Pandora... my experience and thoughts.

Allaboutthekids

Allaboutthekids

New Member
sounds like we were lucky, got FP for Navi 30 days out (staying offsite). We arrived for rope drop (at 8am) to ride FOP - after initial surge only waited about 25 minutes in total.

Absolute bonus was that when sat in Y&Y at 4pm, checked mydisneyapp and got FP for FOP for 6pm. advertised wait time was 2.5hrs at that point. Had a pleasant meal then walked over to Pandora.

As per above posters didn't enjoy FOP as much 2nd time round; strange thing was we were held in 'avatar selection room' (sorry don't know correct description) for ages (15 mins), then another 5 minutes actually in ride seat before ride commenced. Started to wonder if it had broken or someone in another room was having difficulties.

that all said, we only get to Orlando every 4/5 years so whole trip was again absolute blast!
 
AmandaS.

AmandaS.

Active Member
Cowboy Steve said:
Egads... AK is on the second full day at the parks... which means all the FP will probably be gone when we hit our 60...
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On our 60 day for our late Aug trip (next week), our AK day was the 4th day of our trip and I was barely able to grab late FPs for flight. All that was left was after 6 pm. They were all completely gone by 7:15 am that day.
 
Cowboy Steve

Cowboy Steve

Well-Known Member
AmandaS. said:
On our 60 day for our late Aug trip (next week), our AK day was the 4th day of our trip and I was barely able to grab late FPs for flight. All that was left was after 6 pm. They were all completely gone by 7:15 am that day.
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Thanks Amanda! Do you know, are the FP reservations the same as ADRs? By that I mean once the first day of your trip hits the 60 days it opens the entire trip for FP reservations? Or will it be each day I will have to log on and make the FP reservations... If so I can be on the computer ready to go at 7am each day... :D
 
AmandaS.

AmandaS.

Active Member
Cowboy Steve said:
Thanks Amanda! Do you know, are the FP reservations the same as ADRs? By that I mean once the first day of your trip hits the 60 days it opens the entire trip for FP reservations? Or will it be each day I will have to log on and make the FP reservations... If so I can be on the computer ready to go at 7am each day... :D
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It should open all the days of your trip, as long as your reservation is an onsite disney resort.
 
danyoung56

danyoung56

Well-Known Member
Another confirmation on this. I just booked FPs for my trip at the end of September, and when the first day opened up, the entire trip opened up.
 
AmandaS.

AmandaS.

Active Member
danyoung56 said:
Another confirmation on this. I just booked FPs for my trip at the end of September, and when the first day opened up, the entire trip opened up.
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I believe there is a limit though on how many days you can get fastpasses, I believe it is 14? But most people aren't going for over 14 days, so it doesn't come up much.
And the limit is 7 days for passholders without on site reservations I think. But I could be worng.
 
JimW

JimW

Premium Member
Have there been any further reports of the Shaman being down? I don't want to cast aspersions on anyone in this thread, but I thought we would have heard widespread reports of this if it were true. Also, if I recall, @marni1971 indicated that the Shaman had a "B-Mode" that would be activated before any outright removal of the AA.

Maybe I'm too jaded regarding internet reports, but until I see proof, I have trouble believing this.
 
marni1971

marni1971

Park History nut
Premium Member
JimW said:
Have there been any further reports of the Shaman being down? I don't want to cast aspersions on anyone in this thread, but I thought we would have heard widespread reports of this if it were true. Also, if I recall, @marni1971 indicated that the Shaman had a "B-Mode" that would be activated before any outright removal of the AA.

Maybe I'm too jaded regarding internet reports, but until I see proof, I have trouble believing this.
Click to expand...
The Shaman B mode is a projection. It was designed in should the Shaman have technical issues. Much like Imoteph in RotM.
 
Courtney6682

Courtney6682

Well-Known Member
I was able to experience both new rides last week and having never seen the movie, my 17 yr old and I were blown away! Whatever they made there was beautiful! We thought the new rides were really well done.
 
I am Timmy

I am Timmy

Well-Known Member
Allaboutthekids said:
sounds like we were lucky, got FP for Navi 30 days out (staying offsite). We arrived for rope drop (at 8am) to ride FOP - after initial surge only waited about 25 minutes in total.

Absolute bonus was that when sat in Y&Y at 4pm, checked mydisneyapp and got FP for FOP for 6pm. advertised wait time was 2.5hrs at that point. Had a pleasant meal then walked over to Pandora.

As per above posters didn't enjoy FOP as much 2nd time round; strange thing was we were held in 'avatar selection room' (sorry don't know correct description) for ages (15 mins), then another 5 minutes actually in ride seat before ride commenced. Started to wonder if it had broken or someone in another room was having difficulties.

that all said, we only get to Orlando every 4/5 years so whole trip was again absolute blast!
Click to expand...
What time did you need to arrive for rope drop? Was that for EMH or regular opening? We're going in Dec., and will have more than one morning in AK, so I'm hoping I can get at least one FP for one of our days.
 
AndrewsJ

AndrewsJ

Well-Known Member
DABIGCHEEZ said:
Having just returned from a week in the World... I have some thoughts on Pandora.

