AVATAR land coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom

[zooey]

Fair point, although to get technical, Cameron was only involved with Aliens (the sequel). The film in the GMR is Ridley Scott's original.

I'm excited that we have Cameron...I'm just hoping that WDI picks his brain about ALL the projects coming to WDW. Can you imagine if they collaborated on a non-IP pavilion/refurb for Epcot? We'd have the technological bent back to the park. Whatever I or anyone else feels about Avatarland, the Cameron aspect here is key and has so much potential.

 

[ChrisM]

Fair point, although to get technical, Cameron was only involved with Aliens (the sequel). The film in the GMR is Ridley Scott's original.

Considering the weapon Ripley is holding in the GMT, I'm pretty sure you're wrong.

 

[Bairstow]

Considering the weapon Ripley is holding in the GMT, I'm pretty sure you're wrong.

Nope.
She's holding a flamethrower from the original 1979 Alien

The flamethrower Ripley duct-tapes to her pulse rifle in Aliens is totally different.
Notice the single fuel tank, M16-style carrying handle, and muzzle-mounted pilot light.

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[Bairstow]

...and because I'm sure all of you were wondering:
Yes, Avatar had its own unique flamethrower design.

 

[S.E.A.]

i'm pretty jazzed about all the military stuff they're probably gonna build.

 

[Bairstow]

You know what would be so much more awesome? A District 9 Ride for DHS.

I like the way this man thinks.

 

[RandySavage]

Nope.
She's holding a flamethrower from the original 1979

That and the booming voice saying "This is Alien. You are with Sigourney Weaver aboard the Spaceship Nostromo..." It's not Cameron's film represented.

But, I don't want to be argumentative. Cameron is obviously heavily-associated with the Alien franchise and probably wouldn't be pleased if the GMR scene is looking shabby or neglected.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

I dont think SW and IJ got a PG-13 rating because they didnt deserve it. Theres a lot of fake looking punches, fun adventure music and light sabers. theres nothing "intense" about those films.

Ummm... you do know that Temple of Doom was largely responsible for the creation of PG-13, right? They ripped a guy's heart out, showed it to him while he was magically still alive, and then lowered him into a flaming pit of lava. Oh, and the heart was still beating while it caught on fire in the bad guy's hand. Nothing intense about that.

Raiders had Nazi face-melting. Almost all the Star Wars movies have heads, limbs, hands chopped off. Darth Maul was cut in half, I believe. I don't remember exactly what happens in Avatar, but I'd say the level of violence is about on par with Indy and Star Wars.

 

[CaptJapan]

I think my biggest problem with James Cameron's Avatar isn't the PG13 or the plagiarism claims.

I think it's just the fact that Disney could do better.

I mean sure James Cameron's Avatar will look good, but is this really that all of a memorable and lasting movie? It's certainly a great thing to have new stuff at Animal Kingdom. But let's be honest, if you all had a line up of choices for what to add, lets say lands like Beastly Kingdom, Hoth/Tatoonie, Middle Earth, Narnia, something from Marvel, or even from another popular family property like Nintendo (Mario/Pokemon) or Hasbro (Monopoly/Battleship).

Would James Cameron's Avatar be your first pick?



....actually the idea of a nintendo theme park sounds kinda cool...why has no one gone to nintendo about that?

 

[dreamfinder]

I'm going to await judgment until we see something tangible surface from this. Personally I'm not a huge fan of slapping an entire land dedicated to a single property in any of the parks. A Bugs Land is more a mini land, and still undecided on Carsland. But starting to build entire new lands solely on a single property, internally developed or outsourced, just worries me. The existing lands are themed more around ideas or places, and the individual attractions within the land are what get themed to a single idea. In that way if that idea flops, or no longer works, you can remove that single attraction. So when WDW decided people no longer cared about Mr Toad (rightly or wrongly), he was removed instead of demoing all of Toadville. Avatar may or may not be a hugely successful franchise in the future, doesn't matter to me. But odds are at some point it will fall out of favor. And that time WDW will want/need to redo it. Tagging an entire land to a single core piece of intellectual property just seems like a sketchy move, regardless of what that IP exactly is.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

I think my biggest problem with James Cameron's Avatar isn't the PG13 or the plagiarism claims.

