Pandora: World of Avatar FastPass+ Strategy
FastPass+ will become available for the two attractions in Pandora: World of Avatar starting March 24, 2017 (see update below). Walt Disney World fans planning summer trips will lose their minds trying to figure out what to do. The idea of this post is to try to help you not be flat-footed when those FastPass+ are released.
March 23, 2017 Update: Disney released the following info today: For a limited time, May 27-July 4, 2017, Guests staying at select Walt Disney World Resort hotels can explore Pandora — The World of Avatar beyond regular Park hours.
Nightly Extra Magic Hours will take place from 11 p.m.-1 a.m. only in Pandora — The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. This offering will provide Guests with an additional opportunity to enjoy everything Pandora — The World of Avatar has to offer — including navigating a mystical river, flying on a back of a banshee and walking under floating mountains…
In addition, Guests staying at Walt Disney Resort hotels can reserve Disney FastPass+ selections for attractions, including those in Pandora — The World of Avatar, up to 60 days prior to check-in beginning March 24, 2017. Disney FastPass+ service will be available at the two attractions within Pandora — The World of Avatar during regular Theme Park hours. Guests may select only one of these two attractions in their first set of Disney FastPass+ selections, subject to availability.
The opening of Pandora: World of Avatar is unprecedented. At an estimated billion-plus dollars to build, it’s the biggest-budget addition to Walt Disney World since the opening of Animal Kingdom itself (unless you count MyMagic+…and let’s not do that). It’s also the first addition in the FastPass+ era that presents big questions in terms of strategy.
This is because Animal Kingdom is likely to go to a tiered FastPass+ system for Animal Kingdom once Pandora FastPasses become available, making it impossible to simultaneously hold FastPasses for the Pandora attractions and Rivers of Light. If not, this whole article is kind of pointless and the strategy is easy–get a FastPass+ for Rivers of Light, N’avi River Journey, and Flight of Passage. If FastPass tiers are added (and we sure hope they are for the sake of wait times), here’s what we recommend…
First of all, no one has the definitive answers to these questions–us included–but we are sharing our thoughts and educated guesses here because we figure something, anything is better than nothing. That’s the reason this post is titled “Wild Pandora FastPass+ Strategy Speculation.” Our assumptions are based upon precedent and similar ride systems, and looking at crowd trends at Epcot and Shanghai Disneyland, both of which should be instructive.
What we know about Avatar Flight of Passage is that it’s an attraction allowing guests to ride a Banshee over the world of Pandora. Its ride system is like Soarin’ supercharged, but with more individualized/compartmentalized Banshee seats. It will have four theaters, but due to the nature of the seating, we are guessing it has an hourly capacity that is lower than Soarin’ Around the World at Epcot.
N’avi River Journey purportedly uses a ride system like Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure at Shanghai Disneyland. I’m inclined to believe N’avi River Journey’s hourly capacity is lower than the Pirates people-eater…but I’m not really sure why. Call it intuition, or perhaps I read something and just don’t remember.
Hourly capacity matters a lot, but so too does guest demand. Both of these attractions look like they are going to wow guests and utilize state of the art technology. However, Avatar Flight of Passage is a 3D simulator thrill ride and N’avi River Journey is a leisurely boat ride. Thrill rides historically are more popular than leisurely rides–even when the thrill ride is inferior (as is so often the case).
One final thing we know is that, right now, Rivers of Light is insanely popular and the standby situation has been nothing short of chaotic. It’s tough to say whether Pandora will draw people away from Rivers of Light at night, or draw more people to the park in general to point that any guests heading towards Pandora instead of Rivers of Light are offset (or more than offset) by the additional crowds. My guess is the latter.
The upside to Rivers of Light is that it offers dining packages, which presumably, Pandora: World of Avatar will not. (Oh no please don’t. In Walt Disney World’s new ‘Season of the Upcharge’ nothing would surprise us.) While we are not normally fans of dining packages, the Rivers of Light one for Tiffins is actually a good value–and at a great restaurant. Even if you opt against the dining package, Rivers of Light remains the better standby option.
