Pandora – World of Avatar Spoiler-Free Review
Pandora – World of Avatar is the newest land in Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World, and the largest addition in over a decade. In this review, we’ll take a spoiler-free (meaning no photos or pivotal attraction plot points) look at Pandora – World of Avatar, and whether it lives up to the hype.
Hype is actually an interesting word to use here. Is there really any? While no official cost has been released, Pandora’s price tag is in the hundreds of millions of dollars, easily north of $500 million. Disney has engaged in a marketing blitz for Pandora and some fans are quite enthused about the addition, but it does not seem to be garnering the same level of buzz as other recent additions.
This is at least somewhat surprising to me, as I’d hazard a guess that the only larger investments Disney has made stateside since the opening of Animal Kingdom are the Disney California Adventure overhaul and the NextGen initiative. I’d be surprised if Cars Land alone or New Fantasyland cost more, yet both generated more fanfare. It’s possible Pandora is overshadowed by the upcoming Toy Story and Star Wars Lands, perhaps people don’t care as much about the movie, or maybe, after almost 6 years of development, people are a bit burned out…
One thing still boggles my mind about Pandora, and that’s the dismissive attitudes I’ve seen from those who don’t like or don’t care about Avatar. Prior to the announcement of this land, it never would’ve crossed my mind that the source material for something in the facts could detract from enjoyment of the theme park experience.
When the original announcement of an “Avatar Land” was made in September 2011, like most people, I was puzzled. Even at that point, it appeared unlikely that Avatar had longevity. However, I felt it was pretty comparable to Splash Mountain–few guests have seen Song of the South, yet the attraction is beloved as a standalone experience. (Edit: others disagree, and I think the way Steve put it in the comments is a very fair point.)
Over time, I figured people would come around on this Avatar Land, much the same way. Seeing what and how Imagineering would integrate the environments of the movie into Animal Kingdom would convert people. To their credit, this has occurred with many Disney fans. It also has not occurred with a lot of others.
It’s as if many are entrenched in their initial hot takes from 2011 or are uninterested because they didn’t like or remember the movie Avatar. Think of it this way: would you enjoy Haunted Mansion less if someone made a long-forgotten movie about it? Because if you think you would enjoy it less in such a scenario, I’ve got some news for you…
If it would make you enjoy Pandora – World of Avatar more, just forget about the movie. Most people have. I cannot name a single character from it nor do I remember the plot. Aside from knowing that the characters in it looked sort of like “blue alien smurf kittens” (and I only know that because it’s become a running joke), I have no interest in Avatar.
Likewise, I have no interest in Harry Potter or Cars. Well, beyond Mater’s Tall Tales, but we can all agree that’s a national treasure and that the fact that it doesn’t have a showcase of awards basically invalidates the whole concept of awards.
I will say that I think the lingering question of “why Avatar?” remains one worth asking. I do have mixed feelings on this too, though. On the one hand, choosing a franchise with emotional resonance for some visitors undoubtedly makes for a more powerful experience.
Choosing one without relevance also makes for some potentially awkward connections in the land–places where you can sense a tie-in to something, but you’re not sure what or why. Thankfully, the instances of this in Pandora are fairly minimal. (It’s also worth noting that Avatar does have upcoming sequels planned, and while that’s become a bit of a running joke, I’d never underestimate James Cameron. It’s still within the realm of possibility that Avatar will become a huge franchise.)
On the other hand, I question whether choosing a popular franchise as the basis for a land presents the opportunity for theme park designers to rest on the IP’s laurels. With emotional attachment already established for some visitors, does the land have to be as good to be labeled a “success” in the eyes of those fans? The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is the obvious example here, but I’d argue that it never even gets near this question, because its lands are so good.
If anything, Star Wars Launch Bay and its associated entertainment are more telling. Despite being total garbage, fans continue to eat that up for the chance to meet characters from the films and see Star Wars experiences. (To its credit, it appears that Star Wars Land will make Launch Bay, etc., look like that amateur-hour temporary entertainment that it is.)
Still, Launch Bay is an imperfect example because it’s not a land. As with the Wizarding Worlds, Cars Land is also a poor test because it’s actually good. I don’t think we’ll have a true test of this theory until Toy Story Land opens. The future of theme parks is clearly in lands of this type, but addressing these ‘theories’ head-on is probably well beyond the scope of this post. I’d better cut this tangent off now unless this review is going to broach 10,000 words…
—
With way-too-much prefacing out of the way (have I lost you all yet?), we’ll start the review with the land of Pandora itself. I approached Pandora – World of Avatar with a blank slate, just as I’ve approached virtually every theme park area ever (unless you count the American Adventure, as I had visited America before visiting Epcot).