I think it's just the fact that Disney could do better.

I mean sure James Cameron's Avatar will look good, but is this really that all of a memorable and lasting movie? It's certainly a great thing to have new stuff at Animal Kingdom. But let's be honest, if you all had a line up of choices for what to add, lets say lands like Beastly Kingdom, Hoth/Tatoonie, Middle Earth, Narnia, something from Marvel, or even from another popular family property like Nintendo (Mario/Pokemon) or Hasbro (Monopoly/Battleship).

Would James Cameron's Avatar be your first pick?



....actually the idea of a nintendo theme park sounds kinda cool...why has no one gone to nintendo about that?

Honestly? Out of those choices... yeah, probably. Beastlie Kingdomme is sort of an idea that has been done often at theme/amusement parks. I'm sure Disney would do it better, but I wonder if it wouldn't feel like you had been there already before you walked in. Monopoly/Battleship... I see an attraction, but how would you get a whole land outta that? Pokemon I could see an attraction, but what would be the point of a whole land? The setting is sort of a basic forest for most of the series. Mario could be interesting, though. There's a definite style to that world and he's been popular for almost 30 years. Nintendo also seems to be pretty good at keeping him "evergreen", like Mickey Mouse. Narnia... the film series is dead, I think. Diminishing returns with each sequel. Good luck getting someone to plunk down $500M on a theme park land. LOTR could be good, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Uni go this way if they want to do something besides more Harry Potter.

Star Wars is the toughest choice for me. I'm a Star Wars fan and could name a couple dozen memorable locations from the films, but is there any place (keeping in mind what would be possible in a theme park) that would be as impressive to look at as Pandora? I see problems whenever I think about potential Star Wars lands.

 

[DisneyFan 2000]

I mean sure James Cameron's Avatar will look good, but is this really that all of a memorable and lasting movie?

Sorry for being a broken record, but it doesn't MATTER. The question should be: Is this really a memorable and lasting ride/land? If the answer is proven to be yes, Avatar could be dated since it first premiered and it still wouldn't make the land any less everlasting. And as for Disney could do better? How do you know? We still haven't seen anything about this other than excited managers and shareholders, and some arguments between fans over the "righteousness" of the land.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Sorry for being a broken record, but it doesn't MATTER. The question should be: Is this really a memorable and lasting ride/land? If the answer is proven to be yes, Avatar could be dated since it first premiered and it still wouldn't make the land any less everlasting. And as for Disney could do better? How do you know? We still haven't seen anything about this other than excited managers and shareholders, and some arguments between fans over the "righteousness" of the land.

QFT. If Avatar land lives up to its potential, it will be with us for a long, long time. If it doesn't, then it would have a shelf life no matter what the theme was.

 

[flavious27]

And there goes the budget for expansion for wdw for the next decade. Along with that, this is a land that makes more sense in dhs than dak. Just because pandora has a lush settings doesn't mean it will mesh with the theme of continents of the world and the animals that live there.

If disney has $500 million for a single land, they could have gotten much more without having to give away a percentage of the gate receipts.

 

[jt04]

And there goes the budget for expansion for wdw for the next decade. Along with that, this is a land that makes more sense in dhs than dak. Just because pandora has a lush settings doesn't mean it will mesh with the theme of continents of the world and the animals that live there.

If disney has $500 million for a single land, they could have gotten much more without having to give away a percentage of the gate receipts.

Could not disagree more. I think the success of Carsland and the FLE added to the success of TWWoHP and the possibility Avatar's marketing survey's will be into the stratosphere will encourage even more capital spending.

Orlando is about to see a tourism revitalization IMO. Especially if the economy rebounds in 2013.

PS--I understood gate receipts are absolutely not part of the deal. Strictly merchandising and free marketing of the franchise. Is this the latest disinformation campaign from the d&g crowd? :brick: You guys are slipping.

