AVATAR land construction progress

flyerjab

flyerjab

Well-Known Member
I don't know. To me, Gringott's is a dark ride but it is done with a degree of thrill that I appreciated. I loved that the cars you rode in did different things. I especially liked the spinning parts of the ride as you rode along a track. And the "drop" scene was very well done. And the one thing that this ride has is that it is an extension of the Potter universe. If you are a die hard fan of Potter lore (which my wife and I are) than I can see why people are drawn to both Potter lands. Diagon Alley is definitely executed better though.

All that being said, Disney is still the master of immersion and theming in my opinion. Visiting both UNI and WDW on this trip really gave us food for thought. We went with another couple (kids stayed home for this trip). Visiting DA, riding the Hogwarts Express and seeing WWoHP really demonstrated what Universal Creative is capable of, especially with a beloved IP. My wife thinks that Diagon Alley (especially Borgin and Burkes in Nocturne Alley) is the best-themed park environment in Orlando. And I agree that the theming is excellent, no question. However, I still like the theming in parts of WDW better. To me, Africa and Asia in DAK are far better than DA in UNI (there are others but I won't comment as I am keeping this tied back to DAK and Pandora). It isn't even a contest to me to be honest. And that is why I think that Pandora is going to blow people away from a theming perspective, both externally and internally. We can already see and appreciate the Floating Mountains from a distance. Now imagine them as you walk beneath them at night with the glowing bioluminescence around you, accompanied with cascading waterfalls. I also know that @rioriz has hinted at how incredible the ride queue is going to be for the Na'vi River Journey - in that it transitions perfectly from the queue to the ride. I am also betting that the use of screens, scenery and AAs are going to combine in such a way the likes of which have not been experienced in a domestic park.

The reason that I like this comparison of Pandora to Harry Potter is that each side has a different advantage over the other. With Pandora, WDW is going to crush the immersion and theming angle, and I would also imagine that the rides are going to be top-notch rides in the domestic parks. The challenge will be for WDW to draw people into an IP that has more-or-less disappeared from the public consciousness. For UNI, Harry Potter is global comfort food. The IP is so universally loved that the theming and attractions don't need to be of the same level of Pandora's (supposedly) to be a success. What is great though is the UNI is swinging for the fences with this IP.

@BrianLo, I definitely hear what you are saying about screen tech. From watching on YouTube, I would say that Pirates in Shanghai looks way more impressive than the Gringott's ride. Unfortunately for me, I don't know if I will ever be booking a trip to Shanghai to see it. I am hoping that the big Star Wars trackless ride attains or exceeds that level of technical and immersive brilliance that the Shanghai Pirates ride seems to have accomplished. Again, as with Potter though, Star Wars is another example of global comfort food. Even if it becomes the most amazing ride in the world, though, the Star Wars battle attraction has the added bonus of the IP being universally worshiped. I bring this point up again because Pandora doesn't necessarily have that going for it. I think that WDW will have to work harder for Pandora to have that type of success. But from the progress thus far, I am betting that Pandora will be an experience that takes DAK to another level (as well as the debut of the way-overdue RoL nighttime show).
 
T

twebber55

Well-Known Member
flyerjab said:
I don't know. To me, Gringott's is a dark ride but it is done with a degree of thrill that I appreciated. I loved that the cars you rode in did different things. I especially liked the spinning parts of the ride as you rode along a track. And the "drop" scene was very well done. And the one thing that this ride has is that it is an extension of the Potter universe. If you are a die hard fan of Potter lore (which my wife and I are) than I can see why people are drawn to both Potter lands. Diagon Alley is definitely executed better though.

