Pandora... my experience and thoughts.

[Keith2426]

Pandora is a very nice addition to the Animal Kingdom. This park certainly needed a big addition to make it a full day park. Flight of Passage has become one of my top five favorite attractions in all of WDW. Well worth the wait in my opinion. I agree with an earlier post that it appears that the wait times are exaggerated and I've never waited anywhere close to the posted wait times. If you can't get a fast pass and you want to go on this attraction I highly recommend getting to the park an hour before the park opening time and heading right to FOP.
I wasn't overly impressed with the Navi River Journey. It is a very short ride and the repeatability factor is very low, especially with the very long lines. After over four years of planning I would have thought they could have come up with a better attraction. Not quite sure why they made it so short and the boats so small. The queue is very slow moving and can be a nightmare during the day due to the heat factor.
The land itself is visually stunning by day and amazing at night, especially when it first opened. From what I've been told Disney received numerous complaints about how dark it was in Pandora and they decided to add light to the walkways. I completely understand the safety and liability aspects of dark walkways but these new lights have completely detracted from the nighttime experience of Pandora. I was shocked about how much these lights have taken away from the overall nighttime theming of this land. It has completely changed the experience. I'm curious to see if anyone shares my sentiment on this and if anyone has noticed the difference.

 

[scubacruiser]

Pandora is a very nice addition to the Animal Kingdom. This park certainly needed a big addition to make it a full day park. Flight of Passage has become one of my top five favorite attractions in all of WDW. Well worth the wait in my opinion. I agree with an earlier post that it appears that the wait times are exaggerated and I've never waited anywhere close to the posted wait times. If you can't get a fast pass and you want to go on this attraction I highly recommend getting to the park an hour before the park opening time and heading right to FOP.
I wasn't overly impressed with the Navi River Journey. It is a very short ride and the repeatability factor is very low, especially with the very long lines. After over four years of planning I would have thought they could have come up with a better attraction. Not quite sure why they made it so short and the boats so small. The queue is very slow moving and can be a nightmare during the day due to the heat factor.
The land itself is visually stunning by day and amazing at night, especially when it first opened. From what I've been told Disney received numerous complaints about how dark it was in Pandora and they decided to add light to the walkways. I completely understand the safety and liability aspects of dark walkways but these new lights have completely detracted from the nighttime experience of Pandora. I was shocked about how much these lights have taken away from the overall nighttime theming of this land. It has completely changed the experience. I'm curious to see if anyone shares my sentiment on this and if anyone has noticed the difference.

Hello, New to this forum.....I totally agree. We were impressed with the Pandora grounds and went to the flight ride first and were blown away...waited about 90 minutes which was under their posted wait time of 120 minutes. Then made the mistake of going over to the Navi river journey where it was posted at 80 minutes. We waited, and waited, and waited over 2.5 hours and once you''re in line you hate to leave. We were hoping for a fantastic experience that never arrived. Disney should be ashamed of themselves for releasing that under-whelming dog of a ride. We and alot of others were angry at their inept handling of the long lines for a totally mediocre experience. Fortunately, we had a FP given to us for the flight ride and we went back over with no wait and were blown away again. Wait times to go on three rides over 4 hours. Even if they got a real Shaman for the river journey, we wouldn't go again!

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.

 

[scubacruiser]

It's unfortunate that Navi River has that long of a line, but it's a ride Animal Kingdom desperately needed, a nice releaxing "Filler" dark ride that the entire family can enjoy. It'll be a nice experience in a few years when the newish of it dies down.

Hello, Well, I highly disagree...its a 7 minute ride that sucks the life out of the experience with the super long wait. If it was a 15 minute wait it might be worth it but anything over 30 minutes is a huge waste for that short of a trip. Patrons are tired, angry and voicing their displeasure by the time they make it to the ride. That's not what the park should be about. I really feel that Disney cheated me out of 2.5 hours of my remaining lifetime. On the other hand, the Avatar flight ride is a huge thumbs up. I wish I could say it makes up for the river ride but that is not the case.

 

[Keith2426]

I completely agree that the Animal Kingdom was in need of a dark ride and another indoor attraction to get out of the heat for a bit. The lack of forethought to build a seven minute attraction with boats, which only seat eight guests doesn't make any sense. Then you add a very long outdoor queue in the Florida heat makes for a very lackluster, underwhelming experience. I can't imagine waiting for over an hour and not being able to see the only highlight of the attraction because isn't working properly. Like I stated earlier, after more than four years of planning and construction I would have expected much much more from this attraction. Just my humble opinion.

