AVATAR land - the specifics

George

George

Liker of Things
Premium Member
Casper Gutman said:
So... they're selling Na'Vi tails... which, given what we know from the film, is a bit... odd
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Yes...it will all be part of a big expansion. Predicted over 4 years ago on this site.

George said:
I believe that Disney and Cameron have finally come to an agreement! They've found a way to have something mind blowing (Cameron's requirement) and not too expensive. All they need to do is hire about 20 neurosurgeons, buy 10 or so smallish power supplies, and a crapload of copper wire and anesthetics. First a few small holes will be bored into your skull (not for everyone I know, but bear with me). Then copper wires will be attached to a few of your pleasure centers. The exposed end (in this case I mean the bit sticking out of you skull) will be hooked up to the power supply and you'll be able to make queue love, just like in the movie! Plus, you can get the surgery done before your trip as part of Next Gen! Since this won't take up much space, Rohde can have most of the area back. It's a win, win for everyone!
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Edit: I suppose I should note that booty style tails are but a mere precursor to hair tails.
 
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George

George

Liker of Things
Premium Member
Bairstow said:
The issue isn't that the design and merchandise of the Avatar project borrows from existing world cultures- it's that by using the same corporate effort to present and market culture "authenticity", the Avatar project brings in to stark relief the company's previous efforts to do the same with the Africa and Asia lands. People have sometimes described Disney's Animal Kingdom as, "Third World Tourism ****ography", in that large portions of the park are dedicated to collating some of the more singular sights and sounds from the designers' endless world fact-finding tours, but most especially those that depict foreign poverty, in order to convey a more heightened sense of the exotic. There's a very thoughtful essay about the park, pre-Avatar available here. Amalgamated, semi-fictional places (Harambe, Anandapur) are created in order to avoid the designers being tied to a specific place or culture, and these intentionally "exotic" culture stews are then presented as part of a wider, park-wide narrative that is ostensibly about mankind's relationship to animals. That's always been one of the key differences in the Animal Kingdom's approach from most other theme parks. Unlike say, the Wizarding World at Universal, where the magic and castle are all presented as real and the overlying message is, "Isn't this cool?," the subtext from what's presented at the Animal Kingdom has always been, "You need to learn something from the way these people live." What is different now is that by using the same narrative and design techniques seen in the other lands ("authentic", "cultureally-inspired" merchandise in the gift shops, pseudo-"ethnic" garb for the cast members, etc.) is that the park is going to put a 2009 James Cameron film on an equal topical footing as aesthetically distilled notions of "Asia" and "Africa." I don't envision anyone from the social justice/culture appropriation sphere raising "pitchforks" over this, my observation is simply that by adopting the same theme park design techniques and modes as the other lands, the Avatar project is serving as a satire, intentional or not, of the rest of the park.

It's the self-parody, not any potential offense, that I find interesting and amusing, and I would love to know what sort of internal conversations were had about this.
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Very interesting and though provoking post. It is a "fine line between stupid and clever". I think that if the land and rides are well done, it will be viewed as a big plus and enhancement of the rest of the park. However, I think someone who feels disappointed in the land could very well view it as an unintentional satire of the rest of the park, even if only in the subconscious.
 
ᗩLᘿᑕ ✨ ᗩζᗩᗰ

ᗩLᘿᑕ ✨ ᗩζᗩᗰ

HOUSE OF MAGIC
Premium Member
NRJ not bad. Looks like Solid C ticket.
The only real complaint I have based on the video provided: From 4:10 thru end of ride it's pretty drab and lifeless like they were unsure how to end the ride. And that in itself is telling. Perhaps ride is short because they couldn't figure out a solid show story or they feared repeating themselves with show elements. When you think about it... What else could be added that isn't already in the ride? Repeat-ability might be an issue And Although it wasn't shown in video I do hope the queue provides some added interactivity.
Overall though it's pretty much exactly what I suspected.
it looks fairly average. Which for a C ticket... is good?
 
