James Cameron outlines 'Avatar' as Disney World attraction

[GoofGoof]

yes i would envision a couple of Navi AA's as guides thru their world with the emphasis on the land and its creatures..

Imagineering should just sign us up right now..lets do this.

Could you guys work up some Star Wars stuff first. We gotta get the ball rolling on that one.

 

[Voice of Disney sanity]

That's what I'm wondering. This new info makes me wonder if we will see some cool underwater AAs on this ride -- and if so, it would seem a waste to have them simply be underwater as we stare down from above the water. Having the ride vehicle "submerge" at some point would be a good twist for the ride.

I know the Shanghai POTC-ish ride is supposed to have some new tech for the boat that allows it to turn and point like an Omnimover can. It seems plausible that the same tech could be used to carry the boat to an "underwater" location where we are surrounded by water and seeing undersea life, conceptually like the Nemo ride at Epcot but hopefully much more impressive.

I'm thinking it might be more along the lines of AA that spring up out of the water

 

[JEANYLASER]

 

[Captain Neo]

I'm glad actual audio animatronics will be present. Static figures and limited motion figures look really horrible especially in modern attractions (They look terrible in the little mermaid ride for example especially since the 5-6 main characters are A-100s)

 

[xstech25]

"The animatronics for the Na'vi characters are gonna be fantastic. For example, their early animatronics would use 12 axis of motion and I think the most they've ever done was 32 axis recently," he recalled. "I think they're up to 64 just in the face of the Na'vi characters. So it's gonna be remarkable. [Disney] really see it as a major, major attraction."

This tells quote tells you everything you need to know. Avatar was being developed during the popularity of the first Harry Potter expansion at IOA so I am pretty confident that Disney opened up the pocket book and doesn't want to be shown up.

This biggest winner in this situation is James Cameron because I think this land could save the Avatar franchise. The movie did extremely well in the box office but fell off the face of the earth because of the long gap between movies, the fact that Disney is building this catalyst attraction in Orlando themed to the movies will generate a lot of interest.

 

[stevehousse]

If they are gonna do some type if underwater section freh boat ride at least ur makes sense for the land to take so long to open! LOL

Cameron has stated that the sequel will involve water elements and animals we have yet to see that live underwater...

 

[WDWLover#1]

Sunset Blvd. 1994

By then it had a stage show as well

 

[misterID]

I think any kind of underwater AA would be something that surfaces...

And I wonder how many people are going to stick to their promise to stay away from tree-hugger land? I hope a lot. I was excited from the announcement and i'm only more excited the more i hear about it. Joe is supposedly going all out on this to make it great.

 

[twebber55]

I think any kind of underwater AA would be something that surfaces...

And I wonder how many people are going to stick to their promise to stay away from tree-hugger land? I hope a lot. I was excited from the announcement and i'm only more excited the more i hear about it. Joe is supposedly going all out on this to make it great.

not many even if they never admit it

 

[flyerjab]

not many even if they never admit it

Agree with both of you. I have stated this in other threads about DAK, but I don't mind repeating it. I think that this expansion is going to be a mind-blowing addition to this park and to WDW in general. By its very nature, there won't be another land like it in any Orlando park. A place that comes alive at night? Totally awesome experience awaiting everyone out there.

I have been re-reading the Avatar/DAK addition threads (because I am special like that) and I forgot how they have Zsolt Hormay working on this project. I still think that the advanced simulator experience, the boat ride, and not to mention the advanced animatronics - I am hoping for a walking trail through the Pandora forest that mimics the other DAK walking animal trails, but with AAs - along with the land itself will be incredible. To me, Iger put his neck out there with this one, and since he is already taking so much flak for the wrist bands while UNI adds breathtaking new rides, I don't see this expansion being subpar.

Add into it everything else being changed/added/etc. currently and in the next several years and I anticipate this park will be my favorite of the 4 in WDW.

The people will come in droves to see this, especially at night, which is WDW's end goal anyway. Give people more to experience at night aside from the MK? Well, they will be getting it.

 

[flyerjab]

Was surfing the channels last night and noticed that Avatar was on FX. It's a show where during the commercial breaks there are segments where the hosts discuss background info and 'making of' stuff like you would find on the Blu-ray.

For one of the segments, they were interviewing Jon Landau about the next 3 films. During the discussion, Landau began discussing Pandora: The World of Avatar that is coming to DAK. They showed the concept art that has been up for some time. When discussing the park expansion, he mentioned how the land itself would be an experience, especially at night. He went on to say how guests will be able to fly on a banshee and ride a canoe on a river through the Pandoran forests, among other things.

I found it interesting that he used the word canoe. To me that enforces the point that the boats in the water ride might be smaller than some of the other large capacity boat rides in WDW. As he said this, they put the concept art photo up of the supposed water ride. The boat in the ride is small, looking like it only holds 5 or 6 people. Wondering if the boat ride will hold true to this design of using smaller boats.

