News Avatar Experience coming to Disneyland Resort

[DrStarlander]

I think I might be a quality over quantity guy. It would be hard for me to still not choose New Orleans Square over lands with 3x the attractions.

I am quality over quantity, but this way: quality results over quantity of dollars spent. I actually love small Fantasyland dark rides. Or smaller experiences like Tiki Room or Adventureland Treehouse or the Sleeping Beauty Castle walk-through. I don't think of them as lower quality (though they're certainly lower budget). Just today while watching a DocumentDisney video I grabbed this screen shot because this kind of stuff is so special to me:

I like "just right" jewel-box designs, environments, and experiences. I like quaint, charming, picturesque layered places, generally.

But when I question Disney's ambition, it's usually around an IP or project they've taken on that needs to be executed ambitiously for the vision to be fulfilled or opportunity exploited, and if corners are cut it's obvious and disappointing. When they do "live action" rides based on big-budget movies, in particular, it often demands a level of ambition to pull it off. So, if Avenger's Infinity Defense is "meh" except it has all the trappings of "they spent a fortune on this" (like what I feel about Smuggler's Run), it's worse than had they made a charming Fantasyland style dark ride like Peter Pan's Flight with day-glo paint and flying over miniature models.

When I say I'd rather have two attractions, it's because I don't know if Coco needs 80,000 sq. ft. (hypothetically) to do what I'm looking for it to do for me. But, as I said, if it was only four minutes long, I'd be disappointed because I need some time to fall into the vibe. So...they could put me in a boat and drift me into a pitch black corner with some candles and music and have a cool aural or scent experience, and I'd be fine for several minutes of the ride.

I think the average person is more just upset about the fact that we’re not getting Frozen, Zootopia, Fantasy Springs etc that other parks around the world are getting

Where I live, out of state, I'd be hard-pressed to find a single person in my neighborhood who even knows Disney has built Frozen, Zootopia or Fantasy Springs around the world. Some of them have heard about Avatar being built at DCA (except nobody I know outside the theme park fandom knows what "DCA" is, haha, they know it as "the other park"). And with Avatar, they just shrug and say "I don't know anybody who likes those movies." [I know, box office.]

 

[MK-fan]

I don't know what the opposite of rose-tinted glass is, but this is it.

DCA 1.0 sucked. Current DCA sucks even more. That's just how bad the park has become. Every complaint about DCA 1.0 is also true for current DCA. Are we really going to pretend that the Poultry Palace is better than Burger Invasion? They're the same thing, but at least Burger Invasion was visually creative and had McDonald's fries.
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And talk about being like Six Flags. How is Web Slingers any different from Battle for Metropolis? At least the Six Flags attraction had the decency to put in animatronics.

Yes but let’s not forget what Buena Vista Street and Carsland have done for the park, those two add quality guest experience and the average guest is spending 1/3 of the day at both those locations. Not gonna lie that Pixar Pier, Webslingers and Guardians aesthetic appearance have somewhat stained the experience which most ppl here would agree on but like I said, as a whole the experience now is better because of the 2010-2012 additions. I will agree with you on one thing though, Burger Invasion looks way better than the Poultry Palace lol.

 

[mickEblu]

Where I live, out of state, I'd be hard-pressed to find a single person in my neighborhood who even knows Disney has built Frozen, Zootopia or Fantasy Springs around the world. Some of them have heard about Avatar being built at DCA (except nobody I know outside the theme park fandom knows what "DCA" is, haha, they know it as "the other park"). And with Avatar, they just shrug and say "I don't know anybody who likes those movies." [I know, box office.]

Hahah.

Yeah didn’t mean to oversimplify it. There’s lot of tiers in the fandom “. Doesn’t just go from people like us to Joe Idaho but point taken. This is the conclusion I’ve come to after reading many comments from people on social media saying “we don’t want Avatar” at the park. I don’t think it’s that they hate Avatar. Clearly the GP doesnt hate it if its making billions in the box office. The common denominator to me is “we don’t want Avatar, we want (insert Disney IP ride). And it’s usually either Disney or Pixar.

 

[DrStarlander]

Hahah.

Yeah didn’t mean to oversimplify it. There’s lot of tiers in the fandom “. Doesn’t just go from people like us to Joe Idaho but point taken. This is the conclusion I’ve come after reading many comments of people on social media saying “we don’t want Avatar” at the park. I don’t think it’s the at they hate Avatar. Clearly the GP doesnt hate of its making billions in the box office. The common denominator to me is “we don’t want Avatar, we want (insert Disney IP ride). And it’s sully either Disney or Pixar.

