News Avatar Experience coming to Disneyland Resort

[MistaDee]

I don't think that works, thematically. "Pandora is essentially Monterey Bay" is a stretch, even for Disney's current social media team. Pandora doesn't fit California at all, unless its a movie set. Which it doesn't sound like it will be presented as "hot set" with actors and cameras on standby.

Yeah I'm curious how Disney will spin the land/park fit:

1) the "abstraction" Avatar is an Adventure in our Disney Park in California
2) the "ride the movies" Avatar is a movie in our Disney California Adventure Park
3) the "Pandora portal" come through our magical teleportation tunnel to travel from California to Pandora

 

[TheDisneyParksfanC8]

Yeah I'm curious how Disney will spin the land/park fit:

1) the "abstraction" Avatar is an Adventure in our Disney Park in California
2) the "ride the movies" Avatar is a movie in our Disney California Adventure Park
3) the "Pandora portal" come through our magical teleportation tunnel to travel from California to Pandora

Thats why I think this hypothetical name change/rebranding of DCA will debut alongside Avatar.

 

[Disney Irish]

Yeah I'm curious how Disney will spin the land/park fit:

1) the "abstraction" Avatar is an Adventure in our Disney Park in California
2) the "ride the movies" Avatar is a movie in our Disney California Adventure Park
3) the "Pandora portal" come through our magical teleportation tunnel to travel from California to Pandora

At this point does Disney have to even explain it? Other than some hardcore (and I mean really hardcore) DCA fans, does anyone even care about the "California" theme anymore and the why/how Avatar would fit?

Just looking at various posts around the interwebs post announcement, I think I've seen maybe a handful of the "but it doesn't fit the California theme" posts outside of here. I don't think anyone really cares at this point and even fewer are nostalgic over the California theme.

 

[mickEblu]

Yeah I'm curious how Disney will spin the land/park fit:

1) the "abstraction" Avatar is an Adventure in our Disney Park in California
2) the "ride the movies" Avatar is a movie in our Disney California Adventure Park
3) the "Pandora portal" come through our magical teleportation tunnel to travel from California to Pandora

I thinks it’s a combo of #1 and #3. #3 being the practical/ physical way of getting into the land considering its location. Now, I’m not sure if they actually include the portal as part of the story of the land or not. I can’t imagine a scenario that any theming in that tunnel will be convincing enough to have us believe we’ve been teleported. They re better off just not explaining anything. No different than stepping into GE from Frontierland or Super Nintendo from the lower lot at USH. Of course this is assuming it’s going in the backlot.

 

[Architectural Guinea Pig]

Other than some hardcore (and I mean really hardcore) DCA fans, does anyone even care about the "California" theme anymore

As someone who cares a lot about the “California” in the theme, I don’t mind the Avatar land at all, since it’s a drastic improvement over what it would replace. It’s what DCA needs, even if it won’t fit. If they were removing an actually good land like Grizzly Peak similar to RoA, I would get REALLY mad.

 

[Disney Irish]

As someone who cares a lot about the “California” in the theme, I don’t mind the Avatar land at all, since it’s a drastic improvement over what it would replace. It’s what DCA needs, even if it won’t fit. If they were removing an actually good land like Grizzly Peak similar to RoA, I would get REALLY mad.

I guess that puts you in the hardcore DCA fan, but those that don't care if its fits or not, list. You're in a class by yourself lol.

 

[DavidDL]

I liked Park Lore's article about this sort of thing, where they explain how Disney parks are all just slowly losing their individual identities and becoming "Brand Loyalty Centers" over time. -and about how Imagineers are no longer "creators" of content, they are now "curators" of it, doing their absolute best to try and make whatever popular, previously established, mandated IP is handed down to them "fit" within any given park as best they possibly can.

There was a point in time (around DCA 2.0) where those calling these shots would have asked themselves, "How does this fit thematically within a place like DCA or celebrate the richness and diversity of California, its land, its people and its stories?"

Nowadays, though, the only real question is: Did it make money and is it owned by us? Yeah? Then toss it in someplace. Avatar in DCA? Marvel for Epcot? Star Wars land for Disneyland? Cars in Frontierland? Sounds good. No one will notice or care, it's all Disney to our consumers. Why on Earth would these parks need identities that make them special or unique from one another when you can just have Disney/Pixar/Marvel/Lucasfilm/Fox Park #1 and Disney/Pixar/Marvel/Lucasfilm/Fox Park #2?

