We’ve been to Pandora – The World of Avatar quite a bit over the past few weeks, attending various previews and events, but we had yet to see the land light up until last night. As part of our 20 hour marathon at Disney’s Animal Kingdom yesterday, we were especially interested in seeing the new land at night.

What struck me at first was how dark the land was. I’m not sure how realistic it is from an operations standpoint, but relying on the glow of plants and pathways makes this land the darkest I’ve experienced at Walt Disney World. That said, the darkness of the negative space makes your eyes wander to the glowing plants that surround you, and they’re beautiful. While terribly difficult to capture on video due to the darkness of the spaces, here’s our highlight video of Pandora – The World of Avatar at night.

Perhaps a better medium to show off the new land is via photos. We were able to grab a few photos of our favorite plants and, of course, the floating mountains themselves.

Thoughts

If Pandora during the day is grand and somewhat overwhelming, Pandora at night is subtle and accessible. When talking with some Imagineers who worked on the new land, they had initially described it to us as a subtle beauty. Less Las Vegas strip and more natural glow. You are afforded some time to stop and look at the different ways that the plants around you glow. I felt so much closer to the plants from a physical, accessible standpoint because the dark spaces drowned out so much of the “noise” and “filler space” of earthly plants that are visible during the day.

The land truly does transform into something completely different from the experience you’ll have during the day. The forest around you comes to life with the calls of various creatures, big and small. The land feels more intimate as you navigate between the alien plants that feel alive. I think it’s important to visit the land both during the day and at night to get the full Pandora experience.