Do I have to watch Avatar to have Pandora make sense?

[rentayenta]

Just curious; I don't really enjoy that genre but if its a must, I will.

Thoughts?

 

[jeff_h]

I've never seen Avatar and enjoyed FOP... but I think seeing Avatar would be helpful in riding through Navi River as the scenery didn't mean much (boat ride wasn't very long either).

 

[rentayenta]

I've never seen Avatar and enjoyed FOP... but I think seeing Avatar would be helpful in riding through Navi River as the scenery didn't mean much (boat ride wasn't very long either).

Ok, thanks! DH is trying to convince me to watch it saying that Pandora won't be as good if I haven't seen it. I think he's messing with me.

 

[Mr & Mrs DD]

I have seen Avatar but I can't say that having seen it made me enjoy the ride anymore than someone who has not seen it. It may make a little sense in that you will be able to connect things to the movie, but it won't interfere with your enjoyment of the rides.

 

[CAS239]

No you don't have to see it to enjoy the land and rides..but seeing the movie will make the experience better imo. You'll catch details that you wouldn't if you have not seen the movie.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

To have it make sense, yes. To enjoy the ride, no. It's freaking awesome whether you understand what's happening or not!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Haven’t seen Avatar (and don’t really plan to). I enjoy the land immensely.

 

[hiroMYhero]

I think he's messing with me.

If he watched The Little Mermaid, would he enjoy the ride more than he does now?

I think you will enjoy Pandora and the rides but you’d have a better understanding of what you’ve seen if you watched a bit of the movie.

 

[cassie58]

Having caught the movie on TV one night after having ridden FoP, it does add context, but not necessary to enjoy. But very cool to see how well done it was - I can definitely appreciate the attention to detail now - really spot on!

 

[SaintsManiac]

I have no interest in the movie, but I love Pandora very much. It was an unexpected twist for me for sure!

 

[Ben E N]

I would actually not watch it if I were you. The real fun of the movie is the magical world that it wraps you up in. Seeing it in a 3D movie theater allowed this to happen. I loved it when I saw it in the theater. I then bought it on Blue Ray and realized how paper thin the story is, and how everything doesn't look nearly as good on a flat screen.
FOP is in 3D, so it is much more similar to the theater experience.
The River ride is lame whether you know the story or not, so save yourself the 3 hours and skip the film.

 

[loves to dive]

I didn't watch the movie before we went to Pandora but my son had seen it so sort of explained the premise while we were standing line. I have seen it since.

 

[HopperFan]

- DS saw movie, I did not.
- He said just imagine a really colorful beautiful Fern Gully.
- I was going to watch it but didn't so we could compare notes.
- Both thought the land was beautiful and see/not seeing had no impact.
- River ride made no sense to me (more like a trippy dream), and it highly disappointed him for lack of story.
- FoP made total sense to him, not much to me but I thought the queue was very cool! and loved the ride.
- I really wanted Na'vi [Avatars] in the land to see, like they were there for the ground breaking ... nope.
- DS was equally disappointed with the lack of life in the land, he was looking for more of a movie impact.


There are pros/cons to both seeing and not seeing so it really doesn't matter.

PS I have tried to watch the film since but haven't gotten far ...

 

[Ben E N]

He said just imagine a really colorful beautiful Fern Gully.

Dead on. That movie is Fern Gully and Dances with Wolves' love child, with a 3d special effects mutation.

 

[goofyernmost]

I have always maintained that no exposure at all can still be enjoyable. I was never a movie fanatic so there are many things at both WDW and Universal that I have never seen. Examples... 20K leagues, I saw snow white when I was 4, I'm 70 now. Does anyone think I remember much of the movie? Star Wars.. only seen one movie and that was just last year. Still enjoy Star Tours and expect to enjoy STL. Never seen an Indy movie yet I loved the Indy show. In Universal I enjoyed both Jurassic Park and The Terminator along with Spiderman and Harry Potter even though I have never seen one of the mentioned movies. In HP there were a few characters that I had no idea who they were, but, it didn't stop me from enjoying the attractions. My point is that it isn't necessary to have seen any of the movies. What I have done is got to the attractions and value it based on what I am seeing. It's still a story and the story is understandable, even if you don't know the history. It might be added value to have the background, but, I never felt I had to go in with that information to enjoy it.

 

[RolloTomasi]

You don't need to see the movie to appreciate Pandora. In fact, I recommend avoiding the movie altogether just because (Avatar is WAAAAAY up there on my lost of most hated movies).

 

[Liljo22]

- I really wanted Avatars in the land to see, like they were there for the ground breaking ... nope.

There were no Avatars at the ground breaking. They were added into the photos after. Nearly impossible to have them walking around due to their size. Stilt walkers not possible due to the bend in the leg.

 

[HopperFan]

There were no Avatars at the ground breaking. They were added into the photos after. Nearly impossible to have them walking around due to their size. Stilt walkers not possible due to the bend in the leg.

Yeah .... I get that about the photos but my point was Disney (and actually I should have been clear and said Na'vi) included them in the whole promotion of the land implying their participation, and then they were almost completely left out of the land. They could have done better in the incorporation.

 

[tidegirl]

If he watched The Little Mermaid, would he enjoy the ride more than he does now?

I think you will enjoy Pandora and the rides but you’d have a better understanding of what you’ve seen if you watched a bit of the movie.

Best. Answer. Ever. Hahahahahahahaha

 

[JerseyJanice]

We rented the movie on DVD when it first came out. My son and I tried to watch it a number of times. He may have gotten through it once, but I just couldn’t. The story was secondary to the effects, and the movie overall didn’t hold my interest.

Both of us felt at the time that we were missing something because we didn’t see it in 3-D. IDK now if that was the problem.