Long, long, ago, in a movie galaxy far away, there was a movie called Avatar. It was released in 2009. It was a great movie, if you solely looked at the cinematography and special effects. Many people made fun of it, and honestly, I have never seen it.
In 2011, two years after this movie slid off into oblivion, Disney Parks announced that they were going to build Avatarland at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom. A lot of folks were either confused - how does this fit in with Animal Kingdom? - or pissed - this doesn't fit in with Animal Kingdom! I was more the latter than the former (while Hubby was the latter). I always held out hope that they would find a way to incorporate a Beastly Kingdom land, but alas... it will never be.
So, after three years (!), construction began on the Avatar project in January of 2014. Camp Minnie-Mickey was closed forever and big blue aliens were coming.
And then... it seemed like it took forever for progress. We spent three years watching construction until finally, in the Spring of 2017, it was announced that there would be Passholder Previews for what is now officially called "Pandora: The World of Avatar." (I'm gonna try to call it P:WoA from now on).
Now, Hubby hates Avatar. He hated all the stupid hype. When this land was announced, he said he would never step foot in that land, or even in Animal Kingdom.
So what did I do? I signed us up for the previews, of course! I told him that he didn't need to come with me; I'd go alone. Or he could go spend time at another park while I went. I didn't really care what he did - I was going to go check it out!
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| The email we got beforehand |
He gave in and decided - with a grumble - to go with me, so on the morning of May 17, we all piled in the car, hit up Circle K and then made our way to Disney.
Last time we were able to do a Passholder Preview, it was on a weekend day, and there weren't "reserved times." This time, they had reserved time periods, and I was only able to get Wednesday at 3pm. So, to make a whole Disney day of it (because the fam isn't a fan of DAK anyway), I'd made some FastPass+ (FastPass+s? FastPass's+?) for Hollywood Studios.
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| A simple perk! |
After sliding in the official Passholder entrance, feeling like Wayne and Garth...
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| I reference this way more than you can imagine in regards to FastPass+ |
... we noticed that it was really busy on the main drag. Turned out Captain Phasma and March of the First Order was coming down the road! So of course, I had to get a few pix, even though I give no shits about Star Wars.
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| I got really lucky with the location! |
I'd made FastPass+es (let's go with that) for Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror, but neither of them were up for it, so I went alone.
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| ...make it a super-stretch! |
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| I still don't know if I like it! | |
Another reason we were here is because one of the original MGM Studios/Hollywood Studios rides - The Great Movie Ride - was slated to close at the end of the summer, and we wouldn't be back after this weekend to give it a "one last ride." I loved this ride as a kid, so I hope whatever they replace it with (I think a Mickey-centric ride), it better be good.
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| Thank you, CB, for years of journeys through the movies! |
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| We got the cowboy scene |
Next up, Star Tours. I'm getting old, so I have to take Dramamine before riding this. I neglected to take Dramamine this time... I survived though. (Going to lightspeed messes with me something fierce!)
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| C3PO welcomes you to Star Tours |
Our last stop was to Toy Story Midway Mania! Hubby and the Kiddo rode together so that they could compete, while I rode alone.
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| The Etch-a-Sketch is animated now |
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| The screen in the ride vehicle before you begin playing |
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| Sweet, we went to the new track! |
As always (and has become a joke at this point), I got a beaver.
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| Hey! I beat the other guy! |
We finished up with Hollywood Studios around 1pm, trammed back to the car and went over to Disney Springs for lunch. We grabbed some delicious burgers at D-Luxe.
Pro tip - If you get the Classic Duo (2 classic cheeseburgers, 1 order of fries and 2 sodas) it's actually cheaper then going a la carte. We do that, and add in an additional burger/fry/soda for me. With our AP discount, this meal - which is leaps and bounds above typical Disney burgers - only cost $36. Thirteen bucks for a delicious - and HUGE - burger, hand-cut fries and refillable soda? Oh, yes!
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| I'm sure there were some people ticked that we got the big booth! |
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| Classic Cheeseburger (plain) |
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| Hand-Cut Fries, and Classic Cheeseburger (unwrapped) |
Desert was at
Sprinkles, a cupcake shop that apparently is very famous in LA and recently opened up here. They have really good looking cupcakes, but none of them called my name. I got a
Fudge brownie, while Hubby got a
Milk Chocolate mini cupcake (each was $3.50, tax included... not horribly expensive desserts, but I don't think either one was worth it).
