Pandora: World of Avatar General Discussion

[LieutLaww]

I wish they would bring back breakfast

 

[Alicia]

I wish they would bring back breakfast

You and me both. You and me both.

 

[UNIrd]

Did they discontinue it because everyone was still in line for the rides during breakfast service?

 

[Alicia]

Did they discontinue it because everyone was still in line for the rides during breakfast service?

That is exactly why. It was just me in there every morning, enjoying the yummy food, and the silence.

 

[Mad Dog]

Finally got to see Pandora via last week's unscheduled trip to Orlando. I toured the land with my good friends UK Trigg (Mark) and Samantha. I had told Mark earlier that FOP was showing pretty steady 60 to 70 minute afternoon stand by times for the last couple of weeks, far shorter than the 120 to 180 we've seen before that. We arrived at Pandora at 3:00 PM and the first thing we encountered was the Navii River ride was closed. So, we surmised that FOP might be long with one ride shut down. That was not to be. FOP showed a short 40 minute wait. We breezed through most of the really beautiful & immersive queue and never really slowed much until we hit the pre shows around the 20-25 minute mark. The pre shows were better than we expected, especially with all the negative comments you read about them. I thought they were fine. We boarded the cycles at about the 40-45 minute mark and had to wait for a bit, but not too long. I won't do a full review of the ride since I like to get multiple rides in before I make my final evaluation. But my first impressions are very positive. The ride is a beautiful, immersive, stunning experience. It's by far the best all screen based simulator I've ever rode. And no doubt it's one of the best rides at Disney or Universal. Easily top ten, but I would need more rides to qualify that further. Pandora itself is very beautiful. The floating mountains are impressive, and much better looking than photos or videos depict them. It's a very impressive land, almost as good as Africa in AK. It's only drawback is that outside the two rides, and walking the trail for about 30 minutes, there's really not much else to hold your attention. That's where it's lacking in regard to Diagon, but it's looking like Disney will correct that with the GESWL land.

 

[Alicia]

Finally got to see Pandora via last week's unscheduled trip to Orlando. I toured the land with my good friends UK Trigg (Mark) and Samantha. I had told Mark earlier that FOP was showing pretty steady 60 to 70 minute afternoon stand by times for the last couple of weeks, far shorter than the 120 to 180 we've seen before that. We arrived at Pandora at 3:00 PM and the first thing we encountered was the Navii River ride was closed. So, we surmised that FOP might be long with one ride shut down. That was not to be. FOP showed a short 40 minute wait. We breezed through most of the really beautiful & immersive queue and never really slowed much until we hit the pre shows around the 20-25 minute mark. The pre shows were better than we expected, especially with all the negative comments you read about them. I thought they were fine. We boarded the cycles at about the 40-45 minute mark and had to wait for a bit, but not too long. I won't do a full review of the ride since I like to get multiple rides in before I make my final evaluation. But my first impressions are very positive. The ride is a beautiful, immersive, stunning experience. It's by far the best all screen based simulator I've ever rode. And no doubt it's one of the best rides at Disney or Universal. Easily top ten, but I would need more rides to qualify that further. Pandora itself is very beautiful. The floating mountains are impressive, and much better looking than photos or videos depict them. It's a very impressive land, almost as good as Africa in AK. It's only drawback is that outside the two rides, and walking the trail for about 30 minutes, there's really not much else to hold your attention. That's where it's lacking in regard to Diagon, but it's looking like Disney will correct that with the GESWL land.

Glad you got to experience the ride with such a reasonable wait time! Of course, you still have to experience the third attraction: the food! (I may be obsessed.)

