Joe Rohde!!??

[WDW1974]

Ill address each of your posts that youve ranted about.

For this, my friend is very reliable. Just to add a final thing, here is a quote he told me. "They didnt spend that much money to turn around and say oh we had second thoughts." Plus apparently TDO is hot on this idea.

Reliable friends are very important. I always take care of mine.:wave:

As to your quote, all I will do is repeat what I already have so instead of doing that, I'll simply say that very little (almost no) real money (at least by WDI standards) has been spent. And while Disney would have to pay some fee to Cameron if Disney pulls out, that thing happens all the time in the entertainment business. And is miniscule versus the cost of going forward with this project.

You are right, though, TDO is very hot on the idea. They think this can be their 'Potter Swatter' (I hate that term more than TDO hates Walmarting!) ... missing the point that by the time they actually open anything (at this point you're looking at 2016-17 frame), UNI will have huge new (and very impressive) additions open and drawing crowds.

~Tweet, tweet, tweet ...~

 

[WDW1974]

Someone needs to watch the Hoop Dee Doo again! :lol:

Yep ... now I get it ... but I haven't seen Hoop Dee Doo in decades now (always loved it, but am afraid it will be yet another disappointment).

~Steak, for every meal? yeah, that's why the DDP is successful!~

 

[Jim Handy]

Yep ... now I get it ... but I haven't seen Hoop Dee Doo in decades now (always loved it, but am afraid it will be yet another disappointment).

~Steak, for every meal? yeah, that's why the DDP is successful!~

Well since Disney can't get right to the songs, (Ironic?) they had to change it up a bit. The show isn't as it used to be but still fantastic, though the food has improved. Remember-The Fort is almost unaffected by the wonderful management of today.

Sorry for the thread drift.

 

[disney fan 13]

Haha. I talked to him again tonight and I tried to get me some more info. He's really excited about it, as is a lot of people he knows. To build on what I said earlier, he told me tonight that the word around town is that Pandora is going to be very lush and very detailed. He says if TDO get their way, this will be as detailed as Africa and Asia. Now he cant answer the big question like how many rides and attractions or where its going to be located for sure. But he is starting to believe its going to be between Asia and Africa; tucked back in that expansion pad and where planet watch is. Apparently there have been serious talks about moving conservation station and Flights of Wonder to Camp Minnie Mickey and make it more of an area about conservation and environmentalism. Lion King would remain.

And for those of you interested in the Yeti. Apparently, they have to shut it down for the Yeti to get fixed. According to him, a plan is in place and should be fixed before Pandora opens. Oddly, he said the Yeti isnt the only thing they wanna work on. Not really just effects, but there is other things they need to work on.

Thats all for now.

Uh.... two questions one is your friend a bus driver?
And two, are we talking about the same TDO?

 

[stitch2008]

Reliable friends are very important. I always take care of mine.:wave:

As to your quote, all I will do is repeat what I already have so instead of doing that, I'll simply say that very little (almost no) real money (at least by WDI standards) has been spent. And while Disney would have to pay some fee to Cameron if Disney pulls out, that thing happens all the time in the entertainment business. And is miniscule versus the cost of going forward with this project.

You are right, though, TDO is very hot on the idea. They think this can be their 'Potter Swatter' (I hate that term more than TDO hates Walmarting!) ... missing the point that by the time they actually open anything (at this point you're looking at 2016-17 frame), UNI will have huge new (and very impressive) additions open and drawing crowds.

~Tweet, tweet, tweet ...~

Well first, I wouldnt expect much to have been spent so far. There isnt much action cause plans havent been put into real action. From what I have gathered(and dragged out outta my pals brain), TDO has been fixed on doing something at DAK and think Avatar is the answer. He thinks that the wheels are going to rolling on Pandora before too much longer and to him it's no surprise Avatar 2 is being released in 2016; around the same time Pandora at DAK is scheduled to open.

I dont really particularly care about Universal is doing between now and then. Nor do I think Disney cares. I mean yeah they keep on each other and all that. But Ive always held my belief that park and resorts dont go to war with each other cause no one wins and everyone will lose. I watched the documented "Coaster Wars" rage between parks from the late 80's till about 2008. Year after year, parks raged war against each other to build the latest and greatest. They kept their eyes on the attendence and the accolades that came with their big new things. And they kept watching the competition and tried to top them every year. One thing they didn't keep on eye on was their own finances. I know that cause the two major players ended up in massive financial trouble. And as I said, no one won the coaster wars. If anyone won, it was the steel makers and construction workers who built the darn things. The park vp of where I work now told me that the "Coaster Wars" taught parks(big and small; Disney and Fun World USA) was that you should keep an eye on your competition, but keep your focus on the most important thing; yourself. Just a little park lesson ive learned along the way. Thats why I dont by this "Potter Impact" or "Potter Swatters" or whatever people decide to call em. Universal is going to ride Potter cause its what they want to do. Disney, it appears, will ride Avatar cause they want to. And it appears will ride Empire of Penguins because they want to.

Uh.... two questions one is your friend a bus driver?
And two, are we talking about the same TDO?

1. My friend is actually a construction worker. He works for a company down in central florida and has been involved in many projects at the parks. If you had actually read my post, you would see I actually say thats what he does.

2. Yeah. They want a game changer for DAK to complete the park and they think Avatar is just their game.

 

[JustInTime]

The fact that we have not gotten a shred of new information these past few months kinda bothers me. I really hope the project is still on...

 

[Tom]

The fact that we have not gotten a shred of new information these past few months kinda bothers me. I really hope the project is still on...

Yeah. For something that's this big of a deal, you'd think they'd at least dangle some carrots on the blog.

 

[JustInTime]

Yeah. For something that's this big of a deal, you'd think they'd at least dangle some carrots on the blog.

