Thoughts on Animal Kingdom’s Pandora

[disneyholic family]

thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts!!
similarly, i was so against the new fireworks show at MK..
but after watching the Dis video of it (about 20 times), i definitely think it was a brilliant move by disney..
it's all so exciting...
and i was also rather negative about this whole avatar thing, so it's great to know i was wrong on that too!!!!
we can't wait to be there in august!!! so many new and wonderful attractions!!!!

.

 

[lifepaused]

I will be at DW in September and I am so looking forward to the area. All the vids I have watched make it seem so brilliant. I was a dissapointed that the river ride was only 3 minutes long, but I am sure I will enjoy it. AK is my first park on my holiday and hopefully the crowds would of lessened by September as well.

 

[wfjeff]

Thanks for your greatly informative and detailed post. Either your secretly a paid member of the pr staff of Disney or that land is really gonna be something truely amazing

Thanks again and looking forward to checking it out for ourselves in Dec

 

[beesly]

I’ve long been of the opinion that the Avatar franchise is an ill fit for Animal Kingdom park, with it’s emphasis on actual, REAL animals from our past and present.
...
Now that I’ve visited Disney's Animal Kingdom’s newest land (replacing Camp Minnie-Mickey, which was originally intended to be a placeholder for Disney’s salute to mythical creatures, Beastly Kingdom; a wonderful idea we will, sadly, never see realized), I can honestly say my opinion hasn’t changed; Pandora would be more at home at Hollywood Studios, Disney’s home for cinematic magic. So the question remains: how is Pandora?

 

[Planogirl]

One ride is only three minutes long? Wow, that's surprising.

I'm looking forward to walking around the area though. It looks so interesting.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I'm thinking I will have to pass on Flight. Star Tours made me ill. I'm wondering if Dramamine will help.

 

[AllieBoo]

Great review, thanks for sharing! We are going in June and I can't wait to experience Pandora. I have FP for Navi, but we are hoping to ride FOP standby at some point, although I am worried about it making me sick. I can ride Star Tours, but have to close my eyes at some points. Is it comparable to or more intense than Star Tours?

 

[TXDisneyFan1]

Great review, thanks for sharing! We are going in June and I can't wait to experience Pandora. I have FP for Navi, but we are hoping to ride FOP standby at some point, although I am worried about it making me sick. I can ride Star Tours, but have to close my eyes at some points. Is it comparable to or more intense than Star Tours?

I would also like to know if FOP is similar to Star Tours in that it will make people sick who can't take those types of simulator rides. (I have no trouble with Soarin', but Star Tours leaves me queasy.) I know it is difficult to predict how people will tolerate a ride because everyone is so different, but I would like to get as many perspectives as possible.

I'm trying to decide if we should get a second fast pass for FOP on our second AK day.

By the way, thanks for the great review! You included lots of useful information.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

I'm thinking I will have to pass on Flight. Star Tours made me ill. I'm wondering if Dramamine will help.

I'm wondering the same thing. In fact, I think my plan will be to FP the river ride and then get in line for FoP right before closing. That way if I get sick it won't ruin the whole evening.

 

[bumbershoot]

Given what you bolded, I think the conclusion I came to is what you're wondering about. The "it's" in the sentence refers to AK, not Pandora. AKA "...with AK's emphasis on actual, REAL animals"

 

[dkostel]

I rode FOP today and was a bit queasy when I got off. I have no problem with star tours and I can ride mission space, both sides. Having said that it as awesome otherwise.

 

[Farro]

I rode FOP today and was a bit queasy when I got off. I have no problem with star tours and I can ride mission space, both sides. Having said that it as awesome otherwise.

Is it the screen? If I start to feel sick, will closing my eyes help or is it the motion of the vehicle?

I'm going to be taking Bonine for the duration of the trip - we were on cruise that was beyond rocky and I never felt sick once while people were not so lucky all around me! Hopefully it will help for FOP, I don't want to miss it.

 

[dkostel]

I'm not sure, I would imagine closing your eyes would help because I don't think the actual motion was that intense.

 

[Cinderella94]

Given what you bolded, I think the conclusion I came to is what you're wondering about. The "it's" in the sentence refers to AK, not Pandora. AKA "...with AK's emphasis on actual, REAL animals"

I think PP meant that it's interesting that OP didn't think AK was a good fit for Pandora because AK celebrates real actual animals, which Pandora is not. But then OP goes on to say that it would have been wonderful to see Beastly Kingdom, a land of fictitious animals, come to fruition. Those seem like mutually exclusive thoughts.

At least, that's how I interpreted it.

 

[beesly]

I think PP meant that it's interesting that OP didn't think AK was a good fit for Pandora because AK celebrates real actual animals, which Pandora is not. But then OP goes on to say that it would have been wonderful to see Beastly Kingdom, a land of fictitious animals, come to fruition. Those seem like mutually exclusive thoughts.

At least, that's how I interpreted it.

Bingo!

 

[Cinemaxwell]

Star Tours has made me queasy a few times (though I still ride it often.) Flight of Passage did not make me nauseous at all. Of course, I suspect that this will be a case by case basis but I found the movement on FoP very fluid whereas Star Tours is more herky-jerky.

 

[RumpleMom]

I rode both Pandora rides on May 13. Flight of Passage was amazing! I did not need to close my eyes at all. In comparison, I have to close my eyes for parts of Star Tours. The movement of ST is more intense. FoP is very smooth, think of an enhanced Soarin' experience. I can't ride the teacups, just fyi.

You are seated individually on a "motorcycle" like vehicle. You are told to lean all the way forward, so your chest is against the front bar. The back of the vehicle then comes up against your back. Your knees are against a pad and then another part comes behind your calf. You are leaning forward holding onto a handle with both hands. You are very secure. You aren't going to fall off. You do not rise into the air like Soarin'.

If watching the screen bothers you, just close your eyes. Your physical movement is not intense or jarring.

I don't want to explain the cool enhancements, but they are amazing. I just want to explain the vehicle because this is what concerned me the most before I rode it.

I hope they have random films, like ST, in the future.

 

[jlovesee]

We just went today, I was a little worried about Flights of Passage, but it didn't bother me at all, for comparison I don't ride Everest because of the backwards section, but Star Tours doesn't bother me, I also no longer ride the large B&M looping coasters, think Hulk and Dueling Dragons because they now bother me too. I wasn't queasy at all, the image and movement line up perfectly, it is an AMAZING ride, like Soarin' BUT BETTER. I also agree that the detail is spectacular, though I am worried a little as to the size of the area, it really isn't huge, size wise. I am a little worried what it will be like with the crowds. The River adventure ride was good, but nothing spectacular, it almost seemed kind of short. In the end, I would easily wait for Flights of Passage, but would pass on the River Adventure unless there was no wait. We ate at the counter service place, and thought the food was a little adventurous, which is a good thing, tasted great, no complaints.

I loved the combination of tropical real plants, and the "fake" Navi plants, I can't wait to see this all at night, I'm sure it will be amazing. I wondered about the floating mountains from seeing them outside of the park, but amazingly, it works.

I also had questions as to how Pandora would work, I mean a section based off a movie made 5+ years ago? I don't have any questions anymore, it's beautiful, and I think it fits into the Animal Kingdom theme very well. It's a great addition to the park.

Jennifer

 

[ols386]

I'm told the Imagineers deliberately crafted the area so Guests wouldn't need to be familiar with the film to enjoy it.

I've seen the movie and loved it, but am glad to hear this.

 

[jason10mm]

Is there a unique beer? Can't have a new theme park area without a custom craft brew!