Disney at a Distance: Pandora
During the closure of Walt Disney World because of the nation's coronavirus crisis, we are keeping the spirit of Disney alive by exploring one land in one park each week. This week, we pay homage to the lady many conspire to say is behind the entire year 2020 so far, unleashing her box of misfortune upon mankind... Pandora. But thankfully, we're not talking the Greek mythology version and instead, we're talking about the version that has the park glowing at night and has us guests riding Banshees.
Before we travel to Pandora, though, we do have some important park news to share.
First, this week, it was announced the Disneyland, California will not open on the originally proposed date of July 11 after all. California has enforced some restrictions once more after a surge in cases of COVID-19. We are sad here, but we always recognize that the #1 rule at Disney theme parks is safety. Times like this, I remember a laminated card I was given when I started my internship. I had it clipped to my mirror during my time there. It was the rules of Guest Service, listed in the order of importance... things like how you appear within the theme (good show), how you turn things around for a dissatisfied guest (guest recovery), and how to display good body language. At the top of that card was safety, and now I see that Disney is walking the talk, as they say.
Second, Walt Disney World continues to share details about their park reservation system. Guidance is listed here. Some resort guests have already experienced the first booking window, and reports from the first day was that the system did not hold up very well under the stress of so many people trying to book at once, followed by the phone lines being very busy. This is unfortunate and while we're sure Disney is doing everything they can to resolve the issues, we also know these are unprecedented times, so we just encourage anyone who has to go through this process to have patience.
We are also keeping our eyes on Florida. California has traditionally been more cautious and restrictive than Florida throughout the course of this crisis. But it's clear we've entered the second wave we knew we would when the country started to reopen things, and we are watching the responses of states and Disney theme parks carefully.
All right, enough talk of business. Let's escape to a faraway planet, shall we?
Before we begin, you might want to prepare some magical extras:
For a scent evocative of Flight of Passage, try this candle. I have the wax melts and I love them.
Disney has released an album of theme park music from Pandora. You can get it on iTunes for $9.99 or $1.29/track.
Make yourself a frozen night blossom from Pongu Pongu using this recipe.
Or make the Pongu Lumpia from Pongu Pongu.
Finally, because the food in Pandora is so good, we can't resist providing one last resource for bowls like you get at Satu'li Canteen.
Let's get started the way I recommend anyone start their trip to Pandora. Either you need a FastPass for this ride or you need to head here the minute the park opens (or shortly before the park closes). Despite the difficulty of getting a chance to ride without a multi-hour wait, this is not to be missed. We're talking about my favorite ride in all of Walt Disney World - Flight of Passage.
Looks like we have a little bit of time before our fastpass for Na'Vi River Journey, so let's explore Pandora a bit while the sun is out.
You just might stumble upon the Drum Circle show.
Or you might run into this guy.
Night is falling in Pandora and the world around you is coming to life. It's time to take a river journey into the heart of the jungle on Na'Vi River Journey.
Sorry, not sorry, that the song is now stuck in your head!
Venturing outside (and further into the jungle), we find a storm has rolled in... which is good because it means the crowds are thinning. Let's brave the rain and explore Pandora once more to see how the landscape has changed.
And I'll leave you with this wonderfully relaxing collection of the ambient music and some lovely images to go along with them - a 2 hour loop!
Thank you for joining us on yet another virtual adventure to Walt Disney World. It's hard to believe we have only one more adventure left before the park begins to re-open. If you have strong opinions about where it should be, it's time to speak up over on our Facebook page!
After that, we'll likely be diving into strategies for the new ways to explore the parks in this strange new world we live in. Without FastPass plus, and with park reservations and virtual queues, considerations for how to tour the parks will surely change, at least in the short term. It should be interesting to see what that brings. Are you going in 2020? We'd love to hear from you!
Until next time...
