News Avatar Experience coming to Disneyland Resort

[Disney Irish]

Trust me, I'm going to be waiting with Reese's baited breath this October 31st to see if the kids finally show up as blue aliens!

You'll probably still be waiting, as its not really an IP that lends itself to kid Halloween costumes, which is why it was never a good metric. Especially in your new home state where there is potential snow fall around that time, too cold for kids running around as half naked aliens.

Now go to some adult Halloween parties, especially college parties, and you might find a few Na'vi running around.

 

[MagicHappens1971]

Now go to some adult Halloween parties, especially college parties, and you might find a few Na'vi running around.

I’ve been to a few adult Halloween parties, college ones too, I’ve never seen anyone dressed as a Na’vi. Not even at Mickeys Not So Scary

 

[Disney Irish]

I’ve been to a few adult Halloween parties, college ones too, I’ve never seen anyone dressed as a Na’vi. Not even at Mickeys Not So Scary

I was talking about THIS years Halloween parties, not ones from the past decade since the first Avatar came out. I also said MIGHT find someone dressed as a Na'vi, not that it was guaranteed to find someone dressed as a Na'vi.

 

[celluloid]

I do too. Pandora perfectly straddles fantasy and tomorrow. I know some (including myself to a degree) don’t want IP-based lands in Disneyland. But, it makes a lot more sense to me for it to go to Disneyland theme-wise and for capacity reasons. But that’s just me.

It won't be a land. It will be exhibit and or minor attraction.

 

[celluloid]

Riddle me this… how is Avatar 2 poised to become the third-highest grossing film of all time today, and yet nobody has ever shown up to @TP2000 ’s door on Halloween dressed as a Na’vi? Impossibru!!



Tough stuff.

The same reason you never see Scarlett O'Hara, Jack and Rose or Dr. Zhivago showing up on your doorstep.

He never denied it's box office or finances. Cultural impact has differences and is different when it comes to Halloween and such.

There is a reason a lot of the merch in Character Warehouses tends to be from Pandora.

 

[Disney Irish]

It won't be a land. It will be exhibit and or minor attraction.

I would agree that is one possible outcome. However we don't know too much about this yet, it could be a mini-land, it could be just a walk-thru attraction, it could be a single attraction, it could be anything.

Until we get more details its up in the air on what it'll actually be.

 

[Phroobar]

I’ve been to a few adult Halloween parties, college ones too, I’ve never seen anyone dressed as a Na’vi. Not even at Mickeys Not So Scary

I go to San Diego and Anaheim comic-con every year. There is always at least a couple of Na'vi running around. However, you do get a lot of slave girl Leias. Disney is missing a golden opportunity with a slave girl Leia meet & greet in Galaxy's Edge.

 

[MagicHappens1971]

However, you do get a lot of slave girl Leias. Disney is missing a golden opportunity with a slave girl Leia meet & greet in Galaxy's Edge.

I don’t think Disney will ever have a Slave girl Leia M&G

 

[TP2000]

Riddle me this… how is Avatar 2 poised to become the third-highest grossing film of all time today, and yet nobody has ever shown up to @TP2000 ’s door on Halloween dressed as a Na’vi? Impossibru!!



Tough stuff.

Just so some folks here aren't confused about this post, @egg quoted two posts from me from two different threads from last summer regarding the lack of the 2009 Avatar movie's impact with children and pop-culture aimed at children. Which is why no one sees kids dressed as Avatar characters on their doorstep on Halloween, even though the 2009 movie was a hugely successful box office hit.

The full quote on the "Tough stuff" comment explains that a little more, and it's from August, 2022, several months before Avatar 2 came out in theaters. It was discussing the 2009 film, not the upcoming Avatar 2 film that was still several months away.

When you can get at least two or three kids showing up on my doorstep on Halloween dressed as some Avatar blue alien, with or without a snorkel mask, we can talk. The kids don't care one whit about 2009's Avatar movie.

Until then... Avatar is dead in the water. (Get it?)

