AVATAR land coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom

[1023]

Forget all of the other discussions. This picture is the first compelling reason to NOT build Avatarland.

It's also a compelling reason not to build smurf village too...

*1023*

 

[BrianLo]

All of this being said, even I find it hard to believe that the simulator will have AA banshees to sit in during this ride. I hope I am wrong but I would have to see it to believe it. Attempting something like that would no doubt cut into the number of riders per hour, when compared to the simulator building design. I would think that WDW wants this to not only be an E-Ticket experience, but also a big people eater. I would like to get @Tom's opinion on this as he has always talked about how impressive the technology of this ride design could be when properly executed.

Keep in mind they have four theatres, that certainly affords them a little more room to play with numbers. They can easily ditch 15 people per theatre and hit that magical 2000/hr number.

 

[doctornick]

Can someone explain where the talk of an AA banshee came from? Even if the ride vehicle looks like an actual Banshee, why would be assume that it would an AA? Maybe it might have some rudimentary movement, but I find it hard to believe they would invest in complicated moving parts in a vehicle that itself will move around a lot. It just seems like the AA discussion came out of nowhere without any support

That said, I am excited by the idea that there might be vehicles themed more closely to being a banshee as opposed to the theater setup of Soarin'. If they could isolate and theme the individual vehicles well, that would make a dramatic difference to the "show" over Soarin'.

 

[RayTheFirefly]

Can someone explain where the talk of an AA banshee came from? Even if the ride vehicle looks like an actual Banshee, why would be assume that it would an AA? Maybe it might have some rudimentary movement, but I find it hard to believe they would invest in complicated moving parts in a vehicle that itself will move around a lot. It just seems like the AA discussion came out of nowhere without any support

That said, I am excited by the idea that there might be vehicles themed more closely to being a banshee as opposed to the theater setup of Soarin'. If they could isolate and theme the individual vehicles well, that would make a dramatic difference to the "show" over Soarin'.

I asked the AA question because of this quote: "The vessels that guests will ride upon will essentially be the banshees themselves, with bodies that move to mimic a breathing beast."

So even if it's a mostly static creature with minimal movement to make it look like it's breathing, I still consider that an AA, and WAY above what I expected. But I'm kind of a novice at all of this, so it's just my mostly uneducated perspective.

 

[flyerjab]

I asked the AA question because of this quote: "The vessels that guests will ride upon will essentially be the banshees themselves, with bodies that move to mimic a breathing beast."

So even if it's a mostly static creature with minimal movement to make it look like it's breathing, I still consider that an AA, and WAY above what I expected. But I'm kind of a novice at all of this, so it's just my mostly uneducated perspective.

All I can say is if that is what this ride is going to be like then yeah, simply calling it Soarin' 2.0 is not enough. It will also be way above what I was expecting.

What I have been hoping for up till now is that the building/queue area will be disguised and themed to the floating mountains. As the people queue up, they ascend to the "top" of the mountains and wait to enter the ride vehicles. Now this itself would be awesome from an immersive standpoint if executed correctly. If the vehicles themselves are now made to look like the banshees themselves and have some small degree of animatronics associated with them, that would be incredible.

Still don't believe that though. I just don't see how that could work without severely cutting into the number of people that could ride this per hour. Hopefully I am dead wrong in this disbelief and the imagineers blow my mind.

 

[RayTheFirefly]

All I can say is if that is what this ride is going to be like then yeah, simply calling it Soarin' 2.0 is not enough. It will also be way above what I was expecting.

What I have been hoping for up till now is that the building/queue area will be disguised and themed to the floating mountains. As the people queue up, they ascend to the "top" of the mountains and wait to enter the ride vehicles. Now this itself would be awesome from an immersive standpoint if executed correctly. If the vehicles themselves are now made to look like the banshees themselves and have some small degree of animatronics associated with them, that would be incredible.

Still don't believe that though. I just don't see how that could work without severely cutting into the number of people that could ride this per hour. Hopefully I am dead wrong in this disbelief and the imagineers blow my mind.

I agree that it seems very unlikely/unpractical to do. But his comments were definitely interesting, nevertheless!

As for the queue, I'm hoping for the same thing. I have faith that it will be WAY more immersive and well done than Soarin's queue. (Not that that's hard to do.)

 

[doctornick]

I asked the AA question because of this quote: "The vessels that guests will ride upon will essentially be the banshees themselves, with bodies that move to mimic a breathing beast."

So even if it's a mostly static creature with minimal movement to make it look like it's breathing, I still consider that an AA, and WAY above what I expected. But I'm kind of a novice at all of this, so it's just my mostly uneducated perspective.

