AVATAR land construction progress

T

twebber55

Well-Known Member
flyerjab said:
Yes, discussion of this topic has dropped off (for obvious reasons). I wonder what has changed with this project - both budget and attraction-wise - since that video was released with Cameron, Staggs, Rohde, et al. It would be nice if more info was unearthed about this but I have a feeling that DHS is all the rage with our resident insiders and Pandora is so 'yesterday.' Maybe something more will be revealed at D23 next year.

I could add in a Frozen joke at this point but that is starting to become aggravating - both the jokes and the Park presence.
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yeah I don't expect much info on Pandora until D23
 
flyerjab

flyerjab

Well-Known Member
MerlinTheGoat said:
There was a reference to an 800 million budget, but I just searched for it and Steve (as in the admin here) said he believed it was for the overall AK renovation which included not just Avatar, but also the relocated Lion King, Rivers of Light and the night package for the Safari.

I should also mention that this was early January-
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/avatar-breaks-ground.878875/page-25#post-5883538

I can't find the post at the moment, but I think someone also mentioned that the River of Light budget had already been slashed (might have been @marni1971 but not sure).

I'm not getting excited if Avatar only has a budget on par with New Fantasyland. And as Avatar has barely even begun construction (and no sign of going vertical I believe still), I wouldn't rule out the possibility for more budget cuts along the way.
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Whylightbulb made that comment regarding the water show. I'll reserve judgement until I see the final product.

I have my hopes up for what is going on right now. I completely understand your position though @MerlinTheGoat. You have been a WDW fan far longer than I have. You've lived through both the amazing years, as well as the last 10-15 years of stagnation. I only started visiting routinely since 2011. It's funny, really, because my viewpoint is so different from yours and other long time fans. To me, all I am familiar with is WDW construction, additions, expansions for the past few years and what is coming. I really like NFL, with the exception being TLM. That is a bit underwhelming to me. Disney Springs excites my family also. We visit that every trip.

Pandora, though, is at the top of my list. I cannot wait for this to open. I trust Cameron to keep Staggs and Co. enthused.

And then who knows with DHS. Lee has said his expectations so far have been met. Marni has hinted at huge plans also. Cameron won't let his little corner of The World be forgotten.
 
GoofGoof

GoofGoof

Premium Member
Below is from an Orlando Sentinel article from January. No clue if it changed since then, but at the time the AK project had a rumored budget of $800M. FLE had a budget of $425M. Not quite double. I do believe that some insiders confirmed that the $800M is for the whole project including the light show and moving the theater. I can't imagine the the extra money spent outside of Avatar would be more than $200M so still a healthy $600M left over for Avland. FLE was $425M but that includes the re theming of circus land, Princess Meet and greet hall, plus the main section of Mine Train, BOG, LM, Gaston's and Enchanted Tails. For 50% more money Avland better have something to it. As far as rock work goes between LM, BOG and Mine Train there is a ton of rock work. I can't see them needing much more for Avatar. The main building is taller, but won't cover all that square footage. It should be about equal.


Disney hopes big Animal Kingdom expansion keeps visitors in park longer
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Jason Garcia, Orlando Sentinel

2:46 pm, January 11, 2014
On New Year's Eve, one of the busiest days of the year at Walt Disney World, three of the giant resort's four theme parks stayed open until 1 a.m. or later.

The fourth — Disney's Animal Kingdom — shut down at 8 p.m.

The contrasting holiday schedules underscore what has become a persistent problem for Animal Kingdom, the 15-year-old park that combines a handful of marquee rides and shows with a collection of more than 1,700 animals. Although the park draws plenty of people through its gates each morning — nearly 27,400 a day, on average — it doesn't keep them very long. Some fans dismiss it as a "half-day" park.

To fix that problem — and to better compete with Comcast Corp.'s rapidly growing Universal Orlando — Walt Disney Co. last week broke ground on an estimated $800 million renovation and expansion of Animal Kingdom. The goal of the multiyear project, whose centerpiece will be a lavishly themed new land based on the "Avatar" film franchise, is to transform Animal Kingdom into a full-day destination that can command crowds' attention well into the evening.

