AVATAR land coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom

[Patricia Melton]

I'm sure his contract with Disney allows him some creative approval but I'm not sure how much. There is a reason J.K. Rowling said no to Disney and if she had gone with them, I certainly don't think we would have gotten the scale/rides/unique merchandise...everything really that we have today at Universal. Disney made it clear they wanted creative control and that they didn't want to spend the money (Big mistake on their part).

I'd be curious to know the terms of Cameron-Disney contract. I hope Cameron got more creative control than Rowling was offered with Potter. If the TDO is fully or even mostly in charge, I think Avatar is going to end up botched because they will want to cut the budget and by extension, the scale of the attraction. That has been their pattern so far. And Avatar is a project that needs to have scale/at least one big ride to stay relevant even after the film series has concluded because Avatar is definitely not Potter when it comes to thinking about staying power. .

Bubbles --

You really made me think with this.

You are 100% correct that Rowling rejected Disney for two reasons: (1) She would not have had sign-off powers on a Potterland and (2) Disney wanted to be cheap and small-scale and she did not want that.

The big question I have --- and I hope the insiders reading this forum will chime in -- is "Did Disney learn a lesson from its failure to partner with Rowling, and the subsequent loss it sustained from missing out on the Potter rights?".

Because if they DID learn a lesson, then a deal with Cameron might have been TDO's way of trying to make up for the loss of Rowling's world. Specifically, would Disney have agreed to giving Cameron final approval and a guaranteed high-budget land to get him to sign the dotted line...because otherwise they'd be afraid that Cameron would go to Universal like Rowling did?

I don't know enough about TDO's mindset to guess, but I can give you a personal example of this from my own life. Before my husband retired, he was a franchise owner of restaurants. I won't name names, but my husband lost out on what turned out to be a really great opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a chain that was new to our state because he just didn't think the concept would catch on and he also felt that he'd need to sink too much into the initial startup. Well, someone else of course bought into this in our area and we missed out on that boat. A few years later, another opportunity that was similar presented itself and my husband LEAPT at the chance to buy-in...even though this franchise was even MORE stringent than the one he passed up a few years before. Missing out on Opportunity Number One made my husband more amenable to certain things when Opportunity Number Two came our way.

Incidentally...Opportunity Number Two never set the world on fire. My husband was an idiot not to see the potential of Opportunity Number One when he had the chance. He still regrets his mistake 25 years later.

I see TDO in my husband's shoes in this: they missed out on partnering with JK Rowling because they were stupidly cheap. So Cameron came along and they leapt at the chance to work with him. I bet they agreed to whatever Cameron wanted because refusing Rowling's criteria cost them a gold mine. But Cameron's world will never be as successful for them as Rowling's Harry Potter world would have been.

 

[bubbles1812]

Bubbles --

You really made me think with this.

You are 100% correct that Rowling rejected Disney for two reasons: (1) She would not have had sign-off powers on a Potterland and (2) Disney wanted to be cheap and small-scale and she did not want that.

The big question I have --- and I hope the insiders reading this forum will chime in -- is "Did Disney learn a lesson from its failure to partner with Rowling, and the subsequent loss it sustained from missing out on the Potter rights?".

Because if they DID learn a lesson, then a deal with Cameron might have been TDO's way of trying to make up for the loss of Rowling's world. Specifically, would Disney have agreed to giving Cameron final approval and a guaranteed high-budget land to get him to sign the dotted line...because otherwise they'd be afraid that Cameron would go to Universal like Rowling did?

I don't know enough about TDO's mindset to guess, but I can give you a personal example of this from my own life. Before my husband retired, he was a franchise owner of restaurants. I won't name names, but my husband lost out on what turned out to be a really great opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a chain that was new to our state because he just didn't think the concept would catch on and he also felt that he'd need to sink too much into the initial startup. Well, someone else of course bought into this in our area and we missed out on that boat. A few years later, another opportunity that was similar presented itself and my husband LEAPT at the chance to buy-in...even though this franchise was even MORE stringent than the one he passed up a few years before. Missing out on Opportunity Number One made my husband more amenable to certain things when Opportunity Number Two came our way.