The second quote that @egg used is even longer and older, from July, 2022, that has multiple paragraphs from me discussing the lack of attraction capacity in Disney's Animal Kingdom. It's not worth reading as it's about DAK/DCA ride capacity, but the "Avatar is not an impactful franchise" comment I made was plucked from that ride capacity conversation here... (with thanks to Ms. Emily Letilla)

I read this thread title and thought "There's already a Pandora shop in New Orleans Square!"

Then I opened the thread and saw what we're talking about and said... "Oh, that Pandora. Nevermind."

But that just makes my point. Avatar is not an impactful franchise. The E Ticket is well received in WDW because it's a big, splashy E Ticket in an amusement park that only has 8 rides. Eight.

Seriously, the amusement park Avatar is in has only 8 rides. And KiteTails.

Also, since Avatar was released over a decade ago I have never once had a child show up on my front porch at Halloween dressed as a blue alien. And for the 25+ years I lived in Villa Park, I gave out full-size Hershey bars and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups on Halloween, with custom made See's Candy gift baskets for Best Girl, Best Boy, and Best Family costume winners. No one has ever worn an Avatar costume on Halloween.

Avatar is just not a thing. Eight rides!

 

[TP2000]

The same reason you never see Scarlett O'Hara, Jack and Rose or Dr. Zhivago showing up on your doorstep.

He never denied it's box office or finances. Cultural impact has differences and is different when it comes to Halloween and such.

There is a reason a lot of the merch in Character Warehouses tends to be from Pandora.

Thank you for getting it.

Reading comprehension is a valuable life skill!

 

[wdrive]

I don’t think Disney will ever have a Slave girl Leia M&G

Not quite a meet and greet but she exists at Disney.

 

[TP2000]

You'll probably still be waiting, as its not really an IP that lends itself to kid Halloween costumes, which is why it was never a good metric.

When you are discussing an IP's pop cultural impact on children, the lack of children wearing that IP as Halloween costumes is an excellent metric.

The financial box office success of Avatar 1 in 2009 is undeniable. But then it never broke through as a thing kids cared about; Halloween costumes, Christmas wish lists, birthday party themes, colorful twin-size sheet sets made of scratchy poly-blend fabric, etc.

Avatar 1 in '09 didn't sell much merch.

Is Avatar 2 in '22 selling a lot of merch, especially for kids? I'm not seeing it, but then I don't hang out around playgrounds because they'd call the cops. Which is why I wait for the kids to visit me on Halloween instead.

So if some parents here can tell us that Avatar 2 is all the rage with the kids or even teens, I'm happy to hear it.

 

[TP2000]

I’ve been to a few adult Halloween parties, college ones too, I’ve never seen anyone dressed as a Na’vi. Not even at Mickeys Not So Scary

I remember the big pre-Covid Halloween parties that Disneyland held for multiple dates every September and October. There was never an Avatar anything at those parties either, even though Disney was investing a Billion in the franchise out in WDW at the time.

The adult Halloween season or masquerade parties I attended in person in Villa Park during the 2010's just had people dressing up as Richard & Pat Nixon or Dolly Parton, which should tell you what kind of crowd I hang out with.

 

[TP2000]

It won't be a land. It will be exhibit and or minor attraction.

If this is opening any time within the next 18 months, it will be a Meet n' Greet n' Merchandise pavilion in the Launch Bay or one of the other abandoned buildings in Hollywood Backlot, and/or a 3D Clip Show in the abandoned Tomorrowland Theater.

But if it's not opening until calendar year 2025 or later, then it could be a retheme of Subs or Star Tours. If they really hurry.

Anything else will require new construction, and that puts it opening no earlier than calendar year 2027 at this point.

While there's some valid points in how Bob Iger said this as a real addition, the calendar is not on their side to get anything except a rethemed Launch Bay or 3D Clip Show up and running before the next Avatar movie comes out in December, '24.

 

[Disney Irish]

When you are discussing an IP's pop cultural impact on children, the lack of children wearing that IP as Halloween costumes is an excellent metric.

The financial box office success of Avatar 1 in 2009 is undeniable. But then it never broke through as a thing kids cared about; Halloween costumes, Christmas wish lists, birthday party themes, colorful twin-size sheet sets made of scratchy poly-blend fabric, etc.

Avatar 1 in '09 didn't sell much merch.

