AVATAR Concept Art released

[FrankLapidus]

Still have zero interest in anything to do with Avatar but the proposed night-time offerings look great and would really add something to the park.

 

[ryguy]

The proof will be in the details for this project. Carsland and Potter are great because there is so much attention to detail. My hope is that it's opening is so far away because its going to take time to create so much detail. If they skimp on the little things the project will be a bust, at least in my eyes.

 

[Tim_4]

And on a Friday night. An old tactic for when Companies hope to bury an announcement. The art is far more conceptual than actual.

The construction trailers in the field behind DAKL are very real.

 

[aladdin2007]

Wow, surprised to wake up to all this. Looking forward to the boat ride myself and the new night show. 2017, yeah ok wow, the wait continues, on and on and on,,,,what does this mean for DHS though if anything? Sounds like a major scaling back happening with those plans. I cringe to think what bandaid fix means.

 

[SirLink]

Living with the (Avatar) Land, Soarin' 2.0 over pandora, and the high cost white knuckle E Ticket.

So 2 E's and a D/C right?

 

[Tim_4]

So 2 E's and a D/C right?

Wowee that's even more optimistic that what @Tim_4 was saying back when everyone called him crazy.

 

[Matt_Black]

I've never been interested in Avatar, but if the Imagineers can make something that really wows people, this might actually drive more people to the franchise. Sometimes, a licensee takes an IP and runs with it so hard that that winds up being equal in the fans minds' to the original source material (Marvel's critically acclaimed G.I. Joe comic being an excellent example).

 

[WDWDad13]

Not yet. Epcot is still free falling faster than how long Soarin' takes to ride and DHS needs more than what's in danger of descending into a bandaid fix. Disney Springs is another attempt to fix a mess of their own creation. DAK needed this help a decade ago and it's still nowhere near complete and may just be be the minimum of what's needed. But it is a welcome addition that's sorely needed.

The upkeep and renovation at MK I saw recently needs commending (or should it if its meant to be routine) but the love and plussing in the castle park needs to be duplicated in the other three parks and fast.

Agreed....but I'll take baby steps then just sitting

While there is still much to be done...I'm at least encouraged by more frequent refurbs (it seems) and some big things on the horizon. We'll see

 

[SirLink]

Wowee that's even more optimistic that what @Tim_4 was saying back when everyone called him crazy.

Nah I trust him more than you.

 

[afar28]

Really looks amazing. Very excited to see it when it actually opens. Now all we need is construction to start

 

[BryceM]

This has me so excited!

DAK has the potential to be of the best Disney parks ever created, and this is certainly a step in the right direction. I also love how they are plussing other aspects of the park as well.

Now all I need is a Chester & Hester's DinoRama re-theme and a new continent to be represented (South America).

 

[WDWDad13]

I'm with many of you....not excited about avatar and haven't been...however after seeing concept art, if they create the "world" (pandora I assume?) rather than shoving the avatar movie and wannabe smurfs in it then in ok. The concept art is pretty impressive and I can see how this will fit into animal kingdom now


Very interested in the night show, what they plan to do on the nighttime safari, and if the tree of life actually has some lighting or glow like in the concept art. I'm optimistic on this project after seeing the art and I certainly wasn't before

 

[jensenrick]

Was never really interested in this project before, but that artwork looks awesome! This could be really exciting.

 

[Oriolesmagic]

Avatar Boat Ride: THIS looks promising. I love dark-boat rides, a la Pirates and Maelstrom, hopefully they nail the theming and AA's.

"Soarin over Pandora": This will be utterly fantastic to look at, but I'm interested to see how much the attraction improves from its Californian brethren.

Do they have the orange grove smell in Pandora?

 

[Fox&Hound]

Really, really excited. I know Disney can pull this off. Excited for a family boat ride (nothing better in my opinion) and the other nighttime offerings. I think the banshee ride will be more than a Soarin 2.0 (just wait and see). Yay Disney! This is such great news! I'm still hoping for Mystic Manor, a few new restaurants, and a few more rides to round out the park (Up/Paradise falls, please) and I think DAK is on its way! Yayayayayayayay!

 

[FigmentJedi]

Looking at this concept art, yeah, I still think they should have tried to have gotten the Pokemon license instead. I'm happy about the nighttime content, but Avatar still looks meh and I get the feeling there's going to be a ton of plastic plants everywhere.

 

[danlb_2000]

People are starved for anything new, particularly in this park. When they think about it for a day or two, they will remember (as they did when the land was first announced) that it:

1. Is focused on an intellectual property with no memorable characters that has already left the cultural consciousness (unlike Star Wars or Harry Potter), and
2. Its concept has nothing to do with a park centered on Earth animals - utilizing the same logic (its about another planet and they have some animals there and it kind of looks like a jungle) they could put an Ewoks or Chewbacca attraction in Animal Kingdom and it would make sense also. It does not.

It was a panic move at a time when Disney thought it had no intellectual property that appealed to boys. Panic moves rarely work out and, further, now they have plenty of intellectual property that appeals to boys that they own outright and are more popular than Avatar (Star Wars, Marvel, Indiana Jones). Their insistence on going ahead with Avatarland in Animal Kingdom is foolish. They should have just scrapped the idea and ate the investment cost ... or built a substantially downsized attraction/mini-land in DHS where it kind of, sort of fits.

The central theme of Avatar is protecting and living in balance with nature which fits perfectly with Animal Kingdom's goals.

 

[Since1976]

While I think AVATAR LAND will definitely capture people's interest and be a megahit initially, in terms of its longevity I think Disney is taking a huge risk.

On the surface, the concept makes sense:

1. WDW needs a big attraction to counter HARRY POTTER. AVATAR, with its fleshed out world, fits that bill.

2. DAK needs expansion. AVATAR has animals. Check.

3. AVATAR was viewed by a lot of people, as evidenced by all the money it made.

Taken all together, I can see how AVATAR land might make sense on paper.

#3, however, is the most important one to consider. If initial popularity were all that mattered, a HARLEM SHAKE world would also make total sense at DHS.

Disney is basing this land on the hope that AVATAR 2 - 4 will be as successful as the first. I don't think they factored in how some people came down from AVATAR like they would coming off a sugar high.

 

[Tim_4]

Looking at this concept art, yeah, they still should have tried to have gotten the Pokemon license instead. I'm happy about the nighttime content, but Avatar still looks meh and I get the feeling there's going to be a ton of plastic plants everywhere.

Or real plants.

 

[jmuboy]

I have to say I have never been on-board with Avatar. But the concept art is impressive. But concept art and reality are often far apart. I do hope all these new glow elements shown being added to the Tree of Life means:

1 - Tree of Life gets the rehab it needs.
2 - The stupid net covers (aka - "The watch for falling tree branch safety nets") are removed.

But I have learned to lower my expectations with WDW.....so I will wait 4 years and see how this all turns out (really WDW, 4 more years.........) And we thought building New Fantasyland was a painfully slow process!!!!