The question thus becomes whether N’avi River Journey or Flight of Passage is the better FastPass+ option (again, assuming you cannot do both). Or, perhaps this question has a twist ending, and there will be a new FastPass+ option for the Wildlife Express train to Conservation Station, and that is the best option. (Spoiler: it’s not.)
At this point, my FastPass+ pick would be Flight of Passage if you’re going for efficiency. I suspect capacity will be lower here, and unless the reviews are really poor, demand will be higher. Given that I described this as “Soarin’ Supercharged,” I have a hard time buying that this will garner poor reviews. Guests will likely love it.
This conclusion might seem to conflict with last summer’s experience at Epcot. If you’re trying to find wait time data points among recent Walt Disney World additions, the obvious choices might seem like Frozen Ever After and Soarin’ Around the World. I’d advise against choosing these. For one, Frozen Ever After has a ridiculously low hourly capacity. Second, the “new” Soarin’ there added capacity without presenting a totally new experience. Flight of Passage is not simply Soarin’ with a different film.
I feel Shanghai Disneyland presents a better case study for Pandora is because it presented brand new (to its audience) variations on both of these ride systems. It’s still a messy comparison, but in Shanghai, the lines for Soaring Over the Horizon dwarfed Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure. We’re talking triple the wait times or more. While I don’t expect that much of a chasm to occur with Pandora, a significant gap is possible.
This assumes a lot of things, most notably that efficiency is of paramount concern. If you’re heading to Pandora anytime in Summer 2017, you’re likely looking at a triple-digit wait time for either of these attractions during the middle of the day.
Obviously, some of this wait can be obviated by rope dropping the attraction or lining up right as the park closes, but you’re still going to be waiting a while for whichever attraction you don’t FastPass. If you hate waiting, this might leave you saying one of the Pandora attractions for a later trip. In that case, you might want to choose the experience you think will be better.
My personal vote there goes to N’avi River Journey. I know ‘reviewing’ an attraction before it has even opened requires a lot of wild speculation, but…that’s sort of what we’re doing above, so why stop with strategy?
If N’avi River Voyage is half as good as Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure, it is going to blow minds. Like, literally. They’ll need a paramedic or something on hand. This is going to be an experience that is totally unprecedented for Walt Disney World fans, and something you should do if choosing one or the other. All in my mostly uninformed opinion, of course.
As for our strategy, we plan on going to Animal Kingdom two different days (actually, probably many more since we need to test and formulate a strategy that is more than just wild speculation) and using a FastPass+ for each Pandora attraction on different days. If you’re taking a longer trip or buying Park Hopper tickets, this is the obvious and best strategy.
For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Do you agree or disagree with our FastPass+ speculation for Pandora: World of Avatar? Do you think Animal Kingdom is likely to switch over to tiered FastPass+ once Pandora FastPasses become available? What’s your strategy? Share any questions, tips, or additional thoughts you have in the comments!
We have resort reservations starting on May 19th.
I logged in at 7 am this morning and was able to book FastPass+ for Flight of Passage at 8:10 am on opening day, Saturday, May 27th…crazy but we’re going specifically for the opening so why not deal with the scrum – even though there is likely to be a soft opening beforehand. Bucket list, etc.
Only one of the two Pandora attractions allowed per day. No other tiered attractions.
We booked Na’vi River for Monday, the 29th so we’ll “lose” that day for FP+ at other parks. It works for us as we have a long stay but it would be a bummer otherwise.
Nothing else to report – the system didn’t crash or anything although it did take a bit longer than usual to confirm.
