Inside Universal Forums

Welcome to the Inside Universal Forums! Register a free account today to become a member. Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members and unlock our forums features!

  • Signing up for a Premium Membership is a donation to help Inside Universal maintain costs and offers an ad-free experience on the forum. Learn more about it here.

Pandora: World of Avatar General Discussion

Here’s my take:

- When it comes to simulators in a box, FoP wipes the floor with everything else (as it should, being the newest and an E-ticket). This doesn’t include Spider-Man or Kong on principle, because they are not simulators in a box.
- If this type of ride system is your favorite type of ride system, FoP probably has a shot at being your favorite ride. If not, probably not. My boyfriend HATES Splash Mountain, even though he agrees with me that it’s the best ride in the Magic Kingdom. No big deal, flume rides aren’t his thing.
- It is groundbreaking not in the sense that it does something for the first time, but that it achieves a level of greatness that I think many (myself included) thought impossible for a simulator in a box.
- I think most people who are freaking out over the ride do so because of the previous statement. Most people know going in that it’s a simulator in a box, and the sensation of flight is really convincing, which catches them off guard. The illusion is about as good as it can get when it comes to convincing you that you're actually flying on a living creature, and that’s really impressive to a lot of people (again, myself included). There’s nothing that exists in the area that quite captures exactly the same sensation, and it doesn’t make people sick while doing it. It’s a different kind of rush, much as Spider-Man is a different kind of rush than the Hulk.
- The ride is Disney’s first big hit on the east coast in a decade. The opinions are going to vary wildly. My best friend likes the ride but doesn’t ever want to wait more than an hour for it again, and on the other end is my boyfriend’s mom, who loves it so much that she looks on the app every day to try to score a Fastpass for it (they’re local).
 
Someone has said that Transformers isn't a Spider-Man reskin?
While it seems so, the actual use of the type of screens are very different, for a completely different effect. Simply put, the majority of the simulated motion in Spider-Man is side-to-side; in Transformers it is moving fast forward. So for SM the screens are flat except for the finale (forward motion). In TF the majority of the screens are curved.
 
While it seems so, the actual use of the type of screens are very different, for a completely different effect. Simply put, the majority of the simulated motion in Spider-Man is side-to-side; in Transformers it is moving fast forward. So for SM the screens are flat except for the finale (forward motion). In TF the majority of the screens are curved.

Not to mention the set designs and physical effects are much more dramatic in Spider-Man. The flame effect is very well done, and the dropping buildings as you float up, as well as the other alleys and such. Screens taken out, SM is an impressive dark ride. Without the screens there is almost no ride for Transformers.
 
The lines come from not hitting capacity and some wonky things with the queue. This is very similar to when Gringotts was running 4-7 hour lines in 2014.

For 2 months.. This is coming up on month 6 now.
 
The ride is not tame. Tame can be subjective but it's not like Soarin. Here is a video that can give you a sense of how much movement there is. Not only does it drop but the vehicles themselves move forward, tilt side to side and "breathe". This video is taken from the cubbies that are directly behind the vehicles. If you guys don't like the IP, I get that. But the technology, ride system, effects, queue is on point.

Forward to minute 3:18

This ride system is perfect for the theme. It's seriously perfection in my eyes. Now, Navi River Journey is lame.

 
Last edited:
Found a 360 cam someone wore on the ride - you can pan around and see all the lighting FX of the cabin and the personalized screens on the ride vehicles even.




Comparing FOP to Soarin is almost like comparing a horse carriage to a Tesla. If this ride would have been in Universal, ya'll would treat it like the Holy Grail.
 
When I said "Meh", it was more that I wasn't blown away. I felt the same way the first time I rode Gringott's. I like it. It's a solid Mega E Ticket. But something about it felt off. With Gringott's, it's the pacing. With FoP it may be something as simple as I don't care for the IP. I don't like it. In every aspect, FoP is an impressive attraction, but I certainly won't wait 2 hours again.

I can't wait to see my feelings about F&F when it opens. I loathe that IP.
 
Comparing FOP to Soarin is almost like comparing a horse carriage to a Tesla. If this ride would have been in Universal, ya'll would treat it like the Holy Grail.

Yes. An IMAX dome simulator at Universal.

0xLKW.gif
 
It was crazy busy this past Sunday.

By the way, rode Flight of Passage and I was blown away. Especially the way they incorporated smells. The lady beside me said she never wanted it to end. My entire family loved the ride and they all said its the best thing they've ever ridden, including my wife who hates the movie. Our next trip is in 2022 and she said she can't believe she has to wait that long to ride this ride again. The only bad thing is the way Disney has their fastpass system set up it makes it really hard to ride this thing more than once in the same day.
 
So just an FYI update. Going in mid January and my fast passes opened up over the weekend. Was able to snag a fast pass for Flight of Passage on the last day of our 4 day trip, which means we will miss Pandora at night as we will have to leave right after the ride. I'm glad I won't have to wake up at the crack of dawn and wait before the park even opens to ride it. It will also be the "grand finale" of the whole vacation. So I hope it lives up to the hype!!
 
I did the whole get up at silly oclock to do FOP as was unable to get a FP for it and i still had an hr wait :/
 
So just an FYI update. Going in mid January and my fast passes opened up over the weekend. Was able to snag a fast pass for Flight of Passage on the last day of our 4 day trip, which means we will miss Pandora at night as we will have to leave right after the ride. I'm glad I won't have to wake up at the crack of dawn and wait before the park even opens to ride it. It will also be the "grand finale" of the whole vacation. So I hope it lives up to the hype!!

The ride is really cool, I call it Soarin' on steroids. I personally expected more from the land. It's just way too small and the famous "floating mountains" are literally a perfect arch of piled up rocks, but if you move around them you'll be able to find an angle where one might look floating for a pic. I think the mountains covering the Ride Show Building (FoP's beginning of queue) is the best feature in the whole land. Best time to see it? day time! The bioluminescent at night was epic failure, too dark, flowers look like "stained glass lamps" and the floor, literally was sprayed with fluorescent paint and when you look up, you can easily spot every single blacklight around you. Just lifeless and disappointing at night. Then again FoP is really cool and you're going during the day.... so you're good! :thumbsup:
 
Top