Three Caballeros, Frozen Ever After, Kali River Rapids, River Journey... that's the list I came up with. I may have missed a few.
  
• I'll have to disagree with you on the song itself, as I a completely different take on it. Not only did I not find it annoying, but I loved it. However, most people argue (myself included) that the ride itself had no story. What story do you feel that song disrupted?

 

[Rteetz]

Feel and guest areas were below expectations. Integration with Disney's Animal Kingdom below expectations

Feel was below expectations? Wow, I loved the feel of the land. It's so different compared to other things Disney has. Also confused by the second sentence. What do you mean by integration?

 

[DDLand]

I would argue that DAK is currently the best park at WDW.

I would agree with you.

The park needs much more.

Really, its integration was below your expectations? Weren't those rock bottom to begin with?

You'll have to explain to me again your rationale why it doesn't work, now that I've seen what it actually is. I'm still not fully ready to commit to my final thoughts until I go back, but I couldn't resist...

I honestly was surprised at how well it hews to AK's theme. FOP queue surprised me with how heavy on conservation, sustainability, eco tourism and edutainment it went.

Nuanced differences. Story integration I knew was going to be a disaster since day one. Physical discontinuity, or a feeling that it didn't fit right in with the other lands surprised me.

Feel was below expectations? Wow, I loved the feel of the land. It's so different compared to other things Disney has. Also confused by the second sentence. What do you mean by integration?

I'll drop my review tomorrow. It's gonna be flagship.

 

[disney4life2008]

Anyone who questioned disney doing an outstanding job is crazy. The land itsself is truly amazing and when you are in it, you feel like you are in a whole other world.

I first visited at dusk, about an hour before pitch black. I would recommend about 2 hours before night because it is literally pitch black. While the lights are there, it is very dark and the paint on the ground - all are only illuminated because of black lights. Needlesstosay, I was sick to my stomach from being dizzy from the fake stuff and black lights.

FOP - no comment as I cannot fit.

RJ - beautiful ride. I did initially complain it was too short but honestly, after riding it several times now it is a true win. However, I stand by my longstanding critique anyone who would wait more than 20 minutes in line is crazy.

 

[Kman101]

I would agree with you.

The park needs much more.

Nuanced differences. Story integration I knew was going to be a disaster since day one. Physical discontinuity, or a feeling that it didn't fit right in with the other lands surprised me.

I'll drop my review tomorrow. It's gonna be flagship.

Disaster? No. But you're certainly entitled to an opinion lol.

 

[Oddysey]

After recent expansions in Disney World (New Fantasyland) I had low expectations for Pandora, and it exceeded by expectations by a significant margin. The land itself is one of the best themed lands in Orlando, and looks especially great in the daytime. The Navi River Journey is nice, and would have been greatly elevated with two or three more minutes of ride time. Not being a huge fan of Soarin, I had lower expectations for FoP when compared to the Navi River Journey. However, FoP impressed me in a way that a Disney attraction has not impressed in over a decade. All said, Pandora is a greater than anticipated addition to a park that was in great need of new offerings.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Integration with Disney's Animal Kingdom below expectations.

This sounds like preconceived notions clouding your judgement. Pandora's integration into the Animal Kingdom was better than any new land added to an existing park in theme park history. It doesn't mean that it's the best land in theme park history, but as a fit, it's seamless. A direct lift of Mysterious Island would not have fit as well as Pandora does.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Disaster? No. But you're certainly entitled to an opinion lol.

It is now my opinion, that I can judge other opinions to be wrong.

 

[BrianLo]

-Night time, less successful than I thought.
-Daytime more successful.
-Merch is more successful than I thought, albeit primarily the shoulder banshee which was still sold out as of today.
-Food is stellar. Probably one of the best quick serve options on property.
-The general reception to FOP is better than I thought it would be. To be overly reductive it is Soaring 2.0 (if we consider Pirates to be Small world 2.0).
-NRJ is flat for expectations. I liked it better than I think people who rode in the last few weeks were building it down. I also never really waited.

I think the land itself is slightly less of a star than I thought and the attractions more so. It's still one of the all time best looking lands worldwide, but they need to revisit the projection mapping. Tree of life awakenings are far more impressive. Something that isn't that hard of a fix.

 

[beertiki]

I gave it below. We went first in the day, then later at night. My expectations were, FOP would be incredible, River would be good, daytime would be good, and nightI'm would be incredible. FOP, was incredible, expectation, met. River was just OK, a little less than what I expected. Had no desire to ride it two days later. The land in the daytime was good, maybe a little better than I expected. The land at night was very disappointing. We had planned a 2nd night visit there, but went to MK instead.

 

[Scuttle]

I would argue that DAK is currently the best park at WDW.

I agree, it's certainly my park of choice to day drink/leisure at now.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I would argue that DAK is currently the best park at WDW.

It doesn't have the attraction lineup of some other parks, but there's no other park I'd rather be at other than DisneySea.

 

[disneygeek90]

It doesn't have the attraction lineup of some other parks, but there's no other park I'd rather be at other than DisneySea.

I think it could easily be argued that it does have the strongest attraction set currently. Barring MK of course.

 

[Seabasealpha1]

I'm gonna withhold judgement for the moment...I'm off to DL for the first time in about a month. I should be making my return trip to WDW in around 2 years or so...so, my first taste will also include how the attractions/land have taken the abuse...which, if everything is as well maintained as they are now, will be great...

We'll see...

(I'm more hoping that the other aspects of AK that need work (cough, Yeti...cough cough...) will finally get some time/attention to bring the rest of the park up to snuff...)