Just to chip in.....
I am indifferent to this going on at AK, just make it interesting. They need a dark ride, a coaster, and a water attraction, IMO.
I think it is a given that at the very minimum the new land will have two attractions very different in ride type. A 3D e-ticket is a must(duh) but a water ride I could
really get behind. Kali Rapids is nice and all, but news of the sequel depicting the oceans of Pandora seems like an opportunity for Disney to get creative with water-incorporating rides. idk
Hoooooooly crap! As much as I hated that film, the theme park applications are virtually limitless.
Indeed. Even with the movie on mute, the visuals and creatures rendered on the planet of Pandora are astonishing to say the least. The filmmakers really did their homework to devise a believable and photorealistic alien world.
I still wish Beastly Kingdom would have become a reality. At least dragons are animals in a sense, whereas the Na'vi are a humanoid race with some animal-like features. It could be neat, though. Pandora was a very visually engaging world.
Like others have said, Pandora came with many "animals" shown which were not the Na'vi. The dragonish creatures, the horse-like creatures, the rhino-like creatures, the wolf-like creatures, etc. Here's a video showing many creatures from the film.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQLOgzcMON8
So the same people who hopped on the "OMFGG Avatar has NO oRiGiNaLiTy!" bandwagon are freaking out all over the interwebs about this project. It's funny.
To be fair, WWoHP had pretty much the same response from "non" fans, too.
That being said, we know almost nothing about what the project will entail, and I can't get overly excited about that.
I also can't let Disney off the hook for the maintenance over the last few years. It needs to improve along with adding things.
And while FLE isn't a response to Potter, this definitely is. Ceding control to a creator of a popular franchise and funding a lot of money to it (which they refused with Potter) obviously shows that they realize a mistake that they made.
I'm almost thinking the only benefit that revealing it
this early is plainly news for the sake of news. They could have waited until Christmas or next spring when they would have some concept art. What was the rush. Uni made clear and concise plans before a public announcement for Potter. Did Cameron just want more attention/publicity boost? Did Disney release the news early to please shareholders? The world may never know.... And like IOA was spruced up with new paint jobs and maintenance before HP opened, Animal Kingdom will without a doubt receive some overdue TLC. And I 100% agree with the last remark about this being a direct response to Potter. Taking a park that needs rejuvenation and is less known by the masses by name and plopping an immersive, pricey, popular franchise themed land....yup, in no way is this a response to Potter. :bonk:
My final two cents:
Was it smart for them to come out with just an announcement or should they have held off for the next D23 to release the announcement
with plans and concept art?
And lastly, my opinion of the possibility of a "Na'vi Mickey":