Walt Disney World expansions are rare. Discounting the reboot of Fantasyland, Imagineers have only constructed one truly original new themed land in the 2000s, although that will change with the arrival of Toy Story Land in 2018. For now, the short list consists of exactly one expansion: Pandora – The World of Avatar.
Disney park planners felt tremendous pressure to build something magnificent with Pandora. Sure, the company always has lofty standards for its legendary Parks & Resorts division, but they felt hyper-competitive with this themed land. It was, whether Disney will admit it or not, a direct response to the ultra-successful Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Pandora had to raise the bar for a new themed land so that Disney could establish dominance once again. The ride that is integral to this goal is the E ticket attraction at Pandora. Let’s go Behind the Ride yet again to learn about Imagineering triumph that is Avatar Flight of Passage.
The Experience: six hours in line…the fun way!
The Trick: the longest line queue ever built
Image: DisneyPlenty of debate on the internet involves the lingering impact of Avatar. At one point, it was the number one North American movie of all-time. At the time of publication, it’s still the global box office champion. Suffice to say that Avatar sold a metric ton of movie tickets, domestically and internationally.
When Disney announced the Pandora expansion in 2011, they projected huge crowds, especially given what was happening with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. A few years later, the idea that Avatar would appeal to customers as much as Harry Potter seems a bit silly. Still, the crowds at Avatar Flight of Passage are roughly what Disney had projected.
In order to host all that traffic, the attraction had to have a massive line queue…and it does. While the need isn’t there most of the time (thank heavens), this line can service six hours’ worth of traffic! Even this long after its debut, Flight of Passage still has a two-hour wait on most days. That’s a lot of guests who would feel bored if the wait weren’t engaging.
Image: DisneyDisney addressed this by building THE best line queue of all-time. As you walk through the line, you’ll see a story told in several phases. As you may know, Pandora – The World of Avatar takes place long after the wars between humankind and Na’vi is over.
The backdrop is a previous Resources Development Administration mining facility, the kind seen in the first movie, which means it has military stuff. After the war, it becomes the Pandora Conservation Initiative’s Mountain Banshee Project, a research facility. As you wander the halls, you’ll see remnants of the war-torn Pandora of yesteryear, which feels incongruous with the current high-tech science center.
Disney’s attention to detail on the theming is so precise that the outer portions of the facility are dilapidated. Trees and vines grow on the walls where once humans had held down the fort while mining Unobtanium. The electrical equipment is all rusted after decades without usage. Then, the colors come alive as the queue enters the bioluminescent portion of the mine. Finally, guests approach the line in the middle of the facility, and there they see…
The experience: A realistic science center so immersive that you believe you’ve traveled halfway across the universe
The trick: Several high-tech gadgets and a scarily realistic Na’vi avatar in a tube
Image: DisneyThe final section of the line queue is futuristic and high-tech. It’s the place where scientists honor the work of Dr. Grace Augustine from Avatar, which is to say it’s home to the Avatar Program. Here, people see eight-foot-tall blue striped Na’vi up close.
The most famous of these Na’vi is the one I call Test Tube Guy. When you enter the final portion of the line queue, you’ll see an Imagineered recreation of one of the Avatars from the film. While this isn’t technically the same one called Jake Sully in the film, it’s cosmetically indistinguishable.
Disney worked hand in hand with James Cameron to get the look and feel right on the test tube Na’vi. The water in the giant tube even bubbles appropriately. This animatronic isn’t as animated as you might expect; it basically just sits in the tube and looks all Avatar-y. Still, it’s somehow awesome due to the lifelike detail. When you watch it, you’ll believe that you’re looking at an Avatar that could come to life at any second.
The experience: Feeling like you’re a part of the Avatar Program
The trick: Building the Genetic Matching Room
Image: DisneyOne of the most inventive parts of the ride happens just before you board Flight of Passage. The Genetic Matching Room is where you watch the pre-flight videos that are basically informational in nature. Since not everyone is familiar with the world of Pandora, Disney offers two different instructional videos about how the ride will work. These clips add depth to the story of Avatar, and they also alert people to the novel nature of the attraction.
To hide the extended bouts of narration, Disney offers some clever sleight of hand. This area also hosts the Genetic Matching Room, a shiny distraction that seems incredibly futuristic. A scanner examines your body and then chooses the perfect Avatar for your body type. This choice will vary with repeated rides, and it does impact your flight, at least slightly. More importantly, you’ll feel more engaged since the genetic matching process makes you feel connected to your Avatar, much like Jake Sully in the film.
The Experience: Bringing the world of Avatar to life
The Trick: Following the advice of James Cameron
Image: DisneyWhen Disney approached the creator of Avatar about an E Ticket attraction, James Cameron had a simple request. He wanted, “Soarin’ over Pandora.” That may seem ridiculous in theory since you undoubtedly know that Flight of Passage is an augmented reality ride on an individual ride cart that’s basically a motorcycle seat. That sounds nothing like Soarin’, right? Well…
The similarities between the two attractions are unmistakable once you know the tricks, and you’re about to learn them right now. Disney did construct Flight of Passage as a kindred spirit to Soarin’. They weren’t about to duplicate the ride, of course, as people expect more from a Disney attraction. As such, the similarities are subtle rather than overt.
The first one is that the ride carts are on different levels. You won’t notice the feet of people flying above you as with Soarin’, but the premise is similar. To offer as much throughput as possible, Imagineers constructed the attraction room to have a tiered stage.
Image: DisneyAs for the ride cart, it’s a contraption that sweeps everyone into the air the way that Soarin’ does, but it mimics the sensation of flight in a similar way. Disney uses augmented (not virtual) reality to create the illusion that theme park tourists are riding creatures that are called Ikran aka banshees Cameron describes it this way:
“You know, riding the Ikran is a thrill. You’re going to plunge. You’re going to dive. You’re going to swoop. It’s like dreaming with your eyes open.”
Imagineer Joe Rohde adds, “In Flight of Passage, the sensation of flying is really visceral, really believable. Not only do you have the more obvious aspects of flying – the swooping and curving – but we’ve put in crosswind, air density and banking.”
Riding a banshee is no different than flying on a hand glider. You’re still hundreds of feet in the air, experience the world in a way that humans can’t on their own. Since Pandora is an alien world, the experience seems different, but the structure is similar. You see a giant projection screen in front of you, and the ride experience twists and turns based on the screen imagery. And since it’s an Avatar ride, OF COURSE it’s in 3D. The augmented reality goggles add depth to the realms of Pandora, making all forms of life seem that much more realistic and, in some instances, dangerously close.
Image: DisneyThat’s not the last Soarin’ trick, either. Disney again uses piped-in smells to accentuate the ride. In the original version of Soarin’, oranges added to the illusion that you were flying through orange groves. During Flight of Passage, you’ll start to smell ember as you approach a volcano. You’ll also receive a gentle spray as you approach the water, another bit transferred from Soarin’. Clearly, the ride is more than just the inspiration for Flight of Passage. It’s a kindred spirit and direct predecessor.
In a way, Flight of Passage is a modern version of Soarin’, which seems odd since Disney just rebooted Soarin’ in 2016. Still, James Cameron’s vision for the ride included that Soarin’ structure, only made to feel more modern thanks to an immersive ride experience based on augmented reality. The signature attraction at Pandora – The World of Avatar takes some of the best ideas from an incredible attraction and elevates them using state-of-the-art technology. It’s easy to understand why Avatar Flight of Passage is one of the most critically praised new attractions of the 21st century. It’s an instant classic.
Image: Disney
