This is my big problem with people who want to see the Avatarland project canceled, they seem to think if it is, it will immediately be replaced by something better. There are no guarantee of that.
Bingo.
I personally liked the movie, but this wasn't about replicating the movie; this is about encapsulating the vision of Cameron, and the visually stunning world he created. Whether you liked the movie or not is sort of irrelevant, because there is little doubt that this endeavor would have utilized cutting edge technology, intriguing if not captivating rides, and would, simply put, be another option. For those of us that go annually, I welcome anything new. Now that this has been put on hold there is absolutely no guarantee that something will replace it, and if it does that means we will wait even longer than the initially proposed 2015. So everybody who is so thankful that this concept has been shelved can rest easy knowing that in a few years they can visit AK and there will be....nothing new. Why is that so exciting?
I think it's fairly obvious that Disney Imagineering latched onto Avatar BECAUSE of Harry Potter and the success that it has brought to Universal. While Avatar is not a franchise ala Harry Potter (yet), there are at least 2 (rumored to be 3) more movies coming and there is a solid consensus that this will become a mega-franchise that will rake in billions. With a "B". And while many here seem to kick the original to the curb, it only earned just north of $760,000,000, which happens to be the highest grossing US film EVER (the highest grossing Harry Potter film barely grossed half of that number). So there is no arguing that the film has a cult following, was tremendously successful and would be a major draw.
Fact: AvatarLand (or whatever they call it) would be a MAJOR draw. I would not assume that this is a dead issue. WDW has lost some market to Universal, and they are not going to sit tight.
Finally, for those who think that movie based attractions cannot be enjoyable or successful unless they are tied to a great film, look no further than Splash Mountain, a ride based on a racist, thoroughly pedestrian film.
To the original point, I guess what I'm saying is that we should not be so quick to dismiss AvatarLand, b/c in it's place we'll probably end up with nothing. And as my grandpa always told me, "something is usually better than nothing!"
