Na'vi River Journey

Angela63

Earning My Ears
Joined
Aug 1, 2016
I would like to speak out in defense of this attraction despite the much naysaying regarding its brevity. I recently waited in line for an hour for this ride. This is the longest I've ever waited for anything at WDW, as I'm an old pro at rope drops and Fastpass strategies. I just want to point out that it is visually stunning and the Na'vi shaman featured is the single most amazing work of animatronics I've ever seen. The ride is a work of art and not to be missed!
 
I highly enjoyed the ride for what it is. I think the hate is somewhat gets is because people are comparing it to FOP which should not be done. It is it’s own thing and done well and is beautiful. With that said, I also would not wait an hour for it personally
 


I highly enjoyed the ride for what it is. I think the hate is somewhat gets is because people are comparing it to FOP which should not be done. It is it’s own thing and done well and is beautiful. With that said, I also would not wait an hour for it personally

I agree with this. I don't think people "hate" it as much as it seems, people just don't find it that interesting compared to FOP. It is quite beautiful and really well done, but it's certainly not a thrill ride like FOP or some of the other rides in AK. Plus, there were just the two new rides that opened in Pandora, which was a much talked about and advertised new area. So when people ride it and see that it's just a boat ride through Avatar scenery, it leads to disappointment.
 
I wouldn’t wait an hour, but there’s maybe only two rides on the entire property I’d ever consider waiting an hour for. I do agree though that it’s gorgeous and definitely worth seeing.
 


I'm a fan as well. The musical score in NRJ sets the background music for most of the other areas of Pandora, and it sets the mood for the whole land, IMO. And, yes the AA Shaman is fantastic, she is still the most complex one they've made yet. I've always ridden it at rope drop right after FoP or with a FP, so the wait doesn't really factor in for me.
 
DW and I took DS last year, he was 4 1/2 months old and absolutely loved it. I think the only thing about it that is a bummer is the rumors that it was supposed to be longer and have a drop similar to FEA. Not sure how founded those rumors are but it always is in the back of my mind when riding it because we do like it a lot and adding some more to it would have just made it even more amazing.
 
We rope dropped it (doing that it was walk on) and really enjoyed it. We did a last minute trip, so a fastpass for FOP was out of the question (unavailable) and lines were just way to long (weren't going to wait that long). So for us, this was a nice way to get a little taste of Avatar land.
 
I really like it, but I also enjoy IASW, and I basically think this ride is a fancy version of IASW - classic boat dark ride. My kids (10, 13) tolerate it, and my mother prefers it, but my wife would never do it if she had to wait more than 10 minutes (we always rope drop FOP and then head over to Navi). Certainly worth doing, just maybe not worth a long wait for thrill seekers.
 
I've decided recently that a *small* amount of narration would help the attraction. Perhaps "dialogue" is a better term than "narration".
Totally agree. It is absolutely beautiful but as we were riding, I kept feeling like something should be about to happen—some story, or song, or...something—but it never did. It was like the queue to a ride....maybe I should just consider it the extended queue to FOP. LOL
 
My husband and I love it. This was the last ride of our trip, which seemed to be the perfect ending. It is so serene and beautiful. I was shocked after reading all of the bad reviews here. I was prepared for disappointment, but just fell in love with it.
 
NRJ and Safari are the only 2 rides we do at AK - we are both very susceptible to motion sickness so we don’t do FOP. I think the ride is just beautiful..
 
I agree, and have since the beginning. Na'vi, in my opinion, is a visually stunning ride, perhaps the most beautiful ride I've ever been on. I absolutely would not go to AK without riding it at least once.
 
It's a nice ride. Most of the hate I have seen isn't that the ride is bad, but that people are disappointed that they waited so long for it. Had they waited a more reasonable time, I think they wouldn't lash out as much.

Frankly, I feel that was Disney's fault. There is a lot they could have done with the queue to make the wait feel shorter. There is much they could have done with the ride capacity so that it could handle more people. There is a lot they could have done with the ride to make it feel more worth the wait.
 

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