Since it was announced in 2012, Disney's Animal Kingdom's new land based on James Cameron's Avatar has been under the radar of most theme park enthusiasts. It was based on a film from 2009 that just didn't have much staying power and was trying to directly compete with Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which changed the game for immersive theme park lands and attractions. Well, 5 years after it's announcement and 3 after it broke ground on the former home of Camp Minnie-Mickey, Pandora: The World of Avatar is officially ready to open on May 27th. I've gotten to exprerience everything the land has to offer and am ready to offer an in depth review of the new land.
For starters, the moment you first step into Pandora, you really feel like you have been transported to another world, or in this case moon. Being in Disney's Animal Kingdom, Pandora's landscape focuses on exotic looking plants and incredible floating mountains you have to see to really appreciate. The land is absolutely stunning and is easily the best looking land Disney has ever built. The area does look quite large, but the majority of the area is taken up by the two attractions, which I will talk about later.
All of Pandora is tied together with a storyline involving Alpha Centauri Expeditions, a travel company who made a deal with the native Na'vi to showcase the Valley of Mo'ara to travelers from across the universe in exchange for preserving their native culture and heritage. To go along with this storyline comes one of Pandora's most unique attributes: it has absolutely nothing to do with Disney. Cast Members wear ACE branded nametags, Fastpass Plus Touchpoints festure the ACE logo instead of the traditional Mickey emblem and merchandise bags only mention Pandora and not Walt Disney World. The goal is for total immersion and on the majority of circumstances, they have succeeded.
All of Pandora is tied together with a storyline involving Alpha Centauri Expeditions, a travel company who made a deal with the native Na'vi to showcase the Valley of Mo'ara to travelers from across the universe in exchange for preserving their native culture and heritage. To go along with this storyline comes one of Pandora's most unique attributes: it has absolutely nothing to do with Disney. Cast Members wear ACE branded nametags, Fastpass Plus Touchpoints festure the ACE logo instead of the traditional Mickey emblem and merchandise bags only mention Pandora and not Walt Disney World. The goal is for total immersion and on the majority of circumstances, they have succeeded.
Pandora features two unique excursions: Avatar Flight of Passage and Na'vi River Journey.
Na'vi River Journey is a slow moving boat ride down a bio-luminescent river showcasing the incredible beauty and majesty of Pandora. It is a short boat ride that clocks in around 4 and a half minutes, but it is quite stunning.
The signature piece of this attraction is the Na'vi Shamen who sings her song to boats passing by. The Shamen is probably the most impressive audio animatronic Disney has ever made. Her range of motion is absolutely stunning and makes the ride a must try.
Na'vi River Journey is a slow moving boat ride down a bio-luminescent river showcasing the incredible beauty and majesty of Pandora. It is a short boat ride that clocks in around 4 and a half minutes, but it is quite stunning.
The signature piece of this attraction is the Na'vi Shamen who sings her song to boats passing by. The Shamen is probably the most impressive audio animatronic Disney has ever made. Her range of motion is absolutely stunning and makes the ride a must try.
The other side is Avatar Flight of Passage, an exhillerating thrill ride where guests link to an Avatar and fly on the back of a Banshee to be a part of a Na'vi Right of Passage ceremony.
First off, Flight of Passage has without a doubt the best queue line Disney has ever built. There are so many unique details and elements of this queue, you can't help but marvel at the craftsmanship involved.
*Update* So after some effort, I finally did get to ride Avatar Flight of Passage. The ride features two preshow rooms, one of which is interactive. The second gives you safety information and how to board the attraction's unique ride vehicle.
The ride itself is best described as a fusion of Soarin' and Star Tours. The ride vehicle simulates a breathing Banshee, which is a nice touch. The Link Chair vehicle dips, tilts and does an excellent job of simulating the sensation of flight. Add in 3-D and special smell and water effects and you have a very unique attraction that is absolutely worth your time. I never recomend waiting in 3+ hour lines if you can avoid it, but this is a must do attraction. It is one of the best at DAK and Walt Disney World in general.
Even though I did get to ride, I still issue a word of caution that I originally wrote below.
First off, Flight of Passage has without a doubt the best queue line Disney has ever built. There are so many unique details and elements of this queue, you can't help but marvel at the craftsmanship involved.
