Na'vi river journey was disappointing

[Davey Jones II]

I love boat rides, so I expect to enjoy this one. I do think that they should have included more AAs, though. Why not some AAs of the very cool animals from the movie? This is Disney's ANIMAL Kingdom.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

I really don't think it has anything to do with Harry Potter being more popular or more familiar. People find the theming at Hogsmeade and especially Diagon Alley to be more detailed and elaborate than the theming at Pandora because the source material is vastly more detailed and elaborate. Harry Potter is the perfect IP for a theme park land because Rowling and the films created a fully realized world with iconic places and things like Hogwarts Castle, Diagon Alley, Gringotts, the Hogwarts Express, the Knight Bus, Butterbeer and extensive detail down to the various intriguing candies sold at Honeydukes, the flavor of ice cream eaten at Hogwarts feasts, and the appearance of the toilets used to enter the Ministry of Magic. Avatar is a MUCH more simplistic story than Harry Potter with much less material to work with. Having said that, it fits Animal Kingdom reasonably well and Disney did a very good job with what they had to work with.



I also do not see how Pandora can be considered more "immersive" than Diagon Alley. Pandora provides a very impressive faux exotic rainforest setting but at no time do you actually feel that you are in a rainforest or on an alien planet. When you walk through the entrance to Diagon Alley (with no outside attractions visible) and look in front of you, you feel that you have just walked into the fictional setting described in the books, not a theme park imitation of that setting. I agree that the roller coasters are a problem at Hogsmeade, but if there are any roller coasters visible from Diagon Alley, they aren't easy to see.

As adults, it's hard to feel totally immersed in any faux land. HP is impressive for sure, but I also didnt ever feel like I was *actually* in Hogsmeade with its snowcapped buildings when it was close to 100° out and everyone's wearing shorts.

Hogsmeade is the more problematic of the HP lands bc of the views of the roller coasters. It also seemed a little jarring walking from a tropical setting in Jurassic park into the U.K., though I guess that can't be helped. (My first view of Hogwarts included tropical plants, which was odd.) The transition between the rest of AK into Pandora is smoother.

I also thought Disney did a good job of making the faux plants blend in with the real ones. Obviously the glowing Pandora plants aren't real, but they don't stick out as fake if that makes sense.

 

[lvforvaca]

Couldn't agree more. Flight of Passage is amazing. River ride was a one and done for us.

Agree!! I would ride again but wouldn't wait long for it.

 

[LBarLRanch]

We love the slow rides. My wife and I love the coasters too. We did both Universal in Hollywood and Orlando. The coasters at Universal were fun but the others got tiring from the constant jerky movement and we can take only so many fast coasters. The biggest thing is there are really no relaxing rides at Universal. We love the relaxing rides at Disney and all the others too!

 

[Elisa84]

I thought it was okay. Some of the effects were neat(like the bouncing leaves), but felt kind of repetitive after a while. I don't think I'd wait more than a half hour for this ride. When we rode it in June, at the end of the ride there was actually a baseball sized hole in the ceiling and I could see parking lot lights through it. Kind of ruined the ambiance, but also very interesting.

 

[Hikergirl]

I'm looking forward to it more than I am the other Avatar ride. I like the boat type rides the most so once I saw the preview for it I knew it was going to be at the top of my must do list next trip.

 

[Donna3271]

We'll be there over Labor Day, but I think this is what happens when things are SOOO HYPED. People's expectations were set so high with all the hype of the new land opening.

I am still excited to see it, but I am trying to keep my expectations realistic.

 

[ITALIANNYC]

If 7DMT is the best they could do when it came out, Disney is behind the times technology wise. Universal have been much more on the ball.

I'll wait until I've been on FoP though as I may change my mind after that...

wait what? Universal has been much more on the ball? Take away the Harry Potter stuff and literally every Uinversal ride is put on some 3D glasses and sit in a simulation. Universal is no where near as good as Disney in that respect.

The best ride at Universal is the mummy because at the time it was revolutionary with the theming during the coaster ride.

Other than that, it's put on glasses, get in simulator, repeat.

Even the new rides they are making are the same

 

[Liljo22]

NRJ was always meant to be a secondary ride in the land. The original plans had it as a C Ticket ride to the E Ticket FOP.

People always forget Universal only netted up one ride with Hogsmeade and just rethemed two coasters. Even diagon alley is one E Ticket and one C Ticket ride.

