AVATAR land - the specifics

doctornick

Well-Known Member
I'll drop out of this conversation since a lot of you are clearly enamored with what you're seeing.

But I think you need some serious pixie glasses to look at that pic and think they got their money's worth in atmosphere. That photo doesn't look cutting edge at all to me.

I'll admit that when I look at these photos of the land (and that's basically all I've looked at, as I've avoided the videos), I don't get the sense of awe that others do. But.... I also see the potential there and feel that it could certainly be extremely impressive in person. It's like how photos of the Grand Canyon don't do it justice and you have to be there to really appreciate the majesty.

To the same extent, if you took a screenshot of some random scene in Avatar (the movie) and showed the picture to someone, they probably wouldn't have been very impressed by it. But the film was massively praised for it's visuals and the experience of watching it in 3D, in IMAX, etc. with a moving film is drastically different than just a photo of a scene. I've got to think that walking around the land will be a similar contrast to just looking at some still photos of the scenery.
 

MisterPenguin

President of Animal Kingdom
Premium Member
Weren't there leaked pictures of people sitting on an actual banshee? I thought that was part of the ride system for FoP. @Magic Feather are you able to comment?
This was a leaked photograph of a very early prototype that was scrapped shortly after
Not only were they (maybe) a very early prototype, but they were leaked rather recently by The Unmentionable Site with a lot of fanfare for a scoop, which our insiders already knew was not a scoop at all. But a lot of people took the bait.
 

disney4life2008

Well-Known Member
I'll drop out of this conversation since a lot of you are clearly enamored with what you're seeing.

But I think you need some serious pixie glasses to look at that pic and think they got their money's worth in atmosphere. That photo doesn't look cutting edge at all to me.

Hey its Disney. 90 percent of Disney fans will think a pole with a scarf wrapped around it with a image of a sharman is spectacular.
 

Castle Cake Apologist

Well-Known Member
And certainly if WDI believed that something important was still being tested, they would have made it known to the press that such-and-such effect would be online by opening day.

They actually specifically told all of the media outlets in attendance that the actual bioluminescence part wasn't working yet for the preview. Most of the articles that I've read showing the nighttime offerings have mentioned this, so it's not exactly a secret or information that would have been hard to find out. The plants in the land are all wired into a complex central control system and there will be quite a bit more to it when the land officially opens.

Not to mention that the pictures and videos being released from the night tour are literally only from the garden in the entrance area. The land itself, including the lighting, is not completely ready as it doesn't open for another month.

From http://www./2017/04/inside-look-mov...disney-worlds-stunning-nighttime-spectacular/:

Inside the Magic said:
"This weekend, Walt Disney World granted ITM access to be among the first to step into Pandora after dark – long before Imagineers have even finished lighting the land. Its complex system of bioluminescent plants is still in the works, but we were given a preview that allowed us a great sense of the impressive direction it’s headed in the weeks ahead."

EDIT: Just noticed that The DIS also specifically mentioned that the bioluminescence feature wasn't working and that they were very limited on what they were allowed to shoot.
 
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phi2134

Well-Known Member
They are attached to a Kuka arm type of contraption. Same range of motion. If you did watch the load video you will notice what looks like cutouts under the seats. This is where they extend from the load platform to allow for their motion.
Is each seat on its own arm or is the entire row of 8 attached to one arm? It blows my mind to possibly think that each rider has its own motion system for a show of this size.
 

Figment2005

Well-Known Member
Is each seat on its own arm or is the entire row of 8 attached to one arm? It blows my mind to possibly think that each rider has its own motion system for a show of this size.
That I'm not sure of. I think its individual, but it could be a shared mechanism.
 

Mouse3268

Well-Known Member
Pretty sure the original plans included more than Flight and the boat ride, or maybe the boat ride was originally supposed to be longer. Presumably those plans didn't get to the blueprint stage, but that doesn't mean the plans weren't scaled back.

Either way, I've noticed that no one has referred to Flight as a "best ride at the resort" contender whereas Mystic Manor and Shanghai's Pirates have generated that kind of discussion.

I'm sure it will be an anchor E-ticket, but I suspect it's not groundbreaking (and consequently ambitious) like the Spider-man or FJ's Kuka ride systems.

If I remember correctly, the plan for the 3rd ride was a rollercoaster that would have been between the main show building and the entrance plaza that is now employee parking.
 

Mouse3268

Well-Known Member
Avatarland had high expectations attached to it, even with all the heckling that's been going on through its entire development cycle.

I don't think anybody really cares about Toy Story Land. Everybody's already expecting a cheap piece of crap because that's all these Toy Story Lands have ever been.

As someone who's been to the Toy Story Land in Paris, the concept art for the one in Orlando, while still very much lacking, looks like an improvement.
 

phillip9698

Well-Known Member
I guess we'll wait for the rave reviews to pour in, then. I'm not hearing any "best ride in Orlando" comments. Which, if you've spent a billion dollars on a land, you might expect.

Your logic isn't sound here at all. Gringotts at Universal is a pretty mediocre ride but it's obvious they poured a lot of money, ambition, and time into the ride and Diagon Alley.
 

Phroobar

Well-Known Member
That I'm not sure of. I think its individual, but it could be a shared mechanism.
So you sit on a tron bike attached to an arm that puts you in front of a imax screen where you watch a set of eight Banshees flying in a CG world with no control over them. It's basically just Soarin' while sitting in an uncomfortable position. I think I would have liked the Super Hang On bikes better.

Super_Hang-On_Cabinet_Mini_Ride_On_01.jpg
 

tribbleorlfl

Well-Known Member
One of the very oddest things to me is that you can't find a Na'Vi village anywhere in the land - in the river ride or simply outside in the land itself. The Na'Vi presence is really pretty minimal.
If you ask me, there's actually too much of a Na'vi presence in PtWoA and not enough focus on the fauna of Pandora, which is regrettable in a theme park dedicated to animals (even fictional ones). A few screens on the boat ride, a few rudimentary bat aa's and disembodied sounds don't really cut it in my book.

I've said it before, but this expansion is missing a Discovery Center/Conservation Station hybrid walkthrough attraction to learn more about the Pandoran wildlife.
 

Casper Gutman

Well-Known Member
If you ask me, there's actually too much of a Na'vi presence in PtWoA and not enough focus on the fauna of Pandora, which is regrettable in a theme park dedicated to animals (even fictional ones). A few screens on the boat ride, a few rudimentary bat aa's and disembodied sounds don't really cut it in my book.

I've said it before, but this expansion is missing a Discovery Center/Conservation Station hybrid walkthrough attraction to learn more about the Pandoran wildlife.

That's a really great point and would have made a fantastic attraction - I can picture it now.

Yeah, I hadn't even thought about it, but we didn't get a single figure of any of the larger Pandoran animals.

Watching all the videos of Pandora made me rewatch a bunch of videos of other Disney attractions - Shanghai's Pirates, Mystic Manor, Tokyo's Monsters - they remind me how much I love Disney but really make me wonder why we can't get an equivalent in America. And that doesn't just go for Disney - can you imagine the huge shockwaves it would send through Orlando if Uni really upped their game and built something on the level of MM or Shanghai's PoC? Even more than if it appeared at WDW, one such ride would intensify the theme park competition and (hopefully) bring us a flood of new attractions from both companies.
 

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