AVATAR land construction progress

[flyerjab]

i ve got to admit the bench seating is somewhat disappointing for me although i guess you have to have bench seating simply for capacity reasons

Yeah. It is disappointing, but I never fully bought into the banshee ride vehicle concept, for the simple fact that it would ruin any possibility of it having a high capacity. That is something that they need out of this ride.

 

[Magic Feather]

@Magic Feather seems to be in the know on these projects. Any idea about an Everest refurb or the Yeti?

Refurb is still on the table, but not green-lit. 2018 earliest. What the refurb would entail is also still up for debate. It is in flux as to whether or not Disco will die for the second time in 40 years.

 

[Mike S]

Refurb is still on the table, but not green-lit. 2018 earliest. What the refurb would entail is also still up for debate. It is in flux as to whether or not Disco will die for the second time in 40 years.

By that time we'll have Rock and Roll Yeti. He'll always Ramble On about how he's been this way 10 years to the day.

 

[Daveeeeed]

Refurb is still on the table, but not green-lit. 2018 earliest. What the refurb would entail is also still up for debate. It is in flux as to whether or not Disco will die for the second time in 40 years.

Would it be a full blown refurb like this? Or more like fixes like the Yeti etc. I would be happy with either.

 

[yeti]

Row seating, no individual Banshees per person

Okay, this is a head scratcher. Basically all promotion for FoP so far (granted, there hasn't been much of it) has played up this idea of flying on a banshee. I'm hard-pressed to imagine that the concept won't figure into it somehow, or that you're simply flying "with" dragons aboard some convoluted flying machine (another "flying bench", really?). So based on what I'm reading here and your emphasis on per person...is it possible that each four-person vehicle somehow...lands on a banshee (I'm presuming digitally, through the film), or is otherwise carried by one? I feel like you're insinuating that there's still some sort of physical connection between a banshee and the rider. Of course, it's just as likely that I'm reading way too much into this.

 

[ScottKC]

Maybe it's like air travel on the flintstones...a bunch of folks on seats on the back of a pteradon!

 

[DisneyRoy]

Way back when Iger said you could feel the animal breathe while you were sitting on the ride vehicle. It almost sounds like that is going to be a one on one experience but I don't see how capacity can keep up with that. So I'm interested to see how that will play out. But I don't see benches giving you that sensation of a living breathing animal like he said.

 

[180º]

I resubmit my RV questions from earlier:

Furthermore, what the heck will we ride in? Is it similar enough to the Vekoma system that we will be suspended from above in benches, feet dangling and all? Will the mechanism actually be below us, hoisting us into the sky like Astro Orbiter? Will we mount banshees on the loading platform, or will animatronic banshees appear from pits behind the lower screen after the top section splits? Will the banshees just be part of the projected video? Are there even banshees in the ride? What holds up the ride vehicles? What supports the moving screens?

 

[Goofyque']

Way back when Iger said you could feel the animal breathe while you were sitting on the ride vehicle. It almost sounds like that is going to be a one on one experience but I don't see how capacity can keep up with that. So I'm interested to see how that will play out. But I don't see benches giving you that sensation of a living breathing animal like he said.

You could certainly feel the Alien breathe on you in the original Alien Encounter. I have no doubt that they have a plan.

 

[bjlc57]

does any one here remember that this whole discussion started back in 2012 as a very very strong rumor here.. but now close to 5 years later, still is not open.. I have made three trips to WDW from Wisconsin,, and its still not open.. and the first trip was the longest gap between trips in the 37 years of our marriage .. meaning this has MORE THEN DRAGGGGGGGEEEEDDDD on...only this hierarchy of Disney could actually build backwards instead of forwards.. and cause great doubt in "when you wish upon a star, Your DREAMS COME TRUE".. major major doubt..

 

[twebber55]

does any one here remember that this whole discussion started back in 2012 as a very very strong rumor here.. but now close to 5 years later, still is not open.. I have made three trips to WDW from Wisconsin,, and its still not open.. and the first trip was the longest gap between trips in the 37 years of our marriage .. meaning this has MORE THEN DRAGGGGGGGEEEEDDDD on...only this hierarchy of Disney could actually build backwards instead of forwards.. and cause great doubt in "when you wish upon a star, Your DREAMS COME TRUE".. major major doubt..

construction is on par with cars land
just was announced too early

 

[cmarten]

does any one here remember that this whole discussion started back in 2012 as a very very strong rumor here.. but now close to 5 years later, still is not open.. I have made three trips to WDW from Wisconsin,, and its still not open.. and the first trip was the longest gap between trips in the 37 years of our marriage .. meaning this has MORE THEN DRAGGGGGGGEEEEDDDD on...only this hierarchy of Disney could actually build backwards instead of forwards.. and cause great doubt in "when you wish upon a star, Your DREAMS COME TRUE".. major major doubt..

