https://d23.com/whats-next-for-disneys-animal-kingdom-avatar-tree-of-life-d23-expo-japan/
Yeah i took the exact opposite of what you just said...First, Jim mentions the crowd "oohing and awing" at the concept art of Avatar... Second, the d23 website mentioned it as the "most exciting announcement there"
Jim further goes on to say that the OLC doesnt want to pay for it, just like they dont want to pay for Cars Land either
I know you re not a fan of Avatar but come on tepid is not i word i would of used..
Tokyo really doesnt have the room so look for the next avatar area/land to be in Hong Kong JMO of course
I think you and I read the article differently. It didn't say anything about the crowd in Japan at D23 "oohingh and awing" - the author was describing the online response in the US to the concept art. Here's the actual sentence:
"And while the stateside Disneyana fan community of course immediately began carping about the 2017 projected opening date for this Disney's Animal Kingdom expansion, there was also much "Oohing" & "Aahing" about how lush & ambitious this Camp Minnie-Mickey replacement looked."
You'll notice that he was talking about "stateside Disneyana", not the people in Tokyo.
I used the word "tepid" to describe the OLC's response, not fans. Here's what I said:
"Unfortunately, response in Japan was tepid, and it looks like Disney is going to have to go it alone on the Avatar development."
You are correct in that I don't know what the OLC's emotional or verbal response was - they could very well have liked the land (they may very well have liked Cars Land too), but the point is that they decided they didn't want it. I think that qualifies as tepid.
And thus, Disney is going to have to develop Avatar Land all by itself.
Anyway, my whole reason for posting the link was to address the author's point - Disney released Avatar concept art in Japan rather than at the US in order to drum up support for Avatar in Japan, and hopefully get some financial help. It didn't work.
Secondly, I think it's interesting that this is all still "blue sky" thinking. If they are still looking for concept development funding, they're nowhere near a final plan. This is not an expansion plan, this is a set of pretty pictures. I keep seeing articles and posts mentioning that construction will begin in 2014, with the land set to open in 2017. If they haven't actually developed the land yet (and I assume that mainly means developing the ride technology and such), then there's no way they're going to start construction next year. This project has been on the back burner for years, they only have concept art to show us now, they still want money to develop the rides, and yet it's supposed to break ground next year? Something just doesn't add up.
To that end, I've found several sites that mention an opening five years from now.
http://www.wftv.com/news/news/national/renderings-avatar-animal-kingdom-released/nbNLQ/
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/10/12/disney-unveils-first-look-at-avatar-land
http://orlandominivacations.com/blog/?p=2106
Interestingly, some of the same links quote "2017" and "five years" in the same article.
So, I would think we'll see Avatar in 2018 - or, if development truly doesn't get underway until next year (another 8 weeks), perhaps 2019.
And you are correct in that I'm not a fan of Avatar. However, if you've seen any of my responses to the new Avatar information, I do think this project looks really interesting. I'm especially excited about the idea of seeing AK at night, and all the new nighttime attractions, shows, and tours. I'm in favor of any kind of expansion to the parks in general and AK in particular, even if I don't care for Avatar itself.
