Avatar construction aerial updates

[Atomicmickey]

I have the good fortune to be involved, in a design sense, with a fairly major
building project right now. It's been a year in the making, and many months
were spent driving pilings. I don't think--seeing the amount of them that have
had to be placed--that it's moving slowly at all.

Someone on the project here said we'll see vertical around the end of the year--
and when that starts, I think we'll see it move quickly.

Remember--Disney does all the rock design in CAD and forms the structure in
pieces off-site. When they get there, they go up pretty quickly. It seemed like
once it got going, CarsLand practically appeared overnight.

I am so grateful for a photograph, though, and the overlay work being done
here is fun. Bringing water to the wasteland.

 

[Next Big Thing]

Thanks for spoiling it . I was holding off on watching it until the land was almost open .

lol sorry, but it's been 5 years. I have a timestamp on how long I put spoiler tags for thing until I just say "F it, it's been long enough"

 

[Next Big Thing]

Not so sure on success of sequel, Avatar was unique in it was the first successful 3D picture so the 3D Eye candy drove a lot of that box office. It really did not have an effect on popular culture. It's entirely possible the second incarnation will not do well at the box office as 3D pictures are now an everyday thing so the novelty factor is gone.

To be a success the second Avatar is going to need a lot stronger story and better character development because the basic story is 'Ferngully' or as some of the more cynical of us called it 'Blue Pocahontas'.

Cameron DID take film making to the next level with the effects in this movie but the movie was ABOUT the effects the story was secondary. Now that 3D is an established technique the next one will need to rely on the story and character development. That is unless Cameron manages to pull off holographic projection in which case all bets are off.

Like I said, I feel like it will be sort of like the Transformers movies in that the visuals and action made such a strong impact, that once marketing starts to kick in, people will want to see it simply because they will want to see what the movie is like, but also because the movie did gangbusters overseas, which is where much of the film industry relies on making their money from anyway. I have no doubt the film will do big time once again. Not close to $2.7B... that was something that was due to the visuals and 3D and will likely not be reached for a LONG time (I don't want to say NEVER because eventually inflation will probably make it possible to catch it).

 

[Next Big Thing]

Yes it was OT but there is a subthread of 'Avatar 2 is a sure thing at the box office', My question is what happens to the LAND if the film bombs, Remember this is both a CEO vanity project which is designed to 'synergize' with the release of Avatar 2 (3?).

So in the event of a box office #FAIL what becomes of 'Pandora' are the rides cut back even further than they are today. It's well known I'm not a fan of this IP - but we REALLY do need something else in AK and I'm afraid if the film fails so does the land.

The rides can't be cut back at that point as the land will be practically open. Avatar 2 comes out December 2016... the land is supposed to open sometime in 2017. There's no way they could cutback on the rides at that point, even in the event the film does "bomb", which I highly doubt it will.

 

[photoflight]

Here is my guess on how this pictures fits into the aerial. I have labeled 4 landmarks in both images.

View attachment 72545

View attachment 72544

Here's a higher-res version (someone asked).

Click to enlarge...

 

[danlb_2000]

Here's a higher-res version (someone asked).

Click to enlarge...

Thanks!

 

[danlb_2000]

I am still trying to figure out what we are seeing in the white area. There seem to be a series of raised areas, can't quite figure out what these are.

 

[RayTheFirefly]

Ok so I'm trying to figure out what the part in red could be. It looks like a bunch of U shaped inlets? Is that part of the queue for the Soarin' ride?

Is the part in blue what we're thinking the boat ride will cover? I think someone said that the concrete part was slightly larger than IASW, so that would be great if that were the inside portion and the rest of the area were the outdoor portion.

Can't figure out what the green could be. Footing for a floating mountain?

And I'm assuming the dining/shopping will be above the red, correct?

 

[jdmdisney99]

I would say...

Ok so I'm trying to figure out what the part in red could be. It looks like a bunch of U shaped inlets? Is that part of the queue for the Soarin' ride?

