As a fangirl myself, I could understand why it had such a devoted following. It was a whole new world with a new mythology to explore. Pretty much a fan’s dream come true. I’m sure the fandom is still there, creating and expanding the universe. (Hi, Avatar fandom!)
Cameron himself plans two sequels, which keep getting pushed back. But he also partnered with Disney to bring his world, Pandora, to life in the Animal Kingdom. That debuted last month over Memorial Day weekend. Guests staying at a Walt Disney World hotel during the month of June were invited to spend time at Pandora during special hours (11 PM to 1 AM). I was such a guest and decided to go visit the new area my last night there.
And I’m glad I did.
I spent most of Friday at Hollywood Studios, which closed at 9:30 PM that Friday. My mom, my aunt and I had Fastpasses for Fantasmic! so we viewed that and then were funneled out to the exit. They went back to the hotel while I got on the long line of people heading to Animal Kingdom (mixed in with the poor souls who just wanted to go to Disney Springs). We all wanted to take advantage of the later hours and so cast members had to bring more buses, including a charter bus. I got on that and got to sit on the nice comfy seats for the short trip from the Studios to Animal Kingdom.
Once inside the park, I decided to first do Expedition Everest because I do like it. It’s fun to ride at night. If you haven’t done it, I advise you to go then.
Anyway, once eleven pm rolled around, I headed toward Pandora since it was the only part of the park that was remaining open. And my jaw dropped.
Lanterns lit the way into Pandora, hanging from trees that stretched over head. Dark lights made those with white on glow as it also lit up multicolored patterns on the walkway. Pools of water and little streams ran nearby, lit up in the darkness as colorful yet alien flora surrounded it. Soft music played overhead and one felt like you were truly transported to another world.
I decided to go on Avatar Flight of Passage first, hoping to do the Na’vi River Journey afterwards. (Spoiler alert: I didn’t do it). When I got to the line, the cast members made sure I was a resort guest before letting me get in the queue. The wait time was listed as 160 minutes and another cast member warned that it was accurate, so people needed to decide if they could wait almost three hours with no bathroom breaks. The night before, my sister said the wait time was listed as 120 minutes but she waited under an hour. So I hit the stopwatch on my phone and went through the queue.
The line moved, though there were a few periods where we stood still. However, they never lasted more than five to ten minutes, so it wasn’t too bad. We climbed up a hill, past more alien flora and more pools of water. (And giant fans to help keep us cool in the muggy night air). Then we entered a cave and snaked around the room as we continued to inch closer to the ride.
(Warning: SPOILERS from here on out. If you want to remain spoiler-free, stop here and scroll to the next bolded part).
We started to wind through several labs of the Pandora Conservation Institute. There’s a Na’vi in a tube and several other experiments. And then you’re in the underbelly of the lab, surrounded by pipes and funneled into different lines. Cast members keep track of how many people are then sent to the different rooms. I had to climb stairs and then I was in a small room, where I had to stand on a particular number.
Once the room had enough people, the door was closed and we were treated to a pre-show. The ride is set some years after the events of the movie. Mining has stopped and now there are scientists from Earth trying to help restore Pandora after the destruction wrought in the movie. One way to do that, we are told, is to study keystone species. On Pandora, that would be the banshee. Because the banshee will attack anything that isn’t a Na’vi, the organization has used the avatar technology to become Na’vi and ride a banshee to study them. We are going to experience that.
First, though, samples of our DNA were taken by just having us move around the room. (Note, your DNA is not really taken. There is no giant conspiracy here). Using the samples, we were then matched to an avatar and told to proceed to the next room.
There, a cast member handed us goggles that were no doubt 3D glasses. We watched a video from the leader of the conservation project, Dr. Jaclyn Ogden, and were told about what to expect—that we’d experience Pandora’s good parts and some of its bad.
We were then brought into a third room where we were instructed to put everything we had in storage bins. Then we had to get on what appeared to be stationary bikes (sans the pedals) and to be sure to be on the one that matched our number. We straddled our station and leaned as far forward as possible. Once we were all in place, we were locked in with a back brace to make sure we were still leaning forward and wouldn’t fall off.
Our stations connected us to our avatars and soon we were flying on banshees. I could feel it breathing against my legs and the beating of its heart. Scents filled the room to correspond to what we were seeing and as we flew over large crashing waves, mists sprayed our faces. Our banshees got into a fight with a predator, chasing it off before continuing on their flights.
We were then disconnected and the braces lowered, allowing us to stand. After collecting my belongings, I went down several flights of stairs to the exit. Which, of course, was a gift shop. It is Disney, after all.
Everything about the ride is amazing, though a bit disconcerting the first time you do it. I’ll admit I got a bit nervous when I was the first one in the room since I was by myself for about thirty seconds. It’s unusual not to have a cast member every step of the way. The graphics are gorgeous and you do really feel like you’re there.
Unfortunately, it didn’t fool my equilibrium and I did start to feel sick toward the end of the ride. Which now leaves me to debate if I want to do the ride again. I feel like there’s probably lots I missed and would discover on multiple rides, but at the same time…motion sickness. It sucks.
(SPOILERS SHOULD BE OVER NOW)
So would I go back to Pandora? Yes, I believe I would—even if it means a trip to Animal Kingdom. I want to see it in the daylight, to see if it’s just as magical as it is at night. And I want to do the river ride since I didn’t have time to do it when I went.
Should you do Pandora? I say yes, you should at least do it once. Go and marvel at what the Imagineers were able to accomplish and feel like you’re on another planet. Maybe try out the rides. Then decide if once is good for you or not.
Happy adventures!
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