AVATAR land coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom

[marni1971]

it's a gigantic stretch, the Yeti is something that entire belief systems have been centered around in the Himalayas for hundreds if not thousands of years. I bet you can't even give me the proper names of the creatures in Avatar without having to google them.

Does it matter? I've seen one Potter movie and forced myself to sit to the end. Forbidden Journey is a stunning attraction that I can ride time and time again.

Doesn't matter about the movie. A great attraction will stand on it's own merits.

 

[Fievel]

conservation of ANIMALS. On earth. Not some alien planet that has internet trees.

So, you're telling me that Animal Kingdom teaches that we should conserve animals, but doesn't care about the environments they live in?

The underlying theme of Avatar was conservation of both the indigenous species of Pandora and the environment they lived in.

I fail to see you logic in this.

 

[mightynine]

it's a gigantic stretch, the Yeti is something that entire belief systems have been centered around in the Himalayas for hundreds if not thousands of years. I bet you can't even give me the proper names of the creatures in Avatar without having to google them.

Can you name me the other mythical animals in the belief systems centered around the Himalayas besides the Yeti? No Googling.

 

[wdwmagic]

- James Cameron is well known to be very controlling and a perfectionist. This is what has caused so many of his films to go well over budget. He is also well known for being someone who gets absorbed into the "tech" required to push the limits for his films. For Titanic, he dove (pun intended) head first into the realm of deep sea photography and actually helped design brand new cameras and submarines to film what he wanted. For Avatar, he was hands on in designing the camera and lenses used along with the special motion capture system that he needed. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him get very hands on in the creation of the attractions for this expansion and we may see special ride technology created to custom fit what he has in mind.
.

This is something I am really excited about. He could really bring something to the table with this and perhaps help push the boundaries beyond what we have seen before.

 

[Scuttle]

I'm really going to be interested to see how they handle the transition to this from the other lands. The very fact that Pandora is not on Earth presents a massive challenge to Joe and Co. How do you transition from Asia to another planet?!

Very good point, but I am sure it will be amazing and I bet it will make the Fantasyland/Liberty Square transition look like amateur work.

 

[Sigmundooze]

So Avatar doesnt fit DAK, but BK with unicorns, dragons, and other imaginary creatures does fit?

Yes! These do fit because they a part of a country or region's culture on planet EARTH. Avatar is not part of anyone's culture except for the funny tattoed guy picture

 

[Crazy Harry]

indiana jones

twilight zone

star wars

american idol

muppets

roger rabitt

huck finn

swiss family robertson

aerosmith



can you see the point now?

All of these properties that you listed fit the themes of the parks/lands that they are in much better than Avatar. Yes, Avatar reflects the spirit and message of Animal Kingdom, but the theme has more to do with true environments and animals, as well as human culture and mythology which contains fragments of truth. Avatar is a sci-fi film with blue aliens. How does this fit the theme of AK?

Look at this in another way, what if we kept the same themes and environments of Avatar, but replaced the blue aliens with robots who wanted to preserve nature? Then everything that is being argued to fit the theme of Animal Kingdom remains. But obviously robots do not fit the theme of AK. Point being, we need to look at the whole picture and not just certain aspects that fit.

The other point being made is that Avatar or other prexisting properties are not nessisary for good Disney attraction/land, so here is my list to counter your list that proves it:

Haunted Mansion

Pirates of the Caribbean

Splash Mountain

Space Mountain

Test Track

Mission Space

Everest

ect

I'm not saying that popular properties should not be used, but there appears to be too much of a reliance on them.

 

[stitchcastle]

Conservation is conservation. The message is the same no matter what planet its on. And its not just limited to animals.

with that thinking why don't we just plop "The Land" into DAK, after all, conservation is conservation.

 

[MoxHair]

Does it matter? I've seen one Potter movie and forced myself to sit to the end. Forbidden Journey is a stunning attraction that I can ride time and time again.

Doesn't matter about the movie. A great attraction will stand on it's own merits.

My thoughts exactly, But I couldn't sit to the end of any of the Potter movies and believe me I tried.

 

[Fievel]

conservation of ANIMALS. On earth. Not some alien planet that has internet trees.

Also...do you want us to believe that the movie wasn't trying to teach a story that we can apply to ourselves?

*cue sarcasm*

"No, Jimmy - go ahead and throw your wrappers out of the car window. That movie was just talking about alien planets. It didn't say anything about Earth."

 

[stitch2008]

It's funny how everyone's justifying Avatar's inclusion to Animal Kingdom at face value without actually digging into the deeper messages and meanings from the movie. Looking at that, it's not a stretch to say that the philosophies and overall plot of the film is better suited to EPCOT.