I think you are reading too much into poetic license. I am skeptical that the referenced quote is trying to indicate that your vehicle will mimic a banshee in terms of it actually "breathing" but rather that the vehicle will be themed to a banshee and "do things it would do", i.e. fly and move (side to side/up and down). If the vehicle is well themed to look convincingly like a banshee, well, that would be awesome. But outside of maybe a head or mouth moving a bit (and even that, I'm not expecting), it's probably not realistic to think that your ride vehicle itself would remotely be an AA.

 

[RayTheFirefly]

I think you are reading too much into poetic license. I am skeptical that the referenced quote is trying to indicate that your vehicle will mimic a banshee in terms of it actually "breathing" but rather that the vehicle will be themed to a banshee and "do things it would do", i.e. fly and move (side to side/up and down). If the vehicle is well themed to look convincingly like a banshee, well, that would be awesome. But outside of maybe a head or mouth moving a bit (and even that, I'm not expecting), it's probably not realistic to think that your ride vehicle itself would remotely be an AA.

Like I said, I agree that it's very unlikely/unpractical. But I can dream, can't I?

 

[RSoxNo1]

FYI, the original leaked plans made no indication that each individual guest would be riding on top of a Banshee. Those plans make the seating configuration look a lot more like Soarin' than the old riding a bumble bee in the original Backlot
Tour. With four theaters, it doesn't seem realistic for each guest to be on their own Banshee. I suspect the goal will be for all guests to fly like they're on a Banshee while sitting in a swing type seat.

Having said that, calling it Soarin 2.0 seems like an understatement.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I asked the AA question because of this quote: "The vessels that guests will ride upon will essentially be the banshees themselves, with bodies that move to mimic a breathing beast."

So even if it's a mostly static creature with minimal movement to make it look like it's breathing, I still consider that an AA, and WAY above what I expected. But I'm kind of a novice at all of this, so it's just my mostly uneducated perspective.

That is one of those vague statements that could even just mean that we see the creature in the projection. Actually sitting astride something is awkward and difficult to secure.

 

[GoofGoof]

That is one of those vague statements that could even just mean that we see the creature in the projection. Actually sitting astride something is awkward and difficult to secure.

And if we see the creature taking a deep breath and the seats move/vibrate along with the picture it could feel like you are "on the creature". With a really well done video (in 3D too) they could make you truly feel like you are riding the banshee. It's highly unlikely you will be sitting on a banshee AA. That's taking it too literally. The seating will most likely be benches like Soarin but I wouldn't be surprised to see some physical set pieces possibly including a banshee AA somewhere in the theater.

 

[BrianLo]

I agree, I think there is a bit of poetic license. I have a feeling the vessel guests sit in will be carried by a Banshee being ridden by a Na'vi rather than guests sitting on a Banshee.

The "AA" (whether it ends up being real or implied) will be above the guests, not below.

But frankly... who really knows

 

[FutureCEO]

Article on Forbes on the lack of Avatar pop culture power

 

[Incomudro]

Article on Forbes on the lack of Avatar pop culture power

I agree.
But then again, the movie doesn't really need to have made a lasting impact - if the attractions are good enough.
I had virtually no interest in the movie - thought it sounded silly really, though I did like the visuals of the scenery I saw.
Yet, I'm very excited by the idea of an Avatar Land.
I'll just pretend I'm visiting the lands of Fragile, and Close to the Edge.

 

[PorterRedkey]

Article on Forbes on the lack of Avatar pop culture power

That is a really good article. Fair, fact-based and unbiased.

I can't remember a movie that was such a hit, be forgotten this easily. I do think with the films coming out starting at the end of (2016?) the excitement will grow again. Cameron's films always attract a lot of media attention because he has such a monster track record at the box office (T-2, Titanic, Avatar).

Also, I think the new movies and the theme park land will feed each other. People will see the new movie and want to go to Pandora, like so many people did when the first movie was released. No problem head to Animal Kingdom.

Millions of people a year will be experiencing the new Avatar experience at Animal Kingdom. Not because they love Avatar, but because it is latest thing to do at AK. I am sure some people who like what they see and haven't seen the movies, will want to check the movies out. I know this was true of my girlfriend and Carsland at DCA. Once she saw the attraction she wanted to see the movie.

 

[Walter Yensid]

Not sure if anyone saw this last night, but Avatar was on FX last night. I decided to watch it for a little while. During commercial breaks, they had an interview with Jon Landau, the producer of Avatar. They asked him a lot of questions, but one they asked, 'How are they keeping Avatar alive?' and he went on to talk about Avatar land at Disney. They showed concept art and one particular picture seemed new (just a view of the land).

