Pandora: World of Avatar General Discussion

[Evan]

I don't get why the lights are so dim on the floating mountains.

Maybe because they are better experienced in person?

 

[epcyclopedia]

So, video of the full ride from a backpack camera - ride starts at 21mins in the video. You can see it move dramatically vertically at times.

Not that it needs to be said, but spoilers.



Edit..

And the waterfall has shut off for no apparent reason.

 

[Tobias]

Maybe because they are better experienced in person?

Maybe, maybe not? I am noticing tweets of those who honestly feel Pandora is better during the day then at night, one of the factors being you can't appreciate/see the details of the land at night. So it could be a case where it's not just coming out dim in photos...but it's dim in person.

 

[Brian G.]

If you block or ban me you must remove all of my content. This is your only warning.

I provide a good majority of the viable content of your website.

Provide content of your own or back off.

Your moderation over reach is the cause of the majority of the hostility on this website.

Yea, that's not how this works. We're asking politely. Please try your best to not double post. That's all.

 

[rhino4evr]

I think what the "relevancy" police are missing is that Disney just made Avatar relevant again. This park is probably a bigger win for James Cameron than it is for Disney.

 

[sjago13]

Got here at 7.15 expecting to wait out front until 8. Walked right into Pandora and making a nice paced hike into FoP. They said they let people in starting at about 6.45. With no EMH and no GO at 8 this seems like the plan to get here an hour before opening with no EMH to enjoy the land and rides with minimal waits.

 

[rhino4evr]

Joe Rohde addressed the "skepticism" of basing a land on Avatar (as well as the Guardians ToT redo).

Click here to see or read below, I've copied the text:

Today, on each coast, two projects opened to overwhelming crowds and very high praise. Both of these were the results of incredible teamwork by talented and devoted individuals, some of whom worked both projects!! I had the privilege of overseeing these, but make no mistake, the work was done by two extremely talented groups of master storytellers. It interests me that both projects were announced to considerable skepticism. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and skepticism is a crucial component of good creative work. But there is something I wanted to comment on. Much of this skepticism was directed at the idea that "nobody cared" about these subjects. This is a false lead. Subject is nothing to holler about. Treatment is how stories work. Do you want to hear a story about two girls in a boat, a spaceship, a lost dog, or a man struggling with his identity? How could anyone possibly know? What makes story great is how it is told, not what it is about. If humans only told stories about subjects that people were familiar with and never changed the subject, every story on earth would be about a successful mammoth hunt. We, who are storytellers, take our charge seriously. We open the dream-channels of human minds, so that people have the power to believe in something more than what they believed yesterday, more than they see with their eyes. And hopefully, they transfer that open belief in the yet-unseen to other enterprises, to science, medicine, architecture, and politics. We always need new stories, about what? No one can say. But if they are well told, moving, and inspiring, they will work like seeds in a garden to help us all grow.​

This was a pretty long winded way of just saying that the public doesn't know what it wants until they have it.

Got here at 7.15 expecting to wait out front until 8. Walked right into Pandora and making a nice paced hike into FoP. They said they let people in starting at about 6.45. With no EMH and no GO at 8 this seems like the plan to get here an hour before opening with no EMH to enjoy the land and rides with minimal waits.

This is exactly what I plan to do. Opening Day with EMH was definitely a PR experiment that worked out...for Disney. Maybe not so much for guests.

Back on topic...

The crowds from yesterday are clearly going to slow down considerably over time, but I still feel like the land could support a second store fairly easily. Everyone from FoP exits into Windtraders and since it's the only store in the land, it's also the only place for anyone else in the entire land to go if they want to shop. Add into the mix that Pongu Pongu and Satu'li Canteen are both right there as well and it really makes that area a hub of activity. A store over near the exit of NRJ would do well.

I expect to see Avatar merch in the other "main" gift shops pretty soon. I remember when potter was opened, there was a 20 min line to buy stuff from hogsmede, so we ended up buying all our stuff from the main entrance store with no wait.

 

[Nick]

Back on topic...

The crowds from yesterday are clearly going to slow down considerably over time, but I still feel like the land could support a second store fairly easily. Everyone from FoP exits into Windtraders and since it's the only store in the land, it's also the only place for anyone else in the entire land to go if they want to shop. Add into the mix that Pongu Pongu and Satu'li Canteen are both right there as well and it really makes that area a hub of activity. A store over near the exit of NRJ would do well.

 

[Frank Drackman]

I think what the "relevancy" police are missing is that Disney just made Avatar relevant again. This park is probably a bigger win for James Cameron than it is for Disney.

