AVATAR coming to Disney Parks

[big blue and hairy]

My two cents....what on Earth are they thinking??

Maybe you should re-read the news release, they're not thinking on Earth

Sorry....couldn't help myself....

[Diznee4Me]

Earlier on I stated that I am open to see what happens with this venture. I hope it is a success and we all enejoy it.

Bottom line, - even if Avatarland goes up in flames - with the combo of Disney Imagineers and James Cameron there should be technological advances that can only enhance the Disney magic of today and for future Disney projects. So...I say let's sit back and see what unfolds.

[seanyred]

some have talked about where Pandora will go. I Hope that it will built on the piece of land in the North East corner of AK property. That land is already cleared so hopeully good to go for new construction. Also if WDI is smart they will build this land that will allow some flexibility in case they decide not to renew the contract. Not sure how plausible that is, but I would make sense to have a contegency plan.

even though Camp Minnie Mickey is small I hope they don't use this land. Because that would make two lands that Mickey and Minnie were "evicted" from

[TheVBs]

Regarding whether or not Avatar will have lasting power... Well, if 10 years from now no one's interested, WDW can just re-theme the area. Not ideal of course. But, if the sequels tank, it's not like WDW will be stuck with Avatarland forever. Just a thought.

[Tekneek]

I am underwhelmed by the news. They seem desperate to find a film franchise to latch onto. It screams of short term desperation to me, but maybe it will be wonderful and people will love it. As for now, it seems another reminder of how my love for Disney is more retrospective/historical and not really connected to the things they do today.

Good luck with it, Disney!

[Imagineer1981]

Ding Ding Ding!! Many of the same people who are killing this move would be killing WDW for doing nothing and being cheap if Universal got this attraction.


???! This is at least the second reference to this that I've seen on this thread. Why does this preclude a Star Wars/Lucas themed land? Disney been doing a lot of building lately. I don't understand the whole point of it.

Actually I disagree, yes we might be yelling at Disney for not doing anything big like that, but to me, Avatar fits more with Universal and what they do then it does Disney. It just does no seem to fit the DIsney mold. When I think Avatar, I think big budget, action movie and makes sense to be part of Universal. We want Disney to make big moves, Fantasyland redo is a BIG move, but we want more, and they are showing signs of doing it. This just isn't the right move in my opinion

[Janmac]

I agree, DS19 may actually set foot in AK now! For those of us that travel with teen boys it's an interesting turn of events.

I mentioned the Avatar expansion into AK to our 20 yr old grandson, who is both a fan of AK and Avatar. He thinks it's a great idea and is looking forward to seeing what transpires. Regarding Avatar, he mentioned the Pocahontas theme and the conservation theme immediately.

Got me wondering what market research Disney has done.

Jan

[Jared]

I mentioned the Avatar expansion into AK to our 20 yr old grandson, who is both a fan of AK and Avatar. He thinks it's a great idea and is looking forward to seeing what transpires. Regarding Avatar, he mentioned the Pocahontas theme and the conservation theme immediately.

Got me wondering what market research Disney has done.

Jan

My 18 year-old brother sent me a text message the day of the announcement with unbridled excitement. There is a market for this, and it's not necessarily the demographic that posts on Disney forums, which consists mostly of middle-aged females.

(I recognize I generalized there, but I don't think anyone would argue that middle-aged women make up at least a plurality, if not the majority, of posters on most Disney forums around the Web.)

[Jared]

Fantasyland redo is a BIG move, but we want more, and they are showing signs of doing it. This just isn't the right move in my opinion

I think you're giving the Fantasyland expansion way more credit than it deserves, especially if you see it as any sort of response to the progress at the theme parks down Interstate 4. The Fantasyland changes were in the pipeline well before Wizarding World was announced, and it was never seen as a major addition. Essentially, the Fantasyland expansion was given the green light for crowd distribution and capacity issues around the Magic Kingdom. That's why the original designs consisted of a dark ride that has been in the works for decades and a lot of character experiences.

Fortunately, somebody came to their senses and added the mine ride (another old concept that was dusted off and updated), which definitely improves the project. Still, I definitely do not agree that the Fantasyland changes are somehow a more ambitious, aggressive or meaningful than whatever this Avatar-ville will yield.

[caryrae]

Secondly, there was talk about how much money Avatar grossed and how it's only 3rd behind Gone With The Wind and Titanic.
My guess is, and I think someone else mentioned it, is that the reason for it's financial success was because it was the first big budget 3D movie.

Actually, after adjusting for inflation, gross DOMESTIC numbers tell a different story. Avatar comes in at #14, following Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, 101 Dalmatians, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, to name just a few. Also, it's worth wondering how many of those ticket sales were repeat movie goers.

The post I made several post back saying the same thing as the top quote was for worldwide not domestic.

[antngoof89]

So I haven't posted on this for a while, but I couldn't help myself with this topic.

I think Pandora being brought to the Animal Kingdom both fits well and is an EXTREMELY awesome thing for Disney! Not only are we getting updates that the entire Disney fan base has complained about in AK, but it's sign, in my mind, that Tom Staggs was telling the truth after D23 recently. He said he had exciting news coming in the next few months and so far we have an entire expanded land for a park that has needed it since it was opened!

AK was going to have Beastly Kingdom, but no sponsor to help WDW soak up some of the costs, how is having Pandora any less "real" than Beastly Kingdom would've been. And Beastly Kingdom wouldn't have been Disney at all, but I am sure everyone on this board would'ved to see that.