From that perspective, I really enjoyed Pandora – World of Avatar. By and large, the environments speak for themselves. There are some details that (I assume?) are lifted from the movie, but they also work in the land and add layers of detail and depth to it. Without any context, you can deduce the meaning behind these things, and I think they help add to the land’s mythos.
I do think that Pandora works well within the archetype of Animal Kingdom. When you think about it, the park is not primarily about animals. They are the MacGuffins or perhaps motifs–the impetus behind most attractions–but they are not the defining themes. Those are the culture and similar ideas of conflict, exploration, etc., addressed above.
All of those same themes are found in Pandora. It’s certainly not just a glorified commercial for the upcoming Avatar sequels, and it’s not even just a pretty place with floating mountains and blue aliens. There is an underlying culture and other themes to explore and almost all of this is not reliant upon the movie.
There’s a lot of subtext, and it can be gleaned mostly from paying attention to what you see throughout Pandora, not any familiarity with the movie. In fact, the spots where Pandora alludes to elements of the film actually resonate less with the guest, I think.
The places where Pandora – World of Avatar loses me are almost exclusively when RDA comes into the picture. Perhaps this is personal, but I’d like seeing that minimized even further, and more focus paid to Alpha Centauri Expeditions (ACE) and the Pandora Conservation Initiative. After all, the latter two better reflect the overarching message of Animal Kingdom itself.
There’s also just a lot of flat-out beauty. The Valley of Mo’ara is absolutely breathtaking and there is so much to see. It would appear that careful consideration has gone into crafting a faux ecosystem, and building that as it would appear in the natural world.
I guess you could say it’s a form of biomimicry, but with the design also being ‘natural.’ I don’t know if there’s a term for that, but Rohde and co. should coin one if not, as the environment they’ve created here is truly special. I’m not one for overwrought backstory, but I’d love to read something about what went into the design of Pandora’s ecosystem.
Suffice to say, Pandora is very good and works well within the context of Animal Kingdom. It really doesn’t have any analogue at Walt Disney World. For that type of comparison, I think it makes most sense to compare Pandora to stylistically-similar lands in other Disney Parks around the world. If there’s any “unique” perspective I can offer on Pandora, it’s probably this.
The lands I’d consider its closest counterparts are Cars Land at Disney California Adventure, Mysterious Island at Tokyo DisneySea, and Treasure Cove at Shanghai Disneyland. Really, Treasure Cove and Cars Land are the best comparisons, but everyone seems to love hearing whether something is “Tokyo DisneySea-quality” so I threw that last one in there to give the people what they want.
Setting aside the attractions in each land, there’s no question in my mind that Pandora is better than Cars Land and Treasure Cove. Pandora – World of Avatar has a level of 360-degree immersiveness and design that you just cannot find in the more linear styles of Cars Land and Treasure Cove.
This is not necessarily a knock on either of those lands–they’re both modeled after towns/villages and thus walking down a street makes sense in both. By contrast, Pandora is alien-nature, and embraces open-world exploration. There are paths criss-crossing the land, giving it a real choose your own adventure vibe. (It never becomes disorienting or confusing–the layout is great.)
The question about whether Pandora is DisneySea-quality is trickier. That park is a scenario where the whole is more than the sum of its parts, and cherrypicking elements of other parks and asking whether they are DisneySea-quality sort of misses the point. After all, Tokyo DisneySea has Mermaid Lagoon, which is a land full of dressed-up off-the-shelf amusement park rides for kids, and no one really bats an eye at that. If the bar is Mermaid Lagoon, a lot of stuff could technically qualify as DisneySea-quality.
With that caveat out of the way, I think Pandora has a level of detail on par with Tokyo DisneySea, and by that, I mean its better lands. Pandora reminds me a decent amount of Mysterious Island. I’m sure that is going to lose serious DisneySea fans, but stick with me…
Both lands chronicle humankind’s exploitation of land and the struggle between humans and nature. Both feature a large, iconic centerpiece. Both use largely mythical creatures and also illustrate themes of conflict and exploration. Both are based upon intellectual property with which their primary audiences are unfamiliar. 😉 Heck, both lands lack background music and instead use sound effects.
This is not to say I think Pandora is Mysterious Island’s equal. I don’t and it isn’t. Mysterious Island has a timelessness to it, sense of place, and quality that Pandora does not match. Mysterious Island is a pinnacle of Imagineering; one of the top 5 lands Disney has created anywhere in the world. With that said, I think Pandora is in the same league, and just the fact that this is a conversation says a lot about its quality.
