In this post we give an overview of Avatar Flight of Passage, a 3D thrill ride at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park in Walt Disney World. We cover the basics of the ride, how to ride it, and our thoughts on the experience before closing with an FAQ section. Read on to learn more!
Related Posts
This post is a quick guide to Avatar Flight of Passage, but we have related content that dives deeper into topics. Our Animal Kingdom Genie+ and Lightning Lane post covers Lightning Lane strategy in deep. The Animal Kingdom Rides and Entertainment Guide gives brief introductions to all the park’s offerings. For putting together your day at the park, we have a One Day Plan for Animal Kingdom.
Avatar Flight of Passage Basics
Avatar Flight of Passage is a 3D thrill ride at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Flight of Passage:
offers rider switch
has an Individual Lightning Lane
does not have a single rider line
is about 4 minutes long
Disney warns that persons not in good health and expectant mothers should not ride.
Where is Flight of Passage located?
Flight of Passage is located in the Pandora land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park. Entering the park, you’ll make a left and another left (a left U-turn basically) when you get to the Tree of Life. This takes you to the bridge to Pandora.
Once inside the land, you’ll want to head to the right. The ride entrance is near the store (which serves as its exit) and the Satuli Canteen restaurant. The entrance isn’t particularly well-marked, but if you aren’t sure you can check with any Cast Member in the area.
How to Ride Avatar Flight of Passage
As the most popular ride at Animal Kingdom, Flight of Passage is the cornerstone of your day at the park.
The most straightforward way to get on the ride is to purchase an individual Lightning Lane, which usually costs $12-$15 plus tax per person. If you don’t have Early Entry, this makes the most sense, but you might also find yourself with enough time at the park that a 60-90 minute wait early or late in the day isn’t too bad.
With Early Entry it will make most sense to start with Flight of Passage.
The ride offers rider switch if someone in your party doesn’t meet the height requirement. Nearby Na’vi River Journey is a ride without a height requirement, though it often has a long wait, so might not be a good way to pass time while you utilize rider switch. We typically plan our rider switch around a lunch at Satuli Canteen.
Avatar Flight of Passage Ride Experience
There are a few notable things about the Flight of Passage experience. First, it uses a unique ride vehicle that you sit on sort of like a bike. You can try out the seat just outside the entrance to the queue if you’re concerned about your ability to ride. The seat also has, I believe, smaller size restrictions than some other rides.
Second, the ride is a 3D screen / motion ride. You’ll have 3D glasses and take a simulated flight on the back of a Banshee. I’ve never gotten motion sickness on this ride, and I do get motion sick on many rides over at Universal Orlando Resort. I think a typical or even slightly below average tolerance for motion sickness is probably fine here.
The queue for Flight of Passage is quite long and mostly indoors. The outside portion offers some good, unique views of Pandora. Inside you’ll start in a cave, where you’ll see various drawings and handprints (both four-fingered Na’vi and five-fingered avatar).
After the first cave is a second, darker cave filled with bioluminescence. When the queue is shorter this part may be skipped, but if you get the chance to walk through it, it sort of looks like Pandora at night (though on a much smaller scale).
The penultimate part of the queue—which also unfortunately are skipped when the line is short, or if you use the Lightning Lane, is the lab. The lab is built to look like a real lab on Pandora, complete with specimens and textbooks throughout. The highlight is the avatar (Jake from the film, actually) floating in the tube:
After this room there’s also a gigantic Banshee mural with life-size Na’vi for your to compare yourself to (although this room is often mostly bypassed, too):
The final part of the queue is a hallway which leads up to the chambers where the ride experience begins. In these chambers you’ll watch two videos where you’ll learn how you’re about to, uh, fly! You’ll then be loaded into the ride room.
The ride is actually a lot like Soarin’—there’s a huge screen with multiple levels of guests sitting in front of a huge screen. You can view a video of the ride here.
I’d say Flight of Passage is the best ride at Walt Disney World. I think a strong case can be made for other rides (Rise of the Resistance being a notable favorite), but few rides have the repeatability that Flight of Passage has.
I’ve ridden the ride dozens of time and it continues to resonate with me emotionally. The soundtrack, the sights, the overall experience hits home every time. 10/10 do recommend!
Flight of Passage FAQ
Is Avatar Flight of Passage scary?
Not really. There are some gasp moments in the ride—two immediately come to mind—but I wouldn’t go so far as to call the ride scary.
When did Avatar Flight of Passage open?
Flight of Passage opened on May 27, 2017 with Pandora — The Land of Avatar.
Is Avatar Flight of Passage a roller coaster?
No, it’s a screen-based 3D thrill ride.
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