Walt Disney World Resort is reportedly charging guests a premium for a poorly-maintained attraction, Avatar Flight of Passage. The Lightning Lane Single Pass attraction costs between $11 and $18 per guest, making it up to $72 for a family of four to experience it–without a lengthy wait.
When Avatar Flight of Passage opened in 2017, the attraction consistently saw three-to-four-hour wait times. Its impressive 3D technology immerses guests in the world of Pandora as they fly on the back of a banshee. Nearly eight years later, Flight of Passage remains the most popular ride at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park.
Unfortunately, in the years since Avatar Flight of Passage opened, the Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park ride has deteriorated. Over the years, Disney Dining has reported on glitchy or missing special effects. The attraction’s movement has reportedly displaced its projectors, messing with the calibration and making the screen appear blurry.
Walt Disney World Resort has raked in more than $720 million since introducing the Lightning Lane tool at Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park–a large chunk of which comes from the Single Passes purchased for its most popular rides, such as Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and Avatar Flight of Passage.
Guests allege that as the Central Florida theme park cashes in on Avatar Flight of Passage’s popularity, it’s still neglecting the attraction. Disney Parks fans on Reddit recently discussed the state of the Pandora – The World of Avatar ride.
u/ResponsibleAd2034 began the conversation, noting that they typically dislike complaining about Walt Disney World Resort experiences. But the issues with Avatar Flight of Passage were too significant to ignore:
I rode FOP today and noticed that the 3D was really struggling. Some parts it was nice, but for example in the dark cave. It actually just completely stopped working until everything started to glow, and the little floating flowers, which are meant to be a highlight of that scene just looked flat on the screen. The water sprayer also didn’t do anything for the entirety of the ride. I just figured I had some bad circumstances for some reason and mentioned it outside. The cast members kindly let me ride again. This time around the 3D was a little better, except the dark cave scene again, but now the mechanism between your knees that simulates the Breathing Ikran just kept clicking and clacking back and forth. One would assume my Ikran were having a panic attack. It was a little distracting.
I still enjoyed my time though, so I just told the cast members my glasses could be damaged on the way out and left. I still enjoyed the ride anyway, it was just those few details that I think could maybe be looked at sometime in the future.
I rode Avatar on its first year of operation, and obviously everything was so clear and ran smooth back then. These are issues I’ve noticed lately.
The ride could probably do with a couple months of maintenance and refurbishing. To my knowledge they haven’t done anything like this since it opened years ago. Whether they do or not is a different story, but I’d say it’s a good idea before it starts getting out of hand.
Other Disney Parks fans reported similar experiences on the ride.
“I thought it was just me that the dark cave was wonky, glad to know someone else has noticed it,” said u/Appropriate-Turnip69. “It seems to get progressively worse each trip.”
“It’s been very blurry every time I’ve ridden over the last 2 years or so, especially noticeable in the cave scene,” u/AnotherLolAnon replied. “It’s unfortunate because it really takes away from the experience.”
Even first-time Avatar Flight of Passage riders noticed the glaring technical issues.
“I rode it for the first time last month and wondered if the blurriness was normal or if it was just my eyes,” u/beansbeansbeans4 wrote. “Glad to know it’s supposed to be better than that.”
Some Disney Parks fans alleged that Walt Disney World Resort refuses to shut down Avatar Flight of Passage for maintenance because of the consistent cash flow from Lightning Lane Single Pass.
“They haven’t calibrated the projectors in a while and likely won’t, due to how much money the ride makes on LLSP. Rise of the Resistance also needs a 5-6 month close for repair but they won’t,” u/VisibleIce9669 commented. “A problem with the LLSP rides is they have to stay open because of the money but you can see how they lose features over time.”
“This is the part that is most ridiculous,” u/sam-sp argued. “These rides that are driving massive revenue from ILL should be at the top of the list for maintenance and ongoing updates. The projection/glasses have been wonky for me for a while now – maybe it was always bad, but once the novelty wears off, you start to notice the issues.”
Despite the reported issues, Walt Disney World Resort hasn’t announced an upcoming refurbishment for Avatar Flight of Passage.
Have you noticed technical issues on Avatar Flight of Passage or another Walt Disney World Resort attraction? Share your story with Disney Dining in the comments.
They should fix it now; since attendance will be surely declining, during the next two years. Take the hit now and rethink bringing back an affordable version of Fastpass.
I was just there jan 2, 2025. It’s the 6th or 7th time I’ve ridden it. I was the first seat in my row and got sprayed more than I remembered, to the point of distraction. My dad said he didn’t get any water spray.
My ikran was also very click and not as smooth as it used to be.
That ride is the main reason we go to animal kingdom. If they don’t fix it and make it worth the wait, we may skip the whole park next time.
Rode Flight of Passage twice about one week ago. Told my wife I didn’t remember getting that much spray the first ride and then I thought my 3D glasses were dirty because it was blurry the second ride. It’s a great attraction but should be fixed!