 

[JungleSkip]

Finally got to see Pandora via last week's unscheduled trip to Orlando. I toured the land with my good friends UK Trigg (Mark) and Samantha. I had told Mark earlier that FOP was showing pretty steady 60 to 70 minute afternoon stand by times for the last couple of weeks, far shorter than the 120 to 180 we've seen before that. We arrived at Pandora at 3:00 PM and the first thing we encountered was the Navii River ride was closed. So, we surmised that FOP might be long with one ride shut down. That was not to be. FOP showed a short 40 minute wait. We breezed through most of the really beautiful & immersive queue and never really slowed much until we hit the pre shows around the 20-25 minute mark. The pre shows were better than we expected, especially with all the negative comments you read about them. I thought they were fine. We boarded the cycles at about the 40-45 minute mark and had to wait for a bit, but not too long. I won't do a full review of the ride since I like to get multiple rides in before I make my final evaluation. But my first impressions are very positive. The ride is a beautiful, immersive, stunning experience. It's by far the best all screen based simulator I've ever rode. And no doubt it's one of the best rides at Disney or Universal. Easily top ten, but I would need more rides to qualify that further. Pandora itself is very beautiful. The floating mountains are impressive, and much better looking than photos or videos depict them. It's a very impressive land, almost as good as Africa in AK. It's only drawback is that outside the two rides, and walking the trail for about 30 minutes, there's really not much else to hold your attention. That's where it's lacking in regard to Diagon, but it's looking like Disney will correct that with the GESWL land.

I vehemently disagree with your FoP review, but I’m glad you had a good time.

 

[Bulldog45]

My wife and I will be going to Disney later this month and just found out she's pregnant with our first child. Will she be able to do either ride? I'm sure they have warning sides out front of both attractions but do they specifically single out pregnant women?

 

[JungleSkip]

My wife and I will be going to Disney later this month and just found out she's pregnant with our first child. Will she be able to do either ride? I'm sure they have warning sides out front of both attractions but do they specifically single out pregnant women?

I would assume that FoP is a no go, but River Journey should be fine. It's just a boat ride

 

[Alicia]

My wife and I will be going to Disney later this month and just found out she's pregnant with our first child. Will she be able to do either ride? I'm sure they have warning sides out front of both attractions but do they specifically single out pregnant women?

The boat ride is fine of course... I would advise against Flight of Passage. It's pretty tame for a simulator, (no thrashing) but it does quickly travel up/down a lot, which may be bad.

EDIT: FoP Official warning:

 

[Scott W.]

My wife and I will be going to Disney later this month and just found out she's pregnant with our first child. Will she be able to do either ride? I'm sure they have warning sides out front of both attractions but do they specifically single out pregnant women?

Congratulations! :toast: If this woman can do a corkscrew riding on the nose of two dolphins at SeaWorld then I don't see why she can't ride this but I'm not a doctor and I wouldn't take anything I say seriously.

Finally got to see Pandora via last week's unscheduled trip to Orlando. I toured the land with my good friends UK Trigg (Mark) and Samantha. I had told Mark earlier that FOP was showing pretty steady 60 to 70 minute afternoon stand by times for the last couple of weeks, far shorter than the 120 to 180 we've seen before that. We arrived at Pandora at 3:00 PM and the first thing we encountered was the Navii River ride was closed. So, we surmised that FOP might be long with one ride shut down. That was not to be. FOP showed a short 40 minute wait. We breezed through most of the really beautiful & immersive queue and never really slowed much until we hit the pre shows around the 20-25 minute mark. The pre shows were better than we expected, especially with all the negative comments you read about them. I thought they were fine. We boarded the cycles at about the 40-45 minute mark and had to wait for a bit, but not too long. I won't do a full review of the ride since I like to get multiple rides in before I make my final evaluation. But my first impressions are very positive. The ride is a beautiful, immersive, stunning experience. It's by far the best all screen based simulator I've ever rode. And no doubt it's one of the best rides at Disney or Universal. Easily top ten, but I would need more rides to qualify that further. Pandora itself is very beautiful. The floating mountains are impressive, and much better looking than photos or videos depict them. It's a very impressive land, almost as good as Africa in AK. It's only drawback is that outside the two rides, and walking the trail for about 30 minutes, there's really not much else to hold your attention. That's where it's lacking in regard to Diagon, but it's looking like Disney will correct that with the GESWL land.

Your review is pretty much identical to mine. What did Mark make of it?

