Pandora: World of Avatar General Discussion

[Mad Dog]

You can’t say it’s “the end” because even though Universal is going to open a presumably extravagantly themed park with iconic IPs, they will be doing it all at once. So that can easily get our hype meters high, but it doesn’t mean that Disney still can’t build more themed lands with many of their under-used IP.

Ahhh. It's like the nuclear arms race during the Cold War. Each side just builds bigger and badder stuff to surpass the other. But in this case, it's a "Good War Race".

 

[twebber55]

Ahhh. It's like the nuclear arms race during the Cold War. Each side just builds bigger and badder stuff to surpass the other. But in this case, it's a "Good War Race".

thats actually a great analogy
my only question would be for disney what happens after star wars?
obviously Universal has the blessing of a new park to add on to

 

[devinp267]

You can’t say it’s “the end” because even though Universal is going to open a presumably extravagantly themed park with iconic IPs, they will be doing it all at once. So that can easily get our hype meters high, but it doesn’t mean that Disney still can’t build more themed lands with many of their under-used IP.

I think its plausible. 4 or 5 extensively themed lands at once is the thing, and then you still have land expansions at the other 2 parks to come, plus the last of the big ip's are like almost gone for now. Disney is gonna have to have a major plan to offset this park and the future Nintendo lands, and i don't see too many big hitters as far as ip's go, i feel like they're going to continue playing catch up for a while.

 

[Nick]

thats actually a great analogy
my only question would be for disney what happens after star wars?
obviously Universal has the blessing of a new park to add on to

Well we know a Zootopia land is in the works for Shanghai so that’s a possibility. Indy has been talked about a lot and seems obvious. That Monstropolis rumor has started to gain some traction, etc. Disney is sitting on a lot of “worlds” and IPs that they just aren’t using for one reason or another (San Fransokyo would be awesome, for example). I’m sure they’ll do something. Whether it ends up being good or not will be up for debate.

I think its plausible. 4 or 5 extensively themed lands at once is the thing, and then you still have land expansions at the other 2 parks to come, plus the last of the big ip's are like almost gone for now. Disney is gonna have to have a major plan to offset this park and the future Nintendo lands, and i don't see too many big hitters as far as ip's go, i feel like they're going to continue playing catch up for a while.

In terms of themed lands, yeah. But let’s not act like Universal will have overtaken Disney in Orlando quite yet.

 

[devinp267]

In terms of themed lands, yeah. But let’s not act like Universal will have overtaken Disney in Orlando quite yet.[/QUOTE]

No no not saying that, and i dont know if that'll ever happen, but this new park could possibly take another potter size bite out of the mouses cheese, there's gonna be a lot to see with this new theme park and expansions at the other two parks, if they go full steam ahead, disney should worry a little.

 

[Ryan]

I always thought the same thing. It's pretty, but it lacks soul. It doesn't feel entirely "alive".

There’s no better post that echoes my thoughts than this. FoP is fun but by no means the best Disney attraction ever made. NRJ is a snore. The land has some interesting ideas but they’re either only seen at night or you have to purchase them. Satuli is fine for food, but that’s it. There are no neat creatures to see thru the land. No Na’Vi roaming around. Everything is hinted at.

At least Galaxy’s Edge sounds full of life and bustling. I like Pandora, but I think it’s a little overrated.

 

[SkiBum]

There’s no better post that echoes my thoughts than this. FoP is fun but by no means the best Disney attraction ever made. NRJ is a snore. The land has some interesting ideas but they’re either only seen at night or you have to purchase them. Satuli is fine for food, but that’s it. There are no neat creatures to see thru the land. No Na’Vi roaming around. Everything is hinted at.

At least Galaxy’s Edge sounds full of life and bustling. I like Pandora, but I think it’s a little overrated.

I think that it is easier to replicate a city on another planet as opposed to a forest setting on another planet. Pandora, while interesting, didn't seem as if it was another planet. It looked mostly like a place on Earth. No foreign wildlife or things to sell the illusion. The few Pandoran plants weren't anything special or overwhelming. Plus, people have enough familiarity with the Star Wars spaceports/cities that we can place ourselves into the setting more easily.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

There’s no better post that echoes my thoughts than this. FoP is fun but by no means the best Disney attraction ever made. NRJ is a snore. The land has some interesting ideas but they’re either only seen at night or you have to purchase them. Satuli is fine for food, but that’s it. There are no neat creatures to see thru the land. No Na’Vi roaming around. Everything is hinted at.