 

[Snake]

1 and a half rides and calling it a land? I was not impressed for how long they spent to make this land, I was expecting a lot more brilliant light and glowing effects at night, like the fiber optics woven into the concrete at epcot. I didn't see much light at night. The boat ride was strange and forgettable, the Flight of passage was interesting but I feel like they didn't quite make it thrilling enough, like the Unviersal Gringots ride, so much potential and fell short. They better keep adding rides to this land, how about a military mech ride? Then again they might close FOP to do it.)
Due to the ridiculous wait times, we waited until 20 min before the park closed, then got in line for flight of passage. We missed the new closing show for animal Kingdom, and it took an hour and 45 min, but we got to ride it.

 

[disneygeek90]

Hello, Well, I highly disagree...its a 7 minute ride that sucks the life out of the experience with the super long wait. If it was a 15 minute wait it might be worth it but anything over 30 minutes is a huge waste for that short of a trip. Patrons are tired, angry and voicing their displeasure by the time they make it to the ride. That's not what the park should be about. I really feel that Disney cheated me out of 2.5 hours of my remaining lifetime. On the other hand, the Avatar flight ride is a huge thumbs up. I wish I could say it makes up for the river ride but that is not the case.

No one forces you to wait, and Disney can't exactly control how many people are lining up to ride a 4 minute boat ride. While it's not a headliner ride, I find the NRJ a nice addition to the park. As time goes on, I'm sure we will see this consistently in a more manageable 30-45 min wait.

 

[scubacruiser]

It's simple. I think as time goes by, the word will spread and less and less people will want to waste their valuable time on this sub-par attraction. Social media feedback spreads faster than wildfire.

 

[yaksplat]

No we were not able to get FPs for FOP at 60 days, only Navi River Journey was available.

I couldn't get FP for FOP 60 days out. I was there on the 26th and we got to the park 45 min before opening. We were greeted with a 3.5 hour wait for FOP. We bailed on it and went on the river journey even though we had FP for it an hour later. I thought the river ride was just okay. It was beautiful and very immersive, but there was no story. All of the dark rides generally have a story, but this was just, you're going down the river at night. Enjoy how cool it looks.

I will agree that Pandora makes AK a full day park now. If only they'd rip out that dino carnival embarrassment and put a real land there that's worth spending time at outside of dinosaur.

 

[twebber55]

1 and a half rides and calling it a land? I was not impressed for how long they spent to make this land, I was expecting a lot more brilliant light and glowing effects at night, like the fiber optics woven into the concrete at epcot. I didn't see much light at night. The boat ride was strange and forgettable, the Flight of passage was interesting but I feel like they didn't quite make it thrilling enough, like the Unviersal Gringots ride, so much potential and fell short. They better keep adding rides to this land, how about a military mech ride? Then again they might close FOP to do it.)
Due to the ridiculous wait times, we waited until 20 min before the park closed, then got in line for flight of passage. We missed the new closing show for animal Kingdom, and it took an hour and 45 min, but we got to ride it.

if im not mistaken there are two rides there
navi river journey and flight of passage

 

[djkidkaz]

NRJ works well in the sense that it is good if you've got a family with fast passes for FOP and you have small kids who can't ride, NRJ gives mom and the small kids something to do while waiting for the rest of the family to get off FOP.

I don't agree that this makes AK a full day park. It's getting close but needs another couple rides and possibly another large animal exhibit walking trail.

 

[scubacruiser]

NRJ works well in the sense that it is good if you've got a family with fast passes for FOP and you have small kids who can't ride, NRJ gives mom and the small kids something to do while waiting for the rest of the family to get off FOP.

I don't agree that this makes AK a full day park. It's getting close but needs another couple rides and possibly another large animal exhibit walking trail.

At least you'll know where mom and the kids will be...still waiting in line at NRJ, hot and upset....when you get done with FOP once maybe twice. Concerning AK in general, there are more ice cream vendors than animals in the park. A good zoo attraction it isn't. It is a fantastic place to buy worthless but expensive trinkets and WDW junk.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Concerning AK in general, there are more ice cream vendors than animals in the park. A good zoo attraction it isn't. It is a fantastic place to buy worthless but expensive trinkets and WDW junk.

Ouch. Funny 'cause it's true.

As for NRJ - in time the lines will become more realistic. A reasonable dark ride, slightly underwhelming but doesn't need major scorn either. Pretty and relaxing. Although it lacks story and intent. And even a few good tableaux. Even the queue isn't all that great, although miles better then Kali, NRJ's opposite, which is all great queue and barren ride.

 

[Prototype82]

From what I've been told Disney received numerous complaints about how dark it was in Pandora and they decided to add light to the walkways. I completely understand the safety and liability aspects of dark walkways but these new lights have completely detracted from the nighttime experience of Pandora. I was shocked about how much these lights have taken away from the overall nighttime theming of this land. It has completely changed the experience. I'm curious to see if anyone shares my sentiment on this and if anyone has noticed the difference.