The visual depth and beauty of the Valley of Mo’ara cannot be overstated. For practical purposes, this is the best “attraction” in Pandora – World of Avatar (and I mean attraction as a synonym for draw–I’m not trying to suggest Pandora “actually” has 3 attractions). It transports visitors to an alien planet for them to freely explore, offering a visual feast with many surprises along the way. (This is my take even before having seen Pandora at night.) On Page 2, we’ll review Avatar Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey…
I might be in the minority, but I absolutely loved Avatar and I still do. It’s my favourite movie of all time. Needless to say, I’m super excited to visit Pandora this summer.
So the patch really works? I love rides like that but I have trouble with motion sickness also. What is the patch called?
I’m a nurse, I think it’s a scopolamine patch.
Visiting 1st week of October and can’t wait to see Pandora. Also going to Universal for the first time since Harry Potter opened.
Thanks for this review, Tom (and Sarah)! I’ve been waiting for your thoughts and pics… I will return again soon to see your excellent photography of Pandora. (RIGHT!? 😉
…I did enjoy Avatar, watching it twice in the Hollywood Arclight Dome. It was incredibly fun, the first 3-D movie that did not give me a terrible headache. That said, I have no emotional connection to it today… Please note I do not have a connection to Potter or Cars or Star Wars (but understand why other people do); I’ve enjoyed the attractions associated with those IPs.
A Soarin ride on steroids is not going to get me to Florida. An all-too-brief dark ride will not get me to Florida. Eventually, sure, we’ll be back to Orlando (and Tampa). For now, I will stick to SoCal parks and do Star Wars Land at DLR Anaheim… and head to both Hong Kong and Tokyo before ever landing in Orlando.
Your reviews are incredibly salient!! So thanks again for taking time to post while still enjoying media events. And, I will keep returning to your site for the images & insights – – living vicariously through your adventures before taking much of your advice when finally returning to WDW (+USO).
The URL below to YouTube will show you the riding stations for the new Flight of Passage ride. It doesn’t show any videos or spoilers. This will give you an idea if you are tall or big, since some have expressed concerns. The minimum height is 44in. I have 2 jigs under 10, so I was curious since this ride is much more intense than Soarin. I’m not sure if the riding stations move or if it just feels like do. Hope this helps.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B2UKeyzGUE4
Edit – the comments section of the video explains how the riding stations work. It may be too intense for some young kid, especially if they felt uncomfortable on Soarin.
was at WDW a few weeks ago and while there I asked a number of guests and cast members how they felt about Pandora opening soon. Was surprised at the many lukewarm responses. Big or small, I look forward to anything new at WDW. I thought every Disney fan did. Apparently I was wrong.
Have never seen the movie, as it’s not my type. (My son told me I’d fall asleep while watching it, and he would know.). Even so, I’ve been anticipating the opening since it was first announced. Come on, a new land in a Disney park, who wouldn’t be excited.
The next trip is after Thanksgiving and I am really looking forward to seeing Pandora. Sadly, I’m the only one in my group who feels that way. These are the same people who insist we go on Pirates of the Caribben first and Haunted Mansion second, even though we’ve ridden them six thousand times, and in that order. Maybe that is the key. They can’t identify with something they haven’t experienced yet. I suppose time will tell if my theory is correct, because $500 million is a lot to spend on something that invokes only a lukewarm response.
Very excited to visit in December. When we went last time we fell in love with Animal Kingdom and that was before Pandora existed. We’re allocating a full day, and possibly a day and a half, to the park now. We’re huge Harry Potter geeks so there’s no way Pandora will live up to that (also Star Wars geeks so that might in a few years), but we’re really hyped for the land.
Honestly I think the biggest problem with Animal Kingdom in general is the layout. It is so difficult to get from one “area” to another and in the summer heat it just gets exhausting and that is why people leave midafternoon. We always leave around 3pm and we never see the whole park before we do it – I am not sure how adding a new land will change that…unless they find a way to improve the narrow long pathways from land to land.
I definitely couldn’t imagine being there in the summer. We always go in December to avoid the heat.
Hi Sarah and Tom – Thanks for all the wonderful advice, etc. about all things Disney. It’s been a great help for our upcoming trip to Disney World. I do have a question about Flights of Passage. I’m terrified of heights and did not enjoy Soaring (won’t ever go on it again). Does Flights of Passage give that same sense of being high in the air? Thanks and enjoy your next trip.
