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

[twebber55]

I'm in on 5/15, and I can't freaking wait. It'll either be beautiful, or a beautiful disaster. Either way, a good time :ears:

im 5/13 6-8 hoping for some night time views
how dark is it in Orlando at 8:00?

 

[Frogki]

Has anyone posted the official image of the banshee toys yet?
View attachment 4110

I hadn't seen this and if these are the funny dragon things wrapped around peoples neck on the concept art, color me excited for a pretty cool piece of merch!

 

[jtsalien]

im 5/13 6-8 hoping for some night time views
how dark is it in Orlando at 8:00?

Nice. Sunset will probably be close to 8, so you may get a few fleeting glimpses. But I wouldn't count on much.

I went 12-2. Hoping that if stuff is broken, I can huff and puff my way into the second session lol.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

NFL was a joke. This is not. Contrary to most on this forum (which is primarily focused on Universal), I know lots of people who are planning a trip to WDW because of Pandora.

This stuck out to me. I was told in 2014 New Fantasyland was driving attendance with some on twitter swearing up and down they heard and knew people booking just for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. This was in response to Diagon Alley and people saying NFL wasn't enough for the resort. Now it's "a joke". I simply don't buy what you're saying based on prior hyperbole.

 

[twebber55]

Nice. Sunset will probably be close to 8, so you may get a few fleeting glimpses. But I wouldn't count on much.

I went 12-2. Hoping that if stuff is broken, I can huff and puff my way into the second session lol.

yeah i thought about that, great point

 

[Brian G.]

If they were expecting more, there would be more.

Ah ok.

*Stares at Frozen Ever After*

 

[LieutLaww]

Those Banshee's would look good draped across my monitors

 

[Miketheboss]

Disney is ready to go big time beyond just SWL, but the ROI on certain additions company wide have hindered how big they can go and when they can finally say "GO!". I personally think they are expecting bigger than Cars Land since #1 movie and all that; which is why I'm worried.

I switched from a Universal annual pass to a WDW annual pass for Animal Kingdom. I'm not a "local" being that I live 4 hours away.

 

[Brian G.]

I switched from a Universal annual pass to a WDW annual pass for Animal Kingdom. I'm not a "local" being that I live 4 hours away.

Beg pardon?

 

[Miketheboss]

Beg pardon?

What? The Animal Kingdom part or the local part? Lol

When I think of a local, I think of someone who visits the parks and doesn't stay at a resort.

The new additions such as Pandora, ROL, the night time Safari, the tree of life shows are things I'm looking forward to. Also the new Magic Kingdom firework show and events like food and wine are things I will be attending so it just made sense to buy an AP.

 

[Brian G.]

What? The Animal Kingdom part or the local part? Lol

The new additions such as Pandora, ROL, the night time Safari, the tree of life shows are things I'm looking forward to. Also the new Magic Kingdom firework show and events like food and wine are things I will be attending so it just made sense to buy an AP.

That's fine, but why did you quote my post about this... ?

 

[DoubleJ]

This stuck out to me. I was told in 2014 New Fantasyland was driving attendance with some on twitter swearing up and down they heard and knew people booking just for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. This was in response to Diagon Alley and people saying NFL wasn't enough for the resort. Now it's "a joke". I simply don't buy what you're saying based on prior hyperbole.

There's a number of people in the world that will book a trip to WDW at the sight of anything new. With the exception of making a small visit to WDW after visiting Orlando for Hogsmeade, most of those I've talked to haven't been in 10+ years.

If you can't see the massive difference between NFL and Pandora...then I can't help you.

Ah ok.

*Stares at Frozen Ever After*

What about FEA?

Side note: have either of you been to Cars Land?

 

[Brian G.]

There's a number of people in the world that will book a trip to WDW at the sight of anything new. With the exception of making a small visit to WDW after visiting Orlando for Hogsmeade, most of those I've talked to haven't been in 10+ years.

So why is Avatar excluded with this line of thinking?

If you can't see the massive difference between NFL and Pandora...then I can't help you.

Quality and problems aside, NFL has princesses. A huge selling point for any family with a little girl under 10 and also is based on properties that elevated the Disney name into what it is today, with decades of success.

Avatar is one hit film with a dwindling pop culture effect.

What about FEA?