Incidentally...Opportunity Number Two never set the world on fire. My husband was an idiot not to see the potential of Opportunity Number One when he had the chance. He still regrets his mistake 25 years later.

I see TDO in my husband's shoes in this: they missed out on partnering with JK Rowling because they were stupidly cheap. So Cameron came along and they leapt at the chance to work with him. I bet they agreed to whatever Cameron wanted because refusing Rowling's criteria cost them a gold mine. But Cameron's world will never be as successful for them as Rowling's Harry Potter world would have been.

Just out of pure curiosity, what was the franchise? And the second one?

I really really hope that TDO learned their lesson though again, based on the patterns I've seen thus far, it's definitely not TDO's pattern. BUT Avatar was definitely a gut reaction to the success of Potter so maybe they did give Cameron better terms out of pure desperation. I really really hope so. Though I feel like I can say with 100% confidence that even if they did give Cameron creative control and said it would be "big budget," there is no doubt in my mind they will try to reduce the budget. They simply don't like spending money in the relative sense of the term. It doesn't help that their management structure is so bloated that all projects become so much more expensive than they need to be. And nope, you are totally right, even if Avatar is a great land, it will never be as successful as Potter. The franchise just doesn't have as much staying power.

 

[Jedeye80]

I don't think it's a bad thing at all getting Jim Cameron on board, now I love the Harry potter series, really do but I think Disney is better off dealing with Cameron than jk Rowling. She is a great writer but Cameron in whatever field he works pushes the envelope so to speak, always looking to make the next advance, there was 3d films then there was avatar. The world he created was stunning, no story but the environment is full of possibilities, T2 was the same the effects in that are still impressive, if he's as involved in this as we hope he's going to have the same passion that lasseter had with carlsand. James Cameron seems to astound the movie world with every new film, you have got to believe he will do the same to us.

 

[Patricia Melton]

Just out of pure curiosity, what was the franchise? And the second one? .

I don't want to tell tales outside of school, but the first one was a quick-service Mexican restaurant I am sure you have eaten at (or gotten drive-through) because it's all over the place now and my husband thought Mexican food would never fly in central Ohio (and he was foolish and proved wrong). The Opportunity Number Two was an Italian concept that does really well in the suburbs of most cities but is usually near a mall (and has endless breadsticks and salad). There is not one of these on every corner as it's a sit-down place.

We'd have done much, much better if we'd have bought into Opportunity Number One when we had the chance, but I'm not complaining because Opportunity Number Two did well enough to give us a nice retirement and allows us to take our kids and my niece and nephew to WDW and/or DLR once a year so I am very, very grateful.

 

[bubbles1812]

I don't think it's a bad thing at all getting Jim Cameron on board, now I love the Harry potter series, really do but I think Disney is better off dealing with Cameron than jk Rowling. She is a great writer but Cameron in whatever field he works pushes the envelope so to speak, always looking to make the next advance, there was 3d films then there was avatar. The world he created was stunning, no story but the environment is full of possibilities, T2 was the same the effects in that are still impressive, if he's as involved in this as we hope he's going to have the same passion that lasseter had with carlsand. James Cameron seems to astound the movie world with every new film, you have got to believe he will do the same to us.

I am perfectly confident in Cameron. It's as others and myself have stated, TDO that I don't have great confidence in. I'm afraid they will try to limit the budget so much as they are prone to doing that the project doesn't get the money it will deserve/need to be a true success.

And I'd agree about Cameron pushing the boundaries of whatever he works on but I think Rowling/Universal's engineering team did pretty well...FJ was and still is pretty darn revolutionary.

 

[bubbles1812]

I don't want to tell tales outside of school, but the first one was a quick-service Mexican restaurant I am sure you have eaten at (or gotten drive-through) because it's all over the place now and my husband thought Mexican food would never fly in central Ohio (and he was foolish and proved wrong). The Opportunity Number Two was an Italian concept that does really well in the suburbs of most cities but is usually near a mall (and has endless breadsticks and salad). There is not one of these on every corner as it's a sit-down place.

We'd have done much, much better if we'd have bought into Opportunity Number One when we had the chance, but I'm not complaining because Opportunity Number Two did well enough to give us a nice retirement and allows us to take our kids and my niece and nephew to WDW and/or DLR once a year so I am very, very grateful.

