PHOTO - New shot from inside Pandora - The World of Avatar and description of the land

Mar 09, 2017 in "Pandora - The World of Avatar"

The Pandora landscape
Posted: Thursday March 9, 2017 5:16pm EST by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney's big marketing day for Pandora - The World of Avatar continues, with a new photo of the Pandoran landscape, and a descriptive walkthrough of the experiences that await.

Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom opens May 27 at Walt Disney World Resort. The all-new land will immerse guests in a mystical world of massive floating mountains, bioluminescent rainforests and breathtaking new experiences.

The largest addition in the history of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Pandora carries on the park’s tradition of celebrating the intrinsic value of nature, transformation through adventure and a personal call to action.

Based on Oscar-winning filmmaker James Cameron’s record-breaking box-office hit, AVATAR, the new land welcomes guests to the lush world of Pandora long after the human conflict with the native Na’vi inhabitants has ended. The dramatic daytime beauty of the land transforms to glow by night when bioluminescent flora and intricate nighttime experiences add a dreamlike quality to Pandora.

Pandora – The World of Avatar is a creative collaboration of Walt Disney Imagineering, Cameron and Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment.

“We are taking our guests on a journey to this world in an experience that’s as realistic and immersive as possible,” says Joe Rohde, Walt Disney Imagineering portfolio creative executive. “In the movie, the world of Pandora is a setting for the action and characters whose story we follow. Here, guests are the primary characters immersed in an extremely vivid, authentic experience.”

Guests to Disney’s Animal Kingdom cross the park’s Discovery River into Pandora – The World of Avatar and continue along a winding rainforest path for their first glimpse of the land’s iconic floating mountains.

“When guests come across the bridge, they are transferred light-years away, to the Alpha-Centauri solar system and Pandora,” says Jon Landau, AVATAR producer, Lightstorm Entertainment. “It’s an otherworldly, fully-themed experience.”

As guests explore the verdant terrain sprawling beneath mountains that appear to float in the sky, they see waterfalls cascading down the mountainside into meandering streams and pools, and they discover two thrilling new expeditions: Avatar Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey.

Avatar Flight of Passage launches each guest on an exhilarating, wind-in-your-face experience on a winged mountain banshee over the awe-inspiring world of Pandora. Guests will actually feel the banshee breathe beneath them as they soar through the forest and past floating mountains. What was a rite of passage for Na’vi in Cameron’s film becomes a multisensory experience for guests seeking the ultimate adventure – a faceoff with the most feared predator of Pandora, the Great Leonopteryx.

On the family-friendly Na’vi River Journey, guests travel down a sacred river deep into a bioluminescent rainforest. The eight-seat reed boats float past exotic glowing plants and Pandoran creatures into the midst of a musical Na’vi ceremony. The mystical journey culminates in an encounter with a breathtakingly realistic Na’vi Shaman of Songs who is deeply connected with Pandora’s life force and sends positive energy through her music into the forest.

“The Pandora landscape will be alive with creatures,” Rohde says. “We’re bringing to life everything from the largest creature you might encounter to the most microscopic. Animals will appear out of the underbrush – big Pandoran animals will appear at the edge of the forest and you’ll hear the very complicated calls they issue back and forth.”

The thriving Pandoran landscape conveys intrinsic park messages of the value of nature, transformation through adventure and conservation and stewardship.

The artful storytelling in Pandora continues as guests stop for sustenance at the land’s Satu’li Canteen (pronounced “Sa-too-lee”), a Quonset-hut-style building. The fast-casual restaurant is inspired the healthful bounty of Pandora – wholesome grains, fresh vegetables, and hearty proteins. Guests can grab a drink at nearby Pongu Pongu.

Windtraders is a shopper’s delight where guests can choose from Na’vi cultural items, toys, science kits and more.

Authenticity and realism were drivers in the creation of Pandora, and the result is a world beyond belief.

“The attractions have very deliberate emotional moments crafted into them, the way a good story does, the way a good film does.” Rohde says. “It’s not as simple as just coming to a place that looks realistic. It’s a place that’s been deliberately imbued with the emotions of awe, of wonder, of respect, of harmony.”

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Ghost93Aug 13, 2022

Maybe they will extend the hours when Avatar: The Way of Water comes out if they feel Pandora at Night could be a better selling point for Animal Kingdom.

Stevie AmsterdamAug 13, 2022

Lucky you haha! I'm sure I will be impressed :D My last visit was in 2014 so there's so much new stuff to explore. And I'm bringing my best friend as an anniversary gift - it's her first time!

bhg469Aug 13, 2022

It's beautiful, you'll definitely be impressed.. Even though I live here I have yet to see it in the dark however.

Stevie AmsterdamAug 13, 2022

That's a great idea, thank you!

Stevie AmsterdamAug 13, 2022

What a disappointment. Pandora is one of the main reasons why I am going. However I still have hopes that they extend the September hours, as August closing hours are 8pm (but were initially 7pm when I looked in June).

MisterPenguinAug 13, 2022

Get on line for FoP at 7p. By the time you're out, it will be dark. Park closure isn't necessarily pushing everyone out right away. They just don't let anymore get on the lines for attractions. Plus, for some odd reasons, the stores stay open past closure...

bhg469Aug 13, 2022

It will not be dark enough by then unfortunately.

Stevie AmsterdamAug 13, 2022

I am visiting WDW in September and I noticed that Animal Kingdom closes at 7pm. I checked what time the sun would set around my dates and it would be around 7.25pm. Will I be able to see Pandora at night? Or will the area still be lit by sunlight? 🥺

Stevie AmsterdamJul 18, 2022

I’m not sure if another boat ride in that land is the best way forward to be honest. I read somewhere about an exhibition through to explore the fauna of Pandora, with a massive AA toruk at the end. That would be awesome and a great way to balance the already existing boat ride and FoP.

Skipper2Jul 17, 2022

I think another E ticket in Pandora using Shanghai POTC technology/ride system for the new movie would be awesome.

JoeCamelJun 03, 2022

All they have to do is change the screens on river journey

GoofGoofMay 18, 2022

How about half dark ride half log flume with a hill drop that brings you “underwater” moving through some show scenes that’s then followed by a bigger hill finale. No clue if there is room for something like that but if they use bigger boats vs the smaller splash logs it could actually be a pretty high capacity ride. I know there’s already a boat ride in Pandora but this would be faster paced with some sort of story and a little more thrill to it.

doctornickMay 17, 2022

So with the new movie being based heavily on the underwater world of Pandora, how about adding another ride that would be similar to the Tokyo subs in TDS where you see some underwater creatures and environments?

Professortango1May 05, 2022

Quite the opposite. Loved walking through Harambe and was excited to see a staged version of Lion King that matched the land. I had heard nothing but good things beforehand. Theatre was bare bones but that worked for me. I loved the costumes and energy of the live performers in the pre-show. Then, we get that opening directly from the soundtrack and my heart sank. Then when the 20 year old floats from Disneyland rolled out I knew we were in trouble. Maybe its a LA/Florida thing. I heard from a friend at WDW that the talent levels of performers they have access to is far more hit or miss than the LA adjacent Disneyland. My friend and I also experienced the shock of walking into the Hyperion at DHS to see Frozen. So very different than the Hyperion Frozen we had seen at DCA.