DAK AVATAR land construction progress

[KingOfEpicocity]

They may go the way of a fully functioning Yeti...however i applaud them for at least trying....

Either way i have full confidence Pandora will rule in Orlando until SWL comes...at some point

Well there you have it.

 

[Disney Analyst]

I am not ruling out projections being used to expand the universe of the boat ride, but I guarantee the ride will not rely on screens.

 

[flyerjab]

Happened to be in the neighborhood...

The detailing of the rock on the above photo is incredible.

Hopefully we are within a year of this opening. Was speaking to a cast member in Tiffins about this (and if Tiffins is within your budget you are crazy if you don't go). I was told many get to walk by the construction zone and can see the full extent of this project mad it develops. This individual said that they wished the park visitors could see everything beyond the small area that we see because the scope is incredible and the care to detail is tremendous.

 

[danlb_2000]

It's still better than most of the ride taking place on a screen.

According to you...

 

[danlb_2000]

You don't know that Avatar has a non screen based ride. You're assuming the boat ride doesn't. I wouldn't assume that at all. I bet it winds up having some screens somewhere in the midst of the real scenes. There's a lot they can do in there with them.

The building for the boat ride is pretty small so I am guessing that they will use screens in the background to give it a greater feeling of size.

 

[ctxak98]

The building for the boat ride is pretty small so I am guessing that they will use screens in the background to give it a greater feeling of size.

That's exactly what I was thinking. You can kind of see in the concept art where those would be. I think it's a smart idea and probably will add a lot of depth to the attraction

 

[twebber55]

Happened to be in the neighborhood...
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The detailing of the rock on the above photo is incredible.
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Hopefully we are within a year of this opening. Was speaking to a cast member in Tiffins about this (and if Tiffins is within your budget you are crazy if you don't go). I was told many get to walk by the construction zone and can see the full extent of this project mad it develops. This individual said that they wished the park visitors could see everything beyond the small area that we see because the scope is incredible and the care to detail is tremendous.

hey thanks @flyerjab
looks like scaffolding is coming down on big mtn that really was the original mtn

 

[RSoxNo1]

I think the issue is Universals screen based rides all seem the norm now-a-days. It is all they build... Yes Disney is building a screen-based attraction for Avatar... But Cars Land has no screen based rides... New Fantasyland has no screen based rides (quality of the rides they built aside), Avatar is getting a non screen based ride as well..

It's not necessarily a pass... it's just that the level of reliance is different. We can see that universal can create effective attraction elements without screens (forbidden journey), so we want to see more of that... But every attraction in the future that is currently being built is.. screen based.

There is nothing wrong with screen based rides, but if that's all you do it gets tedious. It's the same argument as IP based rides vs original concepts. There needs to be a healthy mixture of ride types.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Disney is moving towards screens as well or have you not noticed the new Pirates ride in Shanghai? The River Journey could be using similar tech to that (yes, even those oh so terrible dreaded screens) and both Star Wars rides will have screens as well. Here's a fun fact based what I've seen/read as well.

AAs in Kong: 11 (4 in the ride, 2 in the queue, one in each of the 5 vehicles)

AAs in Shanghai Pirates: 4 in the ride

F&F and Fallon most likely won't have AAs but Nintendo is rumored to be more physical than screen based. I'm at the point where I just want great rides. If it uses screens very effectively I don't care. They're able to pull off things not possible with a set.

Again, there's a mixture of screens with other components. By themselves, screens aren't bad. They are clearly an effective story telling mechanism for a ride.

The problem is Universal Creative has fallen in love with screens much in the same way Disney Imagineering falls in live with certain ride systems. Each individual ride is very good, but when you do them all on the same day you get screen fatigue.

Do we have any idea what the capacity of the avatar rides will be? Are we taking pirates for the boat ride and soarin x2 for FOP?

FOP will really depend on how the banshee seating works. The stock Vekoma flight simulator can do either 90 or 160 passengers depending on the configuration. So the theoretical capacity will be that times 4 time cycles per hour. But, it's likely they will not use the stock seating so that will change the numbers.

When the original blueprints were leaked I figured with an 8 minute cycle time the capacity would be similar to Soarin' with two theaters. Having said that it's entirely possible the seating is totally different than what's represented on the blueprints and that the cycle time is more or less than 8 minutes. There are too many variables at this point to definitively say what the capacity will be.

For the boat ride, even if it's shorter, the capacity should be on par with Shanghai's pirates assuming it is using the same ride system.

 

[JohnWD]

I am getting sick of Disney's over reliance on animatronics. When are we going to go back to live actors.

I get the sarcasm! But the Stormtroopers at DHS and their show is phenomenal in my opinion. This is what I expect in SWL - actors making the Star Wars universe come alive. (No reason to zing me again about parroting Disney marketing, but if it makes you feel better, have at it.). At DL HM they originally had a live actor that would scare you to death (eliminated because too scary if I remember). Maybe Avatar will have some actors too.

 

[Rodan75]

This whole thread has devolved into silliness. There is a valid debate about screens and show buildings...but instead of debating folks are just engaging in a ing match. Both Uni and Disney have both proved recently that they are capable of building immersive attractions that utilize screens, animatronics and actors, do we really need to count the screens and animatronics in each ride to see which one is more innovative. It is just silly.