Yeah, it’s more intense than Soarin, too.
Was Sarah able to ride Flights? I know she’s motion sickness prone like I am.
The first day she closed her eyes at a couple of points. Today she wore a behind-ear motion sickness patch and rode it several times without issue.
Are there any drops?
Do the ride vehicles move a lot?
Would motion sickness be felt primarily from watching the screen or from the ride vehicle?
Thanks!
It boggles my mind that strongly disliking a movie wouldn’t have an impact on the level of enjoyment one would get from an attraction/land. I know I am in the minority but there was nothing about Avatar that was good. I did not like the look/visuals of the movie and the blue aliens repulsed me. But it sounds like maybe the world of Avatar in real life will be different enough that I will probably like it well enough but don’t see how it could be my favorite. Just because something is well done doesn’t mean its everyone’s cup of tea. I happen to love Harry Potter and Cars so I think that love for those books for HP and movie for Cars absolutely makes me love those lands even more than I would if I hadn’t read or seen the stories before or didn’t care for them. As for Splash – it is a stand alone because the movie was so long ago. The animals are cute and the song is catchy and one that people who didn’t watch the movie would probably have at least heard before. And it isn’t a land.
Your not alone! I feel avatar is super overrated as well. I also can’t see why my opinion of the movie shouldn’t affect my opinion of the land since they are all connected.
I can’t wait for the pictures and your experiences tonight. Thanks for giving us this sneak peak. I was only able to peek through the opened gate earlier this month and I can’t wait to finally visit! I for one hated the movie Avatar with a passion. SO not my thing. But, I am excited about the land . The movie was visually stunning and I know the land will be a swell. .
We went twice this past weekend. Personally I’d compare Flight of Passage as a combo of Soarin and Harry Potter Forbidden Journey minus all of the things that I don’t like about the Forbidden Journey (motion sickness and lack of actual feel of flying on a broomstick). Other than that we absolutely loved it. Breathtaking. For me, best ride at Disney and Universal. On that note, the last three times I rode Spiderman this year the ride broke down, hence why I’m not putting Spiderman up there. I have a full review on happygosunny but spoiler alert it does have pictures in case you are trying to avoid those!
I managed to snag a preview on May 19th, 3-5pm slots; my first impression of Pandora, was that it was visually overwhelming. You really didn’t know where to focus! I’m a big fan of the movie Avatar and felt the “Land” fell a little short in incorporating or utilizing more aspects of the movie to bring those guests in that have seen it a better sense of what they were doing with this area. I would have liked to see maybe more Avatar “stations”; maybe a statue of an Avatar (strictly for photo purposes) as they would appear to be giants next to us. As for the rides–I was the only one in our party able to ride Flight of Passage. While the queue is probably the longest I walked through–it is very well done and very themed. You don’t lose the land while waiting for the ride. The different rooms you visit up top while waiting to board could have used some streamlining–it was definitely slow and I think this is where most of the delay will come from when it opens. The ride itself–I would put at the top of my list–creativity, sense of adventure, sense of submersion–it hit the high notes. As for the River Journey–I would have loved to have seen a few more “creatures” or have them a bit more interactive with the ride-goers. If you haven’t seen the movie, your kind of left wondering what in the world you saw flash out the corner of your eye.
I did not have a chance to try any food while in Pandora–though reading through reviews and menu items, I’m not sure I would have tried them anyway. Not my cup of tea, but definitely different…and Animal Kingdom is known for being different in terms of food choices. I did, however, go shopping at Windtraders–small store for such an area–though I get it, as most people aren’t movie fans. The Rookery was neat but a bit cheesy (yes I did get my Banshee); no real explanation of the “bonding” process with your Banshee other than find one that likes you (in other words, find your favorite colors!).
Overall, I think this will be a nice little addition to AK, and hopefully in a few years it’ll be one of those places where you can take a break and get out of the steamy jungle of the rest of Animal Kingdom.
Harry Potter is Amazing, the books, the movies, and the theme park additions! If it wasnt for HP i would never have learned to love reading. I feel that HP should not be boxed in with Avatar in this way as if it didnt matter… however that said i agree with the rest of your artical! And thankyou for your insight as our family will be experiencing WDW in 7 days for the first time.
