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

[epcyclopedia]

I've looked at a few things without being full-on spoiled so here's some quick thoughts:

1. Merch still looks awful. Banshee puppet looks cool.

2. Land looks beautiful. The floating mountains shot looks underwhelming. Maybe it'll translate better in person?

3. Menu looks good and interesting, especially the French Toast and Sausage.

The lunch food was good but the breakfast photosgraphs better.. which is odd, they lead with the lunch in promos and didnt even mention breakfast.

 

[Brian G.]

I am blown away by it all. So incredible. The river journey is gorgeous, the AA is insane. The AA in the FoP queue blew me away also.

If you're talking about the Na'vi in stasis - that's a musion effect.

CORRECTION - It's AA

 

[epcyclopedia]

If you're talking about the Na'vi in stasis - that's a musion effect.

You sure about that...? The various angles it can be seen from and people walk behind it in other vids..

 

[Tobias]

This shot shows the whole thing is in a seperate room behind glass, I'm calling Musion on this one.

 

[Brian G.]

You sure about that...? The various angles it can be seen from and people walk behind it in other vids..

If that's the case than bravo - but still looks great if it is just musion.

 

[giant4203]

This shot shows the whole thing is in a seperate room behind glass, I'm calling Musion on this one.

He is not a musion effect. He is an AA

 

[epcyclopedia]

If that's the case than bravo - but still looks great if it is just musion.

Watch the bubbles interact with his right foot:

 

[epcyclopedia]

Ok.. so we are taught by the film to see the Navii as people.. to be respected for their art and culture and connection with their "earth" and such..

And so take a baby one home....?



I know they're not real but that seems tasteless.

 

[belloq87]

I'm shocked that Disney allowed a full ride-through video of River Journey to get out! I've only watched maybe 20 seconds of it (jumping around), but a couple thoughts:

1. It appears to basically be a full 5 minutes. While I wish it were another minute or two longer, 5 minutes is better than 4, which was a rumored duration at one point.

2. It looks gorgeous, and though I'm sure it could probably use more AAs than we're getting, as a sucker for gentle boat rides it looks like my kind of attraction.

The land itself looks stunning from the pictures. Although I remain deeply skeptical about Flight of Passage, everything else about the place looks top notch.

 

[Evan]

If you're talking about the Na'vi in stasis - that's a musion effect.

You sure about that...? The various angles it can be seen from and people walk behind it in other vids..

This shot shows the whole thing is in a seperate room behind glass, I'm calling Musion on this one.

It has been confirmed by my friend who is training on the attraction, as well as Inside the Magic on twitter that it is indeed a physical effect, unsure if it's a true AA or not, but there is a Physical Navi in that tank.

 

[epcyclopedia]

Umm.. hold up. I'm not sure I'm about that life.



Who's the cutest wittle abomination?! You are, yes you are!!!

 

[Legacy]

I'll say this on the River ride, based on the video:

If I had to wait more than 30 minutes for that the first time I rode it I'd be extremely disappointed. I'm all for gentle boat rides, but there's almost nothing happening aside from things that would be ambiance plussing anywhere else.

 

[epcyclopedia]

I'll say this on the River ride, based on the video:

If I had to wait more than 30 minutes for that the first time I rode it I'd be extremely disappointed. I'm all for gentle boat rides, but there's almost nothing happening aside from things that would be ambiance plussing anywhere else.

But imagine riding it with your face painted, your banshee on your shoulder, wearing your glowing flippy floppies, while sipping that mango powerade thing in a pan flute souvenir cup.

 

[Evan]

Umm.. hold up. I'm not sure I'm about that life.



Who's the cutest wittle abomination?! You are, yes you are!!!

I'm getting in line now.

 

[Legacy]

But imagine riding it with your face painted, your banshee on your shoulder, wearing your glowing flippy floppies, while sipping that mango powerade thing in a pan flute souvenir cup.

I'm imagining being on that boat with someone else doing all that. They'd get their wish of never leaving Pandora because I'd drown them.

 

[twebber55]

looks like what i expected
full of depth
boat ride is ok/pretty
FOP and its queue is the big winner
food is solid
ill be there May 13th
onward!

 

[epcyclopedia]

Am I allowed to ride Flight of Passage with my baby banshee?

I need answers to these important questions.

 

[Miketheboss]

Omg. That Avatar in the case is stunning. I don't want to see more than that. These things need to be spoilers.

 

[Imagineer83]

So my takeaway from what has been shown so far is that the land is very beautiful. The animatronic on the boat ride is very fluid and convincing. The detail through out is great. The tech is nice with some fun looking special effects in the FOP queue. A lot of attention and care was taken to bring the world to life. I am blown away by the detail and special effects. I think its a nice addition and I look forward to visiting it whenever we go back to WDW.

However, I still wander what the point of the land is. The boat ride doesn't seem to have a point other than, hey look at what we can do! The fake plants mixed with the real plants outside seems kind of odd to me. Has a cartoony feel to it. The floating mountains still look like a giant arch. A beautifully detailed arch, but not 'floating'. Even Disney magic can't defy the laws of gravity. The merchandise seems uninspired to me. They just slapped the same image on everything they could. There appears to be very little world building merchandise.

Overall I think the addition is a plus for the park. I am not disappointed but I just have to wonder why? Why spend that much money for something that is ultimately a 'look what we did' type of land. The detail and effects exceeds my expectations. However, I am still grasping at the why. Why was this land built and why did they spend so much time and money on it? The return on investment will be interesting to watch. I will visit and enjoy the land when I go to WDW again. But I am not going to visit WDW because of this land. Honestly, probably won't visit WDW again until SWL opens. If anything, the detail in this land makes me more excited for SWL where that attention to detail should have more of a purpose and story!

 

[amityboattours]

The movement of the hands/fingers on that Shaman AA is incredible.