Hmmm....I believe I have been to both of those, haha. I really like what I think Number 2 is and Number 1 likes to do some funny things to my stomach I'm glad Number 2 gave you the opportunities to WDW that it does though

 

[Jedeye80]

I am perfectly confident in Cameron. It's as others and myself have stated, TDO that I don't have great confidence in. I'm afraid they will try to limit the budget so much as they are prone to doing that the project doesn't get the money it will deserve/need to be a true success.

And I'd agree about Cameron pushing the boundaries of whatever he works on but I think Rowling/Universal's engineering team did pretty well...FJ was and still is pretty darn revolutionary.

I haven't been to WWoHP but my brother in law has and he raved about it, I agree about TDO but the impression I get of Cameron is that he's someone who gets what he wants with no compromise, fingers crossed that's the case.

 

[Patricia Melton]

Hmmm....I believe I have been to both of those, haha. I really like what I think Number 2 is and Number 1 likes to do some funny things to my stomach I'm glad Number 2 gave you the opportunities to WDW that it does though

My husband thinks he is hilariously funny. But, he's not. I can remember this as clear as day: he came home from a meeting about the new franchise (Op #1) and he plopped the binder with the specs and proposal onto the kitchen table and he made fun of it, because the name lent itself to unfortunate rhymes that involved the world "Smell". Since it was a Mexican chain, my husband enjoyed making flatulence jokes about it. He thought people might try it as a novelty but that they'd never be able to eat that stuff on a regular basis. He, of course, had no way of realizing a whole generation or two of kids would grow up partying late into the night and making this chain a required stop at 2 or 3 or even 4 am in some places. Things changed FAST in the last two or three decades in terms of how late people are willing to be out and what they want when they've been drinking a lot.

I actually feel for the people at TDO. It's hard to predict what's going to be a big hit and what's not. About ten years ago, there was another restaurant project that came out way that I wanted to invest in but it never got off the ground. It was quick-service Indian that would have been similar to Panda Express. It would have been Indian food done at Panda Express level...slowly introducing more exotic Indian dishes to Americans the way Panda uses special promotions to highlight new Chinese dishes every now and again. People come for the Orange Chicken but also try Mandarin Chicken, Firecracker Chicken, Beijing Beef, and other things they might not have ever had before. I still to this day think that there's room in the market for quick service Indian like this: chicken tandoori, different curries, chicken vindaloo, naan bread, etc.

I really bet in the next 20 years you will see this. But, like with the Avatar branding in AK, you never know what the public is really going to embrace. But I think if you serve up something interesting, invest the money to do it right, demand high quality, and present many creative layers in the project that people can't help but be drawn to it.

 

[Patricia Melton]

I haven't been to WWoHP but my brother in law has and he raved about it, I agree about TDO but the impression I get of Cameron is that he's someone who gets what he wants with no compromise, fingers crossed that's the case.

WWoHP is about to expand, and from what my son told me it's going to be INCREDIBLE.

Here is what they are doing:
* For those who don't know, Universal Studio's original park is located next to Islands of Adventure the way that Disneyland is immediately next to DCA

* WWoHP is at Islands of Adventure. There is a train station there at the Village of Hogsmeade, and then there's the village to explore and then Hogwart's school.

* At Universal Studios, they are tearing out the JAWS ride area (giant land) and they are going to build London and Diagon Alley there, with a train station.

* They are going to build the Hogwart's Express train that will carry guests from one park to another. I presume they are going to require a special park hopper to ride this.

The result is that they are building two themed lands in two different parks that are connected by train...so you get the experience of the movies and books of going from London to the wizarding street there then to the secret train platform and then on the train to the magical village. It's mind-blowing in scale. If they do this right, it will be the most immersive and biggest project ever built. They appear to be sparing no expense this time.

UNLIKE the WWoHP which is excellent, but they recycled a roller coaster they had there originally and didn't bother to theme it properly (skimped out on that and left the steel coaster tracks exposed). Universal also did a poor job of hiding sight lines so you never feel like you are completely in Hogsmeade or Hogwarts....you always feel like you are in a Potter themed land in a theme park. This is in contrast to Carsland, which makes you feel like you are really and truly inside the cartoon world of Radiator Springs. You forget you are in California when you are in Carsland.