I think your take on how people will spend their day in AK is spot on. For me, it drew the same analogy to WWoHP in IOA. Head there first, then see what the rest of the park offers, then return to HP at night. It will be interesting what this does too my view of other AK rides. I was not as blown away by Spiderman at IOA, but I had just ridden Forbidden Journey three times and it definitely showed some of Spiderman’s age. Will Everest suffer similarly? I’m interested to find out
Will you be updating your Animal Kingdom touring plan? We’ll be going back in September and I’m curious to hear how you think we should navigate 🙂
Thanks for all of the information that you guys provide on your site. My family and I are going to WDW in mid-September and at least I am very excited about the Flight of Passage ride. While I am somewhat average in size (6’1″ 215) and shouldn’t have any issues with the ride, I have two sons, one of them that is built like an NFL offensive lineman (6’7″ 300+) and one that is slightly smaller (6’6″ 265). After reading this post and a bunch of other articles that I have found online it is not looking good for them being able to ride this ride either due to their weight and or maybe their height. I don’t want either one of them to feel bad about their size (height or weight) and so am considering just skipping the whole thing which really sucks. Hopefully once the ride goes live and more people start riding we will see that it isn’t as bad as it is being made out to be or Disney makes adjustments for people of a wider variety of sizes.
Did you happen to see anyone that was really tall on the ride when you guys got to go on it? I mean 6’6″ or 6’7″ tall?
Thanks,
Jason
My husband is right in between your sons in height and weight. 🙂 We’re going in less than two weeks and have a Fast Pass for this ride. I’ll be happy to report back if my husband is able to ride or not (for reference, he cannot fit comfortably on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train because his legs are too long). So – we’ll see. It wouldn’t have occurred to me that his height would be a problem for this ride.
That would be awesome if you could let me/everyone know how your husband does on this ride.
Thank you! I won’t be there until next spring. I have slouched to get on rides at both six flags New England and universal. My biggest worry is a broken collar bone since they get the restraints locked.
Thanks for the review ! We just returned from WDW in early May , spent 2 days at Animal Kingdom as it’s my husband’s favorite park (For me it’s a close second after MK). I was hoping there would be soft openings of Pandora while we were there , but they were only having Cast Member parties and Invited Only guest previews, so no joy there.
Oh well, that will be something new to look forward to for the next trip – which won’t be for awhile, so hopefully by then the crowds will have dissipated.
I agree with you that the park should be enjoyable regardless of how one feels about the movie – but that’s tough. Is CARS land just as awesome even if you haven’t seen the movie ? Not sure. RSR in particular is very film-awareness-heavy. I think for Splash Mountain, that’s okay, because it’s just a single ride, but for a whole land to be based on a low-impact film, it feels like a strange concept. I think the best thing to do is to pretend the movie doesn’t exist and just imagine the land as a brand newly imagined world designed to showcase Disney’s eco-touring and conservationist mission.
I have not seen the Cars movies, and I think Cars Land is pretty awesome!
I can answer one of your questions, at least for me personally. The first time I went to Cars Land, I had not seen the movie. I thought it was just ok. Then I saw the movie, which I enjoyed, but wasn’t over the moon about. After returning to Cars Land, I found I enjoyed it much more. I “got it” now. Admittedly, the second time was also after I started reading Tom’s blog, and EVERYTHING Disney is better after getting his advice! 😉
Great review… To say my wife and I were impressed by Pandora when we visited would be an understatement. Unfortunately (thanks to some really bad advice by a cast member) we were not able to ride Flight of Passage during our preview. We were at least able to do a walkthrough of the queue however (so yeah I basically rode the line ride from South Park), and wow was it impressive. I love the queue for Tower of Terror more than anybody should love a line, however this surpassed it for me. I only got to see it as a walk though and I still felt like I had just experienced an interesting and satisfying attraction.
As somebody who has no emotional connection to either Harry Potter or Avatar, Excluding rides (since I haven’t rode FOP I don’t want to compare), I personally give Pandora the edge over both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley individually. When combining the 2 Potter areas together with the connection though Hogwarts Express, I think the Potter world pulls ahead just a bit. Either way, for Pandora to even be on the same level as the Potter lands is immense praise.
I did get a chance to go to Pandora. I am also one who has not seen the movie “Avatar”. Many in my group had. The land is exceptional in the beauty of the hardscape that looks like softscape. I, like yourself, did not like the prequel to “Flight of Passage”. I uh did not uh understand. Very hard to want to listen to over and over. The ride itself fantastic!! I was bit let down on the river ride, not in its beauty or technology, but in the simplicity. I did ride twice to gain more appreciation. The food at the restaurant was enjoyable and plentiful and not your usual fare. The margaritas next to the store were enjoyable but expensive when adding in the special glass.