*Update* So after some effort, I finally did get to ride Avatar Flight of Passage. The ride features two preshow rooms, one of which is interactive. The second gives you safety information and how to board the attraction's unique ride vehicle.
The ride itself is best described as a fusion of Soarin' and Star Tours. The ride vehicle simulates a breathing Banshee, which is a nice touch. The Link Chair vehicle dips, tilts and does an excellent job of simulating the sensation of flight. Add in 3-D and special smell and water effects and you have a very unique attraction that is absolutely worth your time. I never recomend waiting in 3+ hour lines if you can avoid it, but this is a must do attraction. It is one of the best at DAK and Walt Disney World in general.
Even though I did get to ride, I still issue a word of caution that I originally wrote below.
Flight of Passage uses a state of the art ride system that is unlike anything that currently exists in theme parks today. It has quite a range of motion. The seats for the ride closely resemble those of Tron from Shanghai Disneyland. To keep guests secure, the ride uses a back restraint and knee pins that come out from the underside of the chair. The issue here is that especially the knee pins when combined with the ride's shin guards (man, I hate shin guards) cause guests with long legs or especially large torsos from riding. This is typically not an issue at Walt Disney World attractions as most attractions can accomodate almost any body type. Because of this, I issue a word of caution to those interested in riding. If you have moderately long legs or a wide torso, there is a good chance you won't be able to experience this attraction. Hopefully Disney will consider options such as modified seating for guests of larger body types or changing the design of the shin guards to allow more guests to ride, but for now it is the most restrictive attraction at Walt Disney World, but if you can experience it, it is very impressive.
Besides the two excusions, Pandora offers unique merchandise and food locations that offer a true taste of the Valley or Mo'ara. At Pongu Pongu (which means Party Party in Na'vi), you can enjoy a Pandoran Margarita or a Desert Flower, a frozen drink that combines limade, sour green apple and pear flavors with passion fruit boba balls on top. It is the closest Disney has ever come to making a drink that can compete with Universal's Butterbeer at Wizarding World of Harry Potter and is a must try while visiting Pandora. They also offer Lumpia, which is basically a sweet cream cheese and pineapple filled spring roll. These are tasty, but I honestly felt the pineapple wasn't needed at all.
Pandora's quick service resturaunt is called Sa'tuli Canteen. It is built inside an old RDA facitlity (the evil corporation from the original film) that is now filled with Na'vi art. The food items offered here are delicous and healthier for you than most theme park food. The offer a variety of breakfast items including a french toast and potato hash with currizo sausage. For lunch and dinner, you can make your own bowl by picking a protein (chicken, beef, fish or tofu), a base (rice and grains, veggies or a potato hash) and a sauce. I tried a chicken bowl twice with different sauces and really enjoyed the dish both times, but the creamy herb dressing was my favorite. They also offer cheeseburger and veggie "pods" as well as exotic looking blueberry cream cheese mousse and a chocolate/banana cake. The deserts are both delicious, but the mousse is both stunning to look at and quite tasty. The portion size for all items is solid, so you get what you pay for. It also offers free refills on drinks, which is always great from a quick service restaurant.
One of the biggest successes from Wizarding World of Harry Potter was unique and exclusive merchandise. Although Avatar doesn't seem like a film with a ton of great merchandise options, Disney creates some pretty great ones in their one merchandise shop Windtraders. The most unique offering is the ability to link with your own Banshee, which is actually a puppet you can control. I partisipated in the linking ritual and really enjoyed the experience. The mini Banshee is a bit expensive at $49.99, but it is a pretty cool item that is especially fun to wonder around the parks with. Windtraders also offers a lot of unique Pandora and ACE Merchandise including the ability to create your own mini Avatar. It is a solid location that offers a lot of unique merchandise that most guests are going to want to take home with them.
Overall, Pandora: The World of Avatar is exactly what Disney's Animal Kingdom needed and is probably the most immersive land Disney has ever made. It is stunning to look at, the attractions are exciting and thrilling and the food and merchandise options are all fantastic. It is absolutely worth taking the time to go and visit, especially at night when everything glows.
Now if only they make Flight of Passage a bit more accessable...
Written by Chris Coburn
Now if only they make Flight of Passage a bit more accessable...
Written by Chris Coburn