You never forget you are in Orlando or Universal's Islands of Adventure when you are in WWoHP, but you are still delighted by the wonderfully immersive details.

 

[Jedeye80]

Don't think I'll ever forgive uni for taking out jaws!

 

[invader]

They are going to build the Hogwart's Express train that will carry guests from one park to another. I presume they are going to require a special park hopper to ride this.

Most likely a one-day two-park pass, which they sell now.

 

[bubbles1812]

My husband thinks he is hilariously funny. But, he's not. I can remember this as clear as day: he came home from a meeting about the new franchise (Op #1) and he plopped the binder with the specs and proposal onto the kitchen table and he made fun of it, because the name lent itself to unfortunate rhymes that involved the world "Smell". Since it was a Mexican chain, my husband enjoyed making flatulence jokes about it. He thought people might try it as a novelty but that they'd never be able to eat that stuff on a regular basis. He, of course, had no way of realizing a whole generation or two of kids would grow up partying late into the night and making this chain a required stop at 2 or 3 or even 4 am in some places. Things changed FAST in the last two or three decades in terms of how late people are willing to be out and what they want when they've been drinking a lot.

I actually feel for the people at TDO. It's hard to predict what's going to be a big hit and what's not. About ten years ago, there was another restaurant project that came out way that I wanted to invest in but it never got off the ground. It was quick-service Indian that would have been similar to Panda Express. It would have been Indian food done at Panda Express level...slowly introducing more exotic Indian dishes to Americans the way Panda uses special promotions to highlight new Chinese dishes every now and again. People come for the Orange Chicken but also try Mandarin Chicken, Firecracker Chicken, Beijing Beef, and other things they might not have ever had before. I still to this day think that there's room in the market for quick service Indian like this: chicken tandoori, different curries, chicken vindaloo, naan bread, etc.

I really bet in the next 20 years you will see this. But, like with the Avatar branding in AK, you never know what the public is really going to embrace. But I think if you serve up something interesting, invest the money to do it right, demand high quality, and present many creative layers in the project that people can't help but be drawn to it.

Hehehe...that may or may not have been me not but a few years ago... That late at night, just about anything seems good

I think this is key to Avatar being a success. It's not the strongest franchise out there and I'm not sure of it's staying power. But even with me thinking that, I think the project has huge potential. But they have to invest the money and I really really hope they do that but I just don't know if they will give enough to do the project right. I forget which thread it was in where someone described what they think Avatar needs to be a success but I thought it was a good rundown of the what is needed and the likely cost.

 

[Patricia Melton]

Most likely a one-day two-park pass, which they sell now.

Brilliant, brilliant, BRILLIANT way for them to compel people to buy a two-park pass.

I can't imagine NOT going on the Hogwart's Express and NOT seeing both sides of the WWoHP, so I will be buying those two-park passes for everyone in my family when we go to Orlando and this is open.

Right now, when we go to Orlando it's totally a Disney trip. We went to WWoHP last summer but we didn't go when we were down in Orlando in June of this year because we'd done all the Potter stuff. Potter is a once every other year or so thing for my family. We spent the majority of our time in the park at Potter attractions and only briefly went over to checkout Jurassic Park because my son loved that book/movie. We were VERY disappointed on how junky a lot of Islands of Adventure looks...especially how Hogwarts can be seen from the Jurassic Park area. For those who complain about Disney, I'd like them to walk around Universal and see how junky things can really be and how bad things can really look when a lot of stuff is made on the cheap. Junky, junky, junky!

I have never had any desire to go to Universal Studios. I went to the one in California years ago and that is enough for me. BUT if they do build this WWoHP the way they seem to be building it, then I guarantee you I will be buying that two-park pass. It is the only thing that could have compelled me to do so. And I will spend half the day in Diagon Alley and then take the train to spend the rest of the day at Hogsmeade/Hogwarts. I think I might even try to dress up and really get into the spirit of it all.

I'll tell you this too: though I love staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge, if there was a Potter themed hotel at Universal I would stay there instead.

