Pandora - The World of Avatar (Animal Kingdom)

Little late to the game here, I know. It's been nearly impossible to get on Flight of Passage in under three hours and I didn't want to write this review until I did... here we are almost two years later and I can say I finally have completed that task. So let's talk about it!

Pandora is a 12-acre land themed after what we saw in Avatar, complete with floating islands, waterfalls and night-time bio-luminescent landscaping. Why is this fictional land taking up space in a park dedicated to real-life animals? Not sure, but it could possibly be a shift in the future. Anyway, I couldn't help but feel a little claustrophobic given you essentially have a roof over your head.

Pandora offers up some interesting foods, a store where you can buy your shoulder-sitting banshees and a lively drum circle show. There are a few hidden things around, including a squirting rock (not familiar with any terminology). Onto the rides!

Na'vi River Journey is a calm but very short boat ride. The boats seat 8 people, which are very small compared to what we expect from Disney. The ride is mainly screen-based with projections sometimes not being timed very well with your boat. Aside from length and screen-basis, the color and lighting is excellent with many vibrant colors contrasting with dark backdrops. The ride boasts one animatronic. Although impressive, the quantity of movement left me quite underwhelmed. There are no drops or water interactions, despite being a river journey. Would wait no longer than 15 minutes.

Flight of Passage begins with a mountain climb queue that gives you a great view of Pandora. You enter a tiny cave crevasse (felt like Antelope Canyon) where you start having some back and forth queue. Over the course of the line, you begin to enter the Conservation Initiative labs which are looking to restore Pandora's ecosystem. We see an impressive Avatar suspended in a water tank before making our way to the Banshee tracking room where we can follow the animals and their riders. This leads us to our preshow where our DNA is scanned and we're linked to an Avatar in order to ride a Banshee. We're issued 3D glasses before making our way into the ride.

The ride vehicles are much like motorcycle position... think the upcoming Tron ride. The restraints initially feel tight but provide a decent amount of breathing space as a pad leans against your back and supports on your legs. Bags and personal items are stored in bins a decent distance behind you. Digital displays keep you occupied while everyone situates themselves. The wall in front of you disappears and all of a sudden you're flying.

You can feel the Banshee breathing as you swoop down and side by side very aggressively. The ride gives the feel of Soarin', but after turning around a few times I realized it was very different. Where Soarin' is simply a vehicle that leans, Flight's vehicles are actually on moving platforms that can hydraulically lift up and down. Remember your storage bins? Turns out you might not even see them in some parts of the ride because you'll be so high above the ground you were just standing on.

Although there is no clear mission, similar to Na'vi, it doesn't matter. The journey is very impressive in itself as you encounter water and smell effects. My personal favorite was flying towards a gigantic ocean wave only to ride in the curl of the break. Very cool. The ride is about 5 minutes and a rush every second of the way. It's the next generation of screen-based for sure and certainly a bar-raiser. Would wait no more than two hours.

Pandora as a whole feels like a questionable yet great addition. Looking forward to Star Wars and all those other attractions that will drop Flight to under 90 minutes consistently. Until then, just going to have to hold out for a FastPass!