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

[ArchieAndrews]

...No one? :cautious::bolt:

I do not follow. Unless I missed something critical but I've been reading this thread.

Now, where have I heard that before?

?

Eh, these aren't great comparisons as nearly all of these have thrill elements to them. The closest comparison I would say was Maelstrom since that was a shorter boat ride. Buzz Lightyear and Seas with Nemo & Friends also are examples of slower-moving dark rides that clock in at around the same length.

Sure, but it's kind of different for a omnimover type water ride because they're slow moving, so you don't encounter a whole lot in 4 minutes.

That still leaves Buzz Light Year, Soarin and Peter Pan. Also there's a lot going on in the boat's view based on the videos we've seen. And Kali River Rapids moves at a boat's pace as well.

 

[twebber55]

more anecdotal evidence i showed the GMA clip to a group of middle schools and they thought it was the coolest thing they ve ever seen

 

[adjjb]

The cheesecake looks interesting,

 

[ArchieAndrews]

Needless to say, Pandora has a LONG way to go if it hopes to be as successful as it is setting out to be.

I still will never get why Disney picked Avatar.

Not only is the movie just Ferngully with blue people, but the hype for it died so shortly after being released. I have no doubt it'll look cool, but to me I'm going to just view it as an aesthetically pleasing forest of sorts. I think it irritates me even more that it's in Animal Kingdom too.

 

[epcyclopedia]

The cheesecake looks interesting,

In the alternate universe where Avatar is popular that's apparently what cheesecake looks like.

 

[Nick]

I still will never get why Disney picked Avatar.

Not only is the movie just Ferngully with blue people, but the hype for it died so shortly after being released. I have no doubt it'll look cool, but to me I'm going to just view it as an aesthetically pleasing forest of sorts. I think it irritates me even more that it's in Animal Kingdom too.

See, I actually think Avatar would be pointless as an IP in any park EXCEPT DAK. The whole message of the film coincides with the message of the park.

This is also mostly what we would've gotten in a Beastly Kingdom, this just happens to be tied to Avatar.

 

[UNIrd]

This looks so much more ready-to-go than Volcano Bay and they're opening on the same date. I'm sure this will soft prior though and I don't think Volcano will.

Also, this land looks SPECTACULAR. Animal Kingdom will definitely move into 1st place again for me of the Disney Parks in FL.

 

[snayberry]

I'm pretty excited for this, Animal Kingdom is my favorite park. Going to eat some good edibles before hitting this up.

 

[Mad Dog]

See, I actually think Avatar would be pointless as an IP in any park EXCEPT DAK. The whole message of the film coincides with the message of the park.

This is also mostly what we would've gotten in a Beastly Kingdom, this just happens to be tied to Avatar.

You make a good point. I tend to mostly agree. And yes, this seems a lot similar to what Beastly Kingdom could have been, albeit 19 or 20 years late. ...Pandora seems to fit well in AK, and that goes against the grain of what many Disney purists were crying about a couple of years ago. But I always thought it would look right. .... I still have some questions on it's overall value & attention span, but they will be answered in a few months. Not looking bad, at this point in time, though.

 

[Nick]

In the alternate universe where Avatar is popular that's apparently what cheesecake looks like.

Ok, so Avatar isn't popular by almost any standard. It hasn't held up well. She's aged poorly.

But you could look at the doom and gloom side or you could look at it from the side where it's based off the highest grossing movie of all-time with 4 planned sequels. So Disney could be opening the land with popularity at one of it's lowest points. Say the Avatar sequels don't do as well, but still are event films and a fanbase grows out of them.

Disney is then sitting on a potential hot IP. Or they could be sitting on a Dead IP. Either way, we're getting what looks to be a very nice new addition to DAK, which is all I really care about.

 

[ArchieAndrews]

See, I actually think Avatar would be pointless as an IP in any park EXCEPT DAK. The whole message of the film coincides with the message of the park.

This is also mostly what we would've gotten in a Beastly Kingdom, this just happens to be tied to Avatar.

No, I get why they put it in there. It makes sense in the context of the park's message and all that jazz.

I think it's more a personal irritation than anything though. Animal Kingdom and EPCOT being pumped up with IPs just rubs me the wrong way. I feel Hollywood Studios is the ideal place to do IP based areas in. Just an entire land like this, when comparing it to the rest of the park (minus Dinoland) feels wrong. It probably was the best location though.

I'm also extremely biased though, because as said a few times now, I think Avatar is pretty lame outside of how visually appealing the setting is. So the idea of a putting all this effort into a franchise like this when they could do something else annoys me.

All that being said I'm still pretty excited to see this place in person.

 

[Nick]

No, I get why they put it in there. It makes sense in the context of the park's message and all that jazz.

I think it's more a personal irritation than anything though. Animal Kingdom and EPCOT being pumped up with IPs just rubs me the wrong way. I feel Hollywood Studios is the ideal place to do that in and even MK too. Just an entire land like this, when comparing it to the rest of the park (minus Dinoland) feels wrong. It probably was the best location though.

I'm also extremely biased though, because as said a few times now, I think Avatar is pretty lame outside of how visually appealing the setting is. So the idea of a putting all this effort into a franchise like this when they could do something else annoys me.

All that being said I'm still pretty excited to see this place in person.

I totally see where you're coming from and get it. I'm not preferential to one park or one resort over another in Orlando at all, i'm fairly unbiased. I just like good rides and hyper-themed environments.

I don't tend to get offended by IPs as easily as some with a bigger affection for these places than I. I also think that we need to be realistic when thinking about where WDW is going... it's become plainly obvious for quite some time now under Iger that if any ride is going to be added anywhere, it be based on an IP. The best we can hope for is that the IP fit the area it is going into and I think Pandora does that. The only recent IP addition that has crossed the line for me was Frozen into Norway.

 

[UNIrd]

No one is going to pump that much money into a new land that's not IP based. It's just not going to happen. Avatar doesn't have built-in bankability like Cars did in DLR or HP in UO, but it's still got the name, title of highest-grossing film of all-time, and the promise of future sequels. Let's all be happy that it's not a way more intrusive IP on the park's themes.

 

[Disneyhead]

Avatar is about as educational as Sharknado.

 

[rhino4evr]

Avatar is about as educational as Sharknado.

The way JC talks about it, you'd think it's the greatest fictional place ever created.

 

[twebber55]

 

[rhino4evr]

Anyone see the nightline piece?

 

[twebber55]

The way JC talks about it, you'd think it's the greatest fictional place ever created.

what is he supposed to say
"well i guess its ok to go to kinda not really" LOL

gotta sell your idea or land in this case, who wouldnt?

 

[twebber55]

Anyone see the nightline piece?

i did
more of the same to me
extended look at ride vehicle on FOP
im a staunch defender of the land but will be a tad disappointed if this RV isnt elevated in someway

 

[Andysol]

Just now catching up on all this

My problem with the video, at least to me, is that it didn't feel they were putting a good effort to hype it up. We've seen the floating mountains, the waterfalls cascading, and the plants. They didn't spend a lot of time on the things we haven't seen. I thought the food and drink would have been a good start, but it was only a few seconds and it was very obvious she faked the "it's good" (not saying it is or isn't, but she was starting her sentence before she took the fork out of her mouth).

Keep in mind who the target audience is here. Saying we didn't really see anything we haven't seen before means nothing to a bunch of lowest common denominator fraulines watching the view.

What the hell is this? Not the food or anything- but the audience reactions. Watch it again and listen to the oohs and ahhs in weird inappropriate times. Who are these people who watch this crap?