Ranting aside, if they care at all about the last bit of identity that DCA is holding on to, they will do their best to create some kind of transition from Hollywoodland to Avatar, where perhaps it feels like Guests are stepping onto a movie set that starts to come to life around them.

But that will sadly never happen.

 

[Disney Irish]

I for one just hope they don't do the "movie set" theming for Avatar. I'm done with the fake "movie set" land aesthetics in Disney Parks.

Its sort of why I hope they really do put this into the backlot, it'll get rid of most of the fake looking facades.

 

[mickEblu]

I liked Park Lore's article about this sort of thing, where they explain how Disney parks are all just slowly losing their individual identities and becoming "Brand Loyalty Centers" over time. -and about how Imagineers are no longer "creators" of content, they are now "curators" of it, doing their absolute best to try and make whatever popular, previously established, mandated IP is handed down to them "fit" within any given park as best they possibly can.

There was a point in time (around DCA 2.0) where those calling these shots would have asked themselves, "How does this fit thematically within a place like DCA or celebrate the richness and diversity of California, its land, its people and its stories?"

Nowadays, though, the only real question is: Did it make money and is it owned by us? Yeah? Then toss it in someplace. Avatar in DCA? Marvel for Epcot? Star Wars land for Disneyland? Cars in Frontierland? Sounds good. No one will notice or care, it's all Disney to our consumers. Why on Earth would these parks need identities that make them special or unique from one another when you can just have Disney/Pixar/Marvel/Lucasfilm/Fox Park #1 and Disney/Pixar/Marvel/Lucasfilm/Fox Park #2?

Ranting aside, if they care at all about the last bit of identity that DCA is holding on to, they will do their best to create some kind of transition from Hollywoodland to Avatar, where perhaps it feels like Guests are stepping onto a movie set that starts to come to life around them.

But that will sadly never happen.

Don’t agree with the movie set idea for Avatar land but agree with everything else.

 

[DavidDL]

To be clear, when I say "movie set that starts to come to life", I don't mean that the actual Avatar-land should lean into the faux facade and loosely strewn around prop-style of the rest of Hollywoodland, just the transition point between the two.

If it weren't Pandora and were, instead, a land that better fit within the loose California theme of DCA, I wouldn't care so much about transitions, etc. I never really cared all that much about how we transitioned from something like Redwood Creek to Pacific Wharf and to Paradise Pier because they all felt like they belonged in the park, regardless.

But Pandora just feels wrong to me. It definitely doesn't feel like it should be in DCA. Unless they can try and explain why we're suddenly in Pandora after being on Hollywood Blvd a moment ago. The first thing and most obvious answer that comes to mind is something akin to "stepping into the movie", somehow. Sort of like what happens over at Runaway Railway.

 

[Disney Irish]

To be clear, when I say "movie set that starts to come to life", I don't mean that the actual Avatar-land should lean into the faux facade and loosely strewn around prop-style of the rest of Hollywoodland, just the transition point between the two.

If it weren't Pandora and were, instead, a land that better fit within the loose California theme of DCA, I wouldn't care so much about transitions, etc. I never really cared all that much about how we transitioned from something like Redwood Creek to Pacific Wharf and to Paradise Pier because they all felt like they belonged in the park, regardless.

But Pandora just feels wrong to me. It definitely doesn't feel like it should be in DCA. Unless they can try and explain why we're suddenly in Pandora after being on Hollywood Blvd a moment ago. The first thing and most obvious answer that comes to mind is something akin to "stepping into the movie", somehow. Sort of like what happens over at Runaway Railway.

So then it sounds like you want a "portal", something pretty much everyone agrees on, whether its that you're stepping into the movie through the portal or you're stepping into the real location through the portal is just semantics at that point.

 

[DavidDL]

So then it sounds like you want a "portal", something pretty much everyone agrees on, whether its that you're stepping into the movie through the portal or you're stepping into the real location through the portal is just semantics at that point.

Sure. I agree that some kind of "portal-type transition" needs to be present. I don't want to just walk underneath a random freeway overpass in Hollywood and suddenly I'm in Pandora. I want the transition into Pandora from Hollywoodland to make some kind of sense.

Whether that's stepping onto a movie set that comes to life and gives way to the actual world of Pandora, stepping through a screen into the world of the movie via a Hollywood premiere, or some other highly detailed and creative way that Imagineers get paid to come up with that I don't, something along those lines should be present.

What I don't want to see them do, is lazily drop some kind of "Stargate" next to Schmoozies! and call it a day.

