Avatarland

[disneydee6]

I, for one, am really excited for this. I saw the update on the website and I cannot wait for this. Nightlife at AK! Bring it back!!

 

[PEC]

As far as the movie I saw it once. Nothing great. That said there are parts that would make for a good part of a theme park. AK needs another ride or 2 (DHS does also but that is a different thread). My concern now is construction was suppose to start in 2013 and I dont see that. If this falls through any additon to AK is just pushed back later.

 

[DPCummerbund]

I don't think it's fair to say that a movie tie-in is irrelevant. Sure, some people enjoy Splash Mountain regardless of whether they like "Song of the South" or not. Disney has also built many great rides without a movie tie-in, like Soarin' or Mission: Space (although I'll take your word on that one, I'm too chicken to ride it!)

However, having a movie tie-in does draw crowds. There's a reason that Disney's newest ride in Hong Kong is called "Iron Man" and not "Guy in a Robot Suit". The big hit at Disneyland is "Cars Land", not "Southwest Driving Experience."

When you have a hit movie to base a ride upon, it automatically increases the potential draw for that attraction. Disney (and Universal) want to draw as many people as possible, so if they can draw in some fans of the movie who otherwise might not have noticed or cared, then it brings in more people and makes more money.

You can take that a step backwards and say the same thing about the movies themselves. Many movies are created as original screenplays, but many are based on books. The idea is that fans of the book will go see the movie, thus increasing its draw. Harry Potter became a successful "World" at Universal because it was a successful movie franchise first. Harry Potter was a successful movie franchise because it was a successful book franchise first.

So the real question, then, is this: what would have happened if Disney had just made an "Alien Adventure Nighttime Attraction" at AK, instead of Avatar Land? Would it have as much "buzz" around it? Probably not. But is the extra "buzz" worth what Disney paid for it? I'm not so sure.

Here's an interesting thought. Entirely speculative on my part, but still interesting.

"Avatar" is about a human man who gets magically transported to a magical world filled with giant, colorful, human-like aliens. He goes on some amazing adventures trying to save the giant aliens and stop the world from being destroyed in an environmental catastrophe.

"John Carter" is is about a human man who gets "magically" transported to a magical world filled with giant, colorful, human-like aliens. He goes on some amazing adventures trying to save the giant aliens and stop the world from being destroyed in an environmental catastrophe.

Perhaps Disney was already thinking about building a "John Carter Land" at AK. Six months before John Carter came out, the buzz was already terrible. So, they bought the rights to "Avatar" to hedge their bets. Surely enough, John Carter flopped, and Disney went full steam ahead with Avatar Land.

 

[ShannonMB]

I think James Cameron has more Avatar movies in the works, which will make it more current as the years progress... and though you may not have loved the movie, it was one of the highest grossing of all time, so apparently there are people out there that did love it.
I think I feel the same as you about the movie, but I did find the movie imagery beautiful, and if Disney does it right, this land and attractions could be amazing.
Hey...AK after dark and an evening show has my vote already!

Good answer! I looked at some of the artist's renderings and it looks really, really cool, amazing, and beautiful! I would like it even if I had never seen Avatar (a movie that I did happen to like)!

 

[kathy884]

I'm not an Avatar movie fan, but I do enjoy new attractions in Disney theme parks. Also, I think James Cameron (He is so into the details of things / amazing guy) and Disney Imaginers working together might produce something pretty cool. // I wouldn't classify myself as someone who is really excited about this, but I would classify myself as someone who would be curious to see what they did and pick AK as an Orlando park to go to on a future visit. I really like AK, but with so many parks in Orlando, I don't visit there all that often. AK as lovely as it is for me is sort of "been there, done that, and bought the T-shirt park." This would probably be enough to get me back and choose it instead of something else. Unlike lots of you who do longer trips -- two weeks, 10 days, or at least seven nights/ six days, I do the mini trip (three nights / two days), so only pick two theme parks to visit and so many great ones to pick from. // With AK as the least visited of Disney's WDW theme parks, I think a new development there of some magnitude makes a lot of sense.

 

[ponyboy]

I thought the movie itself was ok but being able to actually visit Pandora would be awesome. The fact is, AK needs something big. There is less stuff to see and do there than at the other parks. If it wasn't for EE then we probably wouldn't even go there more than once per trip and even at that after we go through once we usually only go back just to ride EE and then leave to another park.

In my opinion, AK just leaves something to be desired and doesn't really feel very Disney like. It's much more like the Dallas Zoo than any of the other Disney parks.