What I really, really want is a Haunted Mansion themed hotel at WDW...or at least a Mansion themed wing at a property like how they did the Nemo, Lion King, Cars, and Mermaid wings at Art of Animation.

I'd love a hotel geared towards teens and adults that had four wings:
* Haunted Mansion
* Adventurer's Club
* Wonderland
* Neverland

That would be a remarkable resort to stay at, with each theme having a nice edge to it and the potential to go playfully dark in each one. I think it would be a Deluxe/Moderate resort as opposed to a Moderate/Value tier and it would not be geared at all towards families with young kids but would instead be a resort that families graduate to when their kids get older and are approaching the teen/young adult levels.

 

[Patricia Melton]

I think this is key to Avatar being a success. It's not the strongest franchise out there and I'm not sure of it's staying power. But even with me thinking that, I think the project has huge potential. But they have to invest the money and I really really hope they do that but I just don't know if they will give enough to do the project right. I forget which thread it was in where someone described what they think Avatar needs to be a success but I thought it was a good rundown of the what is needed and the likely cost.

I missed that thread...would love to see if if someone can find it. I am not the best at using search tools to find things.

Here are Ten Things I Think Pandora Needs to be a success:

1. Built it on site of Camp Mickey Minnie where Beastly Kingdom was envisioned. This location, near the entrance to AK, means it is as far away from live animals as possible. This means it can stay open later and when Africa and Asia are closed, Pandora can stay open with spectacles and shows that are glowing in the dark like the alien planet in the movie.

2. Go with me on this part as it's hard to articulate...but have the entrance to Pandora be some kind of tunnel that makes you think it is a space bridge to the other world. Like on Stargate how they had that portal...build a tunnel that as you walk through you see stars zoom by and planets race past so that you think you are being hurtled to the alien moon and outside of Orlando. Maybe the entirety of Pandora can be kind of walled off from the rest of the park with faux mountains so that sight lines from elsewhere in the park never see the lights or hear the sounds emanating from Pandora. Make it TOTALLY ALIEN and exotic.

3. You enter Pandora at a camp like the village of Africa and he village in Asia. The camp is built to human scale but has cast members dressed as blue cat people on stilts. It's like a trading center where humans and the cat people interact. The gift shops are like trading posts and the quick service food option is like a canteen for the researchers (a cafeteria type thing). There could be a fancier restaurant here that would be very futuristic themed inside...maybe built to look like it's inside of a space cruise ship that has landed with tourists to see Pandora and you are eating inside the "ship". Could have windows inside like on Disney cruise ships that show scenes of Pandora like you are flying above the planet. Maybe as you enter the restaurant you go through some kind of effect that makes you think you are going high into the air in this "ship".

4. Flying Ride -- a must, considering the amount of flying in the movie.

5. Ocean Ride -- a must, considering how the second Avatar movie is supposedly all about ocean life.

6. Jeep Ride -- I feel Pandora just screams out for a ride similar to Indy in DLR using jeeps (but next gen) that will race through the jungle of Pandora.

7. Alien Safari -- a C or D ticket dark ride going through some kind of way to see all the different Pandoran animals up close. Maybe it could be themed to a Pandora vet center, where the animals are being cared for and that's why they are in pens for you to see. Or maybe it's themed so that you are in an omnimover that is taking you through a little jungle expedition and you encounter these animals but are safely protected inside your force-field protected vehicle. The point of this ride would be to get a good look at the Pandora wildlife that are all animatronic. The fast-moving jeep ride would not be good for this.

8. Education about life on other planets --- this would need to be incorporated as much as possible to give Pandora staying power beyond the movies. It should be stressed that life on other planets would look different from Earth life but would have similarities based on what aspects of the other planet were similar to Earth. Could be a great way to show kids that gravity, atmosphere, etc. impact animals. Maybe they could have some live animals here and show them side by side with their Pandoran counterparts...like a black panther displayed next to a Pandoran super-panther with six legs.

9. Bioluminscent nighttime lighting -- since Pandora is alive and vibrant at night, this land needs to glow with all of that phosphorescence and fiber optics and everything. There is nothing on Earth like this and if Disney wants this to succeed, they have to create this land so that it is open later than the other lands and there's the ability for guests to walk around and experience Pandora at night.