All that being said, Disney is still the master of immersion and theming in my opinion. Visiting both UNI and WDW on this trip really gave us food for thought. We went with another couple (kids stayed home for this trip). Visiting DA, riding the Hogwarts Express and seeing WWoHP really demonstrated what Universal Creative is capable of, especially with a beloved IP. My wife thinks that Diagon Alley (especially Borgin and Burkes in Nocturne Alley) is the best-themed park environment in Orlando. And I agree that the theming is excellent, no question. However, I still like the theming in parts of WDW better. To me, Africa and Asia in DAK are far better than DA in UNI (there are others but I won't comment as I am keeping this tied back to DAK and Pandora). It isn't even a contest to me to be honest. And that is why I think that Pandora is going to blow people away from a theming perspective, both externally and internally. We can already see and appreciate the Floating Mountains from a distance. Now imagine them as you walk beneath them at night with the glowing bioluminescence around you, accompanied with cascading waterfalls. I also know that @rioriz has hinted at how incredible the ride queue is going to be for the Na'vi River Journey - in that it transitions perfectly from the queue to the ride. I am also betting that the use of screens, scenery and AAs are going to combine in such a way the likes of which have not been experienced in a domestic park.

The reason that I like this comparison of Pandora to Harry Potter is that each side has a different advantage over the other. With Pandora, WDW is going to crush the immersion and theming angle, and I would also imagine that the rides are going to be top-notch rides in the domestic parks. The challenge will be for WDW to draw people into an IP that has more-or-less disappeared from the public consciousness. For UNI, Harry Potter is global comfort food. The IP is so universally loved that the theming and attractions don't need to be of the same level of Pandora's (supposedly) to be a success. What is great though is the UNI is swinging for the fences with this IP.

@BrianLo, I definitely hear what you are saying about screen tech. From watching on YouTube, I would say that Pirates in Shanghai looks way more impressive than the Gringott's ride. Unfortunately for me, I don't know if I will ever be booking a trip to Shanghai to see it. I am hoping that the big Star Wars trackless ride attains or exceeds that level of technical and immersive brilliance that the Shanghai Pirates ride seems to have accomplished. Again, as with Potter though, Star Wars is another example of global comfort food. Even if it becomes the most amazing ride in the world, though, the Star Wars battle attraction has the added bonus of the IP being universally worshiped. I bring this point up again because Pandora doesn't necessarily have that going for it. I think that WDW will have to work harder for Pandora to have that type of success. But from the progress thus far, I am betting that Pandora will be an experience that takes DAK to another level (as well as the debut of the way-overdue RoL nighttime show).
Click to expand...
appreciate your input
 
Mike S

Mike S

Well-Known Member
flyerjab said:
I don't know. To me, Gringott's is a dark ride but it is done with a degree of thrill that I appreciated. I loved that the cars you rode in did different things. I especially liked the spinning parts of the ride as you rode along a track. And the "drop" scene was very well done. And the one thing that this ride has is that it is an extension of the Potter universe. If you are a die hard fan of Potter lore (which my wife and I are) than I can see why people are drawn to both Potter lands. Diagon Alley is definitely executed better though.

All that being said, Disney is still the master of immersion and theming in my opinion. Visiting both UNI and WDW on this trip really gave us food for thought. We went with another couple (kids stayed home for this trip). Visiting DA, riding the Hogwarts Express and seeing WWoHP really demonstrated what Universal Creative is capable of, especially with a beloved IP. My wife thinks that Diagon Alley (especially Borgin and Burkes in Nocturne Alley) is the best-themed park environment in Orlando. And I agree that the theming is excellent, no question. However, I still like the theming in parts of WDW better. To me, Africa and Asia in DAK are far better than DA in UNI (there are others but I won't comment as I am keeping this tied back to DAK and Pandora). It isn't even a contest to me to be honest. And that is why I think that Pandora is going to blow people away from a theming perspective, both externally and internally. We can already see and appreciate the Floating Mountains from a distance. Now imagine them as you walk beneath them at night with the glowing bioluminescence around you, accompanied with cascading waterfalls. I also know that @rioriz has hinted at how incredible the ride queue is going to be for the Na'vi River Journey - in that it transitions perfectly from the queue to the ride. I am also betting that the use of screens, scenery and AAs are going to combine in such a way the likes of which have not been experienced in a domestic park.