Your just thinking about the technology. The Avatar program, the ships, the suits, etc. But you forgeting that at the end of Avatar, Jake actually became a real Na'Vi.

And the entire reason they were on the planet was to mine. Its not just about the tech.

 

[Fievel]

with that thinking why don't we just plop "The Land" into DAK, after all, conservation is conservation.

Well, it would fit, thematically. There is no reason that we can't teach the same lesson in different ways.

I think that Disney was trying to teach a wider lesson with AK. They saw an opportunity to entertain and inform.

 

[wdwmagic]

wonder why this was not announced at D23?

Couple of possibles.

1. It was not a done deal at that time and could not be discussed.

2. Disney do not see the D23 Expo as their only time to make announcements. This appears to be an internet based theory that everything must be done at D23.

 

[stitchcastle]

So, you're telling me that Animal Kingdom teaches that we should conserve animals, but doesn't care about the environments they live in?

The underlying theme of Avatar was conservation of both the indigenous species of Pandora and the environment they lived in.

I fail to see you logic in this.

the MAIN FOCUS is on Animals. on earth. Avatar as a property has NOTHING to do with ANIMAL Kingdom other than a very, very vague notion of conservation, and lots of trees.

 

[twinnstar]

Was Song of the South a great movie? Do kids run around pretending to be Uncle Remus?

No. But Splash Mountain is one heck of an attraction.

There is a LOT of material to work with here. Unless they completely sail off the deep end, something pretty interesting ought to come out of it.

That's a good point but Splash Mountain came out like 40 years after Song of The South, when people were simply more familiar with the song and the characters, those were always popular to a point. And it was always still very "Disney".

But Avatar just isnt "Disney", there's nothing about it, to me at least, that even is similar to Disney. Muppets, Star Wars...they kind of just fit. They both appeal to "families", the both have "fun" characters, etc. Avatar is essentially an adults film. And I can see that a lot of you love it, but not everyone does...a huge reason it did well in the theater was because it was James Cameron's first film in a long time, it had huge technical achievements and it was majorly hyped. But A LOT of people came out not liking it. The story was just not that great. I don't see the sequel doing as well because a lot of the people who went just to see it - won't be doing that again (I won't.)

I also don't think its better that Disney got it instead of Universal. Should they just make rides and lands out of everything just to spite Universal, just cause they can? That's how we're going to get watered down, unoriginal, un-Disney parks. Avatar just doesn't fit. It's not Disney, and it doesn't have the huge fan base that Muppets or Star Wars already had LONG before joining the parks. Even if this turns out to not be a business mistake, it will always be an aesthetic and brand mistake, in my opinion.

 

[Crockett]

Can't say I'm excited to hear this. I didn't enjoy the film at all and found it to be ridiculously over hyped.

It took 8 posts before we got to our first naysayer. Usually it's 2 or 3 for our boards. Glad to see we're loosening the top collar a bit gradually.

As for Avatar, this is going to be awesome! The film presents so many opportunities for a great themed area, and will certainly add to the beauty of DAK. Looking forward to this!

 

[emsparkles]

WHAT?! the movie was soooo over rated, how can they possibly make a 'land' from a film that basicaly consisted of blue aliens and a hell of a lot of dodgy vegetation?! they are going to have what rides?!? 'transform yourself into an avatar' dont they have an app for that already?! what a waste of a perfectly good area. however i trust disney with my life so i praying they do the right thing with it!!

 

[stitchcastle]

all you have to do is look at the dedication of DAK:

Welcome to a kingdom of animals... real, ancient and imagined: a kingdom ruled by lions, dinosaurs and dragons; a kingdom of balance, harmony and survival; a kingdom we enter to share in the wonder, gaze at the beauty, thrill at the drama, and learn.

animals, not just the umbrella term of "nature". Avatar has nothing to do with animals.

 

[wdwmagic]

Something worth pointing out to a lot of you who are concerned about the "fit" with DAK. If this thing turns out to be an absolute stunning attraction, which it could very well be with the talent involved, you are not going to care that its connection to Animal Kingdom is a stretch. This is the direction they are going, so we have to embrace that and look forward to some big investment into Animal Kingdom. Today is very good news in my opinion.

 

[Fievel]

the MAIN FOCUS is on Animals. on earth. Avatar as a property has NOTHING to do with ANIMAL Kingdom other than a very, very vague notion of conservation, and lots of trees.

Wrong...Doesn't Kali River Rapids teach conservation of the land those animals inhabit? It uses an example of deforestation to show what can happen to animal habitat.

Avatar is about Humans trying to displace (peacefully or forcefully) a species so that we can get at the natural resources hiding directly below their village.

Last I checked those animals we're all trying to save live outside. Humans are constantly changing the landscape around them to suit their own needs.