Hi! We have a weekend before a Disney Cruise to visit Orlando theme parks. We just went to WDW and US last summer so my kids, hubby and mom have seen all the park attractions recently except for the new stuff including Pandora & Rivers of Light at Animal Kingdom, and Jimmy Fallon Ride Thru NY and Volcano Bay at US. My dad however is coming with us and he has not been to US or WDW since the 90’s. My mom really wants to show my dad Harry Potter as she was impressed, so we decided to stay at the Hard Rock Hotel. We arrive early mid-day (slightly before 11am) on Friday so I plan to spend Friday PM and Saturday at IOA and USF. I cannot decide what to do on Sunday. Should we check out Volcano Bay as we’re already at USF or is Pandora worth the trip to Animal Kingdom? Thanks!
If you are looking to spend a whole day, I would not recommend pandora by itself. If you like the rest of AK, then sure, but pandora can be taken care of in less than half a day if you arrive at park opening. The only caveat is if you want to see morning and night so you can see the bioluminescent effects.
It is beautiful, and the rides are wonderful. So in general, I recommend a visit, just don’t plan on it taking the whole day.
Thank you, cjandres. Since my dad has never been as there was no Animal Kingdom when he was last there we’d spend the whole day showing him the place and check out the nighttime views as well. 
Well then I would pick AK, but I’m probably biased. It might be my favorite WDW park, and I’m not big on water parks.
I know ROL gets mixed reviews, but I love it. I think it is simply beautiful. One thing that was sort of accidentally perfect for us was the afternoon of shows and trails. It was nice to have that be our last day, after so much riding on the first few days of our trip, AK was so calm. We were done with rides by lunch time so the afternoon was very relaxing just walking the trails and going to see the shows.
Given the almost totally negative reviews on Volcano Bay (esp around the new queue system) I would do AK. Also, as you are going a cruise you will get plenty of time by the Sea .
Thanks, Markgrowlands. They apparently sell Express Pass for the water park. I’ve read those reviews too, so I would invest in them. It seems the rides themselves aren’t bad, but the queueing is a mess, right?
But you are correct that we’ll be visiting Nassau and Atlantis so the kids will get their water park plus the water coaster on the ship and more beach time at Castaway Cay. Thanks for the vote!