The reason that I like this comparison of Pandora to Harry Potter is that each side has a different advantage over the other. With Pandora, WDW is going to crush the immersion and theming angle, and I would also imagine that the rides are going to be top-notch rides in the domestic parks. The challenge will be for WDW to draw people into an IP that has more-or-less disappeared from the public consciousness. For UNI, Harry Potter is global comfort food. The IP is so universally loved that the theming and attractions don't need to be of the same level of Pandora's (supposedly) to be a success. What is great though is the UNI is swinging for the fences with this IP.

@BrianLo, I definitely hear what you are saying about screen tech. From watching on YouTube, I would say that Pirates in Shanghai looks way more impressive than the Gringott's ride. Unfortunately for me, I don't know if I will ever be booking a trip to Shanghai to see it. I am hoping that the big Star Wars trackless ride attains or exceeds that level of technical and immersive brilliance that the Shanghai Pirates ride seems to have accomplished. Again, as with Potter though, Star Wars is another example of global comfort food. Even if it becomes the most amazing ride in the world, though, the Star Wars battle attraction has the added bonus of the IP being universally worshiped. I bring this point up again because Pandora doesn't necessarily have that going for it. I think that WDW will have to work harder for Pandora to have that type of success. But from the progress thus far, I am betting that Pandora will be an experience that takes DAK to another level (as well as the debut of the way-overdue RoL nighttime show).
Click to expand...
How did you like King Kong? I loved it :)
 
Incomudro

Incomudro

Well-Known Member
rioriz said:
This^^^ The ride, besides the initial drop, was such a let down...Mummy does it better
Click to expand...
My family's thought exactly.
We were geared up into thinking we were going to love this ride, but left it unimpressed.
No one had any "let's do that again!" moment.
And yes, I felt like we were shuttled from scene to scene to watch movie clips.

I'll contrast this to Star Tours, which though an older system - makes me feel like I'm part of the ride.
A passenger on the ship.
And Star Tours is fun.
 
flyerjab

flyerjab

Well-Known Member
Mike S said:
How did you like King Kong? I loved it :)
Click to expand...

I unfortunately did not have the opportunity.

I can handle most screen-based attractions. The Simpsons ride, however, absolutely destroyed me from a nausea perspective. I am glad that I did the Harry Potter stuff first. I was so messed up from that ride that the rest of the day I could not really go on another screen-based ride. For hours after that Simpsons simulator I was experiencing nausea. I will never set foot on that ride again.

Lucky for us we bought annual passes to UNI now as well as for WDW. This is going to be great moving forward from an Orlando vacation perspective. I will definitely have a chance to ride Kong in the future.
 
KingOfEpicocity

KingOfEpicocity

Well-Known Member
Incomudro said:
My family's thought exactly.
We were geared up into thinking we were going to love this ride, but left it unimpressed.
No one had any "let's do that again!" moment.
And yes, I felt like we were shuttled from scene to scene to watch movie clips.

I'll contrast this to Star Tours, which though an older system - makes me feel like I'm part of the ride.
A passenger on the ship.
And Star Tours is fun.
Click to expand...

There's four reasons why I love star tours.
A. Star Wars
B. Body wars
C. Kronk bot
D. Never a line.

But brining it back to avatar. I'm genuinely interested in weather the majority of the river journey story will be told in the queue. Which is why the ride itself is so short. Also could allow for longer dispatch times thus longer stops. Just a suggestion.
 
Clamman73

Clamman73

Well-Known Member
Cranes busy moving.
IMG_2058.JPG
 
1023

1023

Provocateur, Rancanteur, Plaisanter, du Jour
KingOfEpicocity said:
There's four reasons why I love star tours.
A. Star Wars
B. Body wars
C. Kronk bot
D. Never a line.

But brining it back to avatar. I'm genuinely interested in weather the majority of the river journey story will be told in the queue. Which is why the ride itself is so short. Also could allow for longer dispatch times thus longer stops. Just a suggestion.
Click to expand...

What do you call short? Is 4:45 short? Is 5:30 short? Is 6:10 short?

*1023*
 

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