Avatar construction aerial updates

[KikoKea]

I don't think Avatar Land is going to make a huge an impact on DAK as people think. Adding those two rides is not going to be enough.

Dinosaur
Everest
Kali
Safari
Bugs Life
Primeval Whirl
Triceratops Spin
Avatar E ticket
Avatar boat ride

That is not a lot of rides / attractions. A handful of those options are things that most people don't care about. The park just doesn't have enough to satisfy any one demographic. If you have kids who want rides, you have like 3 or 4 rides. If your an adult you still only have 3 or 4 rides. Shows and walking trails are great if thats your thing but I don't think most people see more than maybe one or two shows in a day. Then you have an attraction like Kali that a majority of people don't ride because they don't want to be soaked. This park needs another new land right after Avatar opens that contains another two rides at a minimum and some more animal exhibits to truly flesh it out and give people more things to do.

As an adult I look at my fast passes for this park for a day. Lets say:

Safari 9:20am - 10:20am
Everest 10:20am - 11:20am
Dinosaur 11:20am - 12:20pm

As long as I arrive at the park by 10am and get to Safari, I could get on all 3 headliners within an hour and a half. Now throw in Kali which might have a wait and Bugs Life which is usually a walk on and your talking maybe 2 and a half hours to knock out all 5 main rides. Now lets add in the Avatar ride with an hour wait and a boat ride with a 30 minute wait plus a show, a couple walking trails and lunch and your talking 6 hours. So from 10-4 I've pretty much done it all. Now do I want to hang around to see ROL at 9pm? Probably not since there is not much left to do.

Can a first timer drag out the day and see it all and make it a full day park. Absolutely. But once you've been to the park a few times your going to start cutting out stuff you don't particularly enjoy ( Rafikis Planet Watch ) which will shorten your day.

Avatar looks to be amazing at night, but I agree I can't see spending a whole day there- we currently rope drop and leave about noon. After Avatar opens, we will probably come over to the park in the afternoon after popping in at HS or elsewhere for the morning.

 

[Dizney Crew]

I don't think that Avatar is going to add that much more time in the park for the average visitor. Honestly AK is our least visited park as it feels more like a glorified zoo than a theme park. Looking forward to seeing Avatar but not expecting much cept for a great visual experience at night. The rides while not much is known seems like a slow boat ride (wish it was more like the new Pirates in Shanghai but sadly will prob be more on level of MK Pirates just slow) and pretty much a Avatar version of soaring. To me these don't sound that exciting, and AK needs a lot more help then this. I see AK as a half day park at best even with Pandora.

 

[raymusiccity]

People visit that park specifically for those rides. So yes, my point remains. Studios is only about rides.

'Corey P' has a point. A newcomer is not laying out $101.00 per ticket to ride three rides. I'll bet the majority of the Studios patrons are Annual Pass holders.
PS: I'm really loving all of these aerial photos!

 

[Cesar R M]

'Corey P' has a point. A newcomer is not laying out $101.00 per ticket to ride three rides. I'll bet the majority of the Studios patrons are Annual Pass holders.
PS: I'm really loving all of these aerial photos!

Or the big majority are hoppers.
So they just do basic things on DHS, move to EPCOT or MK.

 

[Figment2005]

'Corey P' has a point. A newcomer is not laying out $101.00 per ticket to ride three rides. I'll bet the majority of the Studios patrons are Annual Pass holders.
PS: I'm really loving all of these aerial photos!

Don't be so sure about that. I've personally witnessed people buying a Magic Kingdom ticket at 6 pm. Newcomers don't tend to be the most savvy at the parks.

 

[cdeev8690]

Jim's Steaks at the corner of Fourth and South Streets in the heart of the city where Liberty was born, Philadelphia

Or burgers.



I have lived just outside of Philadelphia all my life and the funny thing is, I can count on one hand how many cheese stakes I have had in the city.

I hear ya. My family hails from DelCo and it took me until I moved to Florida before I made it to south street.

The city has gotten so much better in the past 20 years.

It continues to blow my mind to find out just how many people on this board are from this area! I moved from Long Island to Burlington County to Port Richmond (Philly in November) and had my first cheesesteak at Tony Lukes in South Philly like a week ago. I guess this is my initiation?

I can't speak for what the state of Philly was like prior to 5 years ago as I had never visited before I met my partner down here but, from what I understand, the city has improved and continues to improve especially in the area where I live. Northern Liberties and Fishtown have exploded and all signs point to Port Richmond succumbing to gentrification next. My Polish neighbors hate me, a single 26-year old, for that.

