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Pandora: World of Avatar General Discussion

FoP was the first E Ticket to open at WDW in over 11 years. There is no doubt in my mind that DAK's numbers increased. And after having been to DAK this year, I have never seen it that crowded before.

That said, I don't believe for a second it out drew EPCOT. And the number I heard for DHS was 7.5 million.
I totally believe somewhere in that range for DHS. It never feels crowded, even with only having four rides and many closed pathways.
 
It feels crowded during the holidays and during the nighttime shows, especially Fantasmic...
 
Video featuring footage from behind the scenes of Flight of Passage, early renders, and high res ride footage... But most importantly, the beautiful song cue that begins inside the bioluminescent cave scene on the ride.



I think if WETA did the ride film for Fast & Furious we'd be a little less harsh on it. The quality of Kong's and FoP's ride films is just so much higher than others in Orlando. Fallon's was by ILM and it's pretty good as well, but nothing in my mind comes close to the clarity and seamlessness of FoP.
 
You can't compare FoP ride film with anything Universal's done lately. It's just another level. The first two rooms on Kong aren't even as high quality as the 360 video. Is it just me or is Kate literally a blur?
 
You can't compare FoP ride film with anything Universal's done lately. It's just another level. The first two rooms on Kong aren't even as high quality as the 360 video. Is it just me or is Kate literally a blur?
I was speaking exclusively of the Kong 360 room. I'm not even entirely certain if WETA did the first two scenes, but I know they did the 360 scene, and the quality of that is light years ahead of Fast and Furious (no offense to the animators that worked on that project.) WETA is just the new best in the business nowadays. (Look at the new Planet of the Apes films for example.)
 
You can't compare FoP ride film with anything Universal's done lately. It's just another level. The first two rooms on Kong aren't even as high quality as the 360 video. Is it just me or is Kate literally a blur?
I think Fallon is comparable. It looks really clear and good.
 
I think Fallon is comparable. It looks really clear and good.
Definitely, ILM is still one of the best digital companies around. And they were always the standard I held other companies against since The Abyss, Terminator 2, and Jurassic Park over two decades ago. But, I think WETA has taken it to a new level in recent years, with an almost hyper-realism level. Where ILM was always about making it look real, I feel like WETA is beginning to make it look better than real.
 
I was speaking exclusively of the Kong 360 room. I'm not even entirely certain if WETA did the first two scenes, but I know they did the 360 scene, and the quality of that is light years ahead of Fast and Furious (no offense to the animators that worked on that project.) WETA is just the new best in the business nowadays. (Look at the new Planet of the Apes films for example.)
The amateurish quality of the F&F 360 film is what kills the ride. If the film was on Kong's level the ride would be OK. Those people did a horrible job on F&F. It's that bad. I can't be kind to such shoddy work, past reputation or not.
 
The amateurish quality of the F&F 360 film is what kills the ride. If the film was on Kong's level the ride would be OK. Those people did a horrible job on F&F. It's that bad. I can't be kind to such shoddy work, past reputation or not.
I think the layout and most of the models for F&F is fine. The atmospheric lighting and composite work is pretty awful, and the motion/animation feels more 2-D than 3-D, if you know what I mean... Kind of like Moulin Rouge style, multi-plane camera style, and less fully-realized 3D animation. Because of this it feels very cartoony, which works in stylized films like Moulin Rouge or actual cartoons like The Old Mill... But not so much for something to be experienced by flesh and blood humans on a theme park attraction, and starring flesh and blood humans.

It also helps that Kong has us traveling both forwards AND sideways (when we slide off cliff and swing side to side.) I'm not sure that the 2D style of animation of Furious could even accomplish such a thing, since they likely only modeled 1 or 2 sides of the surrounding buildings, so they have little to no actual depth.

Sorry, that's just me nerding out on CGI styles.
 
TSL will definitely be a success as far as getting people through the gates (though i'd say not nearly as much as Pandora), but it will also probably be a bit of a disappointment when it comes to the rides. After showing they can create an overwhelmingly popular modern-E ticket in Flight of Passage last year, I feel like many are going to be in for a slight shock (probably mostly the passive Disney fan, tbh) when they see that the only two new rides are Slinky and Saucers.

The General public or passive Disney Fan won't be disappointed with Toy Story Land. Not at all. All it takes is a glance to their left with the Star Wars signs and construction and they're already imagining it as the greatest land ever that they must visit.

TSL wasn't made to bring attendance to DHS. It was made for capacity (which it will be terrible at).

@Miketheboss certainly Pandora is quite a bit more successful than some care to admit based on personal opinions, but i also think VB should share in the success with an impressive 1.5 million people in just 7 months
I think 2017 was hands down the best year for new attractions in Orlando since 1999 (Asia/Kali for DAK and IoA).

2010 was incredible due to the game changing Hogsmeade. 2014 also incredible with game changing Hogwarts Express and Diagon, also 7DMT.

But 2017?

VB and Pandora alone surpass any other year. I think of VB that highly. VB is the best water park in Orlando IMO and Pandora being a top 3 land.
But throw on top of that Fallon, 3 new night shows with Hogwarts, Rivers of Light and Happily Ever After, a new parade, a new water ride in Miss Adventure Falls at TL, and Disney Springs essentially finishing up.

2019 is going to give it a run for it's money, but I don't know if SW:GE + HP Coaster alone can top 2017.
 
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