Pandora: The World of Avatar opening date contest

GoofGoof

Premium Member
Original Poster
All of Diagon Alley was in soft opening at one point even if Gringotts wasn't open so it shouldn't be a problem for Avatar.
That's a valid point, but what's really the point of soft opening a land without the rides. I always thought the soft opening for rides was to help get the kinks out before a grand opening when crowds would be huge. I could see them maybe doing the VIP soft openings like they did for FLE for DVC members or CMs or AP holders. Plus there will be numerous lifestyler events leading up to and just after the opening.
 

flyerjab

Well-Known Member
That's a valid point, but what's really the point of soft opening a land without the rides. I always thought the soft opening for rides was to help get the kinks out before a grand opening when crowds would be huge. I could see them maybe doing the VIP soft openings like they did for FLE for DVC members or CMs or AP holders. Plus there will be numerous lifestyler events leading up to and just after the opening.

I agree. In fact, after the debacle that was RoL - something that still isn't open in a park with a yeti that hasn't been fixed since whenever - you would think that Rohde would want this one to debut as error-free and complete as possible. I feel like there were things that happened this year that really made the parks look incompetent. This is the next "big ticket item" so I truly hope for their sake that they get it right. I certainly do not want an official grand opening if none of the rides are available.
 

Mike S

Well-Known Member
That's a valid point, but what's really the point of soft opening a land without the rides. I always thought the soft opening for rides was to help get the kinks out before a grand opening when crowds would be huge. I could see them maybe doing the VIP soft openings like they did for FLE for DVC members or CMs or AP holders. Plus there will be numerous lifestyler events leading up to and just after the opening.
Gringotts had many problems and was not ready for operation even for its grand opening day. It was forced to open anyway on July 8th. I was lucky enough that my first ride that weekend was problem free AKAIK.
 

GoofGoof

Premium Member
Original Poster
Gringotts had many problems and was not ready for operation even for its grand opening day. It was forced to open anyway on July 8th. I was lucky enough that my first ride that weekend was problem free AKAIK.
Frozen seemed to have similar issues. I don't know why they don't really do soft openings anymore. Maybe with social media today it's too hard to spontaneously and secretly open something for test runs. If you try, someone lets the cat out of the bag early and Twitter blows up and then you have a few thousand people camped out at the entrance to the ride/land.
 

MrHappy

Well-Known Member
I'm changing my pick from 6/12 to 6/17. I originally picked 6/12 because it's my wife's birthday but I forgot it will be the 1 year anniversary of the horrific shooting at pulse nightclub. It would be pretty insensitive for Disney to plan a grand opening on that date.
I jumped a few thread pages, so not sure if it was considered already....Cars 3 is scheduled to come out 6/16/17. So they may want to work around that.
 

Po'Rich

Well-Known Member
I'm going to guess 5/20/2017, not because I really think it will be finished by then but because that is the day I am arriving at WDW. How cool would it be to actually have it finished for my trip?....Well, at least cool for me.
 

Mike S

Well-Known Member
Frozen seemed to have similar issues. I don't know why they don't really do soft openings anymore. Maybe with social media today it's too hard to spontaneously and secretly open something for test runs. If you try, someone lets the cat out of the bag early and Twitter blows up and then you have a few thousand people camped out at the entrance to the ride/land.
Frozen and Gringotts are the exceptions, not the rule. Transformers and Kong had soft openings and so did NFL. Hulk had them for a pretty short time too.
 

MinnieM123

Premium Member
I'd like to try and guess, too. :) How about Sept. 4, 2017? That's Labor Day. I chose it because it's a holiday, which might draw more attention to a big announcement..

Yet, keep in mind that many visitors (especially those with school-age children) will be finished with their summer vacations prior to Labor Day. Therefore, it could benefit WDW to have the grand opening on this slightly less busy holiday, to test out the new attraction. It's not quite a soft opening, per se, but perhaps a little less hectic than a July 4th opening (for example).
 

hockeyfran

Member
Here is the list of guesses:

01/01/17 @George
02/02/17 @homerdance
02/29/17 @Ttocs
04/01/17 @Mr Ferret 88
04/02/17 @DlpPhantom
04/19/17 @KikoKea
04/22/17 @BrianLo
05/01/17 @twebber55
05/03/17 @Coaster Lover
05/05/17 @toolsnspools
05/09/17 @hockeyfran
05/11/17 @lobelia
05/19/17 @hakunamatata
05/20/17 @Po'Rich
05/22/17 @WhatJaneSays
05/24/17 @msteel
05/25/17 @ezralou
05/26/17 @SteamBoat6092
05/31/17 @csmat99
06/01/17 @Rteetz
06/02/17 @RSoxNo1
06/07/17 @Next Big Thing
06/12/17 @Patcheslee
06/14/17 @clemmo
06/17/17 @GoofGoof
06/22/17 @bgood
06/23/17 @RMichael21
06/24/17 @danlb_2000
06/26/17 @Leahbobeah
06/29/17 @omurice
06/30/17 @PorterRedkey
07/01/17 @unkadug
07/02/17 @flyerjab
07/10/17 @JohnWD
07/13/17 @Mike S
07/17/17 @gorillaball
07/20/17 @JCtheparrothead
07/25/17 @Bartattack
07/27/17 @DisneyWall-e
07/30/17 @Kate F
08/04/17 @Uncle Lupe
08/15/17 @JenniferS
08/16/17 @MOXOMUMD
08/21/17 @Direwolf27
09/04/17 @MinnieM123
09/05/17 @[insert name here]
09/14/17 @SCOTLORR
10/01/17 @PrincessNelly_NJ
11/01/17 @Rinx
11/15/17 @threvester
12/18/17 @cjack300zx
12/31/17 @ford91exploder
01/01/18 @Rickster7
01/30/18 @Weather_Lady
 

GoofGoof

Premium Member
Original Poster
So in a week we have 55 guesses in and just about half of them are centered around the May/June timeframe. There's a lot of faith in Disney to come through and finish this project before the summer rush. It will be interesting to see how the construction progresses but unlike Mine Train it won't be possible to know from overheads or outside pictures how far along the rides themselves are. Hopefully we get some insiders or CMs to leak some valid info when it gets closer. For now we can just sit back and watch the progress on the outside. If you haven't put in a guess yet, do it now while good dates are still available:)
 

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