As a counter point this park was not designed to be toured the same way as the Magic Kingdom. If all a guest wants is rides then yes their time is better spent at MK or Studios since that is their focus. AK and to an extent Epcot are both designed to be taken at a leisurely pace exploring and learning. As a local I would be tempted to spend a few hours at AK over MK any day simply to avoid the crowds of people that don't understand a vacation isn't a vacation if you're running around like a chicken with your head cut off.

Less Philly, more Disney. I will give four thumbs up to this statement. Yes, WDW is an amusement park but AK and Epcot is what sets it apart from the Six Flags and the Busch Gardens of the world. They are what make WDW a fully immersive experience. I'm quite excited to walk into the world of Pandora.

 

[flyerjab]

It continues to blow my mind to find out just how many people on this board are from this area! I moved from Long Island to Burlington County to Port Richmond (Philly in November) and had my first cheesesteak at Tony Lukes in South Philly like a week ago. I guess this is my initiation?

I can't speak for what the state of Philly was like prior to 5 years ago as I had never visited before I met my partner down here but, from what I understand, the city has improved and continues to improve especially in the area where I live. Northern Liberties and Fishtown have exploded and all signs point to Port Richmond succumbing to gentrification next. My Polish neighbors hate me, a single 26-year old, for that.



Less Philly, more Disney. I will give four thumbs up to this statement. Yes, WDW is an amusement park but AK and Epcot is what sets it apart from the Six Flags and the Busch Gardens of the world. They are what make WDW a fully immersive experience. I'm quite excited to walk into the world of Pandora.

I am also from northeast of the Philadelphia area (about an hour outside actually).

The one thing that I can't wait to see about this expansion is that it is truly a newer addition and I expect it to be on par with some of the WDI excellence on display in Shanghai.

The one thing I have been anxious for with the aerial updates is when the foliage starts being added. The amount that needs to be put in this expansion should be on a scale I have never witnessed before since my love of Disney began. I only got on this Disney train in 2009 (WDW specifically), so the NFL expansion was big, but not on this scale. Right now all aerial photos show dirt, so I can't wait to see some of the first ones when trees, undergrowth, grass, etc. - both real and Disney-real - start to be added. What would really be a treat would be to see a close-up aerial shot of this expansion at night after all of the bioluminescence is added.

 

[dgp602]

"bumping" this back to topic, any recent aerial views to share?

 

[gmajew]

Animal kingdom is not you normal theme park it is so much more then rides. It does not need a ton of new additions that are all rides as it won't be what this park is. When you go to this park it is about exploring the lands and the other outstanding exhibits that each area offer. So while avatar is only adding two rides it will also offer area to explore which in this park as Importsnt as the rides.

Why this park if you really explore all is really a full day park, but to many people today skip,so,e really amazing stuff.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Animal kingdom is not you normal theme park it is so much more then rides. It does not need a ton of new additions that are all rides as it won't be what this park is. When you go to this park it is about exploring the lands and the other outstanding exhibits that each area offer. So while avatar is only adding two rides it will also offer area to explore which in this park as Importsnt as the rides.

Why this park if you really explore all is really a full day park, but to many people today skip,so,e really amazing stuff.

I like rides that explore the environment. I would love for Disney to close The Jungle Cruise at the MK and rebuild an authentic version with real animals at DAK. I love the safari. I would love if they put in a air conditioned gondola that stays pretty much in the tree canopy and circles the park with stations at the entrance of Pandora, the entrance of Dinoland, in Asia and Africa, and then back to Pandora. It could have lion king-esque music playing and narration explaining what you're seeing and what can be found at the next station. Something like this painted dark green.

 

[gmajew]

I like rides that explore the environment. I would love for Disney to close The Jungle Cruise at the MK and rebuild an authentic version with real animals at DAK. I love the safari. I would love if they put in a air conditioned gondola that stays pretty much in the tree canopy and circles the park with stations at the entrance of Pandora, the entrance of Dinoland, in Asia and Africa, and then back to Pandora. It could have lion king-esque music playing and narration explaining what you're seeing and what can be found at the next station. Something like this painted dark green.

Why not one of these.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Why not one of these.
View attachment 155286

Those totally wouldn't fit DAK. But as a TTA replacement? OK!

