Robert Iger, IMO, is turning WDW into another Universal. Grab any hot property and shoehorn it into the parks. The end.
And what worries me the most is the idea that, eventually, Walt Disney World will change from being a Disney park to a park with some Disney in it, but mostly Spiderman, the Hulk, the Na'vi, Kermit the Frog, and probably Alvin and the Chipmunks eventually (I bet you guys hyped over Avatar would love THAT!) I think this costly gamble might well backfire on Iger, like the dispute with Pixar backfired on Eisner.
One can only hope...
If we weren't getting Avatar, what would we be getting? Pixar. I don't see Pixar as "pure" Disney (technically Disney bought them out, just like Marvel), and I hate how they've disproportionately taken over the parks.
Disney has some great properties that they're not taking full advantage of. I would love to see Aladdin get a real attraction (instead of the carpets), Beauty and the Beast's mini-land also deserves an actual attraction, and The Lion King could easily have a dark ride in AK (just like Nemo has a whole Epcot pavilion + dark ride and stage show). Plus, I certainly wouldn't complain about a Lucasland (with Indiana Jones Adventure! I loved that ride), Australia, South America, Fire Mountain, or Beastly Kingdom.
But if it's a choice between Pandora (which could potentially be home to the next Star Tours/Indiana Jones Adventure in terms of pure awesome immersion) and Carsland, more Toy Story, more Nemo, Ratatouille, Up, Wall-E, Incredibles, or Monsters Inc, I'd rather have Pandora.
I've basically given up on seeing any of my dream attractions built, and I'm simply grateful that AK gets to grow so much over the next few years. Yes, it could've been better (for my tastes), but it also could've been worse, so I'm not complaining. Besides, I'm confident that this land will be detailed, immersive, and popular. Many of you disagree, and I respect that. But I see no reason to be a pessimist about it for the next 5-7 years.