Pro-tip - Sprinkles does not have a fountain drink dispenser, but they have a little tiny water fountain with tiny cups, so if you're thirsty, I think only bottled drinks are available... no free water (of a human size) here.
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| The display is at the end of the counter; I'm standing in the "Wait for your order" section |
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| Mini Milk Chocolate Cupcake (Chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, chocolate sprinkles) |
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| Fudge brownie (no nuts!), sprinkled with powdered sugar |
Completely full now, we waddled our way to the car and drove over to Animal Kingdom - it was time to explore AVATARLAND! Okay... P:WoA.
We parked in Peacock 2, and walked up to the front. We don't come to Animal Kingdom a lot so I never really even knew that there was a sidewalk! Derp.
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| I love the little bits of info like (94 elephant steps to the Main Entrance) |
Of course, we entered in the Passholder Entrance!
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| Make way! Here we come |
We hung a left at Pizzafari towards PANDORA: The World of Avatar.
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| I wish the sign specified it was for Passholder so it didn't confuse guests |
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| 10 more days and this place is gonna be CRAZY! |
I didn't take many photos of
walking into P:WoA because I knew I'd be spending a lot of time taking photos after we rode the two rides. It was pretty cool though. I did feel like I was slowly moving from one area (Florida) to a completely different area (not Florida). First ride was the Na'vi River Journey.
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| This is the only photo I have of the queue and loading area... |
The queue was massive, with a lot of permanent queue lines (rather than large areas that can be cordoned off with ropes). This meant that, even though there was no wait, we still had to walk all the way through, like a maze. It was pretty cool in there; probably cooler if I'd seen the movie.
The ride itself was very ... pretty. There was no "pre-show" or anything to get an idea of why I was going on this ride. We literally had no idea what this ride was about. We got in a boat - much lower to the water than a Pirates of the Caribbean boat, thus hard to get in and out of - and drifted through black-lit "bio-luminescent" forests, while on some digital screens we saw some Pandoran (Pandorean?) creatures, until we got to the end and saw the ginormous Avatar Shaman chick with funky toes.
All three of us got off the ride looking confused! As we looked at each other, we saw that we weren't the only ones who were confused, and felt a little bit better. Honestly - what was the point of that ride? There was no "there" there.
Our next stop was the simulator ride Flight of Passage. There had been a lot of secrecy about this ride, including bloggers not being able to take photos on the ride itself. Tom Corless from WDWNT was there a few days before we were and was able to put up a
review. Even if you don't read his review of this, you should TOTALLY be following WDWNT on Twitter and Facebook. They are one of my two go-to sources of info for all things Disney. Plus they snark.
The line was really short, so we didn't actually stop for a lot of photos. We took a few though.
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| The Na'vi on the wall are "actual size" - humans go up to about their thigh area |
After you pass through the lab and get to the GIANT Avatar Room, you are sent to different lines by a Cast Member. These lines don't seem to have a
lot of rhyme or reason. We were sent to the yellow line (I think it was "3").
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| Waiting to be sent to a specific line |
After a very long time, we were first in line! Another cast member came out and counted out 16 people from each line, and we were then sent in to one of these rooms.
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| Some doors lead to rooms, some to stairs, some to storage areas - it's like Let's Make a Deal! |
We made it though both (yeah, both) pre-shows, but we kept being told that it would be "one more minute," but eventually, there were no more minutes... everyone was being removed from the ride because it was malfunctioning.
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| I was scolded for taking this photo and told to stop |
We were given a special FastPass+ to come back on though, so this time, we were able to go through the FastPass+ line. It's a lot more boring!
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| The FastPass was valid until 5/22, even with the weird time restrictions |
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| The FastPass+ line is much more boring |
This time, the line was much longer (probably due to a lot of people
still waiting due to the malfunction that booted us), and at the section where Stand-By and FastPass+ meet up, there was a guy being a complete ass about how he stood in line all this time, he should go to the front of the line and "God dammit, I'm a fucking Passholder! I don't deserve to be treated this way!"
