Guests Left in Tears After Experiencing Disney Attraction - Inside the Magic

When Guests come to Walt Disney World, it is easy to feel all of the emotions. For many, entering Magic Kingdom and seeing Cinderella Castle at the end of Main Street, U.S.A. while smelling the bakery scents and hearing the music loop will bring Guests to tears. Others might walk through World Showcase and be reminded of home, or perhaps entering Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, riding Rise of the Resistance, and exploring Batuu is the reason you cannot stop sniffling. Wherever it is, Disney is flooded with beauty and imagination that can unlock our inner child, leaving many of us flooded with tears of joy.

One of my personal go-to’s for tears used to be Happily Ever After, the nighttime firework show at the Magic Kingdom. Disney has a way of making Guests feel like opportunity is endless, and if you can find a way to just live in the moment, and take in your surroundings, the world of fantasy can remove the stress or responsibility of the outside world, if even just for a second.

One Guest took to Reddit to start a discussion about Avatar Flight of Passage in Pandora in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. This extension of the Park was introduced in 2017, which means many Guests have yet to experience the land, or ride the attractions within it. Avatar Flight of Passage is easily the most popular ride in the Park, always having multi-hour waits and being one of two attractions to need an a la carte Lightning Lane purchase outside of Disney Genie+ to skip the line. The ride brings you into the world of the Na’vi.

The ride is a simulator, and gives Guests the feeling of flight while experiencing stunning views and hearing an amazing score. Schix9 took to Reddit to discuss their first ride, and the emotions that came along with it.

Anyone else get emotional on their first time on Flight of Passage?

I finally have returned and today was my first time in Pandora. My last trip in 2017 was just right before it opened. Can I just say… holy mother forking shirt balls. It was completely unexpected. I mean okay sure a flight simulator. I thought maybe it was more like Soarin’ being elevated that way, but wow. I was blown away. I was just dropping tears left and right but I’m sure it was also pent up anxiety and stress my body couldn’t release until now. The guy next to me must’ve been his first time too because he needed a minute to pull himself together and couldn’t get up from the machine. I haven’t seen anyone in the last year I’ve been subscribed here talk about their experience with this attraction in that sense so it’s more out of curiosity. I’ve been more apprehensive about returning with Covid and the recent reports but it was just a relief to get out of my head and just be in my happy place. The magic is still there guys.

Anyone else get emotional on their first time on Flight of Passage? from WaltDisneyWorld

Disney often gets a lot of criticism due to the size of the company, and the amount of people who visit the Parks each year wanting it to be perfect. With COVID, things have not yet returned to normal, and not everything is how it once was, but as we can see from this post, “the magic is still there”.

marleythebeagle commented on the post also discussing the amazing immersive qualities of the ride.

I wouldn’t say I got emotional, but it was so immersive that the first time I got off the ride I remember having that same feeling you get when you remember a super lucid dream and the lines between reality and your subconscious get a little blurry.

Boise_Jax thinks Flight of Passage is the best thing about the Park!

I have been to AK twice since Flight has opened, including last month and can honestly say there is nothing quitenlike the euphoria right after that ride. It’s awesome!

Impossible-Bit-5304 can’t stop thinking about the ride weeks after riding.

Was there over Christmas and it was my first time on the ride and I was completely blown away. Like, wow, that was the greatest ride experience I’ve ever had. And was at least three times as good as Rise of the Resistance.

Was actually my first time on Expedition Everest that morning as well, and that was really really good as well.

Animal Kingdom overall is such a great park, if only they can just do something about DinoLand.

But yeah, still blown away by Flight of Passage even as I think about it 7 weeks later. So good.

And the list of Redditors chiming in in agreement goes on. As a local, I can say that I often have popped into the Park before close to hop in line for Flight of Passage, because I too agree that the ride is that good. After multiple rides, I can still say that the emotions get me quite often. One thing to note is that the ride does use a massive screen to simulate the experience, and some Guests may get motion sickness. I am someone who is often motion sick and am fine on the ride, but I know others are at times, not.

Disney describes the ride as:

Amazing Aerial Adventures Await
Board your own mountain banshee and embark on a thrilling expedition, where interstellar explorers like you get an up-close look at this moon’s incredible landscape.

Bonding with a banshee is a crucial step in the life of a Na’vi hunter on Pandora—and flying on the back of one of these powerful creatures is an important rite of passage.

Now, as a visitor to Pandora, you finally have the chance to test yourself like a Na’vi!

©Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. JAMES CAMERON’S AVATAR is a trademark of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.

Have you been on Flight of Passage? Do you think it is worth the hype? 

Let the expert team at Academy Travel help you plan your next magical vacation to Walt Disney World Resort’s four theme parks — Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios — and the Disney Springs shopping and dining district!

If you want to visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom, there is a ton to see and do! You can head over to Expedition Everest in Asia (when it is not under refurbishment) to visit the terrifying Yeti. Pandora will bring your Avatar dreams to life with Flight of Passage bringing Guests into the world of the Na’vi. DINOSAUR is still filled with giant dinos at every turn, and over at Kilimanjaro Safaris, you can take a ride on a real safari, and if you are lucky, a giraffe might even step in your way! A Celebration of Festival of the Lion King is now running, and the show is not one you should miss.