 

[GoofGoof]

Was surfing the channels last night and noticed that Avatar was on FX. It's a show where during the commercial breaks there are segments where the hosts discuss background info and 'making of' stuff like you would find on the Blu-ray.

For one of the segments, they were interviewing Jon Landau about the next 3 films. During the discussion, Landau began discussing Pandora: The World of Avatar that is coming to DAK. They showed the concept art that has been up for some time. When discussing the park expansion, he mentioned how the land itself would be an experience, especially at night. He went on to say how guests will be able to fly on a banshee and ride a canoe on a river through the Pandoran forests, among other things.

I found it interesting that he used the word canoe. To me that enforces the point that the boats in the water ride might be smaller than some of the other large capacity boat rides in WDW. As he said this, they put the concept art photo up of the supposed water ride. The boat in the ride is small, looking like it only holds 5 or 6 people. Wondering if the boat ride will hold true to this design of using smaller boats.

Another good sign that the boat ride isn't cancelled

I wonder if they are going with smaller boats to make them more agile and moveable. There could also be some faster parts of the ride adding a little excitement. More Splash Mountain (without the giant drop) than The Land.

 

[Mike S]

I'm just hoping the boat ride opens with the rest of the land at this point and the rumors of a staggered opening are false.

 

[GoofGoof]

I'm just hoping the boat ride opens with the rest of the land at this point and the rumors of a staggered opening are false.

I hope so too. At least these comments make it very unlikely the boat ride was cancelled. Cameron would have to know if that was the case, but Cameron's people may not know the timeline for opening.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Another good sign that the boat ride isn't cancelled

I wonder if they are going with smaller boats to make them more agile and moveable. There could also be some faster parts of the ride adding a little excitement. More Splash Mountain (without the giant drop) than The Land.

As far as I know, the boat ride wasn't cancelled, just deliberately delayed.

 

[JEANYLASER]

I'm just hoping the boat ride opens with the rest of the land at this point and the rumors of a staggered opening are false also.

 

[erasure fan1]

I found it interesting that he used the word canoe. To me that enforces the point that the boats in the water ride might be smaller than some of the other large capacity boat rides in WDW. As he said this, they put the concept art photo up of the supposed water ride. The boat in the ride is small, looking like it only holds 5 or 6 people. Wondering if the boat ride will hold true to this design of using smaller boats.

Unless we are riding in a Navi canoe. Wouldn't one of their boats hold like 15 of us because of how big they are? Aren't they something like 10ft tall?

 

[Hula Popper]

Was surfing the channels last night and noticed that Avatar was on FX. It's a show where during the commercial breaks there are segments where the hosts discuss background info and 'making of' stuff like you would find on the Blu-ray.

For one of the segments, they were interviewing Jon Landau about the next 3 films. During the discussion, Landau began discussing Pandora: The World of Avatar that is coming to DAK. They showed the concept art that has been up for some time. When discussing the park expansion, he mentioned how the land itself would be an experience, especially at night. He went on to say how guests will be able to fly on a banshee and ride a canoe on a river through the Pandoran forests, among other things.

I found it interesting that he used the word canoe. To me that enforces the point that the boats in the water ride might be smaller than some of the other large capacity boat rides in WDW. As he said this, they put the concept art photo up of the supposed water ride. The boat in the ride is small, looking like it only holds 5 or 6 people. Wondering if the boat ride will hold true to this design of using smaller boats.

Any idea when that segment was actually recorded?

 

[doctornick]

As far as I know, the boat ride wasn't cancelled, just deliberately delayed.

Which is still undetermined if it is indeed delayed. I thought there was not a consensus about this among insiders, more that it was being considered as an option.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Which is still undetermined if it is indeed delayed. I thought there was not a consensus about this among insiders, more that it was being considered as an option.

It's hard to believe that this part of the pavilion is "behind". Considering the boat ride uses part of the simulator's show building, part of it will certainly be prepped in advance. Having said that, here are the sources regarding the boat ride being delayed:
August 10, 2014: Episode 62 of the Unofficial Guide's Disney Dish podcast with Jim Hill include updates on several rumors. Those rumors related to Avatar are as follows:

• $600 Million for Pandora
• Might open with one ride (Simulator), with the boat ride coming on line 18 months later.

June 2, 2014: WDWMagic.com user pheneix is reporting that the cancellation of the Avatar Boat Ride or delay into Phase 2 are false.

June 2, 2014: WDWThemeParks.com has reported that the Na'vi River Journey (Boat Ride) attraction has been moved to a 'Phase 2' of the Avatar project. The ride is seemingly contingent on the success of the initial build of the land as well as the new movies.