During the interview, he confirmed riding a banshee and taking a boat ride down a river where you will see the luminescence and see the Navi (I think that is how you spell it). Thought it was cool to see it on TV. Construction clearly seems to show the boat ride being built, but certainly this producer thought it was opening with the other ride.

I honestly cannot stand Cameron as I find him to be beyond pompous, but Landau and him know how to push the envelope with technology and create believable worlds, so I have no doubts them partnered with Imagineering will be pretty amazing. Who cares if you like the movies...tough to say people do not love the world of Pandora and what it looks like.

Just wanted to share after I saw it.

 

[Matt_Black]

Certainly, the Na'vi race has a devoted contingent of fans, judging by some of the fan art I've seen.

 

[flyerjab]

I think that due to the location of this new expansion - front of the park and noticeable on the busses/cars coming in - that it will naturally draw the curious into it. I would imagine that the floating mountains will be viewable to some extent from outside the park. That is just the sort of 'weenie' this land needs to pull people in to see what Pandora is all about.

Not sure if anyone saw this last night, but Avatar was on FX last night. I decided to watch it for a little while. During commercial breaks, they had an interview with Jon Landau, the producer of Avatar. They asked him a lot of questions, but one they asked, 'How are they keeping Avatar alive?' and he went on to talk about Avatar land at Disney. They showed concept art and one particular picture seemed new (just a view of the land).

I also saw this last night and always stop to watch it when I catch it on TV. The visuals and effects truly are the standout from this movie. The storyline not so much. I mean I don't hate on it like others do for some reason. I can never figure that out either. Other people that didn't like it seem to actually get angry or offended that other people actually deigned to pay money and enjoy this film. Obviously, the movie didn't sink into the cultural zeitgeist like Star Wars or Star Trek did, but $2.7 billion is still $2.7 billion.

I think that Disney is being smart with how they simply will be allowing us to explore this world instead of relive the actual storyline from the movie. I am hoping that this strategy will help to temper the negativity that many have towards the film and allow them to enjoy the land itself and the rides/attractions. I say that assuming that the simulator will be a ride on an ikran only, and the boat ride will be just that - a ride through the forest to observe the flora and fauna of Pandora. I am certain that Rohde and company will weave the message of conservation into this somehow as well (not a bad thing IMO).

I have been wondering though that since they are currently filming 3 Avatar sequels that maybe they will use this opportunity to use Cameron's motion capture stage to film some of the actual cast and integrate them into the simulator movie. It will certainly be interesting to see how this develops. I am really hoping that we get to see more of Pandora at D23 next year.

 

[GoofGoof]

I think that due to the location of this new expansion - front of the park and noticeable on the busses/cars coming in - that it will naturally draw the curious into it. I would imagine that the floating mountains will be viewable to some extent from outside the park. That is just the sort of 'weenie' this land needs to pull people in to see what Pandora is all about.



I also saw this last night and always stop to watch it when I catch it on TV. The visuals and effects truly are the standout from this movie. The storyline not so much. I mean I don't hate on it like others do for some reason. I can never figure that out either. Other people that didn't like it seem to actually get angry or offended that other people actually deigned to pay money and enjoy this film. Obviously, the movie didn't sink into the cultural zeitgeist like Star Wars or Star Trek did, but $2.7 billion is still $2.7 billion.

I think that Disney is being smart with how they simply will be allowing us to explore this world instead of relive the actual storyline from the movie. I am hoping that this strategy will help to temper the negativity that many have towards the film and allow them to enjoy the land itself and the rides/attractions. I say that assuming that the simulator will be a ride on an ikran only, and the boat ride will be just that - a ride through the forest to observe the flora and fauna of Pandora. I am certain that Rohde and company will weave the message of conservation into this somehow as well (not a bad thing IMO).

I have been wondering though that since they are currently filming 3 Avatar sequels that maybe they will use this opportunity to use Cameron's motion capture stage to film some of the actual cast and integrate them into the simulator movie. It will certainly be interesting to see how this develops. I am really hoping that we get to see more of Pandora at D23 next year.

I would be pretty happy if neither of these rides tries to follow the plot of the movie(s). I think the flight simulator will definitely have a plot line independent of the film. I really hope the boat ride is just a ride down the river and doesn't try too hard to follow the plot of the movie or some convoluted back story. This is Disney so it will likely have a story. I just hope that the visuals and scenery are outstanding and the plot is just a minor distraction.

 

[CarlFredricksen]

Avatar movies pushed back a year with first sequel to now release in 2017.

They say it's to rewrite parts of the script. While I'm sure this is true, any chance delay is to better coincide with park opening?

http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/ne...ne-year-due-to-additional-work-on-the-scripts