I'm excited for Avatarland and I hope they really pull it off to help make AK a better park that's more fun to visit.

 

[*Fantasia*]

Totally agree. The movie doesn't matter. Geez, I wonder how many people actually saw Song of the South. I don't care about the movie, but am excited about this expansion.

I have never seen the movie, Song of the South. I have never seen the movie, Dumbo and I have no interest to see them. However, I do like the rides!! I have seen Avatar and I liked the movie and I am excited about the new attraction in AK!!!

Those folks who doesn't like it or care for it, I know will eventually want to see the attraction. Curiosity minds will get them at the end and who knows they may end up liking the attraction whether they like Avatar or not.

I'm wondering if it will make any difference if Walt Disney himself brought Avatar to AK and then later purchase that movie. Will it change the people's thought on having Avatar at AK?? Just curious..

 

[Legendteri]

I am actually excited about it. If you combine the concept art with some of the other technology they might be working on, I have a feeling it will be an experience like no other.

http://www.wdwforgrownups.com/articles/disney’s-newest-technology-aims-control-air-around-us

http://www.slashgear.com/disney-creates-botanicus-interacticus-multi-touch-plants-10242513/

 

[GovieMom]

I agree that I don't get the correlation between Avatar and Disney but I don't care.

My son pointed out that the main theme of Avatar was a respect for, and conserving of, nature. That is also the theme of AK, I believe.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

Never saw the movie but, like others have said, the movie itself doesn't matter. The conceptual drawing I saw looked absolutely amazing. So, bring it on!

 

[Planogirl]

If done right Pandora could be spectacular so I'm looking forward to this. I can think of some other so-so movies that actually have pretty nice attractions so I don't think that that is necessarily relevant.

 

[*Fantasia*]

People who really liked Avatar and who really like Disney are probably going to love it. I'm one of them. I can't wait. I agree that I don't get the correlation between Avatar and Disney but I don't care.

Agree.. Does Disney have to have some kind of connection or correlation on every each attraction? Disney can do and will do whatever they want whether some of you like it or not. But if I were you, I say wait and see what the attraction is all about. You can't judge an attraction that hasn't even began. And forget the name, "Avatar". Just enjoy the attraction once it opens.

 

[MinnieKitty]

I am beyond excited for this! I guess you could say I "love" the movie. Any movie that can make me cry gets five stars from me. That being said, that is not necessarily why I am so excited for this. We have not been to AK in many trips. There just isn't enough to do there, and we have a local zoo that we can take DD to so she can see animals. I never want to waste valuable WDW time at what I consider a glorified zoo. With two new rides and nighttime entertainment coming out of this, I think that is a huge win for WDW guests! It looks like it is going to be beautiful. Like I said to my DH this morning, maybe now AK will be a half day park for us, vs. not being on our list at all. So, that is why I'm so excited for Avatarland.

 

[glamdring269]

I'm just excited to see expansion, especially at AK. I love Everest but it's the only ride in the park I really care that much for. They've already got an excellent animal experience for park guests so seeing an expansion that will enhance the park ride side of the experience is a definite bonus.

My only request... find a way to salvage as many trees as possible. Going into Dinoland feels like you're walking from a forest into a desert. I think I speak for everyone here: we enjoy and appreciate as much tree shade as possible around the parks!

 

[abinormal]

I think Avatar is a better fit for Universal, and other choices would be better for Disney. I'd probably check it out but it's definitely not something that gets me excited.

 

[DakotaRose]

I'm just looking forward to more attractions at Animal Kingdom.

I really like AK. It's a beautiful place. But I've seen Nemo twice and Flights of Wonder twice, and that's enough. FOTLK is great, but so dang loud and with such back-breaking benches that we don't need to see that each time. And we aren't interested in walking all of the NotAZoo trails every visit either, as we visit zoos elsewhere. It has become a short day for us.

 

[damo]

I don't really care what it is based on as long as it is done well! I'm looking forward to anything new.

 

[ajcrusher]

Like some others, I saw Avatar and it was ok. Not one of my favorites but I didn't hate it either. I'm ok with Avatarland as I can see how the message of the movie fits with the underlying message of AK. But I'm wondering about the nighttime entertainment. I thought AK always closed early and didn't have the nighttime stuff because it would scare and stress out the animals. Now all of sudden, the animals should be okay with it? If AK is all about helping the animals and saving them, why start something they've been dead set against up until now?