I, for one, have never seen 'Avatar'. It didn't appeal to me in the least. That said, I'm curious to see what Pandora looks like, but to say I'm looking forward to it would be an obvious stretch. Having been to AK a few times while the addition was being built, my family affectionately called part of it a "floating t*rd in the sky".
I also agree that it does not appear to have any kind of cultural impact. Perhaps that's just me. Perhaps that's due to marketing, or a lack thereof. Perhaps it's due to the fact of when it was released (2009) and thus doesn't have the connection to baby boomers and Gen X'ers, and thus doesn't have their money chasing after it, like Star Wars, Star Trek, and Marvel do. My kids (8 to 16 yrs old) don't really care about 'Avatar' - Put 'Avatar' on and they'll watch but probably change the channel after a while. Put a 'Star Wars' movie on and they won't move until it's done, and would have no problem watching it again.
I'm looking more forward to the Star Wars additions than anything else. Even then, my expectations are low. Today's Disney seems to swing for the safety of a single or double instead of swinging for the fences and creating something timeless. Iger used the term "de-risk" when describing their approach to movies now, and I'd say that term definitely also applies to how they approach the theme parks these days. Yes, they are spending on the parks after a decade of neglect. However, after that decade of neglect they need home runs, not singles and doubles. Unfortunately, that's likely what they are going to get out of all the spending they are doing - Singles and doubles. That's what saddens me the most.