You said if they expected more, they would have done more. FEA is recent case of them using a huge IP with endless possibilities and shoehorning it in a 20 year old ride.

 

[DoubleJ]

So why is Avatar excluded with this line of thinking?



Quality and problems aside, NFL has princesses. A huge selling point for any family with a little girl under 10 and also is based on properties that elevated the Disney name into what it is today, with decades of success.

Avatar is one hit film with a dwindling pop culture effect.




You said if they expected more, they would have done more. FEA is recent case of them using a huge IP with endless possibilities and shoehorning it in a 20 year old ride.

I'm not excluding Avatar from that brand of thinking. I'm sure people will show up "just cause it's Disney". However, it's been a long time since this many of my friends been so interested in visiting.

Having visited Cars Land, I'm far less convinced of the power of IP to attract guests. Despite Cars being my least favorite Pixar franchise by far, from the moment I stepped in, I was blown away. I love the place, and I keep going back. NFL was an incredibly weak expansion which, as you pointed out, appealed to a wide audience. Disney Princesses is one of the largest franchises there is, and yet... If anything, I think NFL is a perfect example of the relatively weak power of IPs in theme parks.

Disney never had high expectations for FEA, hence why we go what we got. There is no contradiction there.

 

[Brian G.]

I'm not excluding Avatar from that brand of thinking. I'm sure people will show up "just cause it's Disney". However, it's been a long time since this many of my friends been so interested in visiting.

Having visited Cars Land, I'm far less convinced of the power of IP to attract guests. Despite Cars being my least favorite Pixar franchise by far, from the moment I stepped in, I was blown away. I love the place, and I keep going back. NFL was an incredibly weak expansion which, as you pointed out, appealed to a wide audience. Disney Princesses is one of the largest franchises there is, and yet... If anything, I think NFL is a perfect example of the relatively weak power of IPs in theme parks.

I agree that IP does not equal quality ride, however there is expectations that comes along with it. There was a worry when Cars Land was being built that they were spending more for a lesser known IP. Avatar is the #1 movie ever, has James Cameron's perfectionist attitude being involved, and is WDW's biggest project in years. Let's just say budget only went over by half, and list it at $750m... I better come out of the land feeling like I did after my honeymoon.

And yes, I've been to Cars Land. Loved the themeing. Ride is great. Everything else is fine. Tried to hard with some of the food and drink to ride off the Potter train.

Disney never had high expectations for FEA, hence why we go what we got.

:troll:

 

[DoubleJ]

I agree that IP does not equal quality ride, however there is expectations that comes along with it. There was a worry when Cars Land was being built that they were spending more for a lesser known IP. Avatar is the #1 movie ever, has James Cameron's perfectionist attitude being involved, and is WDW's biggest project in years. Let's just say budget only went over by half, and list it at $750m... I better come out of the land feeling like I did after my honeymoon.

And yes, I've been to Cars Land. Loved the themeing. Ride is great. Everything else is fine. Tried to hard with some of the food and drink to ride off the Potter train.



:troll:

There was no advertising campaign for FEA, there is no restaurant. Did they even hold an opening ceremony?

if there was any expectations, it sure wasn't shown.

 

[quinnmac000]

I actually like the banshee toys.

As for the cost, most of the cost overruns and billion dollars information came from Disney centric message boards from insiders with good Disney track records and I will leave it at that.

Did NFL do huge boosts for WDW? No. Will Pandora do big attendance boosts for WDW? No and it has mostly has little to do with the fact its Avatar. It has everything to do with foreign travel being down, current political system within the states, and other external factors. So please do not be surprise if the gains are around a 1.5-2% increase for attendance for AK.

 

[fryoj]

I better come out of the land feeling like I did after my honeymoon.

God I hope I don't. I felt like I was so deep in debt that I'd never get out.



Now that I think about it, thats about how I feel every time my wife walks into a gift shop with Potter stuff in it.

 

[Mr. EPCOT]

if there was any expectations, it sure wasn't shown.

I think their expectation was that they would print money without having to put hardly any effort forth.

 

[Disneyhead]

There was no advertising campaign for FEA, there is no restaurant. Did they even hold an opening ceremony?

if there was any expectations, it sure wasn't shown.

The Grand Opening Ceremony was cancelled due to Pulse.

As was Kong's.