This Iconic Animal Kingdom Animatronic Is Incredibly Eerie

Posted by: Isabella Reimer June 27, 2023

When it comes to Walt Disney World, one of the most ethereal places can be found in Animal Kingdom. Although each Disney Park is full of beautiful scenery, Animal Kingdom’s Pandora – The World of Avatar is genuinely otherworldly.

Credit: Hansun Kim

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Pandora – The World of Avatar is home to mystical floating mountains, baffling Guests who always leave wondering, “How on Earth did Walt Disney Imagineering build that?”

It’s also home to two fantastic attractions: Avatar Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey. These attractions couldn’t be less alike.

Credit: Disney

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Avatar Flight of Passage is one of Walt Disney World’s most immersive experiences to date, taking Guests on a thrilling, dreamy, and emotional tour of Pandora.

Guests ride on the back of an ikran or a mountain banshee and can even feel the mythical beast breathing throughout the experience. The simulated ride is full of high speeds, tall drops, and life-changing scenery.

The Na’vi River Journey also takes Guests on a dreamy tour of Pandora but in an entirely different way. Instead of a simulated thrill ride, Na’vi River Journey is more like “it’s a small world” on Pandora.

Credit: Disney

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The slow-moving attraction’s grande finale (and saving grace in the eyes of many Guests) is Disney’s most expensive animatronic to date: the Shaman.

The Shaman moves so fluidly that many Guests wonder if it’s a real person in body paint and costuming. However, she isn’t always working correctly.

One Guest recently visited and caught footage of the Shaman animatronic entirely broken down, and the results are…eerie, to say the least:

Rope drops are all a blur until the coffee hits! #disneyworld #waltdisneyworld #disneysanimalkingdom #disneypandora #naviriverjourney #naviriverjourneyride #disneyworldropedrop #ropedropdisney

♬ original sound – DestinationDisneyVacationClub

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Typically, when this animatronic isn’t working correctly, the attraction will go into “B Mode,” in which a screen will be lowered while the animatronic is being fixed up.

It seems that the Cast Members had not been made aware of the Shaman’s lack of activity in this case, leading to the scariest thing in Animal Kingdom-including the Yeti!