-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
AVATAR land - the specifics
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Possibly the renderings on Vekoma's website?
Prototype82
Well-Known Member
Well I was misinformed. A buddy of mine told me these were leaked from the project when he sent these to me. Traced em back to screamscape. It was an assumption from the original poster of what the attraction might be like. http://screamscape.com/html/wdw_-_animal_kingdom.htm
Prototype82
Well-Known Member
Maybe it will appear in one of the sequels?
SJN1279
Well-Known Member
I was thinking since Avatar consists of Soarin 2.0, a restaurant and a boat ride, why not just convert the Land Pavilion in Epcot to Pandora? They could theme the hell out of the building and not have to devote a whole land to Avatar(while still updating Soarin, which desperately needs it).
It's funny you mention this... Though I think redoing The Land is a bad idea for AVATAR, I think that Imagineering should use what they did with The Land as a framework for Pandora. A large pavilion like that with attractions coming off as spurs from it would be perfect. It's the way that I designed my mock up for the area, when I was doodling around.
Prototype82
Well-Known Member
Because Epcot is supposed to be about the REAL world....
Animal Kingdom on the other hand, was supposed to house a fantasy world to begin with....
Skipper Dan
Active Member
It's their 'Holy Land', the site of that Spirit Tree... not the big one, but the one with the luminescent branches. Where they all did that seance to save Sigourney Weaver.
ThemeParks4Life
Well-Known Member
Speaking of Sigourney Weaver, I wouldn't mind if they brought back the Alien ride plans.
jdmdisney99
Well-Known Member
So we now know that the land will replace Camp Minnie Mickey...or at least something will (hopefully), it will feature a boat ride through the bioluminescence of Pandora, a simulator flight on a Banshee around the forested moon, and a plethora of glowing plants that will be a maintenance challenge. Just thought I'd revive the thread to keep all of the specific news compiled here.
jt04
Well-Known Member
It is hilarious to read some of the older posts in this thread.
jt04
Well-Known Member
GoofGoof
Premium Member
In defense of the people who thought it was dead there were about 2 years between the announcement and when they put the stick in the ground. Not a peep from anyone on anything. It was like one of those coma patients who are out for years and then suddenly wake up. A shock to everyone, but in a good way
.
.
jt04
Well-Known Member
In defense of the people who thought it was dead there were about 2 years between the announcement and when they put the stick in the ground. Not a peep from anyone on anything. It was like one of those coma patients who are out for years and then suddenly wake up. A shock to everyone, but in a good way
I never sleep.
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
It was quite obviously a very troubled project in serious danger of being canned during that time it went silent, and it did go silent for a very long time. Projects can die and come back to life at a later time, sounds like that's what happened with Avatar for some time. It has taken them that long to announce any sort of concept art, the project was delayed for quite a while (Iger originally tried to tell people it would be done by 2015), and it STILL hasn't begun construction. That it has taken them this long to even begin building should be a clear sign to all but the most dense that the project was on thin ice (and may very well have died completely at one point before being resurrected) during its silence.
MerlinTheGoat
Well-Known Member
Nope, and I would really think twice before calling people like Lee and WDW1974 biased liars. They have been right countless times in the past and know exactly what they're talking about (Lee I believe was one of the people who confirmed the Mine Train was being included in Fantasyland instead of the Tremain chateau before anyone else, and WDW1974 is well known for his track record across multiple forums, recently he confirmed well ahead of time that George Kalogridis was going to become the next president of WDW). And not only did they tell people the project was in trouble when it was, but they were also the first to tell everyone that it was back on track again when they got the info, hardly refusing to admit a mistake. There again was no mistake in the first place, the project was obviously in turmoil and in a danger of being canned. Bob Iger was already caught lying when he said last year it would be done in 2015. There's a reason it took us so long to get any concept art.
You're out of your mind if you're going to try to claim the Dwarf Coaster or anything else in New Fantasyland for that matter can even hope to compare to the likes of building EPCOT Center and Tokyo Disneyland. It took the original EPCOT about three years to build. A park infinitely more content rich, impressive and ambitious than New Fantasyland. Even each individual Future World E Ticket ride (Spaceship Earth, World of Motion, etc) originally built blows the entirety of Fantasyland and its expansion out of the water. By the time the Dwarf Coaster is complete, it will have taken them well over 4 years to complete the Fantasyland Expansion. We're still waiting because Disney is intentionally choosing to build it slowly.
