The best ride at Disney World by far is Avatar but is it worth the wait?
By Brian Miller
When the Disney World parks are at full capacity, the wait time for Avatar: Flight of Passage can be between three and four hours long making Fast Pass ownership a valuable option.
Parks at Disney World are not operating at full capacity right now and may not for a while. There has been talk that the suspended Fast Pass options will be coming back sooner rather than later but for now, they remain, later.
With park capacity, lower one might expect a shorter wait time but that isn’t the case. Right now, according to the Disney App wait times, it is a 156-minute wait to get on the ride. So is it worth it? That depends on a few things that you need to decide.
First, the ride is, in my opinion, and my family’s opinion, the best ride at any of the Disney World parks. That includes Smuggler Run and the Millenium Falcon over at Hollywood Studios. Avatar: FOP is a thrill ride that takes you on a journey through Pandora on the back of a Banshee. It is easy to get lost on your first ride, lost in the visuals and 3D world you are whisked off to.
Take a quick moment to allow your body to feel. Feel the breathing of the banshee on your legs as the lungs contract and expand. You will find it is noticeable when you realize it is doing it. The 4D effect makes the ride more fun but many times I have heard people say they didn’t realize it until the end.
That is easy to do considering the ride is fast-paced and visually stunning from start to finish.
Back to the wait times. The path winds through the forests and floating mountains. There are plenty of things to take in as you make the trek to the top of the mountain and into the labs. It is here inside that Disney really takes you into the world of Avatar.
The science labs are full of lab tests and even a full-size Avatar is submerged in a tank attached to cables and breathing tubes, just like the movie. You don’t get to see these things on the Fast Pass trail. In fact, once you reach the interior of the waiting line, you are whisked into the actual load area where you wait.
Disney engineers did a marvelous job of bringing Pandora to life and the entire Pandora area surrounding the ride is a visual marvel. At night, the area glows in bioluminescence in brilliant shades.
We have waited in line for 2 hours to ride Avatar and we walked away thrilled we did. Even our first time was a little less than two hours. What you have to decide is. whether or not you want to wait. If you are going to Animal Kingdom only once on your trip, then yes, take the time to wait. The rest of the park rides are a lot less for waiting and the shows repeat throughout the day. Spending 2 hours or 2.5 isn’t that bad for a ride you will remember.
The other ride in Pandora is the Naavi River Journey and there is always a draw because the wait time is a lot less, today, it was only 45 minutes. If you want to do both, do both, the River Journey is relaxing but if you have to choose one, you won’t regret missing River Journey. You will regret not riding Flight of Passage. I would love to tell you what to expect on that ride but it is something that you have to experience yourself.