AVATAR land construction progress

[HauntedMansionFLA]

I get the feeling now having seen Joe Rohde talk about this at D23 that it is going to be a more relaxing, musical experience into the dark, glowing Pandora forest. There already is a water ride with a drop at this park and it does a great job of getting people drenched. A ride built more like The Jungle Cruise - meaning with no drops, but a lot to see - is more along the lines of what I expect this ride to be like. The park needs one like this.

Wasn't James Horner going to score the Avatar part of the theme park? Tragic death and he will be missed. Incredible talent.

 

[flyerjab]

I gotta say, there's a part of me that sees all that steel and concrete hanging up in the air,
and thinks . . . . thousands of pounds, hundreds of thousands of pounds, millions of pounds . . . of hard steel. Of
hard concrete. Above my head. Cantilevered out. Hanging there. Up there.

And I go . . . ack.

Go structural engineers! Go imagineers! Check and double check your weight bearing measurements.
Go welders! Laser scan your welds!
Go bolt manufacturers! Quality control is key! Make a great product!
Concrete folks! Check adhesion and crumbling properties!

Yay, team!

Ack.

I have to admit that thought crossed my mind. Especially considering the fact that this is the park where the ToL was losing limbs…and the Yeti base cracked…hmmmm…maybe I'll just walk around the floating mountains...

 

[flyerjab]

Wasn't James Horner going to score the Avatar part of the theme park? Tragic death and he will be missed. Incredible talent.

That was horrible that it happened. I really loved his musical scores. They do have a lot of music to pull from the actual movie itself. I will just be curious to hear how the next 3 movies are scored. The music for the first film had such a distinctive sound to it.

 

[BubbaQuest]

I gotta say, there's a part of me that sees all that steel and concrete hanging up in the air,
and thinks . . . . thousands of pounds, hundreds of thousands of pounds, millions of pounds . . . of hard steel.
...
Ack.

I was just thinking the same thing. Structurally I'm sure it will be fine, but I'm not sure if I want to be standing under giant metal orbs during a Florida thunderstorm.

The rides may be open since they are covered, but not sure about navigating giant waterfalls and lightning bolts just to get through the outside queue.

 

[Uncle Lupe]

All this speculation about the rides is great. However the real question is where is the gift shop?

 

[180º]

Jungle cruise doesn't have a trough For guidence. It's a rail unless the other version is different from Disneylands..

Not so fast. It does have a trough and it is different.

From http://passport2dreams.blogspot.com/2011/07/jungle-cruise-early-years.html?m=1

 

[matt9112]

I get the feeling now having seen Joe Rohde talk about this at D23 that it is going to be a more relaxing, musical experience into the dark, glowing Pandora forest. There already is a water ride with a drop at this park and it does a great job of getting people drenched. A ride built more like The Jungle Cruise - meaning with no drops, but a lot to see - is more along the lines of what I expect this ride to be like. The park needs one like this.

why is drop and getting wet connected?

 

[flyerjab]

why is drop and getting wet connected?

It isn't necessarily. I just through that in cause I typically get soaked on that ride. On Splash Mountain, I rarely ever do for some reason.

 

[twebber55]

we keep hearing about the new tech for this ride maybe the new tech is more about the effects that we see and less about the ride system

 

[rioriz]

Even with the new Pirates system that doesn't mean it's gotta be as thrilling as that ride is....I think it will utilized to turn The boats around so you can see the scenary

 

[Voxel]

Not so fast. It does have a trough and it is different.

From http://passport2dreams.blogspot.com/2011/07/jungle-cruise-early-years.html?m=1

Ahh I missed that.

 

[Tom]

Jungle cruise doesn't have a trough For guidence. It's a rail unless the other version is different from Disneylands..

I do agree though that it doesn't look to have a drop.

Ahh I missed that.

 

[twebber55]

@Tom
any construction thoughts or observations on the new ariels

 

[Tom]

@Tom
any construction thoughts or observations on the new ariels

I consider the progress to be impressive, for a Disney project. I think they're more concerned with getting this one done and open, than spreading the capital out longer - in my opinion.

Building complete sections off-site, fully themed, will help progress immensely. I don't think any previous state-side Disney rockwork projects have been themed offsite, but I could be wrong. Everything I've seen was plastered and painted in place.

Also, seeing what appear to be ride components (the black steel sitting outside the building), and seeing the boat trough already in place, the interiors seem to be progressing alongside the exteriors, which is also rare at this early stage. I don't think we'll be sitting here watching "nothing" happening for much time after the themescaping is complete.

Granted, building all the outdoor guest areas is going to take some time, and they won't start that until they pull the cranes and earthmoving equipment out. It's not going to be done in a year, but I can't see it being too far into 2017, unless they drastically slow down.

 

[danlb_2000]

I consider the progress to be impressive, for a Disney project. I think they're more concerned with getting this one done and open, than spreading the capital out longer - in my opinion.

Building complete sections off-site, fully themed, will help progress immensely. I don't think any previous state-side Disney rockwork projects have been themed offsite, but I could be wrong. Everything I've seen was plastered and painted in place.

Also, seeing what appear to be ride components (the black steel sitting outside the building), and seeing the boat trough already in place, the interiors seem to be progressing alongside the exteriors, which is also rare at this early stage. I don't think we'll be sitting here watching "nothing" happening for much time after the themescaping is complete.

Granted, building all the outdoor guest areas is going to take some time, and they won't start that until they pull the cranes and earthmoving equipment out. It's not going to be done in a year, but I can't see it being too far into 2017, unless they drastically slow down.

I was thinking that the pre-fabrication of the floating mountain elements was more a practical matter then a time saving one. They way it attaches to the main part of the mountain would have made it very hard to get the toothpick scaffolding around it, and it's pretty high to do all the work from a lift or crane bucket. Also, at least some of the fabrication was done on site. If you look back at the construction pics you can see that element in a few of them at various stages of completion.

 

[sedati]

Building complete sections off-site, fully themed, will help progress immensely. I don't think any previous state-side Disney rockwork projects have been themed offsite, but I could be wrong. Everything I've seen was plastered and painted in place.

Here is the only example I know of. They pre-fabricated the peak of Disneyland's Thunder Mountain and installed it by crane.

 

[doctornick]

Regarding boat rides and drops: I'm on record that a drop on the level of POTC add relatively little to the ride. It serves a functional purpose in POTC, but it doesn't IMHO add much to the experience of the ride. If a drop isn't going to be of a higher thrill level or to get you (intentionally) wet, I don't really see the need. I'd rather they use any ride space for more scenery and effects than a small drop for the Na'vi boat ride. YMMV.

I do hope this ride has the Shanghai Pirates tech, though, since it sounds like that can be used to really enhance the movement of the boat which can improve the ride story and direct the attention towards specific effects.

 

[Tom]

I was thinking that the pre-fabrication of the floating mountain elements was more a practical matter then a time saving one. They way it attaches to the main part of the mountain would have made it very hard to get the toothpick scaffolding around it, and it's pretty high to do all the work from a lift or crane bucket. Also, at least some of the fabrication was done on site. If you look back at the construction pics you can see that element in a few of them at various stages of completion.

Yes, its likely for that reason, but it also speeds things up, and has apparently allowed them to be more productive that I'm used to seeing.

 

[Tom]

Here is the only example I know of. They pre-fabricated the peak of Disneyland's Thunder Mountain and installed it by crane.View attachment 120202

Duly noted. Thanks.

 

[articos]

we keep hearing about the new tech for this ride maybe the new tech is more about the effects that we see and less about the ride system

Both are impressive.