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View Full Version : So? Is Pandora worth it?



azcavalier
05-30-2017, 03:42 PM
We've had so many on here complaining over the past few years that the Avatar land was a bad decision, that not enough people liked the movie, etc. Did anyone actually go and experience it yet? How was it? The videos and ride-thru's all look amazing.

We'll be there in September, and I hope that it will have died down a bit by then. I am not going to be in line at 3am to go see it.

kathleen.talamantes.7
05-30-2017, 03:58 PM
We are going in October and are hoping for the same. I understand if you have a fast pass you can go in without waiting so you can arrive for the ride on time.?


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John
05-30-2017, 05:55 PM
Time to crank up the latest INTERCOT Insider Live Podcast... pretty much half the show is dedicated to me going there during 2 press events. The Flight of Passage ride is worth the land alone. Amazing.

joanna71985
05-30-2017, 07:17 PM
I went on Fri, during a soft opening. I had never seen the movie before going. I will say this- the area is beautiful! And Flight of Passage is an *amazing* ride!

imprttuner88
05-30-2017, 09:46 PM
I was there on opening day and left overly impressed with the entire land. It was so well done, simply breathtaking. The attention to detail leaves me overly excited about TSL & SWL openings. ROL was very detailed and according to my recording was over 5 min long and FOP, wow that was amazing! It is now my fav ride in all the parks


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thejens
05-30-2017, 10:59 PM
Pandora is beautiful. It is especially beautiful at night. It really goes with the Animal Kingdom environmental theme and I believe it will continue to be a popular attraction regardless of whatever happens with the movies. If you can fastpass the attractions I would think they are worth it. We had a fastpass for Flight of Passage and it was amazing. Soarin' on Steroids. Beautiful and thrilling. We were not willing to wait for hours to experience Navi River Journey. We tried to see Rivers of Light but it got rained out. i feel a bit sad that we had one day in AK and missed two of the Pandora attractions, but can't understand how anyone would wait for hours for a ride that lasts minutes. So for us, with a fast pass, the attractions are worth it. For Disney, judging by the lines of people willing to stand in line for 5 hours, it was worth it for them I guess. For overall guest experience??? I wish they could design attractions that a normal family could enjoy with out months of preparation. I witnessed many families entering the parks at around 11:00 a.m looking at maps to figure out where Pandora was and felt sorry for them.

savafan
05-31-2017, 12:12 PM
Has the wait just to get into the land gone down any?

With a 4-5 hour standby line, what is the fastpass wait like for the 2 attractions? I have fastpasses scheduled for both in 2 weeks, and am curious as to what to expect.

j2k
05-31-2017, 03:02 PM
I went on Fri, during a soft opening. I had never seen the movie before going. I will say this- the area is beautiful! And Flight of Passage is an *amazing* ride!

I was there Friday too but did not wait in line to ride either. The land is beautiful. I tried to go again in the evening but Pandora was closed by then.

AgentC
05-31-2017, 05:49 PM
Has the wait just to get into the land gone down any?

With a 4-5 hour standby line, what is the fastpass wait like for the 2 attractions? I have fastpasses scheduled for both in 2 weeks, and am curious as to what to expect.


I had FP on Sunday which was the second day Pandora was officially opened. I think the wait time in the morning was about 240 minutes. The stand by wait time was 120 minutes when it was time for our FP. The lower stand by time may be because it was during lunch time.

We had no wait at all until we got to the staging area right before the pre show. Like Soarin, your wait time from there depends on when you arrive versus where in the ride cycle they are. We waited for maybe 5 minutes.

joonyer
05-31-2017, 06:05 PM
The longest I have ever waited in a stand-by line for any Disney attraction is 90 minutes. Yes, it was a long time ago, when the parks were reportedly much less crowded that they are these days. (but does anybody really know for sure, with no official numbers being released?). And it was before we knew how to use FPs. On the other hand, we went as a family as recently as Christmas week 2014, when the parks were insanely crowded, but by using FP and getting to the parks early we were able to ride all our favorites, including 7DMT, which was the brand-new most-popular ride at the time, and TSM, without ever waiting more than 60 minutes. There's no way I would stand in line for 3 plus hours to ride any Disney attraction, the park tickets are too costly to waste that much of a park-day in line, especially when it's not necessary. I'm looking forward to riding FoP, and the rest of Pandora, but I'll use a FP or get there at park opening and then do other stuff. If that many people are in line for FOP (4-5 hours worth) then the lines for EE must be shorter than usual!