Senior Disney executives are enthusiastically talking up the project, likening it to their $1.1 billion, five-year rebuilding of Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, Calif., which has propelled the entire Disneyland Resort to record attendance and profit. The Animal Kingdom work is a personal priority of Tom Staggs, chairman of Disney's global theme-park division, who helped negotiate Disney's "Avatar" licensing deal with filmmaker James Cameron and 20th Century Fox.

Disney would not make any executives available to discuss the project, which was first announced in 2011 and won't be complete until 2017. But in a prepared statement, Staggs called it an "opportunity to take a park that already is home to some of our guests' favorite attractions and make it even better.

"The expansion enables us to bring the popular stories of 'Avatar' to life and introduce evening entertainment that will make the park a true full-day, must-see experience that further rounds out our overall Walt Disney World experience," Staggs added.

Disney says the parallels with California Adventure aren't perfect. Although company leaders publicly acknowledged that the original California Adventure fell far short of projections, they say they have been pleased with Animal Kingdom's performance.

Disney says Animal Kingdom is home to three of Disney World's 10 highest-rated attractions: Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris and Festival of the Lion King. According to the Themed Entertainment Association, Animal Kingdom drew 10 million visitors in 2012. That was about 90,000 more than Disney's Hollywood Studios and 2 million more than Universal's Harry Potter-powered Islands of Adventure.

Still, the park's struggle to keep guests for a full day has become a hard-to-ignore flaw because it has exacerbated overcrowding problems elsewhere at Disney World. Many of the visitors checking out of Animal Kingdom in midafternoon head for the Magic Kingdom, which is bursting with more than 17 million annual visitors, or the Downtown Disney retail area, which struggles with parking shortages in the evenings.

"What's ultimately driving this is that they're trying to increase the capacity of Walt Disney World," said Robert Niles, publisher of ThemeParkInsider.com. "With Animal Kingdom, they've had this huge, expensive asset sitting there that they aren't utilizing to the same extent as the other parks."

Crowding and long lines are one of the most commonly cited deterrents for travelers thinking about Disney World vacations. Many of Disney's most recent Orlando expansions have been aimed at creating more breathing room and better spreading people across its property.

For example, the not-yet-completed $425 million Fantasyland expansion was designed to relieve pressure in the Magic Kingdom, which was already the busiest park in the world.

And one goal of the $1 billion MyMagic+ technology project, which remains in testing, is to get as many as 90 percent of Disney World visitors reserving some of their rides in advance. Only a bit more than 50 percent of the resort's visitors use Disney World's current Fastpass system, and those that do typically obtain Fastpasses for only two rides per day.

Disney has so far disclosed only a few details about its Animal Kingdom work. Additions will include an evening show combining live music, floating lanterns, water screens and swirling animal imagery, along with a revamped, nighttime version of its Kilimanjaro Safaris ride. The "Avatar" land, which will be the final phase and will open sometime in 2017, will feature floating mountains, lush jungle scenery and a ride meant to evoke riding a "banshee," a birdlike predator featured in the film.

Disney would not say how much it will spend on the work. Analysts at the investment-research firm MoffettNathanson, however, estimate the budget is about $800 million — about three-quarters of the amount Disney spent on its California Adventure overhaul.

Getting visitors to spend more time inside the Animal Kingdom is only part of the calculus. Disney also expects the project to drive higher overall attendance and to spur more in-park spending on food and souvenirs.

One reason Disney liked "Avatar" for Animal Kingdom is that the luminescent environment depicted in the film could look especially striking after dark in a theme park. But some industry watchers say they are skeptical that a land based on the science-fiction film will mesh with the wildlife-themed park.

That's more than a cosmetic concern, said Duncan Dickson, a professor at the University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality Management. If Avatar and Animal Kingdom ultimately appeal to different audiences, many fans might opt to do just the new land and skip the rest of the park — which would magnify the same length-of-stay problem Disney hopes to fix.