 

[Mike S]

This whole thread has devolved into silliness. There is a valid debate about screens and show buildings...but instead of debating folks are just engaging in a ****ing match. Both Uni and Disney have both proved recently that they are capable of building immersive attractions that utilize screens, animatronics and actors, do we really need to count the screens and animatronics in each ride to see which one is more innovative. It is just silly.

My counting wasn't to make that specific point. It was to show that Kong isn't any worse than Pirates. Both look great imo. I'm getting tired of this debate as well and even told people to stop in my dedicated Kong thread. Let's get back to Avatar. I'm very excited to see the progress on it with every photo update

 

[KingOfEpicocity]

According to you...

Exactly.

 

[doctornick]

Again, there's a mixture of screens with other components. By themselves, screens aren't bad. They are clearly an effective story telling mechanism for a ride.

The problem is Universal Creative has fallen in love with screens much in the same way Disney Imagineering falls in live with certain ride systems. Each individual ride is very good, but when you do them all on the same day you get screen fatigue.

Thank you. This has always been my thought as well. Uni in Florida has an excellent roster of rides between their two parks, but outside of their roller coasters the headliners tend to be similar in structure and execution which is often expressed as being too screen heavy. I thin part of that is not just the use of screens but how they are used where you have the "something goes horribly wrong" storyline and you see something attacking your vehicle, you get moved around and sometimes with some physical effects (water, fire, wind). It can feel a little repetitive when riding all of them.

One of the huge selling points of the castle parks (and a big reason I think they are so popular) for Disney is that there is a huge variety of quality experiences within them. Thrill rides (yes, generally on the mild side of that scale), immersive slow moving rides with music and huge showpieces, small "cute" dark rides, slower paced theme-enhancing rides, AA shows, all coupled with great large scale entertainment (fireworks, parades) which creates a very balanced experience with something to appeal to everyone.

To bring this back to the topic at hand, the new additions for Pandora are perfect in this way. What is being added, at least from what we know? A "flying ride" using screen based simulation tech and having some degree thrill level. And a boat ride which is calmer, but using a new ride system allowing greater movement to enhance the effects. Both of these will be quite different from the other (admittedly few) rides in the park. We also will have a new nighttime entertainment unique to the park. All this is a great way of complimenting the existing offerings there. Too much of any type of experience in one setting is not ideal which this expansion seems to be avoiding.

 

[Daveeeeed]

There is nothing wrong with screen based rides, but if that's all you do it gets tedious. It's the same argument as IP based rides vs original concepts. There needs to be a healthy mixture of ride types.

No One could have said it better than that!

 

[Steel City Magic]

Has anyone seen any pictures of the jagged looking rocks in what looks like the entrances to one of the rides ? They are right in the middle of show building in the model pictures.

Since this was ignored for 5 pages and instead bickering about mountains on sticks ensued, I'll drop this here. I too am interested. Anybody catch a glimpse of these yet?

 

[matt9112]

The mountain facade will hide the "mechanism", so no need for them to hide them during day! This looks to be taken from the parking lot.. But when you see them from the right angle within the park/land, you won't see the "sticks"

so most guests dont approach the park from the parkinglot area right?

 

[matt9112]

Yes! That's what I really like about the approach they're supposedly doing. When you're close enough and have to look up, the thick curved vine will be covered as to not give it away. But when you're far from it, it'll look like a vine. And I think that illusion might just work!

they could have ommitted them....looks like crap

 

[twebber55]

they could have ommitted them....looks like crap

i do think they look bad now although i wouldnt totally judge until completion. although it really doesnt bother me to see things from outside the park
JMO

 

[Skibum1970]

Thank you. This has always been my thought as well. Uni in Florida has an excellent roster of rides between their two parks, but outside of their roller coasters the headliners tend to be similar in structure and execution which is often expressed as being too screen heavy. I thin part of that is not just the use of screens but how they are used where you have the "something goes horribly wrong" storyline and you see something attacking your vehicle, you get moved around and sometimes with some physical effects (water, fire, wind). It can feel a little repetitive when riding all of them.

One of the huge selling points of the castle parks (and a big reason I think they are so popular) for Disney is that there is a huge variety of quality experiences within them. Thrill rides (yes, generally on the mild side of that scale), immersive slow moving rides with music and huge showpieces, small "cute" dark rides, slower paced theme-enhancing rides, AA shows, all coupled with great large scale entertainment (fireworks, parades) which creates a very balanced experience with something to appeal to everyone.

To bring this back to the topic at hand, the new additions for Pandora are perfect in this way. What is being added, at least from what we know? A "flying ride" using screen based simulation tech and having some degree thrill level. And a boat ride which is calmer, but using a new ride system allowing greater movement to enhance the effects. Both of these will be quite different from the other (admittedly few) rides in the park. We also will have a new nighttime entertainment unique to the park. All this is a great way of complimenting the existing offerings there. Too much of any type of experience in one setting is not ideal which this expansion seems to be avoiding.

I completely agree with this. We just came back from a trip to both UNI and WDW. I love going to IOA and Forbidden Journey was a lot of fun. However, my wife commented that she liked Disney because the simulation rides (as she referred to them) at UNI all felt the same. I cannot wait for Avatar to open. I just wish that Disney would add some more rides and focus a little less on the immersiveness. The immersive quality is great but it is nice to actually have something to ride. That said, I really want to experience Avatar at night when the walkways light up and the lighting effects are running. I think that most parks, especially at WDW, gain so much more ambience and magic at night.