AVATAR land construction progress

NoChesterHester

NoChesterHester

Well-Known Member
kap91 said:
This argument comes up time and time again so I'll make my standard reply brief: just because you can build 36 attractions in 36 months does not mean you can build 1 attraction in 1 month.


Yes Disney of today builds stuff slower than in the past - but the difference is much less than people make it out to be. And how fast you CHOOSE to build something says nothing about your competency in the business. In fact, the Disney of old could be argued to be much less competent in construction, as many things missed Disney's self imposed deadlines. Just look at the state of Tomorrowland on opening day, or that Horizons missed opening by a year, etc.
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I don't believe anyone stated incompetent. At least no one in their right mind. Grossly overpriced - yes.

Here is another thought. Updated modern building codes and regulations do slow down the design and construction process compared to 20 years ago. An example; every single light fixture didn't used to have to carry a certification. Now almost universally fixtures have to be tested and certified by a laboratory before they can be installed in a commercial project. So instead of Tony Baxter screwing exposed sockets into Mason jars the fixtures must be sourced so they can meet the required standards. This adds a lot of time and money.
 
Beholder

Beholder

Well-Known Member
IDInstitute said:
So Avatar...
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Well, not to belabor the point, but I'm really excited about this "land", more so considering Cameron's comments. It's funny, but I really don't think of it as Avatar, but more just as Pandora. The idea of the floura and fauna and the "natural" world of Pandora have been, in my case at least, successfully sold. I hope that along with the attractions/rides and the full on immersion, that they incorporate some unique merchandising with this. I don't know what that could be beyond t-shirts, plush animals, toys and, of course, pins. I was there the summer before last and have one or two photos of sight balloons in the general area of construction. First time I ever had the opportunity or inclination to capture the early stages of any Disney project. Good stuff.
 
D

doctornick

Well-Known Member
Beholder said:
Well, not to belabor the point, but I'm really excited about this "land", more so considering Cameron's comments. It's funny, but I really don't think of it as Avatar, but more just as Pandora. The idea of the floura and fauna and the "natural" world of Pandora have been, in my case at least, successfully sold. I hope that along with the attractions/rides and the full on immersion, that they incorporate some unique merchandising with this. I don't know what that could be beyond t-shirts, plush animals, toys and, of course, pins. I was there the summer before last and have one or two photos of sight balloons in the general area of construction. First time I ever had the opportunity or inclination to capture the early stages of any Disney project. Good stuff.
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I think if they could sell take home bioluminscent "plants", that it would be a unique merch opportunity. I could also see them have a Carbon Freeze me type thing where you create an "Avatar" of yourself.
 
Beholder

Beholder

Well-Known Member
doctornick said:
I think if they could sell take home bioluminscent "plants", that it would be a unique merch opportunity. I could also see them have a Carbon Freeze me type thing where you create an "Avatar" of yourself.
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Yeah, I think the whole glowing plant thing would be a win. I want one.
 
flyerjab

flyerjab

Well-Known Member
Was in Animal Kingdom yesterday and we entered via a Disney bus. I was surprised at the amount of trees/foliage that was cleared. You could see all of the cranes and drilling equipment, completely unblocked by anything. Maybe I was seeing it wrong, but it looked like they had the space cleared all of the way back to the service road.

I heard on a (gasp) podcast from the Disboards that the land was going to go beyond the road, and that the road itself was going to be rerouted. Is that true or were they talking out their ?

If that is true, Avatar will be very large indeed. But we shall see...
 
danlb_2000

danlb_2000

Premium Member
flyerjab said:
Was in Animal Kingdom yesterday and we entered via a Disney bus. I was surprised at the amount of trees/foliage that was cleared. You could see all of the cranes and drilling equipment, completely unblocked by anything. Maybe I was seeing it wrong, but it looked like they had the space cleared all of the way back to the service road.

I heard on a (gasp) podcast from the Disboards that the land was going to go beyond the road, and that the road itself was going to be rerouted. Is that true or were they talking out their ?

If that is true, Avatar will be very large indeed. But we shall see...
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There weren't actually many trees between that area and the service road, only a small clump at the corner of Savannah Rd and Rain Forest Road which are still there in the latest aerial photos. The permits Disney filed with the South Florid Water Management District show the limits of the project ending at the service road, so I think it is unlikely that it will extend beyond the road. There is plenty of land for Avatar without having to go beyond the road.

Here is what the area looked like in January of 2013.

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flyerjab

flyerjab

Well-Known Member
danlb_2000 said:
There weren't actually many trees between that area and the service road, only a small clump at the corner of Savannah Rd and Rain Forest Road which are still there in the latest aerial photos. The permits Disney filed with the South Florid Water Management District show the limits of the project ending at the service road, so I think it is unlikely that it will extend beyond the road. There is plenty of land for Avatar without having to go beyond the road.

Here is what the area looked like in January of 2013.

View attachment 55832
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Thanks @danlb_2000 . I knew you would be the one to reply to that post.
 
Macca250

Macca250

Well-Known Member
I hope they make a better attempt to cover up that backstage area from the road that the buses access. Currently you can only really see a bit of the service road and the trees that surround the park's perimeter. But once AVATAR is built I imagine there'll be larger show buildings positioned closer to that road and in possible sight. I appreciate that the buses use the same road that you access backstage from so the security barriers are impossible to hide and therefore what's beyond will be tricky to cover up. But I really don't want my first impression of the land to be large 'Go Away Green' structures!
 
T

twebber55

Well-Known Member
flyerjab

flyerjab

Well-Known Member
Does anyone know if there has been any other work being done aside from pouring and establishing the concrete foundations?
 
flyerjab

flyerjab

Well-Known Member
twebber55 said:
its been two months since i ve seen aerial views it would be good to see what they done since June 20
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I know someone a little while back said that once an aerial photo is taken after the concrete has been poured and settled, you could start to formulate some idea of the layout of the new land. Definitely anxious to see the next set of aerial shots.
 
T

twebber55

Well-Known Member
flyerjab said:
I know someone a little while back said that once an aerial photo is taken after the concrete has been poured and settled, you could start to formulate some idea of the layout of the new land. Definitely anxious to see the next set of aerial shots.
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yeah i believe @Tom said this
 
danlb_2000

danlb_2000

Premium Member
Cesar R M said:
You know, id expect flawless english when doing these type of papers...
Or the company is really named "Balfour Beatty Consturction LLC?
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Some clerk is probably typing up dozens on these sorts of things a day, not surprised that there are some typos.

twebber55 said:
hey @danlb_2000 every NOC for the avatar is always OCt 31 2016, does that mean we could be seeing the end of construction by 2016 or is that the date that the construction company has to be paid?
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That is the date the construction company has to be paid. Of course that date is not always a reliable indicator of when the project will be done. The could file new NOCs that extend the expiration date, this is what happened with the Fantasyland expansion, and there also could be work done by other contractors which goes beyond that expiration date.
 

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