You know Joe Idaho too? I was just helping him move some rocks earlier today

 

[Distorian]

Yes but let’s not forget what Buena Vista Street and Carsland have done for the park, those two add quality guest experience and the average guest is spending 1/3 of the day at both those locations. Not gonna lie that Pixar Pier, Webslingers and Guardians aesthetic appearance have somewhat stained the experience which most ppl here would agree on but like I said, as a whole the experience now is better because of the 2010-2012 additions. I will agree with you on one thing though, Burger Invasion looks way better than the Poultry Palace lol.

Yea BVS and Cars Land are both great, and even additions like Toy Story Midway Mania and Grizzly Airfield are excellent and really elevate the park from its opening day lineup. All of those changes are the ones that enhanced the California theme, not took away from it. However, given the choice between gaudy Paradise Pier with the Beach Boys area loop or the gaudy Pixar Pier without the Beach Boys area loop, I'm choosing the Beach Boys every time.

Also, as much as I love BVS, the removal of the Red Car Trolleys has certainly hurt it, and as bad as Sunshine Plaza was I do think it had better turnstyles. The C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A letters were just so iconic.

I really would love to see a California Adventure that actually fulfills and honor the park's promise and potential.

 

[mickEblu]

I would argue the average person knows as least the main character of Jake Sully, beyond that you may have a point, though many may still know a few of the others. But yes I agree its more a spectacle and that is what draws people into the theaters, and ultimately the land.

Yeah that’s why I said two. Neytiri is a tough one. I don’t know one of the kids names or any other character other than Colonel Qudditch or whatever his name is.

 

[D.Silentu]

Also, as much as I love BVS, the removal of the Red Car Trolleys has certainly hurt it, and as bad as Sunshine Plaza was I do think it had better turnstyles. The C-A-L-I-F-O-R-N-I-A letters were just so iconic.

There’s little of day one DCA that I will defend, but I do miss the entrance facade. The letters would have thrived in the instagram era, but it’s the mosaic that was the true loss. It was beautiful and detailed, promising a rich experience inside, even if that promise was broken a few steps past the gate. I’m still surprised, if I think about it, how generic the entrance is now. However, since the park’s theme is so murky these days I suppose it makes a kind of sense.

 

[Distorian]

Yeah that’s why I said two. Neytiri is a tough one. I don’t know one of the kids names or any other character other than Colonel Qudditch or whatever his name is.

Can't believe you're forgetting about Spider.

There’s little of day one DCA that I will defend, but I do miss the entrance facade. The letters would have thrived in the instagram era, but it’s the mosaic that was the true loss. It was beautiful and detailed, promising a rich experience inside, even if that promise was broken a few steps past the gate. I’m still surprised, if I think about it, how generic the entrance is now. However, since the park’s theme is so murky these days I suppose it makes a kind of sense.

I'm grateful the letters are preserved in Sacramento, but I agree the mosaic ought to have been preserved somewhere, as well. Really just some incredible artistry that has been lost. Obviously it was a massive work, but I don't see why it couldn't have been donated to an art museum somewhere in the state.

 

[Disney Irish]

Yeah that’s why I said two. Neytiri is a tough one. I don’t know one of the kids names or any other character other than Colonel Qudditch or whatever his name is.

Well that’s 3 lol, though it’s Quaritch, and the kids are Kiri, Tuk, Neteyam, and Lo’ak, and Spider the human teen. Of which most will remember Kiri and maybe Spider.

So I think most out there remember more than you think.

 

[mickEblu]

Can't believe you're forgetting about Spider.

lol completely forgot about him.

 

[CoastalElite64]

I very much remember DCA 1.0. As terrible as it was, it had more soul, more potential than the park's current state and trajectory. Give me the Sun Wheel and the Orange Stinker over Pixar Pier anyday.
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This was ugly because it looked designed by AI before AI art was a thing.

 

[mickEblu]

Well that’s 3 lol, though it’s Quaritch, and the kids are Kiri, Tuk, Neteyam, and Lo’ak, and Spider the human teen. Of which most will remember Kiri and maybe Spider.

So I think most out there remember more than you think.

If you showed me a picture of Spider I would have said that was Spider but I forgot the character even existed which is in a way proves my point better than I intended. Haha. Besides I didn’t consider myself as one of the average fans that only knows 2 or less.

 

[Disney Irish]

If you showed me a picture of Spider I would have said that was Spider but I forgot the character even existed which is in a way proves my point better than I intended. Haha. Besides I didn’t consider myself as one of the average fans that only knows 2 or less.

Yeah I certainly wouldn’t call you an average fan of anything lol. Maybe you had a point after the first movie, but the average person I’m guessing now 3 movies in can name at least 2 if not more of the characters, at least Jake and Neytiri, Kiri, and maybe Spider, especially the latter two being the focus of the last two movies.

 

[mickEblu]

Yeah I certainly wouldn’t call you an average fan of anything lol. Maybe you had a point after the first movie, but the average person I’m guessing now 3 movies in can name at least 2 if not more of the characters, at least Jake and Neytiri, Kiri, and maybe Spider, especially the latter two being the focus of the last two movies.