It's been 4 months and no a whisper from anyone. I am sure it's still on, but it's still odd. I guess I shouldn't worry since construction wasn't supposed to start until 2013 anyway.

 

[stitch2008]

It's been 4 months and no a whisper from anyone. I am sure it's still on, but it's still odd. I guess I shouldn't worry since construction wasn't supposed to start until 2013 anyway.

This. Well over a year before any ground will start moving. I imagine the gears will be rolling more once summer rolls around. They probably arent saying much because they don't have much to talk about at this point. They can remind you again that Avatar is coming and that they have a creative partnership with Lightstorm Entertainment if you'd like

 

[Tom]

This. Well over a year before any ground will start moving. I imagine the gears will be rolling more once summer rolls around. They probably arent saying much because they don't have much to talk about at this point. They can remind you again that Avatar is coming and that they have a creative partnership with Lightstorm Entertainment if you'd like

I wish I knew how much the FL expansion was discussed prior to the start of it, and how far in advance. Maybe we're learning of new work sooner and sooner, so we expect details sooner than is reasonable.

 

[stitch2008]

I wish I knew how much the FL expansion was discussed prior to the start of it, and how far in advance. Maybe we're learning of new work sooner and sooner, so we expect details sooner than is reasonable.

Well at this point I doubt there is much to really talk about. From what I understand, they are still getting all the pieces of the plan together. They had the general idea of the land, but now its the actual figuring out how it looks, whats in the land officially, that kind of stuff. That can be a somewhat long and boring process for fans. Its just a time of trial and error until you get it right. And a park is never give out details when that's happening. They want you to hear about the finished product and what that's going to entail.

I mean I think the FLE thing is keeping them from revealing too much too soon. I dont think they want to go through that kind of situation again. Where the plans change after the public has discovered it. They want to tell you about Pandora when its good and ready to go.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I wish I knew how much the FL expansion was discussed prior to the start of it, and how far in advance. Maybe we're learning of new work sooner and sooner, so we expect details sooner than is reasonable.

The original blueprints were leaked in the summer (June/July), it was announced at the D23 Expo in 2009 (September), and construction/land clearing begin in January I believe. That project was a lot further along than Avatar was when it was announced.

 

[NoChesterHester]

I mean I think the FLE thing is keeping them from revealing too much too soon. I dont think they want to go through that kind of situation again. Where the plans change after the public has discovered it. They want to tell you about Pandora when its good and ready to go.

Also, why compete with yourself for attention? They want to reap the marketing benefit of Fantasyland opening and probably don't want to muddy the waters so to say.

 

[NoChesterHester]

But he is starting to believe its going to be between Asia and Africa; tucked back in that expansion pad and where planet watch is. Apparently there have been serious talks about moving conservation station and Flights of Wonder to Camp Minnie Mickey and make it more of an area about conservation and environmentalism. Lion King would remain.

I question the reasoning of putting all the parks headline attractions at the back of the park. If Pandora goes in the large expansion plot there is nothing to balance the flow.

Also, there are logistical challenges of getting people out of that part of the park at night or after a big spectacular.

 

[WDW1974]

Yeah. For something that's this big of a deal, you'd think they'd at least dangle some carrots on the blog.

Tom, if they had something to leak, anything to stem what has largely been a huge wave of negativity against the whole concept then you better believe they would have by now.

They haven't because they don't have a thing that they can even say 'may' happen.

~A villa in Italy sounds better all the time~!

 

[WDW1974]

It's been 4 months and no a whisper from anyone. I am sure it's still on, but it's still odd. I guess I shouldn't worry since construction wasn't supposed to start until 2013 anyway.

Don't be so sure ... and also putting the timeline so out there in the future begs the question of WHY?

~It Came Spilling Out!~

 

[Tom]

The original blueprints were leaked in the summer (June/July), it was announced at the D23 Expo in 2009 (September), and construction/land clearing begin in January I believe. That project was a lot further along than Avatar was when it was announced.

Thanks for the dates. I didn't want to go back and dig it all up. I guess I just have to keep reminding myself that they spouted off this news, in an official manner, far before they usually would.

Tom, if they had something to leak, anything to stem what has largely been a huge wave of negativity against the whole concept then you better believe they would have by now.

They haven't because they don't have a thing that they can even say 'may' happen.

~A villa in Italy sounds better all the time~!

Yeah, I'm coming to realize that now. They probably don't even have a napkin with a sketch on it :lol:

And I really agree with your tagline.

 

[NoChesterHester]

Don't be so sure ... and also putting the timeline so out there in the future begs the question of WHY?

~It Came Spilling Out!~

Accounting.

 

[Jim Handy]

They have a bunch of ideas for Avatar. But they've yet to chose what's best out of these ideas and make a solid actual plan, as I understand it.

I guess we just have to wait for this and the new PI plans Tommy promised us a few months ago.

 

[RSoxNo1]

They have a bunch of ideas for Avatar. But they've yet to chose what's best out of these ideas and make a solid actual plan, as I understand it.

I guess we just have to wait for this and the new PI plans Tommy promised us a few months ago.

We were discussing this last night (not sure if it's going to make the show so I'll share it here). One of the "problems" with Avatarland, is that I don't think the Carsland approach will work here. Stripped down to their bare essentials, the Carsland attractions feature an E-ticket, and then two attractions that cater to either children or nostalgia.

For Avatar to work, it probably needs an excellent E-Ticket (probably not a $300 mil RSR budget), and 1 or 2 solid D-Tickets. Each attraction needs to have some sort of "wow" factor in it, as the franchise itself doesn't have the rabid fan base of Potter, Star Wars, or even Cars. For it to be succesful, not only does it need to recreate elements of Pandora, but the rides themselves need to be innovative.