Na'vi river journey was disappointing

[umichigan10]

I'm fine with rides that are slower paced and whatnot but I did find myself wanting more from Na'vi river journey. It's a good concept but it could've been longer in my opinion.

In the future I'll try and snag two FoP fastpasses instead of trying to get one for Navi during my AK days

 

[marcyleecorgan]

I love boat rides so I hope that I will enjoy N'avi River Journey...

 

[SimonSez]

might have been waiting in the Florida heat so long, but we were so disappointed in this ride.
In the year 2017 with technology being so advanced and how great universal did with Harry Potter I except more from Disney then this ride.
Hopefully FOP will be much better when we ride tomorrow

We found the river journey very relaxing. We found FOP to be one of the best rides Disney has ever had--hope you enjoy it We rode it only once with a FP--the stand-by wait was 4 hours

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

It was a cute ride, and we thought the shaman was awesome. That said, we essentially walked right on at rope drop. I would not wait in a long line for this, personally.

Now FoP is a different story! Our group agreed that it beat anything we've ridden in a theme park so far wrt how immersive it is. Highest quality overall "production" from queue to ride video/prep, ride itself.

Harry Potter doesn't beat Pandora/FoP wrt immersion, in our opinions. And I say this as someone who with respect to IP likes HP (not loves, but likes), and HATES Avatar (yes, HATE).

 

[Cinderella94]

I thought it was great, but you have to take it for what it is. FOP was also great, for what that is. If your favorite kind of ride is one, then you may not love the other. Disney excels at making rides for different preferences.

 

[Mopedmom1]

My hope is that once the demand for this ride wanes they will slow the boats down. This will make the journey last longer and give the rider more time to enjoy the scenery.

It's a nice ride, just too short.

 

[livyy]

I think the ride is absolutely beautiful. But what I really hate is the overuse of screens/wall projections instead of animatronics. That shaman animatronic at the end is just amazing! Imagine all the amazing animatronics that could have been placed into that ride instead of just screens? It reminded me of The Seas with Nemo and Friends in Epcot with all the screen projections; like I'm just sitting and moving watching different TV screens. That is such a cheap and tacky way to make a ride in my opinion...

Let's not get me started about how quick that ride goes too.. By the time you take in and process everything, you gotta leave the boat.

 

[SUSIEQ]

Couldn't agree more. Flight of Passage is amazing. River ride was a one and done for us.

That's the same way we feel.

 

[loves to dive]

I actually enjoyed it more than FOP, blasphemy I know. My only complaint was that the boat went a little too fast so I didn't really get to take in all the details. We rode it with a FP so there was no wait but I really wouldn't mind waiting in line for it. We rode FOP twice, both times without a FP, first time at rope drop and second time at night and my son declared it maybe the best ride at WDW, with only ToT maybe beating it out. My problem with FOP was that the glasses were way too big for my head, I'm talking even with my head up and not looking down, I had to have one hand holding them on at all times. I don't know how kids manage to keep them on. I also have bad reflux and the first time we rode it I did as instructed and leaned into the front, so the entire ride it was pressing against my sternum and making me very uncomfortable. The second time I kind of flexed my arms out when the ride was setting itself so I wasn't pressed up against it but toward the end I still felt a little sick. It's probably not a ride I'd ride again without my son but I'd ride Navi River again and again. I also like ROL as well so maybe I'm easily entertained.

 

[mousefan73]

We will check This out in 2 weeks. Only expecting a nice relaxing experience in AC. For me POTC is hard to beat.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

It was a cute ride, and we thought the shaman was awesome. That said, we essentially walked right on at rope drop. I would not wait in a long line for this, personally.

Now FoP is a different story! Our group agreed that it beat anything we've ridden in a theme park so far wrt how immersive it is. Highest quality overall "production" from queue to ride video/prep, ride itself.

Harry Potter doesn't beat Pandora/FoP wrt immersion, in our opinions. And I say this as someone who with respect to IP likes HP (not loves, but likes), and HATES Avatar (yes, HATE).

I don't mind if Avatar is on when I'm in the room, but I wouldn't seek it out. It essentially looks like a cartoon to me - I can draw just as realistically as the movie looks, so I don't understand how it was such a technological marvel. DH could also take it or leave it. That being said, I agree that Pandora is the most immersive land we've ever been to, including HP (and we LOVE HP).

Once you're in Pandora, afaik you can't see any other parts of AK. You feel totally enveloped in the land. At Uni, the visible roller coasters detracted from the immersive feeling. (Both sides of HP also need more places to sit, and they need better air conditioning in the train station - but those things are beside the point.)

