Will Avatar give AK the boost it needs?

[Prince-1]

I don't think you're quite following me here.

Why did TPM make so much bank 16 years after RotJ?
Because Star Wars didn't get put on the back burner the way Avatar has.

Here's a partial list:
1983 - Return of the Jedi
1984 - Ewoks: Caravan of Courage
1985 - Ewoks: Battle for Endor
1984-1985 - Ewoks Saturday Morning Cartoon
1985-1986 - Droids Saturday Morning Cartoon
1988 - Star Tours Disneyland
1989 - Star Tours MGM Studios
1991 - Heir to the Empire (aka the reason you hear everyone wanting JJ Abrams to make Grand Admiral Thrawn he main villain in the new movies)
1993 - Star Wars: X-Wing released for the PC
1996 - Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire multimedia event. One complete story told through the novel following the main characters, and the video game following new character Dash Rendar.
1997 - Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition
1999 - The New Jedi Order series kicks off.

Ultimately, what I'm really trying to say here is....you're never ever going to hear Bill Murray singing the Avatar theme.


The best Avatar could manage was a bunch of rectal-cranial inverts who want to kill themselves after watching it.

TPM did great because Star Wars is a massive property that people wanted to see more of. The majority of people that went to see it didn't read the books or watch the cartoons or played the games...they watched the original movies and wanted more.

Now whether u like Avatar or not it is still the biggest grossing movie of all time and once the sequel is made and the hype machine starts to roll, Avatar 2 will be a massive hit. Doesn't need books or games. And seriously...Dash Rendar??

 

[FettFan]

avatar is just starting...not saying its star wars just that its starting and we don't know how it will turn out

In the four years after Star Wars...Empire Strikes Back was released and Return of the Jedi was in the writing stages. The success of Star Wars reinvigorated the sci-fi genre, and as a result movie studios start financing more sci-fi movies. We get Alien, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Black Hole, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Moonraker, Flash Gordon, etc.

In the four years after Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was first published....four more books in the series and the first film adaptation were all released. The success of Harry Potter revitalized the fantasy genre, and we got Peter Jackson making Lord of the Rings and Disney making the Narnia movies.


In the four years after Avatar....a handful of concept art and models for a theme park attraction that isn't going to incorporate any of the war and destruction that made people want to see Avatar to begin with, weary-looking Joe Rhode building a model for his new overlord instead of building the park he wants to build, and a sequel that is only just now in the writing stage and won't be released until December 2016, seven years after the original.
The success of Avatar didn't revitalize anything in the science fiction or fantasy genres, except for sloppy post-production 3D conversion of every sci-fi or fantasy movie in order to jack up ticket prices.


Yeah. Avatar is "just starting"...because it got wasted drunk on its own success, nursed a three year hangover, and is finally starting to slog its big blue butt out of bed.

 

[FettFan]

The majority of people that went to see it didn't read the books or watch the cartoons or played the games...they watched the original movies and wanted more.

The majority of people went to see TPM was because Star Wars became MORE than a movie. Star Wars, as well as the sci-fi that it inspired, is a cultural phenomenon.


And Dash Rendar is awesome.

 

[twebber55]

In the four years after Star Wars...Empire Strikes Back was released and Return of the Jedi was in the writing stages. The success of Star Wars reinvigorated the sci-fi genre, and as a result movie studios start financing more sci-fi movies. We get Alien, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Black Hole, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Moonraker, Flash Gordon, etc.

In the four years after Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was first published....four more books in the series and the first film adaptation were all released. The success of Harry Potter revitalized the fantasy genre, and we got Peter Jackson making Lord of the Rings and Disney making the Narnia movies.


In the four years after Avatar....a handful of concept art and models for a theme park attraction that isn't going to incorporate any of the war and destruction that made people want to see Avatar to begin with, weary-looking Joe Rhode building a model for his new overlord instead of building the park he wants to build, and a sequel that is only just now in the writing stage and won't be released until December 2016, seven years after the original.
The success of Avatar didn't revitalize anything in the science fiction or fantasy genres, except for sloppy post-production 3D conversion of every sci-fi or fantasy movie in order to jack up ticket prices.


