Herb LeibacherFlight of Passage is a new E-ticket attraction in Disney’s Animal Kingdom‘s new Pandora – The Land of Avatar area. The ride celebrates the connection between banshee and Na’vi.
Here is the Disney backstory: This bond is critically important in Pandora. The land, which is set in the mid-22nd century, is a lush, habitable moon in the Alpha Centauri star system. It is rich in a mineral called unobtanium, a mineral that humans on earth need because they’ve depleted all of their natural resources.
Experience the Na’vi rite of passage in Disney World’s Flight of Passage.
The banshee is used for hunting from the air and traveling long distances, but it’s also used in battle. When the humans invaded Pandora to harvest the unobtanium, the Na’vi used the banshees to fight them off. However, the problem is that the largest deposit of the mineral lies beneath the home tree where the bonded banshees, who only bond with one human in their lifetime, nest in the highest banshees.
The bonding experience is dangerous since the bird-like creatures are predatorial and are only friendly with the Na’vi with whom they are bonded. Once bonded, the Na’vi connects with the banshee via a neural interface allowing for effortless movement while flying. The bonding is considered a rite of passage for the Na’vi people.
The Disney Attraction
The Flight of Passage in Animal Kingdom allows you to have a first-person flight experience and a banshee’s eye view of the Valley of Mo’ara and all the different ecosystems of the moon.
Let’s take a look at the Flight of Passage!
Avatar Flight of Passage is a 3D attraction, and those who are afraid of heights might be bothered by the immersive experience.
The entrance looks very scientific! It can also be easy to miss.
The Single Rider option is available on many rides in Disney World, but many people don’t like to use it because it can separate you from your friends or family. However, Flight of Passage uses link chairs that aren’t actually connected to one another. This is a better experience for those riding alone, and it makes the single rider entrance more enticing. You don’t need to worry about the risk of not sitting together – because that’s not an option anyway, The only risk you run is that you might not get on the attraction at the same time or maybe not in the same theater.
Single riders enter here for a shorter wait time. Expect long waits!
The exterior queue line shows the lush vegetation and water resources of Pandora.
Just imagine what this looks like at night!
There’s lots of vegetation in the outdoor part of the queue line.
The first part of the interior queue is a cave!
The cave has drawings on the wall and lights hanging to guide your way.
The lights in the cave project beautiful colors onto the rock walls.
Here are some bioluminescent flowers lit inside the queue.
There are so many different varieties!
Look at this giant beauty!
There are even some plants “growing” on the walls.
Look at this beautiful mural!
This video shows the importance of the home tree.
The interior queue is well-themed and looks a lot like settings in the movie.
This Pandora Conservation Initiative sign is inside the lab. The PCI studies and protects the natural world of Pandora and works to restore and improve the area as it recovers from Research and Development mining of the humans.
The lab also shows threats to the banshee ecosystem. Since the bonded banshees live in the home tree, destroying the tree is a huge threat.
The laboratory has some active experiments going on.
One study involves water and magnets.
Here’s a fossil of a banshee skull.
Here’s an avatar waiting to be matched.
The Lab is also working on a reintroduction program.
This waiting area, which is part of the interior queue, is right before the decontamination and matching room.
Enter the room and stand on your assigned number to begin the matching process.
Find your Avatar match before you can bond with your banshee.
The scientist in the video is a little different, but I think it is true to the movie.
The video explains the right of passage it is to ride a banshee.
And how to fly on the banshee.
The video explains how to load into the ride seats and shows that a back rest will be behind you holding you in. It’s a bit like getting onto a bike, and the restraint is very snug.
Flight of Passage is an amazing attraction with state-of-the-art video and a very cool ride set up. It’s a lot like Soarin’ Around the World. As is true in Soarin’, riders aren’t allowed to take pictures while inside. However, someone (not me!) was able to sneak a video though, so I’ve included it here.
Flight of Passage: worth the wait or too much hype?