I got a chance to visit during yesterday's AP previews so here's some of my thoughts in the order I experienced them:
I'll first say that if it seems i've been quiet within the Pandora threads lately, that's not by accident. I've browsed as a mod, but i've been trying to keep as spoiler free as possible for the most part. I went into this with a certain set of expectations (my family seemed to had the more Disney PR slanted expectations).
Entrance:
I know that the mountains aren't really floating, nor do they look much like it, but as you ascend the small incline at the entrance of the land, you are instantly awed by a picturesque scene that is only made better by the depth and layering of the theming. Also not sure why people compare the Pandora and VB water falls, both are good in their own right. If there was a VB sized waterfall in Pandora, everyone would be getting soaked.
Pongu Pongu:
We stopped at Pongu Pongu to grab a Night Blossom and Pongu Lumpia. The Night Blossom was good, while maybe a bit of a glorified apple/pineapple slushie mix. The boba balls seem to be what will sell it as it looks cool. The Lumpia was very good, although it did fall apart very easily and part of the inside fell out on my first bite. As for the quick serve, I stopped in and looked at the menu and the inside theming, but didn't order anything.
Flight of Passage:
We got in line at about exactly 5:30 for our 5:30-5:45 FP. The queue for this thing is huge and if it ever actually fills up all the way, I can't even imagine the wait times this ride will have. The general queue theming for the ride was nice enough, sort of a rip off of Transformers but whatever. I didn't really have too much time to take it all in though as the line was pretty short. The pre-show was... meh. Didn't like the guy, the Ikran doctor thankfully sort of saved it and brought some real acting to the table. Also, the way they gave you an Avatar seemed to be pretty random.
I can already see how this could be a potential capacity nightmare though as once we sat down, it took close to 10 minutes to get the ride going, partially because a man right next to me couldn't fit and they were trying to squeeze him in. This will be a big problem going forward.
As to the actual ride experience - WOW. I think I had my expectations set slightly higher than some here based on what I had been hearing, but as @Brian G. said, this is definitely a top "Screen-Based" ride in Orlando. I knew what was going to happen as far as the wall in front of you moving, but most others around me didn't and they very effectively use the camera on your RV to distract you. It even got me. One minute you're looking at the camera and next thing you know the ride has started. I don't know if this is a point of discussion, but I was perfectly ok with there being no storyline to go along with the ride. If this is a glimpse at the type of thrilling experiences we may see with SWL, i'm all for it.
Windtraders
Most of the merch in here looked like crap I would never buy, but the banshees that CMs had on their shoulders (which are $50 I believe) had about as long of a line as I usually see for the line to make a lightsaber at Star Tours. We'll see if that continues. A lot of the merch looks "cute" and kids will naturally like that type of stuff and ask their parents for it. I know my sister was certainly asking for a lot of the crap in there (she's 9).
Now for the negative...
Nav'i River Journey
What the hell was the point of this ride. Seriously, I don't understand what they were thinking. My already low expectations weren't even met and my whole family came off basically saying "wtf?". Cool AA though. I'll bet this is an extremely popular ride though as it's one of the only family rides in the park aside from Kilimanjaro Safaris.
Overall
I walked in slightly after 5 and was done with everything I listed above in the area around 6:30. The food, mountains and Flight of Passage all were extremely satisfying. Nav'i River Journey kind of left a sour taste in my mouth and really pointed out the need for a third ride in the land. I didn't get to see the land at night lit up because we left early. Will there be live entertainment within the land? I saw that they had a Wilderness Explorers station open, but the land felt a bit dull outside of the rides with no in land entertainment going on. I'm also not sure I can remember hearing any background music being on, but that may have been off as they were filming. Not sure i'd go on opening day now (which I was contemplating) since i've already experienced the land, but i'll be back soon enough.
I'll first say that if it seems i've been quiet within the Pandora threads lately, that's not by accident. I've browsed as a mod, but i've been trying to keep as spoiler free as possible for the most part. I went into this with a certain set of expectations (my family seemed to had the more Disney PR slanted expectations).
Entrance:
I know that the mountains aren't really floating, nor do they look much like it, but as you ascend the small incline at the entrance of the land, you are instantly awed by a picturesque scene that is only made better by the depth and layering of the theming. Also not sure why people compare the Pandora and VB water falls, both are good in their own right. If there was a VB sized waterfall in Pandora, everyone would be getting soaked.
Pongu Pongu:
We stopped at Pongu Pongu to grab a Night Blossom and Pongu Lumpia. The Night Blossom was good, while maybe a bit of a glorified apple/pineapple slushie mix. The boba balls seem to be what will sell it as it looks cool. The Lumpia was very good, although it did fall apart very easily and part of the inside fell out on my first bite. As for the quick serve, I stopped in and looked at the menu and the inside theming, but didn't order anything.
Flight of Passage:
We got in line at about exactly 5:30 for our 5:30-5:45 FP. The queue for this thing is huge and if it ever actually fills up all the way, I can't even imagine the wait times this ride will have. The general queue theming for the ride was nice enough, sort of a rip off of Transformers but whatever. I didn't really have too much time to take it all in though as the line was pretty short. The pre-show was... meh. Didn't like the guy, the Ikran doctor thankfully sort of saved it and brought some real acting to the table. Also, the way they gave you an Avatar seemed to be pretty random.
I can already see how this could be a potential capacity nightmare though as once we sat down, it took close to 10 minutes to get the ride going, partially because a man right next to me couldn't fit and they were trying to squeeze him in. This will be a big problem going forward.
As to the actual ride experience - WOW. I think I had my expectations set slightly higher than some here based on what I had been hearing, but as @Brian G. said, this is definitely a top "Screen-Based" ride in Orlando. I knew what was going to happen as far as the wall in front of you moving, but most others around me didn't and they very effectively use the camera on your RV to distract you. It even got me. One minute you're looking at the camera and next thing you know the ride has started. I don't know if this is a point of discussion, but I was perfectly ok with there being no storyline to go along with the ride. If this is a glimpse at the type of thrilling experiences we may see with SWL, i'm all for it.
Windtraders
Most of the merch in here looked like crap I would never buy, but the banshees that CMs had on their shoulders (which are $50 I believe) had about as long of a line as I usually see for the line to make a lightsaber at Star Tours. We'll see if that continues. A lot of the merch looks "cute" and kids will naturally like that type of stuff and ask their parents for it. I know my sister was certainly asking for a lot of the crap in there (she's 9).
Now for the negative...
Nav'i River Journey
What the hell was the point of this ride. Seriously, I don't understand what they were thinking. My already low expectations weren't even met and my whole family came off basically saying "wtf?". Cool AA though. I'll bet this is an extremely popular ride though as it's one of the only family rides in the park aside from Kilimanjaro Safaris.
Overall
I walked in slightly after 5 and was done with everything I listed above in the area around 6:30. The food, mountains and Flight of Passage all were extremely satisfying. Nav'i River Journey kind of left a sour taste in my mouth and really pointed out the need for a third ride in the land. I didn't get to see the land at night lit up because we left early. Will there be live entertainment within the land? I saw that they had a Wilderness Explorers station open, but the land felt a bit dull outside of the rides with no in land entertainment going on. I'm also not sure I can remember hearing any background music being on, but that may have been off as they were filming. Not sure i'd go on opening day now (which I was contemplating) since i've already experienced the land, but i'll be back soon enough.