Thanks for some early Pandora hype Tom. As a Florida resident AP holder, will likely save another AK visit for a weekday in October. Look forward to all the reviews until then. BTW: I’ve made no bones that I hate FP’s. It kills 50% of each ride’s capacity for the benefit of very few people per hour. In pre-FP days, there were never 120-180 min wait times. Open up both sides of all rides and park life gets much simpler. Ok, off the soapbox. Thanks for an awesome blog.
Do you know when they will be opening up the dates for August for River of Lights dining?
I agree with your predictions about the tiers. We are not doing the dinner package, but will get a FP for ROL. Then, I’m hoping to be able to get one of the Pandora rides. Don’t know if this will even be possible. If not, we are park hopping, so will try for FP on two separate nights for each of the new rides. So exciting!
I am going to Disney in August. I have made the package dining reservation for Rivers of Light at Tusker House at 8:00 a.m. We will be in the park before it opens. Eat fast and get out by 9:00 a.m. when the park opens. Head for Pandora: World of Aviatar. Then we have to decide which fast pass to get first. Hopefully your blog will have a good suggestion by the time I have to make my fast pass reservations in June. Enjoyed your speculation article.
I don’t understand this. I thought Rivers of Light was a nighttime show?
It is a nighttime show you can book a breakfast dining package at Tusker House and receive reserved seating for that evenings show
Hi, Julia. You were able to reserve a RoL package in August?! I check EVERY DAY and no dates in July or August are available on the calendar. How did you manage this?!
Thanks,
Meghan
How did you make your reservations for Dining for River of Lights for August? I called and they said the dates for July and August weren’t open yet!
Hi Tom,
I’ve booked my first ever trip to WDW this september and first of all thankyou SO MUCH for your blog – it’s giving me excitement chills and i’m building a itinerary/bucket list from your recommendations 🙂
I am SO excited for the Pandora area, and thrilled that it should open by Sept’17!
Will you be heading over to WDW before Sept to test out your pandora plans?
Pandora will be opening May 27, 2017 not in September. It is going to be a crazy and hectic weekend as it is also Memorial Day Weekend.
I am just wondering if annual passholders who only have a 30 day window to make fast passes will stand any chance on being able to get these fast passes for the first few months at all…. I think we will be SOL.
I agree with your assessment, but if you refresh diligently on the same day, you might get lucky with My Disney Experience. That has happened a few times to us with Frozen Ever After–but it requires a lot of luck and patience.
Your best bet would be Disney delaying on adding FastPass+ to the attractions until <30 days of opening, but I think that is very unlikely to happen here.
We will be at Animal Kingdom on April 28. Has there ever been a soft launch a month out? I desperately want to see Pandora!
I think it’s about a 50/50 chance at this point. New Fantasyland started its soft openings over a month in advance, in mid-October with the official opening in early December.
We will be there may 20-26 so we are missing Pandora by one day. Do you think they will have a soft opening at some point that week? Like maybe the night before on May 26?
Thank you for all this great info!! Do you think soft opening will be happening mid-May and if so would FastPass will be available during that time? I’m not familiar with how soft opening works…thanks!
I really hope the banshee ride in pandora does not resemble the ride in the wizarding world bc I think it’s terrible. That’s the thought that comes to mind when you describe what it may be like. Also, and though I hate to be so negative when it comes to Disney, I am disappointed in Rivers of Light. The technology is cool but it’s too similar to illuminations yet without the powerful direction illuminations holds. I guess I was hoping for something that would make me feel better about not having world of color in wdw and this doesn’t do it at all. Also still not loving the new FP system. It’s so inflexible to have to know where you’re going to be. Even being in wdw alone, I hated having to plan this portion of my trip and it was constantly interfering with my day.
Thanks for the advice, Tom! Really enjoy your blog! What I am taking into consideration is the probability that the N’avi River Voyage will probably (hopefully) not have a height requirement, meaning our whole party can go together – if that’s the case, we’ll definitely FastPass that one and queue Flight of Passage (it seems likely that one will have height restrictions)… is that your impression of the rides?
if it does have a height requirement you might have to be over 8 feet tall.
