Is AK worth a visit just for Pandora?

[mala55]

We are returning to Disney in the Spring? Our days at Disney will be fewer this time as we will be spending a couple of days at Universal (first time). Our plans was to skip a water park and AK this time. While we like AK, it's our least favorite park and we have done it twice. However, now there is Pandora.

Is Pandora that great? We have not watched the movie Avatar (but could before we go)

Is the Flight of Avatar good? Scary for a 10 yr old?

I guess not Pandora, but is River of Lights worth it? We are not huge animal people.

I would hate to miss something good, but don't want to waste valuable time either.

Thank you!!!

 

[Hisgirl]

For us, AK used to be a meh park...but now, we have found fun things to do and try to mix it up. Breakfast at Tusker's maybe even the trek tour at the safari, attending one of the musicals...it helps to make it different each time. I like how cool the park it compared to some others.

As for Pandora, Flight of Passage...it blew me away. The boat ride was okay, but if I miss it again, I won't care. Flight of Passage was a totally new and different experience and YES, watch the movie first! We took a 12-year old and the movie was just great before hand. IMO, there isn't another ride in WDW that compares to Flight of Passage.

 

[CinderellaDream]

We did a two day trip this summer for the entire purpose of seeing Pandora while we were already in Florida at the beach. Like you, AK has historically been our least favorite park but it was definitely worth a trip to experience the new attractions. As PP said, Flight of Passage is unlike any other ride and really was fantastic! While viewing the movie ahead of time isn't necessary it may give you a better appreciation of the details you see throughout the area.

 

[wolf29]

We found FoP to be incredible, while the River Journey was somewhat disappointing. We have always loved AK, but are huge "animal people", so the Park has always been a must do. Although Pandora is spectacular, I could not say that AK would be worth a visit for ONLY FoP & RoL.

 

[LilDisHelper]

With Pandora , AK is now one of my favorit Parks (1: Epcot 2: AK 3 : MK 4: HS)
And everybody has to see pandora its sooooooo Beatiful and the Rides NRJ and
FOP are great

 

[Tomh]

We skipped AK for a few years in a row. This year, with the addition of Pandora, the tree of life awakenings, the evening safari, and RoL, we decided to visit again. RoL was not as good as I was hoping for, however Pandora was amazing, we very much enjoyed the evening safari as well. Flights of Wonder never disappoints, nor does Festival of the Lion King. The tree of life awakenings are very cool as well. Certainly, not only is AK worth visiting, it is a full day park, and that was without riding EE, Dino, or Kali. Tusker House lunch was one of the families favorites, Flame Tree BBQ is always good as well. Overall, it is an amazing park!

 

[cvjpirate]

I think AK is worth it without Pandora, but yes I think Pandora is worth a visit.

 

[Silvermist999]

We hadn't planned to visit AK in May....but changed our plans quickly when we heard Pandora was opening the weekend right before we were flying home! Definitely worth it to visit Pandora, and we saw ROL for the first time as well.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Yes! AK used to be our least favorite park, by our youngest DD said that FoP makes it worthwhile. We actually rope dropped it a few times last trip which is something we've never done before.

 

[CAS239]

Pandora itself is worth a trip to AK

FoP is the most popular ride at Disney right now and likely up there for the best ride

As far as scary, all depends on the kid. I've seen kids younger get off it and yell they wanted to ride again.

RoL is not worth it. Everyone should experience everything once and put others opinions to the side. But I personally wouldn't even walk to the other side of AK to see RoL again let alone head to the park mainly for it

 

[Belle's Librarian]

We just got back. The big change is that AK is now a true nighttime park. After 7 pm, we had an early evening safari, listened to music, watched acrobats on the street, visited Pandora after dark and watched ROL. We were there all day, but the best part of our trip was at night.

My kids, who are animal lovers, loved ROL. I liked it more than expected based on the reviews. NRJ was ok for me, great for the kids who don't like big thrills. FOP is the rare attraction that is actually as good as everyone says.

If you do enjoy other parts of AK, then Pandora has the added bonus of making the rest of the park empty at rope drop. DH rode Everest, the kids met Mickey and Minnie, and DD and I rode Kali twice with no wait, all in the first hour.

 

[Cheyflan]

I would suggest getting a Park Hopper for the AK day. AK is the same except for RoL and FoP so if that's the only thing on your list it isn't worth a full day at AK. My boyfriend and I have a strategy when we go in March which is park hop and hit FoP, Navi, and EE in the morning then head over to Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day! I want to see Pandora at night, but it will be there for a while and I can wait til the crowds go down a bit.

 

[loves to dive]

I agree with getting a park hopper, we made a trip early this month for the express purpose of seeing Pandora (well that was our excuse) and while we enjoyed it, I'm not sure I'd make a trip to AK just for that. Mind you, we love AK and I can't imagine not going there and my son declared that FOP might possibly be the best ride in all of WDW, I'd argue with that and probably won't ride it again unless he's with me. I actually enjoyed NRJ and ROL. I think you should try as much as you can at least once just so you can judge for yourself since everyone is different. Just look at me, one of the few people who wasn't awed about FOP but enjoyed NRJ.

 

[annemce118]

I don't think it's that great. Don't waste your time there this trip. I watched Avatar for the first time right before my trip this summer. The movie and lands were just ok in my opinion....not worth all the hype...

 

[maryj11]

It is worth seeing it at least once. I was a little disappointed with FOP, not the ride itself but because of my prescription glasses I wear it was a little blurry. It was pretty crowded also, we were in and out pretty quick because the crowds. At night it was really pretty lite up, a little dark but what was lite up was pretty. Hopefully when the newness calms down we can go back and enjoy it more without so many people.

 

[mala55]

Thank you all. Given your feedback, I think I'll regret it if we don't at least check out Pandora. May skip ROL. I think the park hopper to AK for s few hours may be enough. Thanks again!!