10. Circque du Soliel kind of show --- have a show where acrobats dressed up like the blue cat people perform cultural dances and acrobatics that are supposed to be the cultural heritage of the blue cat people. This could be pretty incredible, using puppets and stilt walkers and ropes and all sorts of fun things. It would really give Disney the chance to create something theatrically unique. The possibilities are endless with this.


Those are my thoughts on what would make Pandora a successful land.

What did I miss and what do you think?

 

[WDW1974]

This is what many of us have been saying for a while. For many of us that are in favor of World of Avatar it's not because we love the franchise, it's because we think the possibilities for the execution are intriguing. We haven't seen a single spec of concept art, the entire experience is shrouded in mystery. We know so little about it that I really don't think the outright hatred of the concept is justified.

What I do understand are the reactions from people that feel that the franchise tie in may be unnecssary, or that they should have chosen another franchise to anchor another park (Star Wars in DHS for example). These are valid concerns, but none of them mean that World of Avatar is going to be bad. It's the negativity about the expectations that are grating.

The negativity is extremely well placed and fair.

The ONLY WDW park that has remained true to its mission statement and hasn't really been watered down into a mess of conflicting themes (and just plain set decoration that some fans mistake for theme) is DAK.

It's about animals of Earth ... animals that once existed, currently exist or even those that may have never existed. It is NOT, most assuredly, about some anti-military sci-fi franchise involving blue alien sex kittens and fanbois getting to play inside a video game (what Avatar really is at its core) that has kewl looking upside down trees and these sorta dragon creatures and seeing Sigourney Weaver reminding us of how great she was in the Alien films, but isn't here etc.

I can't stop the project. I can HATE the concept of it. I can also still appreciate it if it is pulled off well ... and still not change my mind that placing it in DAK is a fundamentally flawed concept and one that will forever alter the park's vibe.

Again, if all anyone cares about is whether Disney ever adds anything to WDW parks (and who could blame them for that?), then they really won't care about my words above. But I am right.

 

[WDW1974]

Pandora, if cultivated correctly, could potentially be a wealth of merchandising opportunities. All the alien animal life could easily translate into toys, playsets, figurines and more "high end" collectibles. Plush Na'vi in different scales and configurations. Nature guides and books on the wild life and customs of Pandora. Lots of blue face paint.

Avatar may not be everybody's first choice (not mine) for a new land, but if they're going to do it, then do it right. Pull no punches. Look down the street at IOA and across the country at DCA and realize that the right budget with a bold vision translates into interest = visitors = $$$

A better option would be to look at the MK's current project (one that Kevin Yee was drooling over in his column today ... sorry if you're reading Kev, I really was disappointed in you gushing as much as that damn Casey Junior Pee While You Play Fountain does) ... because that is the height of what WDI has been allowed to do at WDW in many moons. If that impresses you, then you'll likely be sold.

But merchandise?!?! I have talked to industry folks and they all see that aspect as a tremendous challenge for Disney, to be kind. No one wants or buys anything Avatar related. There is pretty much no market. So, Disney will have to create one. Vastly different from Potter or Cars ... or, hell, even Transformers!

 

[bubbles1812]

What did I miss and what do you think?

I think you think big and TDO would freak out if you were in charge of the budget/project.

In all seriousness though, I do like a lot of your ideas. The tunnel idea as an entrance is an interesting concept...makes me think of the queue for Space Mountain and how you go past all those "windows" showing galaxies and stuff. Though not sure how you could do that on a larger scale because the entrance would have to be a pretty decent size. I think I'd rather them spend the type of money that would cost elsewhere to be perfectly honest.

I am totally amused at the idea of all the CMs on stilts but I feel that would mean you'd have a pretty small pool of people you could choose from to hire, haha. I certainly know I'd never be that talented. Though I think the Navi' definitely have to have some sort of visual presence in the parks.