Yes

Is the part in blue what we're thinking the boat ride will cover? I think someone said that the concrete part was slightly larger than IASW, so that would be great if that were the inside portion and the rest of the area were the outdoor portion.

Yes, though I would say the concrete area is slightly smaller than IASW. Still a large area.

Can't figure out what the green could be. Footing for a floating mountain?

I'd say that'll be merch/the major gift shop.

And I'm assuming the dining/shopping will be above the red, correct?

Mess hall is assumed to be there, yes.

 

[ford91exploder]

The rides can't be cut back at that point as the land will be practically open. Avatar 2 comes out December 2016... the land is supposed to open sometime in 2017. There's no way they could cutback on the rides at that point, even in the event the film does "bomb", which I highly doubt it will.

I give you 'Mermaid' as an example of a last minute budget cut, Queue is awesome, Ride itself well not so much. But lets get back to looking at the photo.

 

[ford91exploder]

Monorail footings?

Please don't mention the transport which must not be named or the god of * will be summoned.

 

[ford91exploder]

View attachment 72567
Ok so I'm trying to figure out what the part in red could be. It looks like a bunch of U shaped inlets? Is that part of the queue for the Soarin' ride?

Is the part in blue what we're thinking the boat ride will cover? I think someone said that the concrete part was slightly larger than IASW, so that would be great if that were the inside portion and the rest of the area were the outdoor portion.

Can't figure out what the green could be. Footing for a floating mountain?

And I'm assuming the dining/shopping will be above the red, correct?

To the left and below the section outlined in blue it looks like a canal for boats and it looks like there is a tunnel exit at the top of that region.

 

[njDizFan]

So...what is the final word(for now) on what will be south of the e-ticket. That's about 1/3 of the area. That was for the proposed coaster area correct? Is that scheduled for a different phase or being repurposed for something different?

 

[RayTheFirefly]

To the left and below the section outlined in blue it looks like a canal for boats and it looks like there is a tunnel exit at the top of that region.

Ooh, good eye!! Didn't notice that. Looks like it's cutting through the middle of the Soarin' ride? I wonder why that is. Maybe just to take them out to maintenance.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Nope, but I do have a feeling that if they wanted to, they could be farther along by now. They just choose not to be to spread costs. Avatar doesn't need to be open until 2017 after all, right?

Feelings can bring down buildings on top of people. I will leave the building time of this new land to those more educated in the dynamics of such a project.

 

[Next Big Thing]

Feelings can bring down buildings on top of people. I will leave the building time of this new land to those more educated in the dynamics of such a project.

I'm perfectly willing to admit that I know nothing lol. And the scale of the project is very large, so that could be a lot of it.

I'd be interested to see where Uni was in building Diagon Alley this far into the construction phase as they are fairly similar in land content. Much more similar than something like Transformers or Kong.

 

[ford91exploder]

Ooh, good eye!! Didn't notice that. Looks like it's cutting through the middle of the Soarin' ride? I wonder why that is. Maybe just to take them out to maintenance.

Could be a fusion of two rides like the TTA goes through SM - which has the potential to be interesting.

 

[djkidkaz]

I find it interesting that Disney is essentially recreating the Land pavilion at AK. Soarin 2.0 and a boatride that goes inside and outside. Hopefully the boat ride is different enough than the e-ticket which is obviously taking you to pandora. What could the boat ride be that isn't just another trip around pandora? Maybe similar to living with the land where you move slowly through pandora and learn about the plants and life forms?

 

[Tom]

Yeah, it's sort of embarrassing that those photos were taken basically 10.5 months apart and very little has gotten done in terms of building this land.

Incorrect. They have poured an immense amount of concrete, and they've drilled a couple hundred piles.

 

[Next Big Thing]

Incorrect. They have poured an immense amount of concrete, and they've drilled a couple hundred piles.

You are the construction expert, so i'll believe you on this.

Would you happen to know of any pics of Diagon at around the same stage though? They had to do much of the same that they are doing with this. The lands are pretty similar when you break them down a bit. Who knows if they will be in real life though.