Uh, are you sure you mean 8 feet?? That’s a lot.
Eden,
I have not seen Avatar and don’t think I ever will but I think the Navi are eight feet tall so that was supposed to be a joke by rorosen.
ohhhh. oops haha! i haven’t seen the movie in such a long time.
You read my mind. I’m already formulating a plan for this for September – really happy not to be going in peak peak season though. Would not enjoy that stress. So far my plan is to book two days in our week with a pre-park opening RoL dining package for breakfast at Tusker House, thus taking care of RoL. I’ll cancel one but am covering my bases in case Disney move an EMH or worse intro an “Early Morning Magical Pandora for billionaires” and torpedo my plans. Then to FP+ one of the Pandora rides, probably the thrill ride (although, like you, more excited for the river journey) and then either rope drop Pandora or rope drop the less manic Kilimanjaro safari for a calmer start to the day. I would then either just wait in line for the river journey after safari or FP+ it another day/do an a.m. EMH. Looking forward to reading what strategies come out from May! What a nerd.
I like that you took at stab at this. We are headed down in September and that will give us some lead time, but it will definitely change our park approach with Animal Kingdom. We are in the pro-AK camp, so we always treated it like a full day park. We always made the dash for Expedition Everest or the safari. This is a complete game changer in a very good way. Looking forward to seeing where we should run first and how to game-plan it!
the safari ride was indeed a game changer,.. a big game changer (that pun’s for you, tom!)
Hi Tom- Thanks for all you do and for such incredible pictures to go along with your blogs. I’d really like to ask you a question about a certain camera you use but my emails may not be getting through to you (or are in your spam/junk mailbox). If there is any way to connect with me, I’d greatly appreciate it.
Check out the photography thread on the blog and the photo section on the forum. He does a post called whats in my camera bag and it will list all of the gear he is carrying.
How likely do you think there will be soft-previews for GP the week prior to opening? I remember going to DL all three days prior to Indy’s official opening and getting on each day (95/96 was the best year for AP lol).
I appreciate the thoughts. We’re actually headed down to WDW on May 27th itself, so we’ll be in the middle of the mayhem.
I suspect the queue will be a large part of the experience, so in addition to FP+ rope drop or end of the night might be good options for experiencing the queue. That said, I think the best bet might be…. rope drop Everest and have it to yourself for an hour. 🙂
If FoP and Navi are on opposite tiers, we will reserve FoP via fastpass 60 days in advance for park open and leave our other two online fast passes unreserved. Use the FoP fastpass immediately and since it’s our only reserved pass, we can immediately book Navi for any time still available late in the day, Book ROL dining package (because we’ve got to eat anyway). We did the same thing with Soarin and Frozen at EPCOT when it first came out. Just had to keep checking the app after using the one online fastpass till a time for Frozen came open.
I would rope drop the attraction closest to the front of Pandora, FP+ the other, the safari and Everest and dining package rivers of light
I really enjoyed this post – we are visiting in September and I’m very excited about the new offerings at animal kingdom! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Tom!
All great info to consider, thank you! But why would they be releasing fast passes so early, if people still can’t even try to reserve them for another month? Is it expected fast passes would be available for soft opens in early May or something? Just wasn’t sure if I was missing something.
Guests staying on site can normally start reserving 60 days in advance, so they my try to release them early enough to give resorts guests a slight advantage. However, that is total speculation on my part, so don’t take my word for it. 😉
I understand about the guests staying onsite getting 60 days, it’s just that that is still a month away, so I just wasn’t sure if there was any reason to speculate that fast pass details would be announced any day now instead of in the coming weeks. Thanks though!
I wish there were a better explanation, but I was thinking we were about 2 months from opening rather than 3. I’ve changed “any day now” to “in the near future.” My guess is we are still a month away from FP+ becoming available. Whoops.
No worries, I just didn’t know if I was missing anything!