You should take those points up with the insiders here as they're the ones i'm repeating, we don't really know what the original contract entailed in the first place. Cameron is said to have approached Universal with the idea of Avatar before Disney but they are said to have turned his proposal down. Also not my words, but Disney is his only other choice apart from building his own theme park by himself. There's also no logic in comparing trying to direct an actor to do right on the set and trying to negotiate a deal with the executives behind a multi billion dollar mega corporation. I highly doubt Cameron has very much control over the financials of this project, otherwise we'd be seeing a ride in this project far more ambitious than a Soarin clone and boat ride. Several insiders (including recently Martin) have mentioned a third major ride was originally under consideration, now no longer part of the plan. He has already compromised.
The reason I am inclined to believe what insiders have said (besides their track record) is that despite some underlying logic in your points- Disney often acts in incredibly illogical ways and has gotten to be an incredibly incompetent and slow-moving corporation that makes very short sighted business decisions. If this was the same company from 20 years ago or so, i'd probably agree with at least many of your points. Though we probably also wouldn't be having this conversation in the first place either.
CTXRover
Well-Known Member
Even insiders (whose info I appreciate) can be wrong from time to time or fed less than truthful or biased information. My guess is avatar went through a difficult blue sky process and we had a unique opportunity in it being the only major project announced before development really started in the internet age where we even had info from this stage being available.
I truly feel Iger was wrong on his dates when he said 2015. Possibly why per some folks he looked "uncomfortable" answering as he didn't have the dates right in his head.
When the Project was announced in Sept 2011, the official line from Tom Staggs in the FAQ posted on the Parks Blog was "we’re still in the very early stages of design and planning.....we expect to begin construction in 2013. From start to finish, a project of this size and scope takes about 5 years to design and build."
It seems a bit behind that as construction of the land itself has yet to start although construction for it to come (I.e. TLK theater) has started, so technically construction had started in 2013.
Five years of development anf construction from 2011 would take us to late 2016 at the earliest.
Now per Tom Staggs re: the new area and its attractions: "
we currently expect them to open in early 2017".
Early 2017 is a broad range and could even be talking in Fiscal quarters which could really mean late 2016 in the actual calendar year.
Thus it would seem to be perhaps a few months, not years, behind any schedule.
I truly feel Iger was wrong on his dates when he said 2015. Possibly why per some folks he looked "uncomfortable" answering as he didn't have the dates right in his head.
When the Project was announced in Sept 2011, the official line from Tom Staggs in the FAQ posted on the Parks Blog was "we’re still in the very early stages of design and planning.....we expect to begin construction in 2013. From start to finish, a project of this size and scope takes about 5 years to design and build."
It seems a bit behind that as construction of the land itself has yet to start although construction for it to come (I.e. TLK theater) has started, so technically construction had started in 2013.
Five years of development anf construction from 2011 would take us to late 2016 at the earliest.
Now per Tom Staggs re: the new area and its attractions: "
we currently expect them to open in early 2017".
Early 2017 is a broad range and could even be talking in Fiscal quarters which could really mean late 2016 in the actual calendar year.
Thus it would seem to be perhaps a few months, not years, behind any schedule.
Last edited:
flyerjab
Well-Known Member
Just read through this thread and find this discussion interesting. I am not an 'insider' by any stretch of the imagination but I am always amused at the statements that are made like 'the project was in trouble' or there was 'disagreements between Cameron and Disney' and 'it almost didn't happen' etc. I happen to work for the evil empire that is Big Pharma and I have had the 'privilege' of sitting in on major capital project meetings with executive directors, VPs, senior VPs and the like. I have also witnessed people with dissenting ideas clash at these meetings.
What I find to be true in most cases is that Type A people (who typically rise the these types of positions in life) that come together to unite for a common idea do not accomplish this task by merrily holding hands while standing on the deck of the good ship lollypop where everyone agrees on a single path forward. The process is typically painful with incredible difference of opinion on how to move forward, how much money to spend, blah blah blah. In the end, a goal is ultimately achieved, looks nothing like it originally did, certain parts were rushed while others are extended, deadlines extended or changed entirely. I would imagine that a project like adding Pandora to the canon of Disney was a painful process and will continue to be so until it is completed.
Ummm...I think the timeline path Pandora has been on makes sense...People complain how long it is taking to get going, but Disney made the announcement regarding Avatar before even developing the concept. I would think for an expansion such as this it would take at least 2 years for the research and design phase. people are so spoiled. The forums are use to announcement then concept art. That was not possible here...As soon as Cameron and Disney reached a deal...it was announced to the public.
well said (as always) i ve always felt the people who are anti avatar have been quick to jump on any negative press about the project or less than positive words from our insiders...the insiders drive this board period..and i enjoy what they have to say but i dont cling to every word they say either
ps love the usage of reverence