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Jones14

Jones14

Well-Known Member
Magicart87 said:
ROL not bad. Solid C ticket.
The only real complaint I have based on the video provided: From 4:10 thru end of ride it's pretty drab and lifeless like they were unsure how to end the ride. And that in itself is telling. Perhaps ride is short because they couldn't figure out a solid show story or they feared repeating themselves with show elements. When you think about it... What else could be added that isn't already in the ride? Repeatability might be an issue And Although it wasn't shown in video I do hope the queue provides some added interactivity.
Overall though it's pretty much exactly what I suspected.
it was fairly average. Which for a C ticket... is good?
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Did you get a chance to ride Flight of Passage?
 
No Name

No Name

Well-Known Member
Wow, so many new shots and info today. I haven't seen much, but what I have looks fantastic.

Bairstow said:
The issue isn't that the design and merchandise of the Avatar project borrows from existing world cultures- it's that by using the same corporate effort to present and market culture "authenticity", the Avatar project brings in to stark relief the company's previous efforts to do the same with the Africa and Asia lands. People have sometimes described Disney's Animal Kingdom as, "Third World Tourism ****ography", in that large portions of the park are dedicated to collating some of the more singular sights and sounds from the designers' endless world fact-finding tours, but most especially those that depict foreign poverty, in order to convey a more heightened sense of the exotic. There's a very thoughtful essay about the park, pre-Avatar available here. Amalgamated, semi-fictional places (Harambe, Anandapur) are created in order to avoid the designers being tied to a specific place or culture, and these intentionally "exotic" culture stews are then presented as part of a wider, park-wide narrative that is ostensibly about mankind's relationship to animals. That's always been one of the key differences in the Animal Kingdom's approach from most other theme parks. Unlike say, the Wizarding World at Universal, where the magic and castle are all presented as real and the overlying message is, "Isn't this cool?," the subtext from what's presented at the Animal Kingdom has always been, "You need to learn something from the way these people live." What is different now is that by using the same narrative and design techniques seen in the other lands ("authentic", "cultureally-inspired" merchandise in the gift shops, pseudo-"ethnic" garb for the cast members, etc.) is that the park is going to put a 2009 James Cameron film on an equal topical footing as aesthetically distilled notions of "Asia" and "Africa." I don't envision anyone from the social justice/culture appropriation sphere raising "pitchforks" over this, my observation is simply that by adopting the same theme park design techniques and modes as the other lands, the Avatar project is serving as a satire, intentional or not, of the rest of the park.

It's the self-parody, not any potential offense, that I find interesting and amusing, and I would love to know what sort of internal conversations were had about this.
Click to expand...

I see your point, and I agree that the merchandise is kind of satirical.

Since 2011 though, they've been constantly trying to justify Pandora's connection to the rest of the park and its rightful place in DAK. Heck, they recently put out three videos that all focused on the same general thing: how Pandora is an extension of DAK's values and whatnot. I find the fact that Pandora is being treated as a real place, like Asia and Africa, already a bit "satirical." So like you, I find the merchandise amusing and interesting, but not bothersome.

Even though it's not based on real places and cultures, I'd rather this land feel like a part of the park (even if it creates satire) than a separate entity. Hence why the different name tags and MagicBand readers bother me, but the similar-style merchandise doesn't.
 
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S

startraveler

Active Member
It is my understanding that the river ride is not accessible for wheelchair users. To those of you who have ridden it - Is there is drop or something that prevents wheelchairs from being loaded? Thought I might be able to take advantage of a slow, family friendly ride. :)
 
Jones14

Jones14

Well-Known Member
startraveler said:
It is my understanding that the river ride is not accessible for wheelchair users. To those of you who have ridden it - Is there is drop or something that prevents wheelchairs from being loaded? Thought I might be able to take advantage of a slow, family friendly ride. :)
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It may just be that it requires a transfer due to the design of the boats.
 
FigmentJedi

FigmentJedi

Well-Known Member
Magicart87 said:
Perhaps ride is short because they couldn't figure out a solid show story or they feared repeating themselves with show elements. When you think about it... What else could be added that isn't already in the ride?
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Creature animatronics. The environments are great, but it just feels empty when the Pandoran wildlife only seems to exist on a flat projection plane.
 

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