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

[UNIrd]

I am terrified of Avatar land, for how much money and how ambitious the entire thing is ESPECIALLY with James Cameron on their back. If Disney fails this we are in for a nightmare. I hope for the best for Disney but from what I'm seeing so far....woof

You're scared for Disney to spend money? They had no problem doing it on Next Gen. It'll be nice to see them spend it on attractions now.

 

[IzzyB]

When Disney chooses to be ambitious people are scared. When Disney doesn't build or create anything revolutionary, like mermaid, people are upset. :bonk:

Yeah, I think until we know more about what Avatar is going to be and what is included, we really can't have an opinion other than I hate the IP or I like the IP. We know from past experiences it will take awhile to build, but beyond that we really have no clue. We can all bash the mine coaster for taking so long to build (including me), but for the space they had, the final product is pretty impressive and will do its job by adding capacity. So we can't really say this won't be impressive or this won't do what it needs to do which is bring more things to do to AK.

 

[Cole]

im scared of james cameron. imagine JK rowling x1000 he is a freak for his details and add on's and while it's understandable he would AK unto avatar land if he could. He pitched a fit when they didn't get the right tiles for the titanic's dining room. He is also famous for spending money like candy, i'm excited for avatar land because it looks great but i'm also terrified because a war could happen with james cameron and disney

 

[IzzyB]

There is a reason JK Rowling didn't work with Disney. Yes Cameron will try to get everything he wants (which would be a good thing in my opinion), but he won't get everything. Disney knows how to manage these relationships for better or worse. You have to remember Uni was in no position to really manage JK Rowling. They NEEDED Harry Potter and knew it. Disney doesn't think they NEED anything. While that may not be true, that is how they go into these meetings.

 

[Cole]

There is a reason JK Rowling didn't work with Disney. Yes Cameron will try to get everything he wants (which would be a good thing in my opinion), but he won't get everything. Disney knows how to manage these relationships for better or worse. You have to remember Uni was in no position to really manage JK Rowling. They NEEDED Harry Potter and knew it. Disney doesn't think they NEED anything. While that may not be true, that is how they go into these meetings.

thats why im scared of this, disney is known to argue and budget cut its way out of tons of things and thats why the only person who has worked with them successfully is george lucas. Everybody else has either given up (JK) or tried to sued (MGM). we are talking about 2 spoiled brats here that don't take no for a answer. I promise you something will go down one way or another when it comes to this land it might be ugly BTW guys please stop putting words into my mouth, i'm new and not looking to make people angry so cut me some slack :smiley:

 

[ReelJustice]

twebber55

I will be thinking of you when this land finally opens and I visit it. Jim Cameron owes you a percentage of the gross.

 

[JungleSkip]

Yeah, I think until we know more about what Avatar is going to be and what is included

We know what's included.

Dragon bat flying simulator
Boat Ride
bio-luminescent theming
Restaurant
Shops

 

[TylerDurden]

im scared of james cameron. imagine JK rowling x1000 he is a freak for his details and add on's and while it's understandable he would AK unto avatar land if he could. He pitched a fit when they didn't get the right tiles for the titanic's dining room. He is also famous for spending money like candy, i'm excited for avatar land because it looks great but i'm also terrified because a war could happen with james cameron and disney

Terminator 2 3-D turned out just fine :shrug:

 

[martymcflyy85]

I love Terminator 2 3-D. Cameron being involved makes me more confident that its going to be great.

 

[Cole]

Terminator 2 3-D turned out just fine :shrug:

It turned out fine because it was a production and not a full blown land. Universal gives him a set amount of money and he makes the short movie. He probably had a couple fits on the set of that especially with the 3D. This is a full blown land we are talking about here. You will see this in all angles not from a seat. He can and will go nuts

 

[TylerDurden]

It turned out fine because it was a production and not a full blown land. Universal gives him a set amount of money and he makes the short movie. He probably had a couple fits on the set of that especially with the 3D. This is a full blown land we are talking about here. You will see this in all angles not from a seat. He can and will go nuts

That's true about a land being a much different beast than a show, but Disney has enough resources to do his vision justice. It's not like they haven't accounted for every worst case scenario, all budgets for projects like this are "expected" in a way to go over-budget. Cameron and Disney have seemed to have already agreed on a design and the actual meat of what's going in, now all they have to do is build it. Will Cameron be a pain? It's possible...but if anything, that should make you excited, not worried. The land has no choice but to absolutely superb and up to Cameron's perfectionist expectations. It's not like he will run Disney out of money and they'll just cancel and go bankrupt lol. Remember too that Cameron surely will see some sort of benefit from this thing (if not a percentage of merch sales, permanent advertising for his films for the forseeable future) and also wants to see it come to fruition. I think you're oversimplifying the design process/relationship between creative teams, licensees, and construction teams, while overestimating the nature of said licensee.

 

[Disneyhead]

I wonder how they are going to make the floating mountains hurricane proof?

 

[Cole]

That's true about a land being a much different beast than a show, but Disney has enough resources to do his vision justice. It's not like they haven't accounted for every worst case scenario, all budgets for projects like this are "expected" in a way to go over-budget. Cameron and Disney have seemed to have already agreed on a design and the actual meat of what's going in, now all they have to do is build it. Will Cameron be a pain? It's possible...but if anything, that should make you excited, not worried. The land has no choice but to absolutely superb and up to Cameron's perfectionist expectations. It's not like he will run Disney out of money and they'll just cancel and go bankrupt lol. Remember too that Cameron surely will see some sort of benefit from this thing (if not a percentage of merch sales, permanent advertising for his films for the forseeable future) and also wants to see it come to fruition. I think you're oversimplifying the design process/relationship between creative teams, licensees, and construction teams, while overestimating the nature of said licensee.

