As we’ve covered this week, Pandora – World of Avatar is Animal Kingdom’s latest and greatest (well, at least top-3) land.  The scenery is one-of-a-kind and the restaurant and attractions, mainly Flight of Passage, are well worth your time.  While writing a touring plan for Animal Kingdom and every other park is on my long list of items to write, I thought I’d write a quick post on when to tour Pandora and how to go about it.  I won’t cover everything in this post so drop me a comment if any questions you have aren’t addressed.

FastPasses

Currently, guests have the option of getting a FastPass for Flight of Passage or Na’vi River Journey, both of Pandora’s attractions.  There is not an option to get both unless you are related to James Cameron.  This goes without saying but get a FastPass as soon as you possibly can.  The 60+ day window for resort guests is likely the only route for a Flight of Passage FastPass but if you miss out on that then keep checking up until your day at Animal Kingdom.

As far as which attraction to FastPass, Flight of Passage is absolutely the right choice.  Na’vi River Journey is much worse than Flight of Passage and should only be considered if Flight of Passage is out of FastPasses.  No matter what time FoP FastPasses are available, I’d choose them above anything else.  The guests who are lucky enough to get one will save a large chunk of time.

When To Go

Pandora – World of Avatar is still relatively new and will have large crowds through at least the holidays.  I would guess those crowds will last for the next several years.  With this in mind, I’d recommend getting to Animal Kingdom at least half an hour before park opening and head straight to the Flight of Passage line.  This especially goes for those that didn’t get a FastPass or those that will want to ride the attraction twice (if you enjoy rides then you will probably want to).  Melissa and I showed up nearly an hour early on an Extra Magic Hour morning and we still waited in line for over an hour for the attraction.  I don’t recommend going when there are Magic Hours but this just goes to show people are getting up early for Pandora.

If you have a later FastPass for Flight of Passage and don’t care about going on the attraction twice then arrive a little before park opening and head to Na’vi River Journey.  Honestly, this touring plan is probably the most efficient as far as getting attractions done.  Say you have a Flight of Passage FastPass at about 4 PM.  Go do Na’vi River Journey at park opening and then most other attractions around Animal Kingdom will have short lines for the rest of the morning as the vast majority of people will be in Pandora waiting in line.  In theory, guests could go this route and still have a chance to ride Flight of Passage twice.  If you have an afternoon or morning FastPass and find yourself wanting to ride the E-ticket again then get in line shortly before park closing.  They won’t kick you out as long as you are in line before the park closes.

I still recommend going for Flight of Passage in the morning if you are willing to get there an hour early or so but there are several options for the late sleepers.  One time I’d absolutely avoid in Pandora is late morning until lunch time.  You’ll have better luck any other time of day.

How much time will Pandora – World of Avatar take out of the day?

This is a difficult question to answer as each person has different priorities.  Here’s what I will say, I think Pandora is worth visiting at least twice throughout the day.  My ideal plan would be to go in the morning as the park opens, ride both attractions (hopefully with a Flight of Passage FastPass), quickly look around and head out for the rest of Animal Kingdom.  Then, I’d come back right before dinner, soak in the sights, eat at Satu’li Canteen and then see Pandora at night and ride attractions again if you want to.

Now, I love the rest of Animal Kingdom and this will definitely cut into your time there.  If lucky enough to have a longer vacation, I would just plan on a day and a half or two days at the park.  If taking in the sights slowly is your thing then searching through Pandora can really take a while.  I would guess the land could take upwards of a half a day to explore, eat and ride both attractions.  I know not everyone goes slow at theme parks though.  For those people I’m guessing you could have a look around, ride both attractions and eat in about 3 hours (assuming you have a FastPass or get to the park early).  Melissa and I spent roughly 8 hours in Pandora over the course of our latest trip, a week plus long, while being in Animal Kingdom for a day and a half.

Pandora – World of Avatar is a great addition to Animal Kingdom but can be a daunting waste of time standing in line if going at the wrong time.  But, if you follow a few easy guidelines that I’ve laid out then hopefully your exploring will go a little smoother!

If you have more questions about Pandora – World of Avatar and when/where/how you should plan please let me know in the comments and I’d be happy to help out!  Thank you for reading Wandering in Disney, if you enjoy what you’re reading please subscribe to the blog and like our social media pages.  You can do both of those things on the right side of this page.  Have a great day!

– Andrew