AVATAR land construction progress

[BrianLo]

That link is not working. It must be associated with a particular site not to be named as it comes up as asterisks when you posted it.

Thanks, was just in the process of uploading it to flickr to bypass the silly site inter-competition, you are too quick!

(Should be visible now)


Edit: Also, I've decided it's new(ish). I'm excited for them to start installing all these prefabbed pieces. It will make things seem like they have been accelerated for a little bit.

 

[twebber55]

Thanks, was just in the process of uploading it to flickr to bypass the silly site inter-competition, you are too quick!

(Should be visible now)


Edit: Also, I've decided it's new(ish). I'm excited for them to start installing all these prefabbed pieces. It will make things seem like they have been accelerated for a little bit.

First time I've seen it up
It's been back behind the other rock work

 

[OldBlueEyes]

First time I've seen it up
It's been back behind the other rock work

Hmm, that's a bit strange. It's new, that's for sure. Compare these and You'll see:
From jan. 19th:

And the new one (from almost same angel):

But what happened to the cover-up of the "vine-connection" (as I pointed out feb 18th):

Do You know when this pic was taken?
OBE

 

[A foolish mortal]

Thanks, was just in the process of uploading it to flickr to bypass the silly site inter-competition, you are too quick!

(Should be visible now)


Edit: Also, I've decided it's new(ish). I'm excited for them to start installing all these prefabbed pieces. It will make things seem like they have been accelerated for a little bit.

You are right - it is new. These are only a week old.. and as you can see.. it was not there. So yep.. new rock

 

[Cesar R M]

Remember, one time Joe Rohde was asked if the magic band technology was going to be used anywhere in the Pandora expansion. He stated that only in one place but in a very intimate way. I have no idea what the heck that means though. It sounds both fascinating and creepy at the same time.

Probably in a Meet and greet or boat ride.. where a Na'vi Tsahik tells you your future or your "navi link" ?

 

[CastleBound]

I'm delaying a trip to see Pandora actually. I know Eisner popularized the theory that guests need about 8 attractions/experiences in a day to feel satisfied... well I require about 8 new attractions/experiences to justify a trip. Not even particularly picky about what qualifies as new either.

But from my last time in 2012 (pre-SDMT), 2016 is actually measuring up to finally be a significant year and I could easily justify (and want to) go this Fall... but I will probably wait for Avatar.

Star Wars on the other hand I'll delay a visit to Disneyland to see.

I forget where I saw it, but I read recently that the # of attractions is down to 3. I think it was something like Disney considers it a successful day if the guests hit 3 attractions. I'd be pretty upset if I only got on 3 things.

I also would consider delaying a trip until after this is done and then again until after Star Wars is done.

Hmm, that's a bit strange. It's new, that's for sure. Compare these and You'll see:
From jan. 19th:
View attachment 133363
And the new one (from almost same angel):
View attachment 133364
But what happened to the cover-up of the "wine-connection" (as I pointed out feb 18th):
View attachment 133365
Do You know when this pic was taken?
OBE

Glad to see more and more floating mountains going up. The model had a few big ones and a bunch of tiny ones above the ride building.

 

[bjm72385]

I just came across this recent aerial photo of the new Voyage to the Crystal Grotto ride in Shanghai and it appears to me to have the same boat ride system as the Avatar boat ride. The center trough looks exactly like the picture we saw of the maintenance area of the Avatar building before they closed in that outer wall. Anyone know what kind of ride system Voyage to the Crystal Grotto is supposed to be?

 

[flyerjab]

Thanks, was just in the process of uploading it to flickr to bypass the silly site inter-competition, you are too quick!

(Should be visible now)


Edit: Also, I've decided it's new(ish). I'm excited for them to start installing all these prefabbed pieces. It will make things seem like they have been accelerated for a little bit.

That is such a great angle of the progress of this project. There are now 3 prefab mountains attached to the main structure. The other par of this photo that is great - aside from the number of actual workers - is how much farther along this has come.

 

[DVCOwner]

I forget where I saw it, but I read recently that the # of attractions is down to 3. I think it was something like Disney considers it a successful day if the guests hit 3 attractions. I'd be pretty upset if I only got on 3 things.

I think what you saw was that the average person coming to the park used about 3 Fast Pass rides in a day before the new Fast Pass+ system came out.

 

[doctornick]

I just came across this recent aerial photo of the new Voyage to the Crystal Grotto ride in Shanghai and it appears to me to have the same boat ride system as the Avatar boat ride. The center trough looks exactly like the picture we saw of the maintenance area of the Avatar building before they closed in that outer wall. Anyone know what kind of ride system Voyage to the Crystal Grotto is supposed to be?

Hmm, maybe I'm wrong but that looks to me to be an elevated track above the "floor" of the path. While the trough for the Pandora boat ride looks like it is dug out and deeper than the rest of the "floor".

Just a guess, but I think Cystal Grotto might be the "omnimover" type ride system while Na'vi River Journey (and Shanghai's POTC) will be the "underwater controlled boats" ride.

 

[dstrawn9889]

that shos us a channel and trolley system (think RoA paddleboat) and not like IASW and POTC (bounded channel). i would say the new shanghai style in the turns that they pivot would show 2 sets of tracks (front follow one, rear follow second, that way they can point the boat)

 

[CastleBound]

I think what you saw was that the average person coming to the park used about 3 Fast Pass rides in a day before the new Fast Pass+ system came out.