Is Avatar 2 in '22 selling a lot of merch, especially for kids? I'm not seeing it, but then I don't hang out around playgrounds because they'd call the cops. Which is why I wait for the kids to visit me on Halloween instead.

So if some parents here can tell us that Avatar 2 is all the rage with the kids or even teens, I'm happy to hear it.

Its still not a good metric in my book, as its not an IP that lends to "kids" Halloween costumes.

Its an IP that more lends itself to adult costumes and cosplay events, as stated above Na'vi cosplay already has a presence at Comic-Con.

So as I said you'll probably still be waiting, as I wouldn't expect to see many Na'vi knocking at your door this Halloween.

 

[Sailor310]

I might be missing something, but might it be that children don't dress up as Na'vi for Halloween because it's hard to paint yourself blue from head to foot and to make yourself 6 feet tall, even if mom helps?

 

[TP2000]

Its still not a good metric in my book, as its not an IP that lends to "kids" Halloween costumes.

Tell that to the kids who dress up as horribly gory zombies and terrifying creatures. Those really creep me out!

Its an IP that more lends itself to adult costumes and cosplay events, as stated above Na'vi cosplay already has a presence at Comic-Con.

So as I said you'll probably still be waiting, as I wouldn't expect to see many Na'vi knocking at your door this Halloween.

If it's an adult IP, then that's fine. But I just went to Etsy and checked Avatar Cosplay versus a few other IP's off the top of my head. Here are those search results on Etsy as of mid February, 2023:

Avatar Cosplay = 1,500 results
Titanic Cosplay = 1,700 results (Mr. Cameron's other big hit)
Spiderman Cosplay = 3,100 results
Harry Potter Cosplay = 3,600 results
Avengers Cosplay = 5,500 results
Disney Princess Cosplay = 6,200 results
Star Wars Cosplay = 15,100 results

I'm just gonna guess that the younger Playground Set is not really wearing a lot of Na'vi merchandise yet either.

Star wars cosplay - Etsy

Check out our star wars cosplay selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops.

www.etsy.com

 

[TP2000]

I might be missing something, but might it be that children don't dress up as Na'vi for Halloween because it's hard to paint yourself blue from head to foot and to make yourself 6 feet tall, even if mom helps?

Valid point on them being six feet tall and needing a blue outfit.

But that doesn't explain this, because Chewbacca is seven feet tall and hairier than a throw rug!

Amazon product ASIN B07L8WKWPS

 

[TP2000]

I was interested in Avatar merchandise sales, so I Googled. I couldn't find any media reports on Avatar merch sales, unlike the media reporting on Pixar and Princess merchandise sales figures. But I did find this article at Vox. It's quite interesting, and speaks to the conversation here of Avatar's cultural impact, or nearly complete lack of cultural impact.

What if you made a movie that did $2 Billion in box office, but nobody really cared?

Avatar: The Way of Water made $2 billion worldwide. Wait, really?

How the Avatar franchise can be be wildly popular and still feel irrelevant

www.vox.com

And here I thought it was just me! Apparently, it's a sentiment shared by a lot of people. Which makes it an interesting thing to spend money on in the parks at a time when budgets are being slashed and thousands are being laid off.

 

[Disney Irish]

Tell that to the kids who dress up as horribly gory zombies and terrifying creatures. Those really creep me out!

Except monsters and the horror genre have always been a classic Halloween costume staple long before any Disney franchise existed.

If it's an adult IP, then that's fine. But I just went to Etsy and checked Avatar Cosplay versus a few other IP's off the top of my head. Here are those search results on Etsy as of mid February, 2023:

Avatar Cosplay = 1,000 results
Titanic Cosplay = 1,700 results (Mr. Cameron's other big hit)
Spiderman Cosplay = 3,100 results
Avengers Cosplay = 5,500 results
Disney Princess Cosplay = 6,200 results
Star Wars Cosplay = 15,100 results

I'm just gonna guess that the younger Playground Set is not really wearing a lot of Na'vi merchandise yet either.

Star wars cosplay - Etsy

Check out our star wars cosplay selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our shops.

www.etsy.com

And nurse cosplay only has 1432 results on Etsy, but I sure see a lot of "nurses" at Halloween parties I've attended. It doesn't mean much my friend.