The thing is about Cameron and what he's known for it adding and taking away, there might be a full design and scale model now but next year he will think about one thing and hold it off until boom 2016 "I don't like that mountain take it out". I bet you right now after the second avatar comes out he will ask for a second phase or a replacement for something. I might sound over dramatic but it's really how he is. If Disney goes all the way with this land (they HAVE to) it's gonna be the most beautiful themed land in theme park history, probably more than discovery island in Tokyo and that's saying something. Hopefully it all works well and Cameron doesn't bomb the place

 

[twebber55]

I will be thinking of you when this land finally opens and I visit it. Jim Cameron owes you a percentage of the gross.

haha thanks....I know im a big supporter of this land but im no pixie duster by any means just think it will be unique...really looking forward to DA
by the way you guys over at parkscope have done a great job the last few weeks with the absence of HTF

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The thing is about Cameron and what he's known for it adding and taking away, there might be a full design and scale model now but next year he will think about one thing and hold it off until boom 2016 "I don't like that mountain take it out". I bet you right now after the second avatar comes out he will ask for a second phase or a replacement for something. I might sound over dramatic but it's really how he is. If Disney goes all the way with this land (they HAVE to) it's gonna be the most beautiful themed land in theme park history, probably more than discovery island in Tokyo and that's saying something. Hopefully it all works well and Cameron doesn't bomb the place

there was some quotes from Cameron this weekend and he sounded pretty excited with what Disney is doing with pandora

 

[Cole]

You never know, from many interviews with the crew of his movies they've all said he can snap from happy to a complete baby in minutes. I'm very excited for the boat ride honestly it's gonna be great. Avatar soarin might be redundant but hey it's a dumbo magic carpets Spider-man transformers deal. I'm sure the avatar land version will be....superior I SAID IT

 

[TylerDurden]

As much as we all may like to think we know these Hollywood figures, the truth is we don't. For every interview or anecdote about Cameron being a complete nightmare to work with, there are just as many people who have said nothing but great things about working for him, and it shows...Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, Sigourney Weaver, etc. have all worked with him on multiple occasions and not because they thought he was an unreasonable jerk. Even Kate Winslet, who had an infamously strenuous relationship with him has gone on record saying she enjoyed working with him and wouldn't trade it for anything. There's a difference between wanting everything to be perfect and being an unreasonable tyrant. If he was as bad as some people are making him out to be, Disney wouldn't bother going forward with the project, and certainly not spend the billions they did to get the chance to use his property that they surely knew he'd be protective over.

 

[Cole]

As much as we all may like to think we know these Hollywood figures, the truth is we don't. For every interview or anecdote about Cameron being a complete nightmare to work with, there are just as many people who have said nothing but great things about working for him, and it shows...Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, Sigourney Weaver, etc. have all worked with him on multiple occasions and not because they thought he was an unreasonable jerk. Even Kate Winslet, who had an infamously strenuous relationship with him has gone on record saying she enjoyed working with him and wouldn't trade it for anything. There's a difference between wanting everything to be perfect and being an unreasonable tyrant. If he was as bad as some people are making him out to be, Disney wouldn't bother going forward with the project, and certainly not spend the billions they did to get the chance to use his property that they surely knew he'd be protective over.

He's good with his actors (manly because he doesn't know how to direct them...burn) but everybody on the behind the scenes side despises the guy. I have a friend who helped him with avatar and he said that he was total jackass to everybody there when he didn't get what he wanted. He even said one day he started crying because something was wrong and left the studio pouting. I'm sure he's a nice guy but his ego and temper just gets the best of him

 

[Milla4Prez66]

As much as we all may like to think we know these Hollywood figures, the truth is we don't. For every interview or anecdote about Cameron being a complete nightmare to work with, there are just as many people who have said nothing but great things about working for him, and it shows...Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, Sigourney Weaver, etc. have all worked with him on multiple occasions and not because they thought he was an unreasonable jerk. Even Kate Winslet, who had an infamously strenuous relationship with him has gone on record saying she enjoyed working with him and wouldn't trade it for anything. There's a difference between wanting everything to be perfect and being an unreasonable tyrant. If he was as bad as some people are making him out to be, Disney wouldn't bother going forward with the project, and certainly not spend the billions they did to get the chance to use his property that they surely knew he'd be protective over.

Well that does it, if Paxton likes working with him then he gets the thumbs up from me.

 

[IzzyB]

We know what's included.

Dragon bat flying simulator
Boat Ride
bio-luminescent theming
Restaurant
Shops

Yes, but we have no real details. There is still conversation and debate on what the ride system is going to be and then how that ride system will be used and themed. We also are so far out that who knows what Disney changes from here until opening, I mean look at New Fantasy Land. So yes, we know the basic concepts, but not enough to say this is going to be awful or this is going to be great or somewhere in the middle.

 

[TylerDurden]

He's good with his actors (manly because he doesn't know how to direct them...burn) but everybody on the behind the scenes side despises the guy. I have a friend who helped him with avatar and he said that he was total jackass to everybody there when he didn't get what he wanted. He even said one day he started crying because something was wrong and left the studio pouting. I'm sure he's a nice guy but his ego and temper just gets the best of him

I don't doubt this, but your friend isn't representative of everyone in the industry who has worked with him. Like I said, Disney paid quite a bit of money to acquire the Avatar franchise knowing full well it's his baby. I'm sure they know what they're getting themselves into, and I also am sure that after nearly 60 years of experience in the theme parks making some of the highest-quality products in the industry (including work with licensed properties), they'll be fine.