I actually just had to consult the wife on what I was trying to recollect. So, it wasn't something I read, but we did hear it from a friend who is a CM at the park. She said Disney/people consider the value of the ticket "worth it" if you can get to 3.5 attractions per day. So I guess take from it what you will... I would be upset if I only hit 3.5 attractions per day.

 

[Wikkler]

I actually just had to consult the wife on what I was trying to recollect. So, it wasn't something I read, but we did hear it from a friend who is a CM at the park. She said Disney/people consider the value of the ticket "worth it" if you can get to 3.5 attractions per day. So I guess take from it what you will... I would be upset if I only hit 3.5 attractions per day.

If it's 3.5 they should have rounded up to 4 instead of rounding down to 3.

 

[No Name]

First of all, the floating mountains look nothing short of amazing, and it wasn't until I dug into some pictures today that I really began to appreciate it. I am surprised that they truly look to be pulling off what the concept art is showing (no obvious supports, etc) which is historically not the case with Disney. Everything is matching up almost perfectoy which makes me even more confident that this will be a great addition. And makes me confident that what's in the boat ride will look like or at least capture the spirit of the concept art as well.

Hmm, maybe I'm wrong but that looks to me to be an elevated track above the "floor" of the path. While the trough for the Pandora boat ride looks like it is dug out and deeper than the rest of the "floor".

Just a guess, but I think Cystal Grotto might be the "omnimover" type ride system while Na'vi River Journey (and Shanghai's POTC) will be the "underwater controlled boats" ride.

As much as I'd love to see it used, Voyage to the Crystal Grotto is definitely not the omnimover system. The omnimover ride wouldn't have a track on the bottom, it would just have side walls. Also, in this concept art, the boats are too big (they are quite long!) and too spread out. The concept art very much matches the actual construction and was clearly drawn after the details of the ride had been worked out, so I'd pay it's a pretty reliable thing to go by.

And that means nothing has been cut from Voyage either!

It is indeed confusing that the track is above the ground. Maybe it has something to do with being outdoors vs inside of a show building. This boats on this ride can't rotate in any way, but the pirates boats can. I really don't know but if I had to take a stab at it, I'd say all three of the upcoming boat rides will use the same ride system, or this and maybe pandora will use a different system altoghether, but what I can guarantee is that the omnimover system isn't being used for any of the three.

Anyway, I am super excited for the final product. Also for the most advanced animatronics to date. I said earlier that a billion dollars is high, but to be honest, I'm thinking it'll be worth that money.

 

[doctornick]

As much as I'd love to see it used, Voyage to the Crystal Grotto is definitely not the omnimover system. The omnimover ride wouldn't have a track on the bottom, it would just have side walls. Also, in this concept art, the boats are too big (they are quite long!) and too spread out. The concept art very much matches the actual construction and was clearly drawn after the details of the ride had been worked out, so I'd pay it's a pretty reliable thing to go by.

Looking at that concept art, Crystal Grotto may be similar to Jungle Cruise in terms of ride system. IIRC, those boats travel on rails under the water.

 

[MagicGoofy]

I'm getting goosebumps just looking at those pictures!!!!

 

[marni1971]

Looking at that concept art, Crystal Grotto may be similar to Jungle Cruise in terms of ride system. IIRC, those boats travel on rails under the water.

The aerial image looks very similar to WDW JCs "track".

 

[No Name]

Looking at that concept art, Crystal Grotto may be similar to Jungle Cruise in terms of ride system. IIRC, those boats travel on rails under the water.

Oh yeah, that sounds right. Probably what it is and maybe what the Avatar boat ride also is.

Also, don't get too excited yet because I may be wrong that nothing was cut. I noticed that "unknown scene" does not seem to be coming along like the others. Kind of concerning that I don't see giant birthday hats yet!
Just kidding, the ride looks great, I really am not concerned about that. I'm more concerned about bigger issues such as the fountains working, the park not crumbling apart due to shoddy construction, etc.


Back to Avatar:

So this picture confuses me. Obviously this is a backstage maintenance bay area, but is that one or two tracks? I think it's one track with a gap on each side. But maybe it's actually two tracks, one to send the boats in from the ride and one to send them back out. The boats do look pretty small in the concept art so it's possible that two tracks could fit there. I really don't know and can't tell from what we've seen, does anyone else have an idea?

 

[MagicGoofy]

Oh yeah, that sounds right. Probably what it is and maybe what the Avatar boat ride also is.

Also, don't get too excited yet because I may be wrong that nothing was cut. I noticed that "unknown scene" does not seem to be coming along like the others. Kind of concerning that I don't see giant birthday hats yet!
Just kidding, the ride looks great, I really am not concerned about that. I'm more concerned about bigger issues such as the fountains working, the park not crumbling apart due to shoddy construction, etc.


Back to Avatar:
View attachment 133486
So this picture confuses me. Obviously this is a backstage maintenance bay area, but is that one or two tracks? I think it's one track with a gap on each side. But maybe it's actually two tracks, one to send the boats in from the ride and one to send them back out. The boats do look pretty small in the concept art so it's possible that two tracks could fit there. I really don't know and can't tell from what we've seen, does anyone else have an idea?

I wanna say its one but it would be much clearer if we had a image facing straight down of the part that isn't covered yet. If you look at the guy standing off to the side of the stairs that go over the gap, it looks like that space would be too small for two.

 

[rioriz]

From what I've seen of SDL the track is identical to their POTC