Construction Walls Go Up in Animal Kingdom's Africa

[PrettyFlower2]

I think Avatar was a good movie. I think it had a positive message (especially for the kids) to not trash the planet and fits in perfectly with AK. I think it will be a visually beautiful addition to AK, even if you did not see or like the movie. Just wait and see.

 

[MJMcBride]

I don't remember a dinosaur but there was dragon smoke (steam) coming from a cave near the first corner.

There was both

 

[Rumors Rocks]

Festival of the Lion King is schedule to close on January 5th per wiki.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festival_of_the_Lion_King

On January 5, 2014, due to the construction of Avatar Land, Festival of the Lion King will move from its current location in Camp Minnie Mickey to a new theatre in the Africa section of the park.

http://www.screamscape.com/html/wdw_-_animal_kingdom.htm

2014 - New Festival of the Lion King Show - Under Construction - (11/4/13) Screamscape sources tell us that the current cast of the Festival of the Lion King show has been informed that they are looking at closing the current show down as early as January 5th. They have no set date to reopen the new show, but it isnt expected to be ready to reopen in the new theater until at least Summer 2014.

 

[pbrim]

The Avatar addition would have an extra dimension if it was finished along with an Avatar sequel though. Seeing the first movie lose a little more hype each day since it's release.

Originally there was supposed to be a deal for two sequels, and Avatar Land was to open around the time the final movie was released. OTOH, it's been 4 years and Avatar 2 is still in the "Treatment/Outline" stage, not even an approved script much less in production, so that doesn't look good. In the SF con circuit you see a bit of Avatar cosplay and maybe some tee shirts, but no Avatar panels, no Avatar fan groups, no talk about the next movie. Online, I'm not seeing any thriving Avatar fan sites, no forums, not even very much fanfic. And that's in the fan community. In the general population, I think it's pretty much over and done.

It was impressive, but doesn't appear to have much staying power. While in the end it depends on the quality of the ride, it helps creates excitement if there is a tie in to something popular. Avatar was impressive, but it doesn't seem to have the staying power of a lot other popular media. On the gripping hand, there is a signed contract out there to be dealt with even if Disney has lost enthusiasm for the project. Perhaps part of the delays is behind-the-scenes re-negociating.

If we are going to have a Sci-Fi land but not Avatar, can I put in my vote for Firefly? Or maybe Stargate?

 

[pilferk]

Festival of the Lion King is schedule to close on January 5th per wiki.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festival_of_the_Lion_King



http://www.screamscape.com/html/wdw_-_animal_kingdom.htm

I can confirm in that I went to make my FP+ selections this morning for Jan 10th, and it is listed as "Closed" for our trip.

 

[DanBoris]

I can confirm in that I went to make my FP+ selections this morning for Jan 10th, and it is listed as "Closed" for our trip.

Also, if you look at the official Disney Parks calendar there are no performance times for FotLK listed beyond 1/5, yet performance times for other shows in the park are listed.

 

[rrali33tt]

I am excited for anything they add to Animal Kingdom as long as they do it well. I might be part of the minority who LOVES AK. I think the attention to detail in that park is amazing. I love nature and animals. My favorite buffet breakfast is Tusker house. FOTLK and Nemo are really good shows. A Bug's Life is so much fun. The Safari is enjoyable and EE is awesome. Kali River and Dino are also good rides. I do not have any children so I can't comment on the kiddie rides in dinoland. Overall, if it had a little bit more AK could become my favorite park.

Also, I am a HUGE Harry Potter & LOTR fan. I could watch those movies over and over and over. I love Star Wars and Avengers. But, I don't think Star Wars or Avengers belong in AK. They belong in DHS.Disney dropped the ball on the whole harry potter thing, they could have had harry potter but messed that up. I honestly think LOTR would be too scary for little kids. They can't do Avengers because of the licensing deal with Universal. I saw Avatar, was it the greatest movie I ever saw? No. Did I like it, yes. I also think it was a huge success because it was one of the first movies to have 3d and it used the 3d exceptionally well. (Make note that those ticket prices are higher which would lead to larger gross sales).

Do I really think an entire land should be based off of Pandora? No. But, maybe Disney has the inside scoop on the upcoming movies. They have to have some inside information otherwise I doubt they would invest billions on something they know nothing about. Disney makes great movies and maybe they really believe the next movies will be awesome.

No matter what, the new rides will draw people in no matter what the subject matter. Look at Soarin. ( I personally hate this ride and think its stupid and not worth a 2 hour wait). Everyone LOVES Soarin and waits 2 hours to go on a ride that cuts to these different scenes with no transition and spits out perfume. With something as simple as Soarin being SOOO popular, how could anything involving Pandora be bad? It will definitely be MUCH cooler, even if you didn't like Avatar. I really think they are going to focus on sensory stimulation and immersing you in the environment. To me Pandora is like the ocean on steroids. Animals in the ocean are similar to those on Pandora but are on land. The colors and textures and plant life is just like the ocean. I think it could be really cool.