This is all, of course, under the assumption Pandora goes there and not someplace else.

 

[Disney Irish]

Sure. I agree that some kind of "portal-type transition" needs to be present. I don't want to just walk underneath a random freeway overpass in Hollywood and suddenly I'm in Pandora. I want the transition into Pandora from Hollywoodland to make some kind of sense.

Whether that's stepping onto a movie set that comes to life and gives way to the actual world of Pandora, stepping through a screen into the world of the movie via a Hollywood premiere, or some other highly detailed and creative way that Imagineers get paid to come up with that I don't, something along those lines should be present.

What I don't want to see them do, is lazily drop some kind of "Stargate" next to Schmoozies! and call it a day.

This is all, of course, under the assumption Pandora goes there and not someplace else.

The problem is it seems like you're looking for some long transition that I just don't believe is needed, or room to put in especially if it goes in the backlot. Also I'm not sure it'll ever truly "make sense", at least not in a way that you can say it really "fits" it being in "California" as it appears you want. Because even if you put a "walk into the movie" transition it'll still be an abrupt type of walk-thru transition like MMRR (an example you used).

While I don't think it'll be some freeway overpass, I do think it would be some portal similar to GE where its a tunnel of some sort that you walk through and you're in the land. The only question will be if there will also be a large berm that blocks out views into the land and vice-versa.

 

[mickEblu]

Sure. I agree that some kind of "portal-type transition" needs to be present. I don't want to just walk underneath a random freeway overpass in Hollywood and suddenly I'm in Pandora. I want the transition into Pandora from Hollywoodland to make some kind of sense.

Whether that's stepping onto a movie set that comes to life and gives way to the actual world of Pandora, stepping through a screen into the world of the movie via a Hollywood premiere, or some other highly detailed and creative way that Imagineers get paid to come up with that I don't, something along those lines should be present.

What I don't want to see them do, is lazily drop some kind of "Stargate" next to Schmoozies! and call it a day.

This is all, of course, under the assumption Pandora goes there and not someplace else.

So how do you make Mission Breakout make sense? I’ve been watching some blogs where they always say that now becasue of Avatar DCA needs a name change because there is just no way to tie in. They explain how Cars Land, San Fransokyo work but always conveniently fail to mention how Mission Breakout works.

 

[Professortango1]

So how do you make Mission Breakout make sense?

Mission BO "landed" or "appeared" at Disney California Adventure Park across from Disneyland. That's the story they told us and the eventually got the ground updated with the affected pavement from the apparition of this building.

Mission BO acknowledges that DCA and all that within it are part of a theme park in SoCal and that its right next to Disneyland.

 

[mickEblu]

Mission BO "landed" or "appeared" at Disney California Adventure Park across from Disneyland. That's the story they told us and the eventually got the ground updated with the affected pavement from the apparition of this building.

Mission BO acknowledges that DCA and all that within it are part of a theme park in SoCal and that its right next to Disneyland.

I was waiting for you haha. Ok so all Disney has to do is give us one lame sentence about how Avatar works and it’ll be ok?

 

[J4546]

i wish theyd go bigger with the kirby krackle in the pavement and make it glow and pulse with light at night.

 

[Disney Irish]

So how do you make Mission Breakout make sense? I’ve been watching some blogs where they always say that now becasue of Avatar DCA needs a name change because there is just no way to tie in. They explain how Cars Land, San Fransokyo work but always conveniently fail to mention how Mission Breakout works.

This is why this idea that it somehow needs to be tied to "California" and finding ways to bend over backways to do it is just lame. Just drop that silly conceit and just give really good themed lands.

 

[Disney Irish]

I was waiting for you haha. Ok so all Disney has to do is give us one lame sentence about how Avatar works and it’ll be ok?

If this is all it takes to make people here happy I came up with one a long time ago. RDA found a portal to Pandora in DCA and use it to save in transportation costs, boom done. Disney I'll accept my check now!

 

[DavidDL]

So how do you make Mission Breakout make sense? I’ve been watching some blogs where they always say that now becasue of Avatar DCA needs a name change because there is just no way to tie in. They explain how Cars Land, San Fransokyo work but always conveniently fail to mention how Mission Breakout works.

You don't. Mission Cash-Grab is one of the worst things they've ever built. Avengers Campus as a whole is a joke that I would never defend. That said, just because they built that area without any thought or care doesn't mean they shouldn't at least try with the next. Better one or two areas that don't feel like they belong than three or four, ya know?