BrerGnat
06-01-2017, 11:29 AM
This ride also has a single rider line, but I have not heard any reports of what wait times are like for that option. Worth keeping in mind though, since this isn't really the type of attraction where you sit "with" others. It's a pretty individual experience so I imagine splitting up won't be an issue for a lot of groups.

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Mendelson
06-01-2017, 11:55 AM
I see the wait for the Safari is currently 10 minutes. Figured this was the Pandora effect, but then I see that Kali is 50 (!?)

Speedy1998
06-01-2017, 12:33 PM
If that many people are in line for FOP (4-5 hours worth) then the lines for EE must be shorter than usual!

Amen to that. It would be nice to see EE with a reasonable standby wait time.

ThanxForNoticin
06-01-2017, 12:42 PM
I see the wait for the Safari is currently 10 minutes. Figured this was the Pandora effect, but then I see that Kali is 50 (!?)

Sure - it's 90s and humid. I'd rather be on Kali today!

TikiLounger
06-03-2017, 09:02 AM
I'm so excited for this ride! I can't schedule my Fast Passes until the beginning of Sept, but it's first on my list. I must confess that I'm getting a bit anxious about it. Booking fast passes in advance really stresses me out!

TikiLounger
06-03-2017, 09:03 AM
Oh...and it's good to know there's a single rider line. We have no problem riding alone, if we have to.

ThanxForNoticin
06-06-2017, 12:26 PM
We had the opportunity to visit Pandora over the weekend, and I must agree - we were not disappointed. The area is beautiful, and completely different when you visit at night than when you visit during the day. I'd highly recommend doing both at some point. The "land" they have built is stunning.

Thankfully, the craziness of opening weekend had calmed a bit (there were no lines just to get into Pandora!), but the crowds were there, and the lines for both "Flight" and the river ride were very long. For those of you asking about the single-rider line, they did not appear to be using it for Flight at this time. With wait times averaging between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 hours, I don't think they're using single riders yet.

Fortunately for us, we had a FP+ for both attractions (on different days, of course). Flight of the Avatar for us was just awesome. It is so well done, fun, and didn't cause us any motion issues. I think the comparison to a cross of Soarin and Star Tours is very accurate. And for as popular as Soarin is, we think this is much better. The technology is better and the feel of the attraction is amazing - I guess time will tell! Flight is something I have just got to get back to do again as soon as possible.

We also agree with the reviews about the Na'vi River Journey. It's a beautiful ride and definitely something to see, but it's short and not the thrill attraction Flight is. But then, it wasn't intended to be a thrill attraction! But the music and lights and technology are really interesting.

The thing we were most disappointed about (and this might sound odd)? The souvenir selection was very blah. We thought there might be some much nicer options for such a big new land, but we didn't see much of anything we wanted. But the shops were full and there were lines at the registers, so they're probably doing just fine with the merchandise they're selling!

One thing is very clear - Pandora has bumped the attendance for Animal Kingdom since its opening. Whether that continues remains to be seen, but it was very busy.

DisneyFan1979
06-08-2017, 11:48 AM
I visited Animal Kingdom this past Sun (6/4) and Mon (6/5). On Sun I arrived around 1:30/2:00 and went right to Pandora to walk around; there was no line to enter the area and Pandora itself had the usual feel of a moderate day at the park in terms of crowds. It actually had a calm feel because everyone seemed to be slowly taking in the amazing scenery. I returned to Pandora for a 5:45 Fast Pass for the river journey, our fast pass wait was maybe 3 minutes. The river journey is beautiful and is a lovely attraction that anyone (young or old) can go on and enjoy. I believe the standby wait at the time was about 80 minutes.

On Monday, I arrived at the park just before 8pm and went right to Pandora to experience the lighting effects beginning to turn on. It was very cool. Again, not overly crowded. I left to go experience the Safari ride in the dark and then returned at about 9pm. When I went into Pandora that time I went by way of Africa (past the Lion King show)--that entrance is breathtaking and relaxing--as you get nearer to Pandora more and more trees sparkle. And Pandora itself at night is really a sight to see. I think anyone, regardless of whether you've seen the movie, can appreciate it. I've actually only watched about 1/3 of the movie, it was enough to understand the basic premise for Pandora at AK.