 

[Mad Dog]

Congratulations! :toast: If this woman can do a corkscrew riding on the nose of two dolphins at SeaWorld then I don't see why she can't ride this but I'm not a doctor and I wouldn't take anything I say seriously.

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Your review is pretty much identical to mine. What did Mark make of it?

Mark & Samantha were both impressed with the ride and the land. Mark said best ride on 'Disney property', and we had just rode Tower of Terror an hour before, so it was an easy comparison with that ride. ..My fav WDW ride is Splash Mountain and after riding that later that day as a comparison, I'd still rank it the top of my WDW list, but FOP is close. I still need to ride it a few more times to get a more objective feel.

 

[Scott W.]

Mark & Samantha were both impressed with the ride and the land. Mark said best ride on 'Disney property', and we had just rode Tower of Terror an hour before, so it was an easy comparison with that ride. ..My fav WDW ride is Splash Mountain and after riding that later that day as a comparison, I'd still rank it the top of my WDW list, but FOP is close. I still need to ride it a few more times to get a more objective feel.

It’s in my top 3 along with Mission Breakout and Radiator Springs. Top 5 would add Splash and Big Thunder from Paris.

 

[JungleSkip]

It’s in my top 3 along with Mission Breakout and Radiator Springs. Top 5 would add Splash and Big Thunder from Paris.

Man it doesn't even crack my top 20 rides in Orlando, let alone the world.

 

[Scott W.]

Man it doesn't even crack my top 20 rides in Orlando, let alone the world.

To point out, that's my Disney top 5, not a general top 5. Spider-Man is still GOAT. I'd love to hear your 20 rides that top FOP in Orlando though.

 

[Disneyhead]

Man it doesn't even crack my top 20 rides in Orlando, let alone the world.

I have ridden it twice and I would say in the top 10 in Orlando.

Not a popular opinion, but I like Kong better that FoP.

 

[JungleSkip]

To point out, that's my Disney top 5, not a general top 5. Spider-Man is still GOAT. I'd love to hear your 20 rides that top FOP in Orlando though.

In no particular order:

Spidey, Forbidden Journey, ToT, Haunted Mansion, Gringotts, Mummy, MiB, Splash, Big Thunder, Kilimanjaro, Kong, Popeye, Jurassic Park, Transformers, Pirates, Everest, SDMT, Dinosaur, Jungle Cruise, RNRC

I'm just not much of a fan of the theater-style simulators. Add in the fact that Avatar is a wet noodle of a franchise to me, and the ride just doesn't offer any thrill, and it's just not for me. It's wonderfully rendered, and I can see why people like it, I think it just doesn't really speak to me.

 

[Scott W.]

In no particular order:

Spidey, Forbidden Journey, ToT, Haunted Mansion, Gringotts, Mummy, MiB, Splash, Big Thunder, Kilimanjaro, Kong, Popeye, Jurassic Park, Transformers, Pirates, Everest, SDMT, Dinosaur, Jungle Cruise, RNRC

I'm just not much of a fan of the theater-style simulators. Add in the fact that Avatar is a wet noodle of a franchise to me, and the ride just doesn't offer any thrill, and it's just not for me. It's wonderfully rendered, and I can see why people like it, I think it just doesn't really speak to me.

Orlando really has some great rides doesn’t it?

I completely understand the lack thrill from theatre rides and this has been an evolutionary step. I think the platform still has a place in modern theme parks but one is plenty.

I think FOP has made every theatre ride obsolete. It’s going to be hard to top unless they go for a better IP. Maybe an IP you like better would drastically improve the experience for you to give that emotional connection that this misses.

I’m not judging and everybody is entitled to their opinion :toast:

 

[belloq87]

I think FOP has made every theatre ride obsolete. It’s going to be hard to top unless they go for a better IP.

I think FOP is about as good a ride as you can make using the general theater-simulator concept. I don't know how it could be realistically topped at this point.

Universal has their hands full if they're going to take this approach with HTTYD.

 

[JungleSkip]

Universal has their hands full if they're going to take this approach with HTTYD.

I doubt they will