 

[rance]

I am the OP of this thread....just got back from riding FOP and WOW. 5 stars 10/10 Amazing, best ride ever.
Exactly what I expect from Disney in 2017. Pandora at night is also amazing and loved the food in the cafe.
I'm not sure any ride is worth a 3 hour wait, but if there is one this is it.
Well done Disney!!!

 

[Davey Jones II]

I'm fine with rides that are slower paced and whatnot but I did find myself wanting more from Na'vi river journey. It's a good concept but it could've been longer in my opinion.

In the future I'll try and snag two FoP fastpasses instead of trying to get one for Navi during my AK days

We're going to try to snag a bunch of FPs for both. That's why park hoppers are so convenient.

Remember, this attraction is in the middle of Fantasyland, mostly geared towards younger kids.

We are two (alleged) adults and we both love 7DMT. Can't wait to ride it again!

 

[Smittolis]

I just posted my ride video for the Na'vi River in another thread, but for those that are curious to see what the op is talking about:

I too was disappointed with the ride, i thought it was good in parts and had some excellent new concepts that worked great....
- the shadow feet walking on the leaves above you complete with sound and moving / reacting leaves
- the translucent 3 dimensional hologram like video effects for the animals and Na'vi
- the animatronics of the main character of the ride

But the ride is too short, you get to see a few different scenes that immerse you in the story, you see the shaman and then its over.... Should be much longer and tell more of a story instead of just dipping your toe in the Na'vi River.. pardon the pun ;o)

There is no way on Earth I would wait 60+ minutes for it, let alone multiple hours.

We did go on FoP multiple times (well my family did, I got so sick from riding it I didn't go on it again!) lol.... This ride is technologically awesome and presents such a different experience it is worth doing at least once even if it takes multiple hours. We were lucky and had multiple fast passes and have a Special Needs Daughter so were able to utilize her DAS card so we didn't have to wait in the sun. My wife took my youngest son at rope drop and by the time she got there and they let you in, the line to get in standby was already 3hrs long and trailing all the way to Africa and the Lion King! lol

 

[GasparillaGriller]

Hogsmeade is the more problematic of the HP lands bc of the views of the roller coasters. It also seemed a little jarring walking from a tropical setting in Jurassic park into the U.K., though I guess that can't be helped. (My first view of Hogwarts included tropical plants, which was odd.) The transition between the rest of AK into Pandora is smoother.

I also thought Disney did a good job of making the faux plants blend in with the real ones. Obviously the glowing Pandora plants aren't real, but they don't stick out as fake if that makes sense.

I agree with all of that. At Hogsmeade, the illusion is broken by a number of factors. Also, I don't mean to put down the theming at Pandora. It really is very well done (particularly the glowing effects at night).

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

wait what? Universal has been much more on the ball? Take away the Harry Potter stuff and literally every Uinversal ride is put on some 3D glasses and sit in a simulation. Universal is no where near as good as Disney in that respect.

The best ride at Universal is the mummy because at the time it was revolutionary with the theming during the coaster ride.

Other than that, it's put on glasses, get in simulator, repeat.

Even the new rides they are making are the same

Spoilers?...






I was looking forward to the Transformers ride (not bc I like Transformers at all, just bc I'd seen so much hype when it opened), but it's almost exactly like Spider-Man. I thought Kong was much better done, but it's also very similar - watch a bunch of 3D video screens, get thrown off something, get caught at the last second,... (Even FJ has a similar scene)

 

[DAKDarling]

yeah they lost me after that one

Yeah, but Disney has a history of pioneering new techology. Animatronics? Steel rollercoasters?

 

[disny_luvr]

I didn't read the entire thread, so forgive me if this has already been discussed. We've never seen the movie Avatar. Is this ride based off the movie? Should we skip it if we've never seen the movie?

 

[loves to dive]

I didn't read the entire thread, so forgive me if this has already been discussed. We've never seen the movie Avatar. Is this ride based off the movie? Should we skip it if we've never seen the movie?

I've never seen the movie and enjoyed both rides and the land. Go for it.

 

[kerry34]

Just back from my first visit to Pandora and FOP was fantastic. The Na'vi River Journey was enjoyable on a completely different level. I like to think that Disney tried to balance it out by adding an attraction for people who only can do slow rides. So many people have a hard time with virtual type rides. The atmosphere in Pandora at night was just amazing in my opinion. It is a place where you could just sit on a bench and take in the views and audio effects. I notice a lot of comparisons to HP but for me they are two different type attractions. Universal did a great job with Diagon Alley and that is also a place I could sit and take in the atmosphere but I do not feel as though it is better than Pandora....in the end I enjoyed both just the same.