***Official*** Pandora: The World of Avatar Information Thread

[CAS239]

I don't really understand how you access the land and there being lines to enter. That sounds really restrictive and like the area is really small (one way in and out?)

Two paths in/out. But the path by Lion King they've only been using as an exit, no entrance, to create form due to crowds.

When there's lines to enter it's formed outside of Pandora. It's near the tree of life and island mercantile shop and goes back up the entrance bridge.

There's nothing restrictive

 

[CAS239]

Does anyone know if they're going to keep shutting down the rides at 9:00 for EMH. We are going June 15th and we have a fastpass for FOP at 9:15pm, will they allow us to ride it? We were hoping to go to windtraders after because my daughter really wants a banshee she is a big avatar fan, but should we go earlier in the day to get one? We won't be staying for the EMH.

Of course you'll be able to ride. When you read that they "shut down" the ride, it just means they close standby to allow everyone's already in line to hopefully get through and ride before the 11pm EMH starts

 

[Tatania]

yulilin3 thanks so much for posting the video. I can see that if one has long legs and heavier thighs, the problem could come from trying to fit the legs into the rather small space. I was toying with the idea of making a side trip to WDW when I'm in Fort Lauderdale on a business trip in the fall just to visit Pandora (living in the Pacific NW means not being able to drop into WDW whenever, LOL) however, it would be frustrating to fork out the money and book extra time and then not be able to ride FOP. Have to think on that.

 

[HydroGuy]

Has anyone here been able to get FPP for either Pandora ride the same day or maybe day before? It seems like there would be random cancellations but I've been refreshing fpp availability quite often and nothing ever comes up. Are they not releasing cancellations back into the system?

Yes. Lots of posts in this thread but on one of mine I was standing next to a couple in FOTLK line and they got an NRJ FP same day. Others in this thread have posted this same experience. I have not heard of anyone getting FOP FP same day. Just too high in demand.

 

[4Rfamily]

My family and I were at AK at 6:00 am for a 7:00 am opening today. We weren't the first ones there but we were close to the front at the beginning. Trying to push a stroller through the crowd held us up and we dropped back from our original position quite a bit. Despite that we went straight to FOP and had very little wait. Afterwards we went into the Navi store and bought a couple shoulder banshees for my two boys.
We were in the line for the Navi River Journey by 8:00 am with roughly a 30 minute que.
Afterwards we ate breakfast at the Satu'li Canteen using the mobile app ordering system...very quick service and good food in my opinion.
We left Pandora for a few fast pass rides elsewhere in AK before returning to eat lunch at the Satu'li Canteen...quick service again despite being quite a bit busier than they were earlier in the day. We liked their lunch menu as well.
Following lunch we had a FP for a second round of FOP...loved it as much as the first time.

I spent a good portion of the rest of the day trying to modify our FP selections with a third round of FOP, I just kept hoping someone would drop their FP for some reason and I could snap it before anyone else....no such luck.

Thanks for this. Will have a similar plan with stroller in 2 weeks. BTW where is stroller parking near NRJ?

 

[HydroGuy]

2 questions about FOP:

1) Single Rider Line - where does it run in relation to the standby or FP lines? I know the FP line bypasses the bioluminescent/"Night" portion of the standby queue. Does the Single Rider line bypass or go through that? I have a lot of trouble with dark queues. I'd like to use SR and not need a FP, but not if I have to go through the dark part of the queue. (For reference, luckily a wonderful fellow guest stepped in and helped me through the Little Mermaid queue this year when she saw me groping along).

2) Can you wear a "neck wallet/pouch" under your shirt, or a small waist-pack on FoP? I know everyone will say it's no big deal, but I'm paranoid about putting phone/ID/credit cards in a bin out of my sight/reach while riding, and my pockets tend not to be that large/deep.

Thanks! I won't be there until next year, but I'm looking forward to visiting the new attractions.

On Saturday and Sunday AFAIK SR was not open. I asked both days. From what I could tell, it paralleled the FP line.

I was also questioning the "safety" issue regarding leaving valuables outside my immediate area while on the ride. Wondering how far away the bins are.