Man, people really do ruin everything. When were these put in place?

 

[TheGhostWithTheMost]

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?

Disney over-posts almost all their wait times over 20minutes because Disney would rather over-post a wait time than have a bunch of angry slack jawed guests who can't figure out why it said they were going to wait 30minutes but they actually waited 35!

 

[Prototype82]

I'm genuinely concerned...is the new pandora lighting that bad/distracting? It was so dream-like with nothing but the bioluminescence...

 

[WDWFREAK53]

Let me start out by saying that I love Pandora. Flight of Passage is one of the best attractions in Orlando and is perfect for the park. The River Journey was pretty but with little substance...it's a nice filler attraction that the park needs more of. I wish the Shaman was a storyteller that could be heard throughout the ride telling the folklore of the land with projection-mapping effects that would show the rebirth after the military left the area in ruins. The Canteen is great and definitely my favorite QS restaurant...it's now a "must-visit." The land itself fits beautifully among the other lands and feels very unique but also "familiar" at the same time. Even though the Animal Kingdom is set on Earth and Pandora isn't...there isn't a severe juxtaposition...it flows rather elegantly.

What I wish the land had/offered but haven't...and hopefully they can add in the future...
1. There is a severe lack of "life" in the land. The plantlife is great, but what about the Na'Vi? The incredible creatures of Pandora? The only real creatures you see are in the attractions (aside from the spitting fishlike creatures). I'd love to see some of those giant "rhino-esque" creatures grazing off to the side, Na'Vi walking around, even animals projected through the trees. How about as you cross the bridge, you see animals drinking along the river?

2. The lackluster nighttime experience. It is pretty...but did I miss the footprints that lit up under your feet? I know they showed them prior to the land opening when they were testing out some of the tech.

3. Easier storytelling throughout the land. For those that don't know the movie well (or at all), the land is just pretty but I don't think the story comes across clear. Lands like "Frontierland" are very vague...you're tossed in a time of the old west. Yes, there are stories that you can find as you dive deeper into the land but it's enjoyable just as a land set back in the old west. With Pandora, a specific series of events have led to what you see all around you and it would be nice to have the storytelling there so more people would be able to enjoy the little details that the land provides.

 

[clarabellej]

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.

Sorry, I know it’s been a while since you posted, but just have a question.

I just got my FPs for an upcoming trip in March & I was so anxious to get the FOP FPs, since they seem to be hard to get. I was able to get 1 Na’vi River and 3 FOPs.

We will be there for 6 days and have park hopper tickets.

My FOPs FP happen to be 3 mornings in a row Days 4 5 & 6.

I chose multiples since they were available and also out of fear we would be so thrilled with the ride and then not have any chance of riding again due to long lines.

So the question is: should I keep all 3 FPs or as someone suggested on another forum, drop one and change that day for another park?

I was so excited to get them & although I can see the logic, a.m. afraid once I drop it, I will regret having done so.

So, is it that great of a ride, that I will want to ride 3 times?

Glad to hear that night at Pandora is no biggie. That was my only regret, that we would hop to another park after lunch and not see Pandora at night.

Your opinion on this will really help me with my itinerary. Thanks!!

 

[I am Timmy]

Why would you drop any? If you want to go to another park after you are done in Pandora, you can. We rode it multiple times on a recent trip, and could've ridden it more. I don't know if you'll end up loving it as much as we did, but if you do, you will regret dropping them. They are so hard to get, take the win!

 

[clarabellej]

Why would you drop any? If you want to go to another park after you are done in Pandora, you can. We rode it multiple times on a recent trip, and could've ridden it more. I don't know if you'll end up loving it as much as we did, but if you do, you will regret dropping them. They are so hard to get, take the win!

I agree with “take the win.” If after we ride that first time, we don’t love it, we can always make last minute adjustments to our FPs. My only concern at this point is, I have an ADR for BOG at MK for 1:20. With FOP window opening at I believe 11:35. Is that nuts or can we easily make our BOG lunch? I am unused to park hopping since FP+ & even less used to hopping from AK to MK. We are Disney bus riders. Hoping we can just use buses to hop as I am unfamiliar with Uber.

 

[jaklgreen]

I agree with “take the win.” If after we ride that first time, we don’t love it, we can always make last minute adjustments to our FPs. My only concern at this point is, I have an ADR for BOG at MK for 1:20. With FOP window opening at I believe 11:35. Is that nuts or can we easily make our BOG lunch? I am unused to park hopping since FP+ & even less used to hopping from AK to MK. We are Disney bus riders. Hoping we can just use buses to hop as I am unfamiliar with Uber.

You will love the ride. It is the best ride out there now IMO.