I was actually *slightly* disappointed in the Forbidden Journey. The queue was amazing, but I didn't think the transitions within the ride were as seemless as they could be. The differences between the screens and animatronics were too apparent, and I caught too many glimpses of the ride/animatronic mechanics. Overall, (like many others) I think Universal relies too heavily on screens; and more specifically, it seems like every screen ride at Uni (at least that I've ridden) has a "falling" scene where you're caught at the last second. I could also do without the horribly cramped locker areas outside both main HP rides.

I thought the screens on NRJ were better hidden than at Uni. And despite NRJ being a short ride, it was beautiful. (Although DH forgot we'd even ridden it.) And as others have said, FOP is absolutely amazing. The queue, preshow, and ride were all on theme; the ride felt totally immersive and I was never pulled out of the story. I also thought the 3D aspect was better executed than at Uni (all of the Uni screens look a little fuzzy to me).

 

[hakepb]

After reading a few reviews, I went into NRJ with very low expectations... so I was pleasantly surprised.

I probably won't go on it multiple times per trip, but it's a pleasant and enjoyable short ride.

 

[Tonyz]

Disney isn't really that technology focussed

Uh... what?

 

[Gehrig1B]

Anything can be a disappointment to someone if it fails to meet expectations. The disappointment is determined by the expectation, not the experience.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Although I agree with expectations being so much of the feelings, I'm tempted to skip the Na'vi River Ride after reading your reviews. I love AK, but it's so much about the animals to me. I could go on KS, watch the animals in the 2 trails (Panjani and Maharaja), all day. No animals=no reason for me to ride this.

 

[Gehrig1B]

Although I agree with expectations being so much of the feelings, I'm tempted to skip the Na'vi River Ride after reading your reviews. I love AK, but it's so much about the animals to me. I could go on KS, watch the animals in the 2 trails (Panjani and Maharaja), all day. No animals=no reason for me to ride this.

None of the rides at AK (other than Safari) have animals, do they?

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

None of the rides at AK (other than Safari) have animals, do they?

Sadly, no. Though I'd really love a boat ride rain forest animal type experience.

But the previous poster did just mention that they like to ride the safari and look at other animal trails.

 

[Dan Murphy]

If 7DMT is the best they could do when it came out,

Remember, this attraction is in the middle of Fantasyland, mostly geared towards younger kids.

 

[Skallywag Steph]

What is the queue like? I've heard so much about FOPs but not much about this one.

 

[GasparillaGriller]

I don't think Harry Potter has anything on Pandora in terms of theming at all. I think Harry Potter is more popular, so the things are more familiar, but I don't think either of the Universal properties (I only think's its fair to compare them singularly, because they are in two separate parks) has anything on Pandora in terms of inclusiveness. I just think HP is a lot more popular, and it resonates with people more, so it feels better. But in reality, it's also one ride (1.5 at IOA), a bunch of props and a bunch of stores.

I really don't think it has anything to do with Harry Potter being more popular or more familiar. People find the theming at Hogsmeade and especially Diagon Alley to be more detailed and elaborate than the theming at Pandora because the source material is vastly more detailed and elaborate. Harry Potter is the perfect IP for a theme park land because Rowling and the films created a fully realized world with iconic places and things like Hogwarts Castle, Diagon Alley, Gringotts, the Hogwarts Express, the Knight Bus, Butterbeer and extensive detail down to the various intriguing candies sold at Honeydukes, the flavor of ice cream eaten at Hogwarts feasts, and the appearance of the toilets used to enter the Ministry of Magic. Avatar is a MUCH more simplistic story than Harry Potter with much less material to work with. Having said that, it fits Animal Kingdom reasonably well and Disney did a very good job with what they had to work with.

That being said, I agree that Pandora is the most immersive land we've ever been to, including HP (and we LOVE HP).

Once you're in Pandora, afaik you can't see any other parts of AK. You feel totally enveloped in the land. At Uni, the visible roller coasters detracted from the immersive feeling.

I also do not see how Pandora can be considered more "immersive" than Diagon Alley. Pandora provides a very impressive faux exotic rainforest setting but at no time do you actually feel that you are in a rainforest or on an alien planet. When you walk through the entrance to Diagon Alley (with no outside attractions visible) and look in front of you, you feel that you have just walked into the fictional setting described in the books, not a theme park imitation of that setting. I agree that the roller coasters are a problem at Hogsmeade, but if there are any roller coasters visible from Diagon Alley, they aren't easy to see.