I would not want to put my wallet in the bin behind me out of an abundance of caution, but I put everything else. The bins are roughly 5 ft behind you. Unless you are extremely slow getting off the ride vehicle, there is no way for anyone to get back there to get your stuff. The doors close when the ride starts and no one can get back there except you and the 7 other people in your room on the other ride vehicles. I felt totally safe with my things there.

I would think a neck pouch would be fine except it might interfere with the contact point at your chest. If you are Ok with the possible discomfort, it should be fine. Or you may have to shorten the neck strap so it rides higher than the chest contact point.

 

[HairyChest]

The impressions im getting from people that have been there seem like the daytime is really beautiful but the nightime is a bit of a letdown. If true, i hope they can improve the "glowing" of the land overtime because i think lighting can always be improved a la under the sea with the little mermaid.

 

[rteetz]

According to WDWNT, EMH guests are being allowed into the FoP queue in small batches. The wait time is posted at 90 minutes as of 5 minutes ago.

 

[rteetz]

The impressions im getting from people that have been there seem like the daytime is really beautiful but the nightime is a bit of a letdown. If true, i hope they can improve the "glowing" of the land overtime because i think lighting can always be improved a la under the sea with the little mermaid.

It really depends on who you talk to. May feel it is great as is at night. Some were expecting more.

 

[HydroGuy]

Do the leg things cut into your legs at all? Do your feet touch the ground or something else? Do your knees press up against anything?

So many questions but one of my legs has a lot of issues. Thanks for the video.

That is so hard to generalize. I am a big guy - 6 ft, 240 lbs. For me the leg restraints were a non-issue. I barely noticed them. No cutting. No discomfort. No tightness. I could move my legs around a bit. Knees free to move around. My feet did touch the foot supports which were flat if I recall. Mostly with the knees I noticed the simulation of the breathing banshee in and out slightly. HTH.

 

[bizeemom4]

We will be there on June 10th and are planning to do a very similar plan. Did you drive or take a bus to be there by 6:00 am?

That's our day too

 

[HydroGuy]

We will be at AK next Monday. EMH is at 7 am (gah) so we are planning on being there. Am I right in thinking that buses won't run from Pop until 6 am? I thought I saw that they start an hour ahead of park opening. Planning on River first thing and then FP for FoP at 8:40. We have Tusker reservations at 10:20. I was thinking that usually should be no problem getting through a ride, but now I'm starting to worry that we'll get held up in the line. What do you think? I'm sure we need to get in the FP line on the dot- do you think we'll make it through in time?

Unless you have a special transportation situation (wheelchair/ECV/ huge stroller) then Uber or a taxi may be the best bet. We Ubered from the Swan for Saturday EMH at 7AM. THe drive took 2 minutes to arrive. We go to AK at 6:10AM.

I did not want to chance a slow bus, or multiple pickups in the AM. $10 on Uber well spent IMO.

 

[lovethattink]

Forgot to add a couple off things
It seems rooms D get the pre show video without the decontamination segment and the weird "oh wait a minute, put the standby video" my experience the 3 times I've been in D
Also at Satu'li the rice id's very bland, flavorless imo. With the kids order out doesn't come with any sauce but you can ask for a small cup of it. We did that today and they gave us the 3 to taste

I had the kid's chicken and salad during preview. Very dry and bland, imho. I asked for the creamy herb sauce. Made a world of difference. I'm so glad I asked for a sauce!

The beef and sweet potato hash would be fine without a sauce. But I don't think the hash is a choice on kid meals.

Please correct me if I am wrong but is Pandora only:
2 rides
2 eateries
2 gift shops
And a whole lot of scenery?

There's 2 shops? I've been in one.

Tiffin's is just outside Pandora. Satu'li is inside Pandora.

 

[DisneyKoolaid]

As far as single rider line goes, I finally noticed today that they do merge you into the same line as the FP right away at the entrance, but you break off into a separate line once you get past the airlock (after the caverns). CMs were still telling me today that there aren't any plans to start using it yet. Though CMs have always asked for single riders to come forward once you're in the lines before the link chambers (just no official SR line yet)

 

[HydroGuy]

If i rope drop AK and go to FoP, what's the chance of finishing the ride by noon? We are going end of July, I am planning to go to AK three days, for first day I have booked FP for FoP at 8pm- 9pm ( will try to stay away from Pandora untill the evening), for the second day, I currently have the FP for river journey for 11am - noon. Will it work? Will I make it in time?