 

[mikeymouse]

Horrible idea and horible movie! This has NOTHING to do with animal kingdom. ZERO. If you want mythological creatures that is fine but take them from actual earth cultures not this over hyped piece of fictional garbage. Really upset with WDI if this is true.

Agreed. Of all the things on the drawing table, this is their response??? Probably to match Harry Potter land. Avatar will never be able to compete with Harry Potter fan base.

 

[JohnLocke]

And there goes the budget for expansion for wdw for the next decade. Along with that, this is a land that makes more sense in dhs than dak. Just because pandora has a lush settings doesn't mean it will mesh with the theme of continents of the world and the animals that live there.

If disney has $500 million for a single land, they could have gotten much more without having to give away a percentage of the gate receipts.

By the same token, how does the long proposed Beastly Kingdom have anything to with this theme either, or for the matter the entirety of the Dinoland area?

Avatar simply fits in with the theme the park is trying to get across, and it makes much more sense in DAK than it does trying to shoehorn it in to an area of DHS.

I just don't think this is going to be a land to break the bank, most likely and hopefully we'll see more returns on the investment and lead to more development in the other parks.

 

[mgf]

Agreed. Of all the things on the drawing table, this is their response??? Probably to match Harry Potter land. Avatar will never be able to compete with Harry Potter fan base.

This point keeps getting made, but is it really true? Universal NEEDED to attract a massive amount of new guests with WWoHP. Remember that attendance had fallen dramatically (after never really meeting expectations) and the company was on the verge of financial collapse. There were several news articles floating around, for example, discussing how if Spielberg opted for his buy-out when the renewal negotiations started he would have cleaned out Universal's accounts.

Disney, on the other hand really just needs to get families back in the habit of staying on property. If Disney adds some very nice, fresh content, that $80+/pp to spend a day at USO/IoA gets much less attractive. (For this reason, I expect a renewed DTD announcement sometime in the near future as well.) AVATAR is an example of Disney decidedly not resting on its laurels, but the rationale might not/does not have to match the one down the road. I say at least give them a chance.

 

[mikeymouse]

Disney, on the other hand really just needs to get families back in the habit of staying on property. If Disney adds some very nice, fresh content, that $80+/pp to spend a day at USO/IoA gets much less attractive. (For this reason, I expect a renewed DTD announcement sometime in the near future as well.) AVATAR is an example of Disney decidedly not resting on its laurels, but the rationale might not/does not have to match the one down the road. I say at least give them a chance.

I would love to stay on WDW property at least once in my lifetime, but when I can get a 3 bedroom condo with private pool and all amenities for $120/night, its just not cost-effective. We strictly go to WDW, nowhere else other than maybe Congo River Golf or Outback Steakhouse. Even if you factor in saving $ on food and parking. The difference is just way off.

 

[fosse76]

Not the point I was trying to make. There is no universal definition of good. What I was trying to get across is that because something makes a lot of money it doesn't guarantee quality. Yes, Avatar made a ton of money. That does not it will end up in the pantheon of the greatest films of all time. Plenty of things have been popular that have been forgotten since their heyday or simply become objects of ridicule.

Such as E.T., Jurassic Park and Titanic. All of which were the highest grossing films of all time, and now mostly forgotten, as far as fandoms are concerned. Star Wars, Jaws and The Godfather are more iconic, but their stars have faded too. Even with the Star Wars convention in town Disney couldn't get a huge influx of guests for the re-launch of Star Tours. Too many "supporters" on this board are putting too much stock into that title. It's meaningless. I personally don't think Avatar is going to really attract additional guests in the vein that Harry Potter did. It's a new addition, and that alone will attract additional guests, I just don't see that it will be beacuse it is Avatar. I think Disney is putting too much faith in the sequels, and this time the story will have to be good because unless Cameron comes up with a better, must-see-in-theaters technology, it will be a "been there, seen that" reaction from the ticket-buying public.

I have no doubts it's going into the Animal Kingdom because a) that park desparately needs something and b) it would be incredibly easy to re-theme the section if necessary (Avatar is set in a forest....how hard is it to change that "story"!) I'll be curious to see how it does.