Post by mackflavabryan on Jul 25, 2017 20:20:29 GMT
From my recent visit here is my Pandora review :
I had a fast pass to Flight of Passage at 10:30am.
But there was an extra magic morning hour from 7am-8am that day, so I decided to go early to see if I could get on the Navi River journey.
Noone in the group I was in wanted to go that early so I went by myself, when I got to the lobby a couple was taking a cab there and asked if anyone wanted to share the cost, so I did.
We got to the park at 6:45am and there was a mass of people outside. They started letting people in about 6:50 and everyone ran to the left to go to Pandora. By the time I got through security it was 7:05 and it took me about 8 minutes to walk to Pandora.
as I passed Pizzafari, I saw a long line of people. I asked what it was and they said it was the stand-bye line for flights of passage !!!! Basically everyone ran in to get into that line.
I kept walking and then entered Pandora, it was gorgeous, I was amazed by the design and the beauty that quickly came into view. But I was focused on getting to the River journey, I got there and the wait was 5 minutes ( NOTE - FLights of passage was 120 already) I jogged in and got on right away. I sat with some other folks, I was on the left side of the boat. The ride was ok, sort of like Pirates or Small World, very slow. The ride itself was beautiful, alot of colors and some hidden screens that had creatures and Navi appearing here and there. There were 2 animatronics, one at the beginning that didn't do much, the other at the end was a Shaman and she was amazing with very realistic movements. My issue was that being on the left I couldn't see either of them very well. After i finished I went outside and the line still was at 5 minutes, so I rode again, this time on the right side of the boat - This was WAY BETTER . I had a much better view.
After that I was able to go again !! So I did 3 trips in about 20 minutes today ( the ride is quick)
After the 3rd ride, the line was at a 20 minute wait, and I was done. At this point F.O.P. was at 150 minute wait !!!
It was now about 7:45am
So I had about 2 hours to kill before my family and the group we traveled with were coming. So I walked around, took some pictures ( one cool photo pointing at a banshee) and went to the souvenir store. They were sold out of Banshees a few weeks prior, but I got a few pins and signed my daughters up for the 'make your own action figure"
I went and had breakfast in the restaurant, I had french toast with some blue topping, it was very good.
When my group arrived we went to our Fast Pass for F.O.P. ( Flights of passage) and I must say it was a great experience. The queue was very well done and resembled the base from the movie.
We entered a room where we were all scanned and shown a film explaining what we were doing.
We next entered a room and got on these vehicles that looked like a cross between a motorcycle and a snow mobile. We put on 3D glasses and the vehicle sort of locked you in place . NOTE- I didn't see any one have any issue with the ride. There were big and small folks there ( I am NOT small) and everyone seemed to fit well.
The ride was AMAZING- one of my favorites. You felt like you were flying and you got immersed the action. Everyone in our group ( 11 total) all felt it was one of the best rides in all of DisneyWorld. I rank it very high ( I still love Everest) Its definitely top 5 without a doubt.
I was able to go again on another day and the experience was just as great.
My twins got their action figure made. It was a very cool experience, we had to make an appointment, then they sat in a booth , they did a scan of their facial features and then got to pick out the body type and clothes. We had to return in 3 hours for the final product, but they did this cool ceremony for the unveiling. While it was expensive, It was very fun and now they have an action figure!!
We were all sad that the Banshees were sold out because we would have gotten at least 3 ( I wanted one too)
We got to see it at night before we left and the illumination is spectacular. But the crowds were massive at this point.
Overall Pandora is a great experience. I am an Avatar fan so it was great to see everything.
My Ratings :
Disney Imagineering did an awesome job. But is this worth a trip to Florida just to see ? NO - I would not recommend going to Animal Kingdom just to visit Pandora unless you are there for a longer trip, 2 rides and an hour to walk around doesn't warrant a trip. Yes its terrific and gorgeous. But its only a small section of the park. You will not be entertained more than a few hours there. Its also way too crowded now.
If you are there, make it a priority to go see it, but don't make a special trip just for Pandora.
I had a fast pass to Flight of Passage at 10:30am.
But there was an extra magic morning hour from 7am-8am that day, so I decided to go early to see if I could get on the Navi River journey.