At least Galaxy’s Edge sounds full of life and bustling. I like Pandora, but I think it’s a little overrated.

I'm writing a larger piece on Pandora because I think it's place in history and it's relation to the industry discussion is fascinating. A lot of "Universal only uses screens" complaints came around when people pointed out Universal was building Transformers quickly while Disney's only hype project at that time, Pandora, was facing more and more delays.

Then Pandora opened and so much personal stakes were attached to it that loads were saying it was the greatest thing ever, "TAKE THAT UNIVERSAL!", and such. It feels like two years later we can finally have a discussion about the land.

In the end the thesis of my discussion will be "The land built around a shopping district, features a ride based on a bank and public transportation is more engaging and alive than the alien moon built in a park based on animals."

 

[shiekra38]

There’s no better post that echoes my thoughts than this. FoP is fun but by no means the best Disney attraction ever made. NRJ is a snore. The land has some interesting ideas but they’re either only seen at night or you have to purchase them. Satuli is fine for food, but that’s it. There are no neat creatures to see thru the land. No Na’Vi roaming around. Everything is hinted at.

At least Galaxy’s Edge sounds full of life and bustling. I like Pandora, but I think it’s a little overrated.

It always struck me as odd how Diagon Alley feels more alive than Pandora

 

[Scott W.]

I think that it is easier to replicate a city on another planet as opposed to a forest setting on another planet. Pandora, while interesting, didn't seem as if it was another planet. It looked mostly like a place on Earth. No foreign wildlife or things to sell the illusion. The few Pandoran plants weren't anything special or overwhelming. Plus, people have enough familiarity with the Star Wars spaceports/cities that we can place ourselves into the setting more easily.

This reminds me about the MGS2 and MGS3 debate and which one looked better. MGS2 being set in an urban environment with 60fps v the jungle environment of MGS3 at 30fps.

This isn’t relevant but it caught my eye.

It always struck me as odd how Diagon Alley feels more alive than Pandora

I think it’s intentional. Diagon Alley is a living breathing place in the movies and Pandora is meant to be mostly abandoned.

 

[Jones14]

It always struck me as odd how Diagon Alley feels more alive than Pandora

I’ve never thought of it till now, but I think Pandora is a lot like Jurassic Park. There’s a lot of cool things to see, and the main attraction is a lot of fun, but they both feel strangely devoid of life for areas that are supposed to be ten steps away from nature running wild.

I think it stands out more in Animal Kingdom than IoA because the rest of IoA feels intentionally artificial, whereas Animal Kingdom strives for a more grounded approach, and has real animals around every corner. As a result, we can subconsciously feel that this area of the park is ‘dead’ by comparison.

Another thing is that if I look up in Diagon and see a darkened window with the shades drawn, I can assume that the resident is not home, and the land gets a little bit bigger. If I look out into the forest on Pandora and see a bunch of regular trees, I assume that they just planted some trees there, and the land gets a little bit smaller. It has nothing to do with the design of either land, but it has an impact nonetheless. Nature is difficult to effectively recreate on a theme park scale.

 

[Mad Dog]

I'm writing a larger piece on Pandora because I think it's place in history and it's relation to the industry discussion is fascinating. A lot of "Universal only uses screens" complaints came around when people pointed out Universal was building Transformers quickly while Disney's only hype project at that time, Pandora, was facing more and more delays.

Then Pandora opened and so much personal stakes were attached to it that loads were saying it was the greatest thing ever, "TAKE THAT UNIVERSAL!", and such. It feels like two years later we can finally have a discussion about the land.

In the end the thesis of my discussion will be "The land built around a shopping district, features a ride based on a bank and public transportation is more engaging and alive than the alien moon built in a park based on animals."

I'm looking forward to reading this. Hopefully, you put it on IU so we can talk about it. Sounds like a really good discussion piece.