I've never understood who pays who in these arrangements. It's the same way I think of HHN, it is great advertising for the property and to me (sometimes) I think IP owners should be paying the parks and not the other way around.

I do not think any of us 'why Pandora' folks believe anything differently from what Joe Rohde stated (well, I think there are only around four plot lines that are regurgitated in all stories), but I think what many are saying is that Pocahontas told the story better than Avatar did.

I know I always thought the expansion would do well...just that folks were not dying to visit because it is Avatar...this will be different for an IP like Star Wars, where folks who do not visit Disney have a desire to visit a Star Wars land.

I think what folks are saying is best expressed by those who asked why they did not just go with Beasty Kingdom.

 

[Nick]

I think what folks are saying is best expressed by those who asked why they did not just go with Beasty Kingdom.

Beastly Kingdom has taken on the same sort of legendary, mythical status as Western River Expedition. We know general sketches of what both would've looked like, but sadly we'll never know if they would've actually been any good. The likelihood is pretty good they would've, but who knows, maybe Joe Rohde simply didn't like the Beastly Kingdom idea anymore (or more likely they wouldn't fund it without an IP, which is sort of what happened in a way).

 

[Nick]

As @rhino4evr was saying, if you want to do the Pandora rides you really either need to get their early, EMH (morning or night), or have a FP+. It's only 35 mins after park open and theses are the waits:



The rest of the park is only 5-15 mins for everything.

 

[JoeCamel]

Breaking news, Banshee toys $100 - $150 on fleabay. get them soon!

 

[Imperius]

Yeah I cancelled my River fast pass. To worth the hassle for that ride alone. I'll head over in September.

 

[Nick]

Breaking news, Banshee toys $100 - $150 on fleabay. get them soon!

Are people actually bidding that much or is that just the listed price? If people are bidding that, I expect Disney to raise prices in the not too distant future.

 

[Frank Drackman]

Beastly Kingdom has taken on the same sort of legendary, mythical status as Western River Expedition. We know general sketches of what both would've looked like, but sadly we'll never know if they would've actually been any good. The likelihood is pretty good they would've, but who knows, maybe Joe Rohde simply didn't like the Beastly Kingdom idea anymore (or more likely they wouldn't fund it without an IP, which is sort of what happened in a way).

That's fair, but I think it still misses the point a little, FoP could have been a flight of the dragon ride, a flight of the figment ride. To me, it sounds as if imagineering can only bring to life a vision if it comes from someone like Camron while we all know there was a time when the Haunted Mansion was created from within.

 

[RevFreako]

This was a pretty long winded way of just saying that the public doesn't know what it wants until they have it.

He's not wrong. Or more accurately, sometimes the public doesn't know they wanted a thing until they get it.

 

[Nick]

That's fair, but I think it still misses the point a little, FoP could have been a flight of the dragon ride, a flight of the figment ride. To me, it sounds as if imagineering can only bring to life a vision if it comes from someone like Camron while we all know there was a time when the Haunted Mansion was created from within.

I don't think that's true at all.

Simply put, the only thing that will get approved these days are IP-based rides. It's not that that's all they know to do, it's just these are the projects they are given.

Rohde had no choice in getting Avatar or not, that came from the tippity top in Bob Iger.

 

[Frank Drackman]

I don't think that's true at all.

Simply put, the only thing that will get approved these days are IP-based rides. It's not that that's all they know to do, it's just these are the projects they are given.

Rohde had no choice in getting Avatar or not, that came from the tippity top in Bob Iger.

Yep, I get that that is the point. I was not trying to knock imagineerings creativity. I'm really just trying to point out why I think'why Avatar' comes from a place that knows Disney can do better. Even within Iger's mandate to build franchises...why not build on Figment...why not build on something Pixar?

I imagine folks would see me as pro Universal/anti Disney and I do not see it that way. My 401K allows me to buy and sell on the public exchanges and Disney has added a ton to my retirement funds...but, as a cunsomer, as a FL resident that only wants one AP for the Orlando area (as it is still a couple of hundred miles away from where I live, UOR gets my money...but it is largely because Disney lets me down more...I mean, this is the first (real) new thing Disney has done since Magic Bands hit the scene and I am glad there is more coming.

Just saying my negativity towards the mouse comes from knowing they could be doing better (my opinion).

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Just saying my negativity towards the mouse comes from knowing they could be doing better (my opinion).

Shout it from the roof so everyone can hear.

 

[Miketheboss]

Shout it from the roof so everyone can hear.

Arn't you a moderator? The same thing can be said about Universal.