"I'm just not sure it fits Animal Kingdom. Are you going to Animal Kingdom to see everything or just to blow in to do 'Avatar' and then go someplace else?" Dickson said. "You really need to create reason for them to stay in the park as a whole."
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Tom

Tom

Beta Return
danlb_2000 said:
Avatar construction walls will be expanding into the existing park more soon...

http://www.orlandoparksnews.com/2014/10/avatar-land-construction-area-expanding.html
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twebber55 said:
@danlb_2000 @Tom
got any ideas what this is about? any educated guesses LOL
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I'm a visual person....I'd need to see on a map or aerial where these walls are going.

danlb_2000 said:
Or it could be utility work, maybe tying into existing infrastructure.
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This is the most likely scenario, based on the limited information provided. Since a permit was recently filed for the power plant facility in Pandora, this is probably related. Extending steam/condensate lines to the area.
 
danlb_2000

danlb_2000

Premium Member
Tom said:
I'm a visual person....I'd need to see on a map or aerial where these walls are going.



This is the most likely scenario, based on the limited information provided. Since a permit was recently filed for the power plant facility in Pandora, this is probably related. Extending steam/condensate lines to the area.
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Here is what Orlando Theme Parks News said:

"Beginning October 15, more construction walls will installed around Discovery Island as new infrastructure work is scheduled to start to support the AVATAR-inspired land and other park projects. In addition, the existing wall leading to the AVATAR-inspired land will be repositioned to the Guest walkway by the Disney Vacation Club kiosk. Due to movement of the construction wall in the area, the screened-in dining room of Pizzafari will be temporarily closed."

The red circle is roughly where the DVC kiosk is. I have never been in Pizzafari but I am guessing the blue is the screened-in dining room. Someone correct me if I am wrong about that.

Capture.JPG
 
Tom

Tom

Beta Return
danlb_2000 said:
Here is what Orlando Theme Parks News said:

"Beginning October 15, more construction walls will installed around Discovery Island as new infrastructure work is scheduled to start to support the AVATAR-inspired land and other park projects. In addition, the existing wall leading to the AVATAR-inspired land will be repositioned to the Guest walkway by the Disney Vacation Club kiosk. Due to movement of the construction wall in the area, the screened-in dining room of Pizzafari will be temporarily closed."

The red circle is roughly where the DVC kiosk is. I have never been in Pizzafari but I am guessing the blue is the screened-in dining room. Someone correct me if I am wrong about that.

View attachment 69370
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I'm interested to see what it might be, then. Seems like the major utilities would already be down there, since they would have fed Lion King. Plus, the plot was always slated to be an expansion, so they would have extended major utilities there when they built the park.
 
dstrawn9889

dstrawn9889

Well-Known Member
Tom said:
I'm interested to see what it might be, then. Seems like the major utilities would already be down there, since they would have fed Lion King. Plus, the plot was always slated to be an expansion, so they would have extended major utilities there when they built the park.
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now see, that is why they do not let just anyone tell people how to do things. went ahead and installed infrastructure? please, where would it go to, how would you now where it needed to go? what if they needed to pour a foundation RIGHT where it was placed to begin with? NONONO. If you were expecting to extend into a new area, most people in the business would expect a location in the finished area, that all of these 'utilities' would junction, adjacent to the new area, so that it would be simple to 'tap' in with minimal tear-out to get to it. if steam and chilled water to be added, a tap off of the main lines there would be sufficient. electrical, on the other hand is completely sized to the needs, and would be a ridiculous waste to just run a drop out there not knowing the needs of the machinery to come. dollars to doughnuts, the walls are being extended to cover a locus point of services, a nexus if you will, where the utilities needed/or needing upgrades are.
 
Tom

Tom

Beta Return
dstrawn9889 said:
now see, that is why they do not let just anyone tell people how to do things. went ahead and installed infrastructure? please, where would it go to, how would you now where it needed to go? what if they needed to pour a foundation RIGHT where it was placed to begin with? NONONO. If you were expecting to extend into a new area, most people in the business would expect a location in the finished area, that all of these 'utilities' would junction, adjacent to the new area, so that it would be simple to 'tap' in with minimal tear-out to get to it. if steam and chilled water to be added, a tap off of the main lines there would be sufficient. electrical, on the other hand is completely sized to the needs, and would be a ridiculous waste to just run a drop out there not knowing the needs of the machinery to come. dollars to doughnuts, the walls are being extended to cover a locus point of services, a nexus if you will, where the utilities needed/or needing upgrades are.
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Silly me.....you're right. I have no idea what I'm talking about. Please continue with your inane rant.
 

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