Is Na'vi River Journey worth it?

supamaki

Drinkin' around the world!
Joined
Jan 10, 2001
I watched a video of the ride and it seems a little boring. Is it worth the hassle or a Fastpass?
 
A FP isn't really a hassle. If you aren't planning to use the FP on FOP, I would use one on NRJ just to try it once at least.
 
Worth riding - yes, once. Worth waiting for - not for long. Worth using a FP+ - only if you can't get (or for some reason can't ride) FoP.

We rode it last week because we couldn't get a FP+ for FoP on our first AK day. The ride is beautiful, but there's not much to it except the pretty scenery. And frankly, Pandora at night is so pretty that you'd be better off just wandering around after dark than you would waiting in line for Na'vi River. It's not fair to compare it in any way to FoP but that ride is amazing.
 
I watched a video of the ride and it seems a little boring. Is it worth the hassle or a Fastpass?

Given that you have to choose between Navi or Flights of Passage, I'd choose FoP if at all possible.

If FoP isn't available, then pick Navi.

Navi is a slow boat ride. It's very pretty, and if you enjoy that sort of thing, you'll like it very much. I loved it, personally. But, you know, I also love Living with the Land over in Epcot.

If there are other rides you'd rather go on, then try to get Navi as your fourth fastpass, or hop in line for it about 10 minutes before park close. I don't think any ride is worth waiting more than 30 minutes in line for, but at park close the estimated wait times tend to be inflated. With no fastpass returns coming in, the line will move quickly.

You should try to ride it at least once. YouTube videos can make almost anything look awful. You won't know if you really like it, until you try it.
 


I think it is a very lively ride. They did a great job with really making you feel like you are in that world, with projections and movement and the animatronic at the end. However I do agree that it is too short.

If you aren’t going to get a Flight of Passage FP, I would go ahead and get the river journey one. I did have luck on a previous trip with getting a same-day fastpass so that is a possibility. But i wouldn’t bother waiting for longer than 20-30 minutes.
 
Riding it twice in a row with no wait at RD was worth it. We just walked in around park opening time as we had a FOP FP for 9:30am.

Waiting an hour or more - no.
 
We we just at Animal Kingdom yesterday. We had a fast pass for River Journey and the posted wait time was 205. When we finished we were stunned that anyone would wait 205 for that ride. FOP is another story!
 


We we just at Animal Kingdom yesterday. We had a fast pass for River Journey and the posted wait time was 205. When we finished we were stunned that anyone would wait 205 for that ride. FOP is another story!

I wouldn't wait 205 minutes for FoP, either!
 
Given that you have to choose between Navi or Flights of Passage, I'd choose FoP if at all possible.

I agree.

If FoP isn't available, then pick Navi.

I agree again.

I watched a video of the ride and it seems a little boring. Is it worth the hassle or a Fastpass?

It is a pretty traditional dark ride. I like dark rides, and like this one as well. It isn't as good, IMHO, as Small World or Under the Sea.

It is worth doing, yes. How long should you wait in stand-by for it? That depends on how long the stand-by lines are for other attractions.
 
We got a free FP to any ride because my wife queued with me 2+ hours for FoP but didn't ride because she was 2 mo. pregnant. An awesome CM felt bad for her and gave us FOUR FP's to be used anytime the rest of the day in AK. So we used two of those and went on Na'vi. I liked the ride; we got right on. I would have been very disappointed had we waited any longer than 45 min.
 
Worth it if you get a FP at nighttime, the queue is so pretty when it's dark out. My baby loved the ride, was pointing things out and dancing to the music. Worth it just for the memory of his delight.
 
We we just at Animal Kingdom yesterday. We had a fast pass for River Journey and the posted wait time was 205. When we finished we were stunned that anyone would wait 205 for that ride. FOP is another story!

This. One thousand times this. I like the ride, but I would not wait more than twenty mins. for it. And that is pushing it.
 
We loved it... even more than FOP. I would absolutely wait for it again well before waiting for FOP...
 
I like the ride, though I think it could use a little more to it. It's totally worth riding at least once, though I wouldn't wait in an extremely long line for it. 30 minutes and under seems reasonable.
 
It's a nice dark ride, but not as engaging as I think it should be. I'd realistically wait 20 minutes for it or make sure I have FP. It really needed more actual animatronics IMO but I know it was the victim of budget cuts.
 
If you don't want to ride on Flights of Passage then get a fastpass for it. If you can get into Na'vi without waiting much longer than 20 minutes then try it without the fastpass. I couldn't bring myself to suggest waiting longer for it. Generally, most disappointment results from the short length of the ride, so if you think a short dark ride (although its pretty) isn't a good payoff for waiting a long time, you won't want to.
 

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