1) Walking into Pandora in late morning... I have to admit the views and scenery throughout Pandora was very impressive.
2) During our trip planning, we were only able to snag FPs for Navi River Journey at the 60 day mark. Having seen the video of this ride online I wasn't expecting much in the way of excitement but the AA Navi looked pretty impressive. Now imagine my frustration when we rode it this past Tuesday only to find a darn video Navi in place of the AA!!! And to think that the only thing remotely worth waiting in line for is the AA... it was a BIG disappointment. I honestly don't think I will ever need to go on this ride ever again.
3) Now as far as the Flight of Passage... the wait times were anywhere from up to 4hrs during our day at AK. No way I was waiting more than 2 hrs. So as we were sitting in the theater waiting for ROL to begin, my son and I (on the recommendation of another guest we were talking to that said " you need to go on it!"), headed over to Pandora to wait in the posted 2.5 hr wait. My wife and daughters stayed to watch ROL and all enjoyed it gave it 2 thumbs up! Anyway, the posted 2.5 hr wait was only actually 1.5 hrs... something I found pretty frequent on this trip was that posted wait times were somewhat inflated on many(not all) attractions. After going through the pre-ride Navi-linking and explanations, I honestly was a bit concerned about if I would be too restricted on the "banshee" to ride. Once on the banshee and "locked" in the seat and feet restraints... I was glad to still be comfortable and not too restrained.
On with the flight...I have to say it was an absolutely amazing ride. My son(18) and I were very impressed and were like this is the best ride of this type in Orlando.
4) Now with EMH started, my wife and daughters found out that only Pandora was open for night EMHs... so they were heading over to meet us. I told them they should really try it and we all waited on line again(about 1.5 hrs) again. My wife ended up chickening out after trying the banshee restraints but being uncomfortable. My daughters(12 and 16) loved it and said it was very good. My son and I, both came to the conclusion that while it is a fantastic ride, it probably is only a once a trip ride as the second time was slightly less thrilling as we knew what to expect...perhaps if they had different Flights that would change. So in our opinions, ride repeatability is nowhere near an Everest, TOT, RnRC, or any Mtn.
5) Pandora at night... we all said it was still very dark and we thought things would be lit up more then it was given all the "bioluminescence" that was discussed. Kind of underwhelmed in this regard for us.

Disclaimer: These are my/our thoughts on our experience in Pandora. You may agree. You may not. And both are fine.
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Although my experience differed a little, I did see the Navi AA, I totally agree with your review. Like you said it's an opinion and we are all entitled to our own but you said it much better than I could without sounding all doom and gloom. Thanks for putting into better words than I could!
 
DABIGCHEEZ

DABIGCHEEZ

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
JimW said:
Have there been any further reports of the Shaman being down? I don't want to cast aspersions on anyone in this thread, but I thought we would have heard widespread reports of this if it were true. Also, if I recall, @marni1971 indicated that the Shaman had a "B-Mode" that would be activated before any outright removal of the AA.

Maybe I'm too jaded regarding internet reports, but until I see proof, I have trouble believing this.
Click to expand...

Um... I guess you are in fact jaded. In recounting my experience at Pandora, why would I make up anything? I just tell it like it is and what I saw.

Anyway, enjoy your dinner...
Eat+Crow.jpg
 
S

Special K

New Member
DABIGCHEEZ said:
Having just returned from a week in the World... I have some thoughts on Pandora.

1) Walking into Pandora in late morning... I have to admit the views and scenery throughout Pandora was very impressive.
2) During our trip planning, we were only able to snag FPs for Navi River Journey at the 60 day mark. Having seen the video of this ride online I wasn't expecting much in the way of excitement but the AA Navi looked pretty impressive. Now imagine my frustration when we rode it this past Tuesday only to find a darn video Navi in place of the AA!!! And to think that the only thing remotely worth waiting in line for is the AA... it was a BIG disappointment. I honestly don't think I will ever need to go on this ride ever again.
3) Now as far as the Flight of Passage... the wait times were anywhere from up to 4hrs during our day at AK. No way I was waiting more than 2 hrs. So as we were sitting in the theater waiting for ROL to begin, my son and I (on the recommendation of another guest we were talking to that said " you need to go on it!"), headed over to Pandora to wait in the posted 2.5 hr wait. My wife and daughters stayed to watch ROL and all enjoyed it gave it 2 thumbs up! Anyway, the posted 2.5 hr wait was only actually 1.5 hrs... something I found pretty frequent on this trip was that posted wait times were somewhat inflated on many(not all) attractions. After going through the pre-ride Navi-linking and explanations, I honestly was a bit concerned about if I would be too restricted on the "banshee" to ride. Once on the banshee and "locked" in the seat and feet restraints... I was glad to still be comfortable and not too restrained.
On with the flight...I have to say it was an absolutely amazing ride. My son(18) and I were very impressed and were like this is the best ride of this type in Orlando.
4) Now with EMH started, my wife and daughters found out that only Pandora was open for night EMHs... so they were heading over to meet us. I told them they should really try it and we all waited on line again(about 1.5 hrs) again. My wife ended up chickening out after trying the banshee restraints but being uncomfortable. My daughters(12 and 16) loved it and said it was very good. My son and I, both came to the conclusion that while it is a fantastic ride, it probably is only a once a trip ride as the second time was slightly less thrilling as we knew what to expect...perhaps if they had different Flights that would change. So in our opinions, ride repeatability is nowhere near an Everest, TOT, RnRC, or any Mtn.
5) Pandora at night... we all said it was still very dark and we thought things would be lit up more then it was given all the "bioluminescence" that was discussed. Kind of underwhelmed in this regard for us.

Disclaimer: These are my/our thoughts on our experience in Pandora. You may agree. You may not. And both are fine.
Click to expand...
I was at the park last Wednesday. Arrived at baggage check around 830am. guests were being let in and everyone was headed to FOP. My family walked on River Journey and we're off before 9am. Walking on vastly improves the ride experience and we all loved it. We had a fastpass for FOP later in the day. We were less thrilled with ROL. I may never see that again.
 
Richards070712

Richards070712

Member
We went for the first time last night and were blown away, especially by FOP. Something interesting to us, we jumped in line with a posed wait time of 195, but we're through the line and off the ride in 85 minutes. Do you think they are posting a higher wait time to scare people away to balance out the crowd?
 

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