Interesting idea about the jeeps...though were there really jeeps in the movie? Or course it wouldn't have to be jeeps per se...maybe those machine thingies you get into that the bad guy is in at the end of the movie. Some sort of modification of that. And I love the thought of two separate rides...one for "air" and one for "sea". But I see them combining something like that into a sort of tour of Pandora ride. And I'm guessing we'll encounter and have to battle those bad ol' humans at the end If they could do two separate rides really really well/break new ground technology wise/keep good theming I would love it. Do I see them actually spending the money? Sadly, no. So if you then told me well you can have these two rides be like LM or you can have one really really awesome ride that does all those things I just said...I'll take that one ride any day. Maybe they can create a balance where the "flying" ride is more intense and the "sea" ride is more family friendly.

I would probably really love the C/D ticket you propose about Pandora's animal life. There were some really cool looking things in the movie and I'm sure more will come with the sequels. And interesting concept about talking about life on other planets...not honestly sure the park would need that given the animal life ride you proposed. If we actually knew about life on other planets then I'd say sure, why not include something like that. But really, we know so little about things even within our own solar system. I'm not sure I'd go for what would amount to being speculation.

The thought of a show is also interesting, though IMO, not totally necessary as of yet. But I will agree, you could do a lot certainly. Maybe could incorporate some talk about other cultures on our own planet. Emphasize cross cultural understanding or something like that.

The bioluminescent lighting is an absolute must. Totally agree. It was one of the defining qualities of the world and needs to be present. Was one of the true standout concepts in the movie for me.

 

[ZaneB]

or that they should have chosen another franchise to anchor another park (Star Wars in DHS for example).

I'm not a Star Wars fan but I've got to admit, a star wars land would be wildly more successful than Harry potter. Only problem is if they build a whole land dedicated to one movie in DHS, I feel it may seem out of place. I think the idea for a Sci Fi land would be a good thing to out into DHS

 

[Jedeye80]

I think a stars wars land would be a good fit for DHS, I'd love a Lucas area that included dr jones but a star wars land would do. I just think that Disney is trying to find this potter swatter so to speak and it's right under their noses.

 

[Patricia Melton]

WDW1974 -- I hear everything you are saying and you have expressed it well.

To me, I see Avatar's creatures as fitting in at DAK because they are imaginary. They aren't mythical like the dragons and unicorns that were supposed to originally be at the park, but they were imagined just the same way as the myths were. Myths tell stories and teach lessons just as Cameron's modern fantasy in space tells stories and teaches lessons. I agree with you that Cameron was heavy handed with his political messaging in Avatar. I wish there was less of that and hope future episodes in his series will be less overtly leftist in their politics.

I still mourn the loss of Beastly Kingdom and all its potential but I doubt DAK will get dragons and unicorns and griffins and things in my life time. Maybe my son and daughter will get to take their own grands to see that long after I am gone. I do hope they build this eventually though.

I keep going back to the fact that I am really excited to think about a chance to experience life on another planet. I am dating myself here, but I went to grade school in the 60s. I still remember (and wish I had kept) this science book I had in maybe 7th or 8th grade. This is long before anyone had walked on the moon and I think it had to have been before the Viking and Voyager programs. It was an old book and was probably made in the 50s before I was born.

In it, they showed what people thought the planets might look like on the surface. They depicted Venus as being a dense jungle with what looked like spider/apes swinging around on 8 legs (probably a riff on the word spider monkey). Neptune was shown as a water world with giant whales as big as a city. Mars I think had desert animals. Jupiter they knew was a gas giant planet so it had weird creatures that looked like they were frogs inflated like balloons and then these other lizard bird pterodactyl things that would hunt them.

Every planet in our solar system was shown to have life on it. And all the life was odd, but recognizable as a counterpart to Earth animals. I was so fascinated by that book and it made me wonder and wonder about life on other planets.

I miss that wonder. I really do.

In the years since, we've sent space probes to all these planets and they are all dead. I remember being crushed when I first saw that Venus had no jungles like I was taught in grade school. It was just corrosive atmosphere and no life.

Putting aside what I think of the Avatar movie and storyline, I have to tell you that the little girl inside me who loved that book is DYING to go to a Pandora land and wonder and wonder about life on other planets again. I'd love to take my son and daughter and my niece and nephew and see them all just light up with excitement at a truly immersive and well-themed Pandora.