Noone in the group I was in wanted to go that early so I went by myself, when I got to the lobby a couple was taking a cab there and asked if anyone wanted to share the cost, so I did.
We got to the park at 6:45am and there was a mass of people outside. They started letting people in about 6:50 and everyone ran to the left to go to Pandora. By the time I got through security it was 7:05 and it took me about 8 minutes to walk to Pandora.
as I passed Pizzafari, I saw a long line of people. I asked what it was and they said it was the stand-bye line for flights of passage !!!! Basically everyone ran in to get into that line.
I kept walking and then entered Pandora, it was gorgeous, I was amazed by the design and the beauty that quickly came into view. But I was focused on getting to the River journey, I got there and the wait was 5 minutes ( NOTE - FLights of passage was 120 already) I jogged in and got on right away. I sat with some other folks, I was on the left side of the boat. The ride was ok, sort of like Pirates or Small World, very slow. The ride itself was beautiful, alot of colors and some hidden screens that had creatures and Navi appearing here and there. There were 2 animatronics, one at the beginning that didn't do much, the other at the end was a Shaman and she was amazing with very realistic movements. My issue was that being on the left I couldn't see either of them very well. After i finished I went outside and the line still was at 5 minutes, so I rode again, this time on the right side of the boat - This was WAY BETTER . I had a much better view.
After that I was able to go again !! So I did 3 trips in about 20 minutes today ( the ride is quick)
After the 3rd ride, the line was at a 20 minute wait, and I was done. At this point F.O.P. was at 150 minute wait !!!
It was now about 7:45am
So I had about 2 hours to kill before my family and the group we traveled with were coming. So I walked around, took some pictures ( one cool photo pointing at a banshee) and went to the souvenir store. They were sold out of Banshees a few weeks prior, but I got a few pins and signed my daughters up for the 'make your own action figure"
I went and had breakfast in the restaurant, I had french toast with some blue topping, it was very good.
When my group arrived we went to our Fast Pass for F.O.P. ( Flights of passage) and I must say it was a great experience. The queue was very well done and resembled the base from the movie.
We entered a room where we were all scanned and shown a film explaining what we were doing.
We next entered a room and got on these vehicles that looked like a cross between a motorcycle and a snow mobile. We put on 3D glasses and the vehicle sort of locked you in place . NOTE- I didn't see any one have any issue with the ride. There were big and small folks there ( I am NOT small) and everyone seemed to fit well.
The ride was AMAZING- one of my favorites. You felt like you were flying and you got immersed the action. Everyone in our group ( 11 total) all felt it was one of the best rides in all of DisneyWorld. I rank it very high ( I still love Everest) Its definitely top 5 without a doubt.
I was able to go again on another day and the experience was just as great.
My twins got their action figure made. It was a very cool experience, we had to make an appointment, then they sat in a booth , they did a scan of their facial features and then got to pick out the body type and clothes. We had to return in 3 hours for the final product, but they did this cool ceremony for the unveiling. While it was expensive, It was very fun and now they have an action figure!!
We were all sad that the Banshees were sold out because we would have gotten at least 3 ( I wanted one too)
We got to see it at night before we left and the illumination is spectacular. But the crowds were massive at this point.
Overall Pandora is a great experience. I am an Avatar fan so it was great to see everything.
My Ratings :
- Overall Design 10/10 - I felt like I was somewhere else
- Wow Factor 10/10 - Walking up to the floating islands is amazing
- Navi River Journey 6/10 - its good but not great and too quick
- Flights of Passage 10/10 - Could be one of the best - Top 5 in Disney World
- Gift Shop 6/10 Great stuff but didn't plan well on stock
- Food Options - 8/10 Food is very good, drinks are unique but only one place to go. The queue fills up fast.
- Characters 3/10 - A few nice animatronics and a statue in the gift shop but I wanted to see some Navi walking around..
Disney Imagineering did an awesome job. But is this worth a trip to Florida just to see ? NO - I would not recommend going to Animal Kingdom just to visit Pandora unless you are there for a longer trip, 2 rides and an hour to walk around doesn't warrant a trip. Yes its terrific and gorgeous. But its only a small section of the park. You will not be entertained more than a few hours there. Its also way too crowded now.
If you are there, make it a priority to go see it, but don't make a special trip just for Pandora.