EMH morning or not? Rope drop like you arrive at the entrance at rope drop or you arrive 60 minutes before? Park opens at 8AM or 9AM?

If no EMH AM and you arrive 60 minutes early for an 8AM park opening, it is hard to see how you will not be able to finish FOP by noon. Same thing for a 9AM opening really.

The wild card is (as always) whether there are any hiccups in the ride system that takes it down or reduces capacity.

HTH

 

[DOOM1001]

Of course you'll be able to ride. When you read that they "shut down" the ride, it just means they close standby to allow everyone's already in line to hopefully get through and ride before the 11pm EMH starts

I got in the standby line for FoP at 8:59pm tonight,so what you're saying if I would have gotten in line like 2 minutes later I would have been out of luck as they would have closed the standby??The wait time at the time I entered was 145 minutes,I waited 110,1 hour 50 minutes,it was long but worth it because I really enjoyed the ride,best simulator ever!!It was like almost 100 degrees in Orlando today so no way I was going in there with the sun out.I walked into the park around 7:30 or so and with the sun coming down it was still warm but getting much more pleasant to be out.We hadn't eaten since lunch so we ate at the Satu'li Canteen before getting in line,the food was good and I loved the restaurant,the menu could use a few more options but overall solid place.I mostly saw Pandora at sunset and at night and I thought it was beautiful,I'm glad I first experienced it at night as I thinkif I would have been there today with the heat how it was I wouldn't have enjoyed it like I did,at least for me its one of the places in WDW I'm really going to enjoy being there at night over the day,just like how I prefer MK at night versus the day.I'm going back Wednesday night to ride the Na'vi river journey,the wait today was at 95 minutes around 9pm and 50 minutes when we left around 11:15.I mentioned before on these boards how I was not a fan of the movie Avatar,fell asleep at the movie theater watching it but that didn't matter as everything I saw tonight exceeded my expectations for the land,Disney did a solid job.I hear the river journey ride is short but hopefully it'll still be a worthy complimentary ride for the land cause the FoP ride is a true E-ticket.Hopefully the singles line works well in future as its a very rerideable ride,the singles was closed when I stepped into the queue tonight.

 

[CounselorX]

I will admit. I have never eaten there. That is because I don't like beans, and I think that is the only side they offered when I wanted to try it. I'm also from KC so I'm afraid to try any BBQ from another location lol (not really an excuse).

Hahah, I understand. You should try it, though. Their ribs and chicken are way above most other quick service foods in terms of quality. I'm not too crazy about beans either, but theirs are pretty good as well.

 

[Accident]

That's a bold statement, since Flame Tree is my favorite quick service on property

I've never had a good meal at flame tree.. I think I go the wrong time and it's obviously dried out and been under a warmer for a long time..

Most of Satuli is exactly what I would make myself at home so it's good, they aren't wrong that it might be the best counter service but I make that stuff at home so I want something different when out. The cheeseburger buns are great but I want them with other types of sides, not a fan of the "chips" they come with

 

[NaughtyDog]

I'm going to Disney this upcoming weekend Saturday June 3 and Sunday June 4.

In an effort to minimize my wait in the standby lines for FOP and NRJ, I am planning on being there for rope drop one or possibly both mornings if necessary.

On Saturday Animal Kingdom opens at 7am for EMH and 8am for off site guests (which I will be) and on Sunday Animal Kingdom and 8am for everyone.

If I am only going one of the mornings, it looks like Sunday is a better bet as there won't be on-site guests in the park an hour before I could get in.

My question is how early should I plan on getting to Animal Kingdom those mornings. That is, if arriving at 5am means saving 5 minutes in the standby line over arriving at 7am then I'd just as soon sleep in.

 

[CounselorX]

I've never had a good meal at flame tree.. I think I go the wrong time and it's obviously dried out and been under a warmer for a long time..

Most of Satuli is exactly what I would make myself at home so it's good, they aren't wrong that it might be the best counter service but I make that stuff at home so I want something different when out. The cheeseburger buns are great but I want them with other types of sides, not a fan of the "chips" they come with

Weird, I've eaten there quite a few times and it's always been fresh. It might be because I'm always there in September when free dining is out and it's always busy, so they're probably cranking the meat out fresh all day.