It really hasn't when you think about it. Disney announced Avatarland when they reached a deal with James Cameron. Which means then they still had to draw up the plans and design the whole land before even breaking ground. Someone posted a comparison of where Cars Land was at this time after construction started and it was at a similar place

 

[DVCOwner]

It really hasn't when you think about it. Disney announced Avatarland when they reached a deal with James Cameron. Which means then they still had to draw up the plans and design the whole land before even breaking ground. Someone posted a comparison of where Cars Land was at this time after construction started and it was at a similar place

Here is what I hearing from this thread:

1. We want quality in design, construction, detail and maintainability, but we want it built at record speed (or less).
2. We want the best that the Disney Imaginers can do, but it should not cost as much as Disney is spending.
3. Disney is cutting money from every project and not giving Disney Imaginers enough to do it right, but spending to much on this one
4. And by the way Avatar was a bad movie so we should not even build this land.
5. and our they really going to build the boat ride.

 

[Mike S]

Here is what I hearing from this thread:

1. We want quality in design, construction, detail and maintainability, but we want it built at record speed (or less).
2. We want the best that the Disney Imaginers can do, but it should not cost as much as Disney is spending.
3. Disney is cutting money from every project and not giving Disney Imaginers enough to do it right, but spending to much on this one
4. And by the way Avatar was a bad movie so we should not even build this land.
5. and our they really going to build the boat ride.

A single high quality land shouldn't cost anywhere near $1 Billion. It's been said by our insiders time and again that Disney mishandles budgets. The fact that TSL was budgeted at $400-500 million (I think that was it) before the cuts is unthinkable.

 

[1023]

Here is what I hearing from this thread:

1. We want quality in design, construction, detail and maintainability, but we want it built at record speed (or less).
2. We want the best that the Disney Imaginers can do, but it should not cost as much as Disney is spending.
3. Disney is cutting money from every project and not giving Disney Imaginers enough to do it right, but spending to much on this one
4. And by the way Avatar was a bad movie so we should not even build this land.
5. and our they really going to build the boat ride.

That is a decent summary. I think I can augment it a bit:

1. We want TWDC to innovate, develop, design, & construct high quality attraction and themed lands on par with their established standards.
2. We want the talent at WDI to operate in a way that does not waste that talent or resources unnecessarily.
3. We want the lack of cost control on other projects (especially those abroad) to not interfere with original design plans and budgets for these new ground-breaking lands and attractions.
4. We want the project to shine regardless of what it's chosen theme is.
5. We want a beautifully crafted floating attraction that competes with what has been built recently in Shanghai. (This is actually what we are getting and I am still not sure why or how the "back street boy" got anyone to believe it wasn't happening.)

*1023*

 

[Cesar R M]

You could certainly feel the Alien breathe on you in the original Alien Encounter. I have no doubt that they have a plan.

an stitch doll burping on you now?

"SYNNERGY!" chapek screamed.

and he suddenly got a huge pay raise.

 

[Cesar R M]

Here is what I hearing from this thread:

1. We want quality in design, construction, detail and maintainability, but we want it built at record speed (or less).
2. We want the best that the Disney Imaginers can do, but it should not cost as much as Disney is spending.
3. Disney is cutting money from every project and not giving Disney Imaginers enough to do it right, but spending to much on this one
4. And by the way Avatar was a bad movie so we should not even build this land.
5. and our they really going to build the boat ride.

Epcot was built in.. what? 3 years.. whole park.. 3 years...

 

[Andrew C]

Epcot was built in.. what? 3 years.. whole park.. 3 years...

So.

 

[doctornick]

Epcot was built in.. what? 3 years.. whole park.. 3 years...

People repeat that point often, but it is silly. The entire park was being build simultaneously. It's a larger project than a single land with 2 rides, but that just means they had many more people building many more things. The speed of Pandora being built has to do with the complexity of that project and how much resources Disney is dedicating to it -- it is not affected by work being done at Disney Springs or in DHS (or stuff like FAE and the Soarin' theater in Epcot) at the same time.

Now, if you want to talk about the complexity of certain aspects of EPCOT Center (say, for example, the structure of SSE) and how those individual things were designed and built "quickly" then by all means. But I don't know what the point of bringing up an entire theme park being built makes any difference unless they would wait to finish one ride before starting the next one.

 

[yeti]

Maybe it's like air travel on the flintstones...a bunch of folks on seats on the back of a pteradon!

This is pretty much what I'm expecting.