 

[Cesar R M]

Those totally wouldn't fit DAK. But as a TTA replacement? OK!

replacement for tomorrowland's people's mover.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY CARLS JR.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

replacement for tomorrowland's people's mover.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY CARLS JR.

"Why do you keep saying that?"

 

[Prototype82]

Why this park if you really explore all is really a full day park, but to many people today skip,so,e really amazing stuff.

I have been waiting for someone to say this. It WILL need Avatar for nightfall because the Africa and Asia trails are closed, but I have always felt he same way. There is so much to do and there is so much great street entertainment in Asia and Africa...

 

[danlb_2000]

I don't think that Avatar is going to add that much more time in the park for the average visitor. Honestly AK is our least visited park as it feels more like a glorified zoo than a theme park. Looking forward to seeing Avatar but not expecting much cept for a great visual experience at night. The rides while not much is known seems like a slow boat ride (wish it was more like the new Pirates in Shanghai but sadly will prob be more on level of MK Pirates just slow) and pretty much a Avatar version of soaring. To me these don't sound that exciting, and AK needs a lot more help then this. I see AK as a half day park at best even with Pandora.

We still haven't seen all the details of the rides, but you may be underselling what they will really be like.

 

[rle4lunch]

"Why do you keep saying that?"

I think he's referring to people being moved around by other means than their legs. Carl's Jr = fat people = irony of people mover = chuckle worthy

 

[Mike S]

I think he's referring to people being moved around by other means than their legs. Carl's Jr = fat people = irony of people mover = chuckle worthy

 

[Coaster Lover]

I have been waiting for someone to say this. It WILL need Avatar for nightfall because the Africa and Asia trails are closed, but I have always felt he same way. There is so much to do and there is so much great street entertainment in Asia and Africa...

It's very comparable to EPCOT in this regard... if you are just going to hit the rides, yeah, it's a half day park, but you really are missing out on so much if you do that. If you take time to explore the quiet areas of the park, take in the shows, stop for a few minutes to enjoy the street performers, leisurely walk the trails and soak up the sights and sounds of the animals, it's a full day easy. Personally, I believe that Lion King and Finding Nemo shows are two of the best shows on the property and I (personally) would classify both as "must see" (no matter how many times I had seen them before). On top of that, I find the two main animal trails to be some of the most peaceful, most beautiful areas on property and typically will not pass up walking those trails on each visit (sometimes, after the hustle and bustle of Magic Kingdom, it's nice to take some time to relax and if you're not going to take a day off mid vacation to do just that, then having an opportunity while in the parks is always welcomed). When you couple all of the rides plus both of the headline shows plus time on the trails, it's easy to add up to a full day.

It's said that 80% of the people that visit The Louvre walk in, see the Mona Lisa, then leave and for many people that is fine and for those people, they might say that you only need to plan an hour or two at The Louvre... however, if you do only spend an hour or two at The Louvre, you're really missing out... Similarly, if you are only going to Animal Kingdom to hit the rides and claim that it is a half day park, that is fine, but again, you are really missing out...

 

[flyerjab]

It's very comparable to EPCOT in this regard... if you are just going to hit the rides, yeah, it's a half day park, but you really are missing out on so much if you do that. If you take time to explore the quiet areas of the park, take in the shows, stop for a few minutes to enjoy the street performers, leisurely walk the trails and soak up the sights and sounds of the animals, it's a full day easy. Personally, I believe that Lion King and Finding Nemo shows are two of the best shows on the property and I (personally) would classify both as "must see" (no matter how many times I had seen them before). On top of that, I find the two main animal trails to be some of the most peaceful, most beautiful areas on property and typically will not pass up walking those trails on each visit (sometimes, after the hustle and bustle of Magic Kingdom, it's nice to take some time to relax and if you're not going to take a day off mid vacation to do just that, then having an opportunity while in the parks is always welcomed). When you couple all of the rides plus both of the headline shows plus time on the trails, it's easy to add up to a full day.

It's said that 80% of the people that visit The Louvre walk in, see the Mona Lisa, then leave and for many people that is fine and for those people, they might say that you only need to plan an hour or two at The Louvre... however, if you do only spend an hour or two at The Louvre, you're really missing out... Similarly, if you are only going to Animal Kingdom to hit the rides and claim that it is a half day park, that is fine, but again, you are really missing out...

Simply put, this is one of my most favorite posts ever about DAK. Well said.