Yeah. Avatar is "just starting"...because it got wasted drunk on its own success, nursed a three year hangover, and is finally starting to slog its big blue butt out of bed.

your penultimate paragraph is all opinion so ill skip that no reason to debate opinion

I get it you re a huge star wars fan and you're mad that avatar is getting built but nothing you ve said tells me this land will be bad... in fact most reasonable people are giving it a wait and see approach... it amazes me that people actually get mad and hate parts of a theme park because its not what they want... translating to a theme park environment is vital...for example, what land is better toy story land at HKDL or cars land at DCA? which franchise was/is better? obviously cars land yet toy story is a much bigger franchise why? better fit for a theme park... Uni did a great job in picking two environments perfect for theme parks (Hogsmeade/Hogwarts and Diagon Alley/Gringotts). this environment of Pandora, in my opinion, is a perfect fit for a theme experience whether they ever made the movie or not...again debating the success of avatar is silly, it was a huge commercial and critical success...the land will be judged on its own merits

star wars is a great IP..... star tours is the fourth best ride in an average park and that's why when they reopened it a couple of years ago it did squat for DHS
HP is a great IP... FJ is the best ride in the world and that's why when they opened it changed the needle of theme parks in Orlando
Pandora should be judged on the land not the movie

 

[Prince-1]

The majority of people went to see TPM was because Star Wars became MORE than a movie. Star Wars, as well as the sci-fi that it inspired, is a cultural phenomenon.


And Dash Rendar is awesome.

The amount of people that read the books or played the games make up a small amount of revenue for TPM. People made that turd a hit because it was the first new Star Wars movie in years. Yes SW never completely vanished out if the public eye but please dont say it made almost 500 million because of books and games. And yes I read the Zahn books and loved them.

No clue who Dash is...except the son in The Incredibles.

 

[LostPrincessKarleigh]

The way I see it, AK can go one of two ways with the addition of Avatar Land. Done correctly (i.e. immersive, attention to detail, etc.), the way Disney did things in the past, Avatarland could be incredible and really boost attendance for AK. But only if done correctly!
Other wise, the park will stay about the same and just have night time extras.

 

[Magenta Panther]

you wanna wager something on that? this will be huge outpacing cars by a long shot....much bigger in terms of world view really not even debatable
i bet you l l be one of those people when this thing explodes will give all the credit to the nighttime show

PanBOREa will get some initial attention, sure. But it'll be a flash-in-the-pan at best. And I bet YOU the Avatar fanbois will over every little detail, and blame Disney for "ruining" Avatar.

 

[MikeTaylorSound]

Indifference is not negativity. I'll likely get around to seeing Pandora at some point but as of now will not go out of my way to see it. And even if I am amazed, assessment of the land or attractions as stand alone objects is independent of assessment as part of a greater whole. I enjoy both Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and Splash Mountain at the Magic Kingdom, but still consider them inappropriate for their respective lands.

Where would you put them?

 

[Skippy's Pal]

In the four years after Star Wars...Empire Strikes Back was released and Return of the Jedi was in the writing stages. The success of Star Wars reinvigorated the sci-fi genre, and as a result movie studios start financing more sci-fi movies. We get Alien, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Black Hole, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Moonraker, Flash Gordon, etc.

In the four years after Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was first published....four more books in the series and the first film adaptation were all released. The success of Harry Potter revitalized the fantasy genre, and we got Peter Jackson making Lord of the Rings and Disney making the Narnia movies.


In the four years after Avatar....a handful of concept art and models for a theme park attraction that isn't going to incorporate any of the war and destruction that made people want to see Avatar to begin with, weary-looking Joe Rhode building a model for his new overlord instead of building the park he wants to build, and a sequel that is only just now in the writing stage and won't be released until December 2016, seven years after the original.
The success of Avatar didn't revitalize anything in the science fiction or fantasy genres, except for sloppy post-production 3D conversion of every sci-fi or fantasy movie in order to jack up ticket prices.


Yeah. Avatar is "just starting"...because it got wasted drunk on its own success, nursed a three year hangover, and is finally starting to slog its big blue butt out of bed.

This. Avatar was a ho-hum pedestrian story line wrapped up in some reasonably good effects. I dare to say no one went to the movie because they were enthralled by the story (unlike those other fIlms you named). That's why the franchise had no legs and has languished. To the degree that TDO does its usual slap-dash job and Avatarland delivers a pale imitation of the film's effects - or becomes a preachy politically-correct ecology lecture - people are gonna get the word. Given the hundred-year "legs" the story has, Cameron would have had more success with "Titanicland" in DHS, except that Disney clearly isn't going to base anything on mass death.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Where would you put them?

Splash Mountain and Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters? I don't think the layout of Frontierland has room for a more appropriate Splash Mountain location, and sometimes not having something can be an opportunity. As for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, it'd fit a lot better if they dropped the delusional toy angle.