 

[Andysol]

But seriously, we are getting way off topic and a bit too personal in our posts. Everyone needs to take a step back, it's not THAT serious.

A “bit” too personal? Even if it was or wasn’t the dudes twitter, the fact a moderator decided to out his personal stuff is ridiculous.

Absolutely ridiculous.

There’s no better post that echoes my thoughts than this. FoP is fun but by no means the best Disney attraction ever made. NRJ is a snore. The land has some interesting ideas but they’re either only seen at night or you have to purchase them. Satuli is fine for food, but that’s it. There are no neat creatures to see thru the land. No Na’Vi roaming around. Everything is hinted at.

At least Galaxy’s Edge sounds full of life and bustling. I like Pandora, but I think it’s a little overrated.

I understand not having walk around characters. And looking at it vs Diagon (still the holy grail), the biggest two things lacking are interactivity and shops.

While the shops in Diagon are no doubt important to the atmosphere, I believe the interactive wands and staff around to help with those really add to it all in a level you can’t measure (and it isn’t replicated anywhere else).

Granted, Pandora has the drums and the large plant that shoots water (which is fantastic!), they needed a lot more of that. Another 4-5 interactive features and a few permanent “trading huts” would have done wonders for the land.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

A “bit” too personal? Even if it was or wasn’t the dudes twitter, the fact a moderator decided to out his personal stuff is ridiculous.

Absolutely ridiculous.

I made a mistake with this and have deleted it from my message and quote replies to it. I was frustrated and my actions were not acceptable in the end. This is a formal apology to @twebber55.

 

[twebber55]

I made a mistake with this and have deleted it from my message and quote replies to it. I was frustrated and my actions were not acceptable in the end. This is a formal apology to @twebber55.

joe the mistake was mine
wont happen again and i ll do a better job as a member here
sorry for thread derail
this is without question the best theme parks board

 

[JoeCamel]

With that out of the way I'd like to offer my thoughts on Pandora.
I went twice last year on the FL 3 day pass. I thought FoP was good but not the best thing since sliced bread. Just a good simulator with and excellent film to put you in the action. River journey was ???? I had a FP so I didn't have to wait in that hellish line thankfully. Saw how the screens were used and thought it was OK I guess but I have no burning desire to go back and hang out or re-ride either. That is three rides on FoP and one on NRJ. Checked out all the plastic plants and saw it at night. Rockwork is good as Disney has done so that is fine.
After all this time and reading this thread I compare it to Rainforst cafe. I went once and saw the tricks but the food was poor and I feel no need to go back. I'll sit on the deck of the Nomad and might buy a ticket so I can just do that but I have no desire to see Pandora again.

 

[Mad Dog]

Joe and twebber55: :thumbsup: And.....this is a good example of why this is, by far, the best theme park forum on the web. :kumbaya:

 

[Mad Dog]

With that out of the way I'd like to offer my thoughts on Pandora.
I went twice last year on the FL 3 day pass. I thought FoP was good but not the best thing since sliced bread. Just a good simulator with and excellent film to put you in the action. River journey was ???? I had a FP so I didn't have to wait in that hellish line thankfully. Saw how the screens were used and thought it was OK I guess but I have no burning desire to go back and hang out or re-ride either. That is three rides on FoP and one on NRJ. Checked out all the plastic plants and saw it at night. Rockwork is good as Disney has done so that is fine.
After all this time and reading this thread I compare it to Rainforst cafe. I went once and saw the tricks but the food was poor and I feel no need to go back. I'll sit on the deck of the Nomad and might buy a ticket so I can just do that but I have no desire to see Pandora again.

Ahhh, the immersion of the Nomad Bar deck. Now that's a pretty great recent creation that's hard to argue against. :thumbsup:...Myself, I'm looking forward to that too. A nice cold alcohol drenched drink and a delicious bread service to accompany it.

 

[Sideshow Bob]

Avatar land was really cool! But it feels like its missing another ride and restaurant. Plus the fact there are no Navi in the area is kinda odd.

 

[Nick]

Avatar land was really cool! But it feels like its missing another ride and restaurant. Plus the fact there are no Navi in the area is kinda odd.

I think most of us can agree that if there actually was Na'vi walking around and doing M&Gs in the land, it would be super awkward