Pandora – The World of Avatar – may have a long-term expansion planned over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The rumored expansion would reportedly add a third ride to the land as well as a sit-down restaurant. It’s worth noting there is no immediacy to this report and any expansion could be several years down the road.
Opened in 2017, Pandora has been a hit with guests thanks to a wonderfully themed land that features arguably the best ride (Flight of Passage) in all of Disney World. However, it was reported that the original plans for Pandora called for a third ride that was to be the land’s true “E” ticket. Those plans obviously changed, but they could be resurrected in the future in one form or another.
Beyond the boost to overall capacity, an expansion to Pandora makes a lot of sense as James Cameron continues to work on multiple new movies for the Avatar franchise. There’s no telling how successful those films would be, but it’s clear that Avatar isn’t going away anytime soon.
Looking ahead, Disney already has several big projects taking place around Hollywood Studios, Epcot and the Magic Kingdom. It’s unclear where a future Pandora expansion would fit into those plans, but it’s likely Disney would want to wrap things up with those projects before tackling another large endeavor.
Animal Kingdom could also change things up with Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama. This location seems ripe for an update or an overhaul as it really struggles to fit within the overall theme of Animal Kingdom. There have been lots of rumors surrounding this area, but it’s unclear what (if anything) will happen here.
Stay tuned. Disney’s current projects may not be taking place in Animal Kingdom, but don’t be surprised if the land of Pandora grows at some point in the future.
