How to Best Navigate Pandora – The World of Avatar

Pandora – The World of Avatar opened on May 29th, 2017 at Disney World’s Animal Kingdom. This world is based on the movie Avatar directed by James Cameron. The first piece of advice I will give you is to watch the movie again before going as it will give you much insight into the attraction We didn’t do this until after our visit to Pandora and didn’t remember much of the movie, which came out in 2009.

We also questioned why Disney chose Avatar, a movie that came out 8 years ago.  And really to my knowledge doesn’t have the kind of following that, for example, Star Wars or Harry Potter has.  However, Pandora is quite beautiful and fits in well with the themes at Animal Kingdom, which is also one of our favorite parks. The following is a run down of our experience and how to best navigate the world of Pandora.

Entering Pandora

We are annual pass holders and travel to Disney often.  So we decided to wait a couple of months to go to Pandora in order to avoid crowds. We never got a pass holder preview although we did hear there was one. We’re Platinum members so this seems odd. Anyhow, the crowds were alive and well at Pandora this weekend. We actually slept in and got there around 1 pm and went straight to one of the best restaurants at the Disney Parks, Tiffins. We had a beautiful cocktail there and headed to Pandora. Walking in was easy, it wasn’t too crowded initially.  In awe of this beautiful land, we immediately started taking pictures.

View from Nomad Lounge at Tiffins

Drinks at Tiffins

Pandora at Night

After the Rivers of Light show we headed back to Pandora to see it at night. It is just as beautiful or more since all the vegetation is lit up and undulating. We were able to get on Na’vi River Journey with only a 10 minute wait. I really enjoyed this ride although I’d read that it was just ok. It offers a boat trip (think Pirates of the Carribean style) through the beautiful Pandora land featuring animated characters.

Na’vi River Journey

Na’vi River Journey

Satu’li Canteen

After Rivers of Light, we decided to head on over to Satu’li Canteen to find some more interesting drinks. We waiting about 20 minutes in line to order the Dreamwalker Sangria and the Cheeseburger Steamed Pods – Bao Buns. The drink, my husband stated, tasted like Windex a bit, lol. The cheeseburger buns are fun and tasty, served with chips and a not so good coleslaw.  As an added nice touch, the room where the bao buns are made can be seen on the way to ordering your food. The park was open late for extra magic hours until 12 pm, which was great since it allowed us to really take in Pandora at night.

Cheeseburger Steamed Pods – Bao Buns

Dreamwalker Sangria

Pandora Rocks!

Pandora is as spectacular as you may think. It’s definitely worth visiting, try getting a fast pass with some anticipation so you don’t have to wait. I’d say a month or two in advance if available. Or go in October/November as we overhead it’s the slowest time for the Disney World Parks.