I’ll give you Spider. Neytiri doesn’t roll off the tongue and highly doubt it on Kiri.

 

[Distorian]

This was ugly because it looked designed by AI before AI art was a thing.

Soul.

Slop.

Side note: It's amazing how much more pleasant Paradise Pier's color palette was. The red tubes are far too dominating compared to the prior blues. Old Paradise Pier really did offer a cozier more welcoming atmosphere with its cooler lights.

While I'm ranting about this, the change to TSMM's roof is particularly irksome. Previously it felt classy and looked like it would blend in with Main Street USA, but the current palette is much more garish. Even just look how well the marquee went with the "Paradise Pier" and sunburst on California Screamin' with the blue silhouette on an blue-framed yellow backdrop. The new inverted marque with its red silhouette on an yellow backdrop. The latter is all warm colors save for the blue behind "Midway Mania" and it's much more oppressive as a result. The former did an excellent job balancing all the different warm and cool colors to be pleasant and less overwhelming.

Ironic that Pixar Pier was conjured up to show WDI could do projects under budget and in time, yet they still felt the need to waste money on this change for no discernible reason and created an inferior product as a result. Theme park design really is a dead art.

 

[Disney Irish]

I’ll give you Spider. Neytiri doesn’t roll off the tongue and highly doubt it on Kiri.

Well since Kiri is literally the focus of 2 and 3, and rolls off the tongue, my guess is they do.

 

[mickEblu]

Soul.
View attachment 908808
View attachment 908809

Slop.
View attachment 908810

Side note: It's amazing how much more pleasant Paradise Pier's color palette was. The red tubes are far too dominating compared to the prior blues. Old Paradise Pier really did offer a cozier more welcoming atmosphere with its cooler lights.

While I'm ranting about this, the change to TSMM's roof is particularly irksome. Previously it felt classy and looked like it would blend in with Main Street USA, but the current palette is much more garish. Even just look how well the marquee went with the "Paradise Pier" and sunburst on California Screamin' with the blue silhouette on an blue-framed yellow backdrop. The new inverted marque with its red silhouette on an yellow backdrop. The latter is all warm colors save for the blue behind "Midway Mania" and it's much more oppressive as a result. The former did an excellent job balancing all the different warm and cool colors to be pleasant and less overwhelming.
View attachment 908811
View attachment 908813

Ironic that Pixar Pier was conjured up to show WDI could do projects under budget and in time, yet they still felt the need to waste money on this change for no discernible reason and created an inferior product as a result. Theme park design really is a dead art.

The red scream tunnels are the worst offender of Pixar Pier as far as I’m concerned. I’m not sure if they would be as awful without the horizontal light up lines.

 

[Distorian]

The red scream tunnels are the worst offender of Pixar Pier as far as I’m concerned. I’m not sure if they would be as awful without the horizontal light up lines.

To keep the tangents going and further enrage Disney Irish's Irish temper, although I understand why the tubes must be present on the coaster, I really like the original concept of having flags along the track. That said, the hill feels a little bald without the tubes, so maybe it's just an all around impossible task.

 

[Disney Irish]

To keep the tangents going and further enrage Disney Irish's Irish temper, although I understand why the tubes must be present on the coaster, I really like the original concept of having flags along the track. That said, the hill feels a little bald without the tubes, so maybe it's just an all around impossible task.
View attachment 908814

It’s not my temper you have to worry about enraging. Also I don’t care if you want to go on a 100 page tangent, I just wasn’t trying to be the one leading it or contributing much to it.

 

[CoastalElite64]

Soul.
View attachment 908808
View attachment 908809

Slop.
View attachment 908810

Side note: It's amazing how much more pleasant Paradise Pier's color palette was. The red tubes are far too dominating compared to the prior blues. Old Paradise Pier really did offer a cozier more welcoming atmosphere with its cooler lights.

While I'm ranting about this, the change to TSMM's roof is particularly irksome. Previously it felt classy and looked like it would blend in with Main Street USA, but the current palette is much more garish. Even just look how well the marquee went with the "Paradise Pier" and sunburst on California Screamin' with the blue silhouette on an blue-framed yellow backdrop. The new inverted marque with its red silhouette on an yellow backdrop. The latter is all warm colors save for the blue behind "Midway Mania" and it's much more oppressive as a result. The former did an excellent job balancing all the different warm and cool colors to be pleasant and less overwhelming.
View attachment 908811
View attachment 908813

Ironic that Pixar Pier was conjured up to show WDI could do projects under budget and in time, yet they still felt the need to waste money on this change for no discernible reason and created an inferior product as a result. Theme park design really is a dead art.

The second pic is DCA 2.0. You said 1.0 was the best. Be consistent.

In sum, 1.0 was the worst version of the Pier too. But they are all unremarkable.... so this is pointless.