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!
I’m 60 days out from my reservation in September and Flight of Passage was unavailable for our three night stay.
Same here…we tried at the exact moment fast passes could be booked…and all were gone.
I just called and talked to a cast member, and she said that for the time being, no Fast Passes are being offered for Flights of Passage. That would explain why it shows as being unavailable from the moment it’s possible to be booked, but I have never heard of Disney doing this before. Every ride I know of has always had the option of booking fast pass. When we were there in July, we were able to book a fast pass for flight of passage. Has anyone else called and confirmed this to be true?
I was able to snag FP+ for both rides (separate days) in mid-October. One week trip. Day of arrival, we were able to get Na’vi River Journey. On the 4th day, we were able to snag Flight of Passage at 5:35pm (we didn’t try or look at the days in between first and 4th day).
I’m planning a trip for October. There will be 4 adults and 3 kids, one of whom will be too short to ride Flight of Passage. So, if I get 3 adults and 3 kids fast passes to navi river journey and the other adult a FP for FOP can we then use child swap at FOP so that my husband would ride first and then I could take the 2 older boys using child swap? I’ve never used child swap so I’m not sure if that is how it works or if me and the kids would also need to have a FP for FOP. Thanks for the advice!
I attended a Pandora preview. We were told that the que capacity for FOP is 6 hours. I was able to walk the full que line and it feels endless! This ride is amazing and will be very, very popular. The stand-by queen is a must see. I heard there are EMH prior to park opening. I would get there 1 hour to park opening to park and line up. Line up on the left side. They are probably already planning on walking guests into Pandora.
Hey. Thanks for your update. I go to Disney every couples years but this will be the first time going the opening weekend of a new park section. I have two days at the parks (May 27 and 28). We are doing MK on the 27th to avoid the opening day craziness but will be doing AK on the 28. By the time we had reservations there were no more fast passes for the two Pandora rides. =( I didn’t schedule any thing else until 11 to give us 3 hours in Pandora. Do you think we would be able to do 2 rides in three hours if we head straight there when the park opens? We are staying onsite so we will have access to EMH but I’d like to do everything before then if possible. One AM is a little past my bedtime. Also, how crazy do you expect that Sunday to be? Do you think park will be at capacity?
How crowded do you think the evening extra magic hours that are from 11pm to 1am are going to be? I was thinking of trying to do both Avatar rides then, but wasn’t sure it would be enough time.
At this point, you actually only have to choose between the two new Pandora attractions, and then beyond that there are no tiers!
Will the lines during evening magic hours be horrendous?
Im planning to hit epcot during the day and want to fp frozen and go to pandora during emh. But should i use the fp on pandora at 930 to 1030pm instead and not fp anything at epcot?? Decisions decisions.
If you’re planning on doing Epcot during the day start heading in the direction of Frozen early before World Show case opens. Then you’ll probably have a shorter wait. Or if Frozen is a must have breakfast at the Aukerhus and then head strait over to Frozen.
We are touring in December at a Disney resort. Does anyone have any thoughts on fastpass strategy for Animal Kingdom during a day with early magic hours?
Hi! We are going on June 3rd (Saturday). Party of 10. Got FastPass+ for Flight of Passage at 11:20 – 12:20. That should give me enough time to ride N’avi River Voyage first thing in the morning and maybe have some breakfast (park opens at 7:00 am for EMH). We also booked Dining Package for Rivers of Light. What do you think? Thanks! 🙂
I think that’s a perfect strategy. I like the early FP+ for Flight of Passage, which allows you to book other Animal Kingdom FastPass+ midday.
Is the dining package at Tiffin’s?
Hello! Since we are not yet to less than 60 days, how were you able to get fast passes? I will also be there on the third and am making my strategy now!
Hi Tom,
Had to thank you for all your great Disney info. Read your article about Nightly Magic at Pandor so immediately made a DVC reservation so I could attend. Being that I live in Ocala Fl. Can frequent the parks and with all your info can get in sooner then I ever dreamed of to see the attractions I’ve been waiting to open. Thanks ever so much for keeping everyone informed about Disney…….Have a Magical Day!
Event is full! 12:21pm PDT. I will be there May 12-22, but looks like I will have to come back in fall or try to get lucky and catch a soft opening that isn’t for the AP holders
Hi,
Does anybody know if you’ll be able to book dining at the Avatar restaurant for dates before the May 27th opening? Or Fast passes for dates before the 27th?
As an infrequent traveler to WDW I most likely would go multiple days. My only concern is the Flight attraction – as 3D motion on rides like Star Tours prevents me from visiting that. I understand the Banshee seats are individualized but I wonder how much dip and diving will go on. It will be interesting.
I used to have the same problem with the 3d motion but have discovered that Dramamine works wonders for that kind of thing, not just seasickness. Have fun!!
I have the same problem with 3D rides and shows. But for me it’s less motion sickness and more it can trigger migraines. I’ve found some tricks to be 1) limit to the must see/ride (Gringotts at Universal is a must do Transformers 3D not so much), 2) place the glasses at the end of my nose, this seems to help for some reason, 3) take a break afterwards where its cool, sit down, drink some water 4) make sure there are a few hours between 3d stuff or if necessary other thrill rides, 5) maybe try to find a video on youtube to get some basic idea of what to expect.
Thanks for this update. We’ll be at Disney World the first week of June so am excited to know we can get at least one Fast Pass for this new land.