Pandora: The World of Avatar Announcement, Construction, & Preview Discussion

[Joel]

this thread is giving me a headache :bolt:

 

[Disneyhead]

@DoubleJ You strike me as a Disney fan.

The people over at the magical site are already predicting that Avatar will be so popular that an expansion to the land will be announced at the grand opening.

It does no one any good to make up false realities.

 

[JoeCamel]

Nevermind

 

[Joel]

Nevermind

Well said. Straight to the point.

 

[DoubleJ]

Yeah... I don't think that's the issue...

The characters aren't really the strongest point of the movie. It's the scenery. You want to be in Pandora, you don't want to be a 10 foot blue cat in Pandora. Kids left Star Wars wanting to be Luke, left Potter wanting to be one of the 3 kids. That's not Avatar's forte.

I think I saw more adults dress up as Na'vi then kids those years for Halloween....

That is the benefit of having human protagonists. Most kids won't want to be Judy Hopps because they don't want to be a bunny, or Lightning McQueen because they don't want to be a car. Still, both those IPs have huge merchandising potential.

 

[amityboattours]

You guys are crazy.

I for one cannot wait to buy a piece of Unobtanium* with a 'certificate of authenticity' from Disney World for $34.99+Tax.

*gravel

 

[DoubleJ]

@DoubleJ You strike me as a Disney fan.

The people over at the magical site are already predicting that Avatar will be so popular that an expansion to the land will be announced at the grand opening.

It does no one any good to make up false realities.

I don't pick sides, but I am an optimist at heart.

 

[Brian G.]

That is the benefit of having human protagonists. Most kids won't want to be Judy Hopps because they don't want to be a bunny, or Lightning McQueen because they don't want to be a car. Still, both those IPs have huge merchandising potential.

Avatar has human protagonists though. I don't think Zootopia is a merch mover either. As I stated before, Cars works because it's talking car. It's not that people/kids want to be Lightning McQueen, they want to drive him. Cars, dinosaurs, pirates, superheroes, and princesses will always be tops with kids.

 

[JoeCamel]

You guys are crazy.

I for one cannot wait to buy a piece of Unobtanium* with a 'certificate of authenticity' from Disney World for $34.99+Tax.

*gravel

But, But - it is painted purple and silver like those fake rocks in Tomorrowland.

 

[DoubleJ]

You guys are crazy.

I for one cannot wait to buy a piece of Unobtanium* with a 'certificate of authenticity' from Disney World for $34.99+Tax.

*gravel

Don't be so quick to diss, it could be made of gold.

 

[DoubleJ]

Avatar has human protagonists though. I don't think Zootopia is a merch mover either. As I stated before, Cars works because it's talking car. It's not that people/kids want to be Lightning McQueen, they want to drive him. Cars, dinosaurs, pirates, superheroes, and princesses will always be tops with kids.

Toy Story? Nemo?

As it is, very few mature IPs sell tons of merch. Outside of Universal, Potter merch doesn't sell like Disney, Pixar, or Minions. Not to say that there isn't a lot of merch available, there's loads, but it doesn't fly off the shelves like other little kid IPs.

Take Hunger Games for example. Popular IP, great wannabe characters, strong popular culture influence, yet where's all the Katniss toys? Nowhere. Why is that? Because every bit of the IP is PG-13, no PG content anywhere.

 

[Brian G.]

Toy Story?

They're talking toys. Every kid wants their toy to talk back. There is nothing that screams money maker with Avatar merch. They could sell Avatar-ears, costumes.... but to expect them to do business like wands, lightsabers, or even cars is pushing it.

I'm looking forward to Avatar, but I know there are some issues it could present. No one ever thought this was coming to bring AK the new theme park trend of merch tie-ins. It was brought in because it's the #1 movie, and it looks pretty and presents some great creative opportunities for AK with attractions it desperately needs.

 

[AzaJ12345]

Just for the record, as we're all theme park fans I think we all want Pandora to be incredible. Just because Disney have thrown more dollar at it than Diagon Alley doesn't mean it will be better than it as it's entirely dependant on the IP that it relates to.

There is no doubt about it that Uni struck gold with HP, there is a story, people can relate to it, it allows the general public to fantasise and picture them in that world. For me nothing about Avatar strikes me as something that will change the theme park world for the better. My point is if I threw $1b at imagineers and told them to create an Anchorman land for example. Would it bring in some people? Probably a few mentalists yes. But would it be worth the outlay, not a chance.

Also, doubleJ, nothing personal aimed at you, appreciate you're passionate about it but there is a point where Dis are paying too much for the ROI they will get.

 

[amityboattours]

But, But - it is painted purple and silver like those fake rocks in Tomorrowland.

Ok.

$49.99+Tax.

 

[LieutLaww]

Ok.

$49.99+Tax.

I will take 2 !!

