CMM seems to be getting prepped for closure... People here have said the idea is to have the Avatar area opened in 2016... Construction is to begin in 2013, or should begin in 2013 if that 2016 time frame is to be met...
Shanghai Disneyland is supposed to open in late 2015. The company will own 43% of the resort, so in terms of financial investment it will be more like Hong Kong Disneyland, and if it opens with few rides and/or the Chinese economy takes a nosedive, then the Mouse will be scrambling to make sure it doesn't turn into a financial disaster, like EuroDisney was until relatively recently, and how Hong Kong Disneyland is getting a lot of new stuff. In other words, a couple years after it opens, the Mouse may need to shell out more $$$ to keep it afloat and/or add new attractions.
Hong Kong was supposed to do killer business as it would supposedly attract tourists by the boat load from China. I don' think that Chinese tourtists, or any type of tourists, are stupid, meaning that if they open Shanghai Disneyland with a lot of fancy landscaping, and few attractions, then it will have real problems.
Also, Iger will be stepping down
in 2015 as CEO. He'll still be Chairman but he won't have a whole lot of power. It seems like an odd time to quit, right in the middle of construction of your "pet project".
If Avatar 2 isn't coming out until 2016, with Avatar 3 on the way, why not wait until 2016 to decide on making this land?
Avatar was a good film, but like E.T., where exactly would a sequel go? The paralyzed marine guy is now a blue person, I guess the military will come back and hunt him under the ocean as payback? Or maybe they'll try to rip out the mineral like before? At some point it is going to get pretty derivative. This isn't Star Wars, there isn't some nebulous emperor and a Darth Vader walking around, there isn't some big mystery like the force, its more of a Star Trek episode where a crew member sides with the local natives over Star Fleet. Not much of an ongoing story. Plus, will the man character be the blue guy the marine became? If so, its harder to relate to CG characters than humans. Though I liked Avatar, I'm not really interested in seeing a sequel as its feel that the story ended.
I still don't get why Disney is pushing a non-Disney franchise which could take business away from whatever Disney film is in theaters when Avatar 2 comes out. And like people have said, who is going to buy a plush blue-guy/girl? The characters aren't lovable like in Disney films, maybe they could make a Sigourney Weaver action figurer with a fake cigarette that lits up and spews smoke and makes crabby remarks. The Godfather was also a big franchise, but you don't see anybody talking about making a Godfather-land with Italian restaurants, drive-by shootings, and a mob-land boat ride through the underworld.
Avatar-land is dead.
Long-live Avengers-land.