I was recently invited to a media day event at Disney’s Animal Kingdom to check out their new Pandora area of the park. Honestly, Animal Kingdom was never my favorite of the parks, but this may have changed after this visit! Disney spared no expense and walking into Pandora really feels like you are walking into the Avatar movie itself. From the floating mountains to the exquisite food selections, everything is well planned out and simply magical. So if you are planning a visit to Orlando, you should really visit Disney’s Pandora.
*I was provided with free entry to the park. All opinions are 100% my own*
Why You Should Visit Disney’s Pandora
As you may know, I am a Central Florida native. I have grown up here and tend to spend quite a bit of time at our many theme parks. Disney is a favorite place of mine to visit, as there is always something new to do and see! Their newest addition is the Avatar-inspired land of Pandora! It is a visually stunning area of Animal Kingdom with so much to do and see that you can almost spend the entire day there.
The Rides at Pandora in Animal Kingdom
First off, one of the number one reasons to visit Disney’s Pandora is the new rides. The Na’vi River Journey is a beautiful journey down a relaxing indoor river. The animations and lights alone make this ride stunningly beautiful. If you want something a little more intense, then you have to try out the Avatar Flight of Passage. It is a total VR experience! It invokes sounds, feeling, and even smells to totally immerse you in the experience as you fly on the back of a banshee. I have to say, this was my favorite ride, and my husband’s as well. If you do get to visit Disney’s Pandora, you have to check it out. The wait time may be long, but I promise it is worth every single minute!
The Landscape of Pandora
When I say that Disney created an all-inclusive magical experience, I was not lying. The landscape that they created is just stunning. At first, it may seem hard to imagine how a fictional world can fit into the real-life landscape that is the Animal Kingdom. Once you arrive though, all doubt goes out the window! It is difficult to tell that the floating mountains are man-made, and the foliage looks as realistic as can be. When you step into this world, you are totally immersed in the experience and for a while, forget that it is from a fictional alien planet.
The Food at Animal Kingdom’s Pandora
Alright y’all, so your girl here loves to eat. I enjoy trying new foods and I was extremely pleased with what I experienced when I was able to visit Disney’s Pandora. My first foodie stop of the day was at Pongu Pongu. While I didn’t eat there, my husband and I both got some adult beverages. I had the Margarita, and my husband had one of their beer selections. Not only were the drinks delicious, but they were visually appealing as well.
For lunch, we checked out the Satu’li Canteen, and let me tell you the food was divine! They have so many great options, including vegetarian options! I ended up getting the beef with sweet potato hash and a creamy garlic sauce. I have been craving it every day since like I totally need to figure out how to make this at home! We also ended up trying one of their non-alcoholic specialty drinks as well, the Pandoran Sunrise! It was fruity and refreshing after spending the day in the heat. Lastly, we had to get dessert. The Blueberry Cream Cheese Mousse is literally to die for!
So if you are going to spend a day at Animal Kingdom, you totally need to check out this quick-service restaurant. The line tends to be a little long but you can make use of your My Disney Experience App and order ahead of time! Just order on your phone, walk up and pick up your food!
Seriously, if you are planning a trip to Orlando any time soon, I highly recommend you spend some time in Pandora at Disney’s Animal Kingdom! WE had the best day and will for sure be going back very soon!
Jessi is the creative mind behind The Coffee Mom, a popular blog that combines parenting advice, travel tips, and a love for all things Disney. As a trusted Disney influencer and passionate storyteller, Jessi’s authentic insights and relatable content resonate with readers worldwide.
Yes! I can’t wait to check Pandora out. We’re going back to Disney World in October and I am so excited.
You will love it! October is a great time for Disney too, I love all the Halloween and Fall stuff they do!
We haven’t been to Disney in a few years now, and have plans on going back after Star Wars opens up! Hopefully by then Pandora will be easier to access. We just had family there the week before y’all were there (I follow you on Instagram :-)) And the wait times were over 255 minutes for rides. 🙁
We actually just left Disney a few weeks ago and Pandora was one of our favorite stops! We enjoyed the food, and got to ride Na’vi River Journey. We had a fast past for the river journey, but Flight of Passage was already completely booked by the time I got online to select our fast passes! When we got there it was a 305 min wait! Overall, we loved Pandora in general!
Yes the wait for flight of passage is crazy! We got lucky with fast passes, but I had went another time and did the 2hr wait and honestly, it was worth it lol. I’m not sure about 300 minutes though lol.
I can’t wait to see this in person!!!
Wow…I would love to visit someday. Your post and pictures brought back memories of watching the movie many years ago!
Thank you! And yes it is literally like stepping into the movie!
This is an area I would absolutely LOVE to visit if I made it back to Disney it just looks absolutely incredible! I didn’t know they did food there too!
The food there is probably my fave in the whole park!
Why have I never heard of this?!?! I want to go!!!! Thank you for sharing! **PACKING BAGS NOW**
We were there last year and it’s really one of the best attractions that they have. It makes the whole visit worth it. There’s so much to love about Pandora!
I totally agree! They did an awesome job on Pandora.
I’ve never been to anything Disney before. I’d love to visit one day
Disney is so much fun! You would love it.
Everyone needs to go to Disney Pandora at least once in there lives. It is fun for all ages , so many activities to do none stop enjoyment.
I totally agree! They did an awesome job with it and it is so much fun!
The food looks amazing. Now I want to book a couple’s trip for my husband and me to try all their dishes.
The food is seriously amazing!
As a vegetarian it pleases me to hear that Satu’li canteen has vegetarian options available in Pandora world. And can we just talk about how insanely beautiful the Disney landscape is as well?
What fun! I’ll be visiting Disney World over spring break and I’m so excited for this experience!
is that new? i have only been to disney once a lot time ago lol and dont remember hearing about pandora. i do want to go there so bad, im hoping it will come true
Yes it opened at the end of 2017! It is so amazing! You feel like you are in Avatar
Wow how fantastic does Pandora look. I’m always so impressed with the new additions Disney adds. Now I really need to visit Disneyworld.
OMG this looks incredible! I’m visiting in the Fall and this is at the top of my list!
Wow…I would love to visit someday. I’m always so impressed with the new additions Disney adds.
If given the opportunity I would visit so quickly. I have heard so many great things about this place. Thanks for sharing, Ill add this to my bucketlist!
This looks so amazing! I would love to go sometime.
We haven’t been to Disney’s Pandora yet but are dying to go. I hope that we can make it there in the fall since we live so close to Disney.
You won’t regret it! We live close as well and it is such a good day trip!
I really do plan on making it there sometime. I have seen so many pictures of Pandora. It just looks absolutely incredible. And the food really does look great too. I will have to save this to remember for later.
[…] so far. One for the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, and the other promoting the new Pandora land at Animal Kingdom. For both of these, I have received emails inviting me to the events on […]