Dude, slow your roll... we're
all fucking Passholders. Most of us
aren't assholes. Anyone who's ever done a preview, or a beta test or anything like that
knows that there may be some glitches. Our purpose here is two-fold: One, to 'treat' us to an early look at the land, but more importantly; Two, to work out the glitches before it opens to
millions of full-price paying guests!
Thankfully, the CM working this section of the line wasn't taking any of his shit and basically told him to sit the hell down. He was not a happy camper, but he sat the hell down.
As for the rest of us, we just went where she told us and thanked her (I later sent a Cast Compliment to Disney about her performance - good CMs like that definitely need to be rewarded!).
I think we waited in this area for about an hour this time until again, we were sent to the first pre-show, then the second and then
finally! We entered the super double-top-secret room. Which was actually two rooms. Each room holds 8 simulators that you sit on, motorcycle-style. Once you sit down, a flap comes up from the back to hold you securely, as do two restraints on your legs. It's a little, um, creepy, until you get used to it. Also, the restraints
inflate to ensure a perfect fit around your legs and torso. Again, creepy.
You "pair" with the Na'vi that you matched with in the pre-show and then whoosh! You're off!
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| Shut up, Knockoff Kramer! |
I'm not going to spoil it, not even for people who haven't ridden it yet and are reading this a year after I went. There are plenty of other sites that will do that.
All I can say is
HOLY SHIT. I mean, H.O.L.Y...S.H.I.T! I was literally screaming, whooping,
wheeing, and laughing! Luckily, I didn't throw out the "F" bomb like I did on Tower of Terror a few years ago!
After the ride, we had to exit the building. One mystery of the building is how we ended up on the 3rd floor. I know that the queue inclines the entire length of the line (you know what I mean...), but because you can't see where the doors go when you load, it's almost magical how you end up! My guess is that 3 doors go to the 1st floor, 3 to the floor you're currently on (which is the 2nd floor) and 3 to the upper floor (which is the 3rd floor).
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| I bet this will be fun with kids or old folks |
We debated getting right back in line, but I was a bit queasy from a feature of the ride, so we took a break and investigated
Satu'li Canteen, the quick service restaurant in Avatarland.
They have outdoor seating, which was taken up by loafers as we passed by.
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| I expect to see CMs policing this area when it opens to the public later |
Indoor seating is plentiful, with lots of different areas to sit, and they offered both banquette seating and table seating. We scored a corner seat (which meant
all booth) after getting some cups for water at the counter. Since we are still in Animal Kingdom, they did not have lids for the cups, and only paper straws. Another thing they don't have is disposable tableware - all food is served on stoneware plates with real silverware, a first for any Disney counter service restaurant (remember,
counter service is "fast food")
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| Corner booth - the drink station is behind the grey wall, there is a LOT of seating in this place! |
After refreshing with some tasty Disney water (which is always free!), we took one more ride on the back of a banshee, then Hubby and the Kiddo proceeded to follow me around P:WoA while I took way (
way!) too many photos. I won't bore you with all of them.
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| Why are there not more of these awesome bottle-filler water fountains in the parks? |
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| Action Shot™ - Courtesy of some rando in line behind us |
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| Florida Ducks don't give a crap about your alien plants |
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| Ooooooooooooooooh, pretty |
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| "Floating" Mountains |
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| Why is the "Floating" Mountain sky much bluer than this one? #PhotogProblems |
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| If there's a waterfall, I'm gonna shoot it |
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| Sweet! Spitting animals... this pond will be surrounded by 7-year old boys and drunk fathers |
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| Aforementioned spitting animals |
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| Waterfalls! |
We were actually sticking around to see if they would turn on the cool bio-luminescent effects (the GROUND glows!!), but we found out (after wasting a good hour of wandering) that they were saving that for the official opening in a few weeks. So, we headed out.
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| Goodnight Beastly Kingdom |
Hubby and I debated heading over to the Magic Kingdom to catch the new nighttime show, but one look at the kiddo, straggling behind us, told us that it'd be better to wrap it up and head home. I didn't request tomorrow off, so I'm gonna be a tired mama!
We got gas and snackage at WaWa, and made it home around midnight.
Yeah, one tired mama!
