AVATAR land construction progress

[Jae99]

A full day at AK should include at least several hours watching Avatarland construction, but that maybe that just me.

If it was just me I would take all the time in the world to get some pictures, but when you have two 12 year old girls pulling at you time is something I won't have to spare.

 

[cooleo]

Nice. Can't wait to see when it's all completed. Never been an Avatar fan but have a feeling this will be a nice addition to AK.

 

[phi2134]

Hi everyone! This is my first post, after lurking for a while. My parents were at Animal Kingdom yesterday (12/4), and I asked my dad to get some pictures of the Avatar construction. I wanted to share some of them with you all.View attachment 122062
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Amazing Pictures, thanks!

 

[mavlax20]

Just saw updated pictures...wow...I think the rock out in the open looks great (will view from computer later - on phone) and I actually am looking forward to it a little more now.

 

[barkerbird]

I'm new to the threads, and I was curious to find more info on Avatar Land. I checked the announcement post, and this project was layed out by Disney in September 2011..over four years ago . Holy schnikeys!

 

[peter11435]

I'm new to the threads, and I was curious to find more info on Avatar Land. I checked the announcement post, and this project was layed out by Disney in September 2011..over four years ago . Holy schnikeys!

That's when the announcement was made that an agreement had been formed with James Cameron to bring Avatar to Disney parks. At that time there were no actual plans or any design work completed. They announced intent to bring the property to Disnry's Animal Kingdom but still had to spend time deciding exactly what would be built, where it would go, and then design it.

 

[barkerbird]

That's when the announcement was made that an agreement had been formed with James Cameron to bring Avatar to Disney parks. At that time there were no actual plans or any design work completed. They announced intent to bring the property to Disnry's Animal Kingdom but still had to spend time deciding exactly what would be built, where it would go, and then design it.

Cameron was approached the previous Spring. At the time of the announcement it was stated that the land would cost $500 million to make. So obviously they had an idea of what they wanted to do.

 

[Master Yoda]

Cameron was approached the previous Spring. At the time of the announcement it was stated that the land would cost $500 million to make. So obviously they had an idea of what they wanted to do.

An idea and even a budget are very far off from physical plans or even semi-accurate concept art. At the time of the announcement they very well might have had not much more than "Lest build a boat ride, a roller coaster a simulator and the floating mountains".

One thing that all of the insiders seem to agree on is this news got broke way earlier than Disney wanted. I believe @marni1971 said he had heard about it a few days before the announcement, but did not say anything because he did not believe it.

 

[Goofyque']

News is broken so much faster now. So many are quick to say "But it only took a year to build "A" or 2 years to build "B". If we go back to the idea of WDW, and the acquiring of land, there is quite a large time gap. The actual construction of Avatar did not begun in 2011.

 

[barkerbird]

An idea and even a budget are very far off from physical plans or even semi-accurate concept art. At the time of the announcement they very will might have had not much more than "Lest build a boat ride, a roller coaster a simulator and the floating mountains".

One thing that all of the insiders seem to agree on is this news got broke way earlier than Disney wanted. I believe @marni1971 said he had heard about it a few days before the announcement, but did not say anything because he did not believe it.

I see what you mean, but at the same time..four years is a long time. Islands of Adventure was completed in three years, and that was 1997. The only thing I can think of is the sensitivy of the park regarding the animals.

 

[twebber55]

I see what you mean, but at the same time..four years is a long time. Islands of Adventure was completed in three years, and that was 1997. The only thing I can think of is the sensitivy of the park regarding the animals.

Avatar will take 3 years to build about the same amount of time for carsland

 

[Master Yoda]

I see what you mean, but at the same time..four years is a long time. Islands of Adventure was completed in three years, and that was 1997. The only thing I can think of is the sensitivy of the park regarding the animals.

Not really. In my line of work I have seen both commercial and residential projects that have spent 3-4 years just in development, and none are on the scope of Pandora.

You can always build faster, but if it is worth it comes down to a cost benefit analysis. Building faster almost always costs more. If those extra costs are not offset, there is no point in doing it. Quite often the interest for a construction loan is enough to motivate a quicker build, but Disney is building this thing with cash. In that case a longer build time looks better on the books and to Wall Street as the expense is spread out over a longer period.

 

[bjm72385]

You can always build faster, but if it is worth it comes down to a cost benefit analysis. Building faster almost always costs more. If those extra costs are not offset, there is no point in doing it. Quite often the interest for a construction loan is enough to motivate a quicker build, but Disney is building this thing with cash. In that case a longer build time looks better on the books and to Wall Street as the expense is spread out over a longer period.

I expect a certain curmudgeon to chime in on this at any time now lol

 

[Master Yoda]

I expect a certain curmudgeon to chime in on this at any time now lol

I think he actually agrees with me on this so maybe I will just get off with just my post being liked.

 

[danlb_2000]

I see what you mean, but at the same time..four years is a long time. Islands of Adventure was completed in three years, and that was 1997. The only thing I can think of is the sensitivy of the park regarding the animals.

IOA took three years to build, not three years from concept to opening. Avatar will come in around 3 years actual construction time. What seems to throw people off is that is was announced much earlier in the development process then most theme park projects. The Fantasyland Expansion for example was announced only a couple months before construction started.

 

[danlb_2000]

Saw this permit today. The address has been used in the past of one of the Avatarland queues.

491 W. Savannah Circle - Rockwork Planter Install

 

[Andrew C]

Saw this permit today. The address has been used in the past of one of the Avatarland queues.

491 W. Savannah Circle - Rockwork Planter Install

Any reason you can think of for the expiration date to be set for December 31st, 2018? Seems like a long time.

 

[dstrawn9889]

standard for them to be at least a year out

 

[njDizFan]

Silly novice question...apparently there is someone inside that crane in the white box near the top. Wow...scary job that must be 2-300 feet up. do you have to climb up the internal structure/staircase?

Photo update as of Tuesday, Dec. 1. View from the tram area outside the front gate. Both tall cranes are in place now.

View attachment 121805

View from just outside the turnstiles.

View attachment 121806

 

[danlb_2000]

Any reason you can think of for the expiration date to be set for December 31st, 2018? Seems like a long time.

I looked the permit so quick I totally missed that, it's very strange. Most of the general contractor permits for Avatar have an expiration of October 31, 2016. I have sometime seen far out dates for small projects when they are part of a larger project, Disney Springs for example, but it's very strange to see a date 2 years out for something that appears pretty small. That date is also way beyond even the most pesemistic estimates for the opening. My guess is that this is a mistake.