 

[Mad Dog]

So since I assume you mean @Teebin... why are you playing around acting like you have some top secret source?

I'm not playing around at all. And I'm not naming anyone. You can do your guessing. I merely said what I did previously and you can take it for what it's worth. I don't try to be an insider. I just try to add pertinent info to discussions that sometimes try to over simplify complicated situations. There's not always just one reason for something, there's often a number of reasons. You had pinned the cost over runs entirely on Cameron's demands, but that's only part of the reason. There are others.

 

[Brian G.]

Just for the record, as we're all theme park fans I think we all want Pandora to be incredible. Just because Disney have thrown more dollar at it than Diagon Alley doesn't mean it will be better than it as it's entirely dependant on the IP that it relates to.

There is no doubt about it that Uni struck gold with HP, there is a story, people can relate to it, it allows the general public to fantasise and picture them in that world. For me nothing about Avatar strikes me as something that will change the theme park world for the better. My point is if I threw $1b at imagineers and told them to create an Anchorman land for example. Would it bring in some people? Probably a few mentalists yes. But would it be worth the outlay, not a chance.

Also, doubleJ, nothing personal aimed at you, appreciate you're passionate about it but there is a point where Dis are paying too much for the ROI they will get.

I think another potential issue is cannibalization from the other parks. In a perfect world, sure it would have people spend an extra day on WDW property. The issue is that DHS and Epcot aren't exactly is the greatest of shapes, more so DHS. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if people did DHS during the day and AK/Avatar at night since the nightly atmosphere is going to be a huge selling point. Also, when SWL and TSL opens in a few years.... we might see AK lose crowds again.

 

[Mad Dog]

I think another potential issue is cannibalization from the other parks. In a perfect world, sure it would have people spend an extra day on WDW property. The issue is that DHS and Epcot aren't exactly is the greatest of shapes, more so DHS. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if people did DHS during the day and AK/Avatar at night since the nightly atmosphere is going to be a huge selling point. Also, when SWL and TSL opens in a few years.... we might see AK lose crowds again.

Exactly. That's basically what happened with Everest.

 

[IzzyB]

WDW will not see Potter-like attendance, merchandise or F&B sales from Pandora. What they will see from Pandora and Rivers of Light is the redistribution of guests around the resort. It should help some with MK's nightly fiasco.

There is a fan base that will go gaga for this land. It's not an Avatar fan base, but the large WDW fan base. They are starved for quality new content and will be dilerious with glee when this place opens.

I agree with this. They will get a small % increase overall (like 1%) and probably a larger increase % at AK (Thinking 6% to 10%). DHS will have another year of decrease % (Thinking 3% to 5%) while Epcot due to events will stay even. The big thing will be MK getting some needed relief. People will stay at AK all day instead of hopping to MK. I think it will be a really good land, but not worth the money they spent. But I also feel the cost over runs is beating a dead horse. It is the same story across the board at WDW. They are dumb and make dumb decisions which cost them to go over all their budgets. The cultural and structure of the company needs to change or this is going to be the story forever. Which is a real shame, because they have the ability to deliver great products. But every project it is the same story. Budget overruns and cuts because of these overruns. If they would just stay on budget and stop being dumb about this crap they would be able to build better lands. Sigh....

Anyone thinking this won't increase AK attendance at all is just crazy. Look at the amount of people on this board that haven't stepped into AK park for years and will next year. People WILL come for this land. Just not HP levels. But also HP levels and increases were partly because of how low of attendance IOA was before HP. Even Star Wars won't give the % increase HP did because of just the low attendance levels at the time for Universal in general. They were coming out of a VERY bad time when HP opened.

 

[Mad Dog]

I agree with this. They will get a small % increase overall (like 1%) and probably a larger increase % at AK (Thinking 6% to 10%). DHS will have another year of decrease % (Thinking 3% to 5%) while Epcot due to events will stay even. The big thing will be MK getting some needed relief. People will stay at AK all day instead of hopping to MK. I think it will be a really good land, but not worth the money they spent. But I also feel the cost over runs is beating a dead horse. It is the same story across the board at WDW. They are dumb and make dumb decisions which cost them to go over all their budgets. The cultural and structure of the company needs to change or this is going to be the story forever. Which is a real shame, because they have the ability to deliver great products. But every project it is the same story. Budget overruns and cuts because of these overruns. If they would just stay on budget and stop being dumb about this crap they would be able to build better lands. Sigh....

Anyone thinking this won't increase AK attendance at all is just crazy. Look at the amount of people on this board that haven't stepped into AK park for years and will next year. People WILL come for this land. Just not HP levels. But also HP levels and increases were partly because of how low of attendance IOA was before HP. Even Star Wars won't give the % increase HP did because of just the low attendance levels at the time for Universal in general. They were coming out of a VERY bad time when HP opened.

Yep. You got it, bottom line.