 

[morningstar]

Yes, Avatar land will be awesome. I want to point out how the comparison between Star Wars and Avatar comes out in Avatar's favor. Star Wars has never had a "land" at a theme park. It would be difficult to do, because Star Wars is not set in a land, it's set in a galaxy - i.e. many lands. Star Wars is less about lands and more about characters, which is a good thing, for a book or movie. But for a theme park, what's good is a land. That's what Avatar did brilliantly: Home Tree, the Hallelujah Mountains, the glowing plants, waterfalls, the Tree of Souls. They could have just done an IMAX-style fictional nature documentary with no story or characters and minimal narration and I would have watched it. That stuff will translate well to a theme park.

 

[Mr Toad]

If AK can get Pandora, can we get Asgard or Minas Tirith in MK?

 

[twebber55]

Yes, Avatar land will be awesome. I want to point out how the comparison between Star Wars and Avatar comes out in Avatar's favor. Star Wars has never had a "land" at a theme park. It would be difficult to do, because Star Wars is not set in a land, it's set in a galaxy - i.e. many lands. Star Wars is less about lands and more about characters, which is a good thing, for a book or movie. But for a theme park, what's good is a land. That's what Avatar did brilliantly: Home Tree, the Hallelujah Mountains, the glowing plants, waterfalls, the Tree of Souls. They could have just done an IMAX-style fictional nature documentary with no story or characters and minimal narration and I would have watched it. That stuff will translate well to a theme park.

this has been my point all along..... its about translating to a themed land Cars Land, WWOHP, and soon Pandora
relax all star wars geeks im not trashing star wars just stating the case for Pandora

 

[twebber55]

If AK can get Pandora, can we get Asgard or Minas Tirith in MK?

love LOTR but I wonder what setting you would have the themed land Hobbiton,Minas Tirith, Rivendell?

 

[Mr Toad]

love LOTR but I wonder what setting you would have the themed land Hobbiton,Minas Tirith, Rivendell?

I say level AK and just build Middle Earth...everything from The Shire to Mordor. Orc parade thru the Black Gate to Minas Tirith at 1pm and 5pm...Gandalf can do the fireworks at 9pm...kids can feed the cave trolls.

 

[twebber55]

I say level AK and just build Middle Earth...everything from The Shire to Mordor. Orc parade thru the Black Gate to Minas Tirith at 1pm and 5pm...Gandalf can do the fireworks at 9pm...kids can feed the cave trolls.

don't forget the meet and greet with legolas

 

[Mr Toad]

lol...I may not make it out of The Green Dragon or the Prancing Pony to see any of it

 

[ford91exploder]

PanBOREa will get some initial attention, sure. But it'll be a flash-in-the-pan at best. And I bet YOU the Avatar fanbois will over every little detail, and blame Disney for "ruining" Avatar.

there are some Avatar fanboi's?

 

[ford91exploder]

Yes, Avatar land will be awesome. I want to point out how the comparison between Star Wars and Avatar comes out in Avatar's favor. Star Wars has never had a "land" at a theme park. It would be difficult to do, because Star Wars is not set in a land, it's set in a galaxy - i.e. many lands. Star Wars is less about lands and more about characters, which is a good thing, for a book or movie. But for a theme park, what's good is a land. That's what Avatar did brilliantly: Home Tree, the Hallelujah Mountains, the glowing plants, waterfalls, the Tree of Souls. They could have just done an IMAX-style fictional nature documentary with no story or characters and minimal narration and I would have watched it. That stuff will translate well to a theme park.

You mean awesome in the sense that the movie is on a par with Sharknado and 'Plan 9 from Outer Space' for worst movie evah!

 

[MikeTaylorSound]

Splash Mountain and Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters? I don't think the layout of Frontierland has room for a more appropriate Splash Mountain location, and sometimes not having something can be an opportunity. As for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, it'd fit a lot better if they dropped the delusional toy angle.

When you're at the peak of Splash going over the falls, you are at eye-level (I believe) with Cinderella's Suite. Maybe they don't bring too much attention to this as they should, but it was done on purpose. It's a great feeling and I always look forward to that view, especially when it's an overcast day, because your eyes can adjust more easily coming out of the dark than a sunny day.

I agree that the delusional toy angle doesn't fit with Tomorrowland, but it's a ride for kids. They need those recognizable items, whether we think it's important or not. It helps with the overall experience.