With Disney’s Animal Kingdom now open, we wanted to take a closer look at the Flight of Passage safety measures and social distancing that has been implemented. This post is part of a series of posts that will hopefully help you determine if a Walt Disney World visit is right for you and your family during unprecedented times.
Flight of Passage has been one of the most popular attractions at Walt Disney World since it debuted in 2017. It typically demands long lines, and has a highly themed queue. Before COVID-19 shut down the theme parks, we wrote a Flight of Passage rope drop guide that now seems like more of a historical document than anything actually useful. We recently visited Disney’s Animal Kingdom to give you a look at what riding Flight of Passage looks like as part of a new normal at the Disney theme parks.
Queue Modifications
Flight of Passage has the longest overflow queue of any attraction at Walt Disney World. The queue starts at the entrance to Pandora and winds its way through the land, eventually exiting the land again before making a u-turn in Africa to head towards the attraction entrance. The entire length of the overflow queue has social distancing markers to ensure there is at least 6′ between parties as recommended by the CDC. We’ll take a look at the social distancing markers in the overflow queue before heading into the proper queue.
On the left is the queue towards Na’vi River Journey, on the right, the Flight of Passage queue continues along the normal walkway that we saw back in our Flight of Passage rope drop guide put out earlier this year.
The queue continues down a winding path towards Africa before making a u-turn near the Harambe House (Club 33 location).
The queue continues past the interactive land elements (which have been turned off) before heading towards the main entrance to the attraction.
Ok, we’re now going to head into the regular queue, with social distancing markers throughout.
Ride Modifications
There are no major ride modifications for Flight of Passage beyond skipping a seat for social distancing. Guests still use 3D glasses and there are still water effects on the ride.
Experience Modifications
As for modifications to the experience, Flight of Passage has had a remarkably short queue since Disney’s Animal Kingdom reopened. This has led to some Cast Members allowing guests to bypass a majority of the queue and re-ride during periods of low crowds. This is most prevalent during the afternoons.
In the preshow, guests are socially distanced, which means that you won’t get the full, two-room, preshow experience. Instead, some guests will stand in the first room while others will stand in the second room. Both sets of guests will get the same safety message before boarding the attraction. You’ll notice that there are new dots on the ground that socially distance groups. The numbered dots are no longer in use.
In this photo, you can see how both rooms are in use at the same time.