I think this announced expansion is a sign of GREAT things to come at Disney. Two parks getting an expansion? Who's to say that we don't get expansion announced for DHS and something big for Epcot soon? I think those announcements will be coming pretty soon as well! Hoping for Lucasland and more Pixar Place stuff as well as a new County in WS and some new rides in Epcot!

[big blue and hairy]

Actually I disagree, yes we might be yelling at Disney for not doing anything big like that, but to me, Avatar fits more with Universal and what they do then it does Disney. It just does no seem to fit the DIsney mold. When I think Avatar, I think big budget, action movie and makes sense to be part of Universal. We want Disney to make big moves, Fantasyland redo is a BIG move, but we want more, and they are showing signs of doing it. This just isn't the right move in my opinion

It seems as though you sort of disagree. You agreed about the yelling if Universal got it (at least, that's how it read). I understand you not being crazy about Avatar, although I do think Joe Rhode and his band will change your opinion.

As far as big budget not being in Disney...Star Wars...Indiana Jones? It may be blue sky, but there is persistent talk of a Lucas Land of some sort in DHS. That would be big budget...

[Imagineer1981]

It seems as though you sort of disagree. You agreed about the yelling if Universal got it (at least, that's how it read). I understand you not being crazy about Avatar, although I do think Joe Rhode and his band will change your opinion.

As far as big budget not being in Disney...Star Wars...Indiana Jones? It may be blue sky, but there is persistent talk of a Lucas Land of some sort in DHS. That would be big budget...

I think big budget may not be the right way to describe it. I am not sure if I have the right way to say it other then Avatar just doesn't seem to be very Disney. If someone said Universal is opening an Avatar land, I would say, yep..makes perfect sense and fits over there. When they announced it was part of Disney, it just felt like a big reach. To me, Disney is known for the Imagineers, and creating some of the most innovative and creative parks, themes, and attractions, and to base an entire land on a film that is not even their creation and does not have a proven track record, I just can't buy into it yet.

Plus, as others have said, outside of the stunning visuals, can you tell me 3 of the characters names? did you really get connected to the characters? Most people i ask say it was a stunning visual movie and the best 3d they have ever seen. And I say, who was the main character, and they say...um i don't remember, he was the guy in the wheel chair. Ask any one who saw star wars the first time and they will say Luke Skywalker, Obi Wan, Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2-D2, etc. To me, this is the other problem, they are trying to build a land (or attraction) around beautiful visuals and an ok plot and characters.

[tiggerbuddy]

B-O-R-I-N-G !!!

[TKDONALD]

Well Im not saying its good or bad decision. Time will tell that. But as far as the movie goes, I think it fits in at this park. Again Im not saying they should do this. Personally I think Disney should stay to there own thing. I understand everyone concerns. When I watched the movie I thought it was amazing visiuals like everyone who saw it says. The tie in I see has to do with a community revolving around a center object. There HOME TREE. It shows how extinction can happen. The "Na vi" are the creatures that live there and an outside force is trying to move them out for some kind of element only found there. The natives stand up and start to fight back to protect there way of life. The Na vi believe that everything on there planet is connect through spirit and life. This to me is a futuristic outlook on what happened with the Indians in America. Pushing them out to take there land.
So I think Disney might be trying to connect how we can as a human race destroy a society for power or for a dollar.

Like I said this is just what I think Disney is trying to connect avatar with Animal Kingdome.
It could be a bad thing or a good thing. Time will tell.

jason

[big blue and hairy]

Personally I think Disney should stay to there own thing.

jason

I understand your opinion, but you gotta admit, it's a little funny considering your avatar...

[Dixie Springs]

My previous rant ('ill-intentions", etc) was from a Disney fan perspective, rather than the armchair Disney boardmember perspective we all sometimes speak from. Considerations regarding ROI, savvy partnerships, etc., are beyond my scope of knowledge and interest. What bothers me is that Disney has a motherload of original characters and movies to harvest. Even the Beastly Kingdom would have been nice. To farm out an entire 'land' to a film that was celebrated primarily for its technology is absurd. In the interest of disclosure, I did not like Avatar. I'd rather they devote a land to the non-blue Pocahontas.

[BrerGnat]

Got me wondering what market research Disney has done.

Well, for what it's worth, UNIVERSAL did exit survey polls about a year ago asking the following question:

Which film franchise would you like to see represented in Universal theme parks in the future?

A. Avatar
B. Twilight
C. Lord of the Rings

I find it interesting that Universal was doing this poll, but I never heard of Disney doing something similar. I'm sure they did, just didn't make the internet.

In any event, it seems highly likely that Universal at least showed some serious interest in this idea, but Disney won the deal. From my perspective, this seems a LOT like Disney diving in head first for the sole benefit of getting Avatar, knowing that Universal wanted it. I know Disney showed interest in the Harry Potter rights, but they let it go. I bet they've been kicking themselves over that for a long time. This seems like Disney's way of being reactive to WWOHP by being proactive. However, I really have to wonder how much actual thought has gone into this, or whether it was more of an impulsive, reactionary type thing.

It's interesting to note that many articles use the term "won" when discussing this acquisition. So, someone else was bidding...

[2Epcot]

It's interesting to note that many articles use the term "won" when discussing this acquisition. So, someone else was bidding...

I would think with the popularity of the film, more than one company would be interested in acquiring the rights. Cameron already created an entire new world, so most of the work is done. Now just a matter of adapting it to a theme park experience.

[Jeany031]

I think that Avatar is perfect place in Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park!