Yes, we are all sad Beatly Kingdom will not come to life. I think that is such an amazing concept, but there is nothing we can do about it. All we can do is pray they do a good job on the rides..otherwise it will be just like the new fantasyland (really nice to look at but the rides are not that great). And once the movies come out and if they arent good ...then the appeal of something that looks like Pandora but has crappy rides will turn out to be a waste of money. BUT, if the rides are awesome, people will go ( just like they go on Soarin lol) and AK will be a full day park. Who knows, maybe by then there will be some Star Wars stuff in the works at DHS and that will be a full day park too

 

[mvk]

Do I really think an entire land should be based off of Pandora? No. But, maybe Disney has the inside scoop on the upcoming movies. They have to have some inside information otherwise I doubt they would invest billions on something they know nothing about. Disney makes great movies and maybe they really believe the next movies will be awesome.

They are partnering with James Cameron on the expansion, so it's a pretty good bet that they has inside information.

 

[DWJoshua]

Well, and that's why I was asking. Why wall off the bridge if the show will be behind Tusker House. A second bridge right next to the first bridge seems like it would be aesthetically unpleasant.



Agree the bridge is overcrowded as is Harambe in general.

Back to the original topic...

I doubt they are doing anything with the bridge itself. Maybe it's to block the view of potential expansions of the path leading behind Tusker House to the new theater? I love the idea of FOTLK moving to Africa, but they're going to need to watch the crowd flow closely to make this work.

 

[Borishack]

This more exciting news. I finally hope this means there will also be a start on Avatarland construction I'm sick of them pushing this back farther and farther.

The farther back they push it , the less likely it will happen.

 

[twebber55]

still think there s a chance it wont happen huh?

 

[Q-man]

still think there s a chance it wont happen huh?

Dis wouldn't have spent the money to relocate the FotLK to a new location if they didn't have a need for the present space.

 

[twebber55]

Dis wouldn't have spent the money to relocate the FotLK to a new location if they didn't have a need for the present space.

I agree
My post was wondering why people think it still might not happen

 

[rteetz]

I agree My post was wondering why people think it still might not happen

I agree with you Disney has already released details that it's happening and ground breaking will begin early next year. The concept art looks amazing.

 

[twebber55]

I agree with you Disney has already released details that it's happening and ground breaking will begin early next year. The concept art looks amazing.

i look for permits to start in January with actual construction in February

 

[Borishack]

still think there s a chance it wont happen huh?

Yes, still a chance (given Cameron and his history), though diminishing.

What isn't diminishing, though, is the fact the vision for this attempt to go a level above Harry Potter was and is still deeply flawed. When the history of the "Pandora Land" investment is written years from now, the narrative will be "with all of the great options in the stable, why on earth did Disney chose to hitch their wagon to that horse?"

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

A little off-topic but...what if "Frozen" turns out to be a blockbuster? *That* could provide the framework for a stunning new land in one of the parks...or at very least a major attraction with lots of visual possibilities.

 

[twebber55]

Yes, still a chance (given Cameron and his history), though diminishing. What isn't diminishing, though, is the fact the vision for this attempt to go a level above Harry Potter was and is still deeply flawed. When the history of the "Pandora Land" investment is written years from now, the narrative will be "with all of the great options in the stable, why on earth did Disney chose to hitch their wagon to that horse?"

Or history may say it the most immersive/interactive land ever created

 

[Jeslynb]

I believe the original idea was that the land would open around the time of the 2 Avatar sequels being released. I'm not sure what the timing of those sequels or the land opening are looking like these days.



So further expand......

The area clockwise between the Oasis (park entrance) and Africa was originally intended and prepped for the construction of the Beastly Kingdom section of Animal Kingdom (The reason for the Dragon on the AK logo, and the 'Unicorn' parking lot section). When the AK budget was cut, Beastly Kingdom was not built, leaving that section of land empty.

At some point, they realized that there was not anyplace in the park for Meet and Greets, so Camp MM was quickly and cheaply constructed on the plot cleared for the Beastly Kingdom (and in actuality... only about 1/2 of the prepared land space) in order to provide for the park's need for meet and greet locations, and to provide more space and things for guests to do. FotLK was hastily put together as another entertainment option for the guests utilizing existing parade floats no longer needed for parade duty and put into the area.


Camp MM was always intended as a temporary placeholder until they completed the Beastly Kingdom land a few years later once the money was available. Unfortunately, Beastly Kingdom was not to be, and like Disney's many other "temporary" structures (Mickey's BirthdayLand, The EPCOT Wand, the MGM BAH, etc), the Meet and Greets and FotLK remained in place for years.



As an aside... There is still at least 1 set piece that was built that showcased Beastly Kingdom's inteded location within the park. While it's much harder to see now because of the plant growth and elimination of the old River Cruises, It can still be seen if you know what you are looking at over the side of the bridge heading into Camp MM.

There is a small little rock outcropping with a little waterfall next to the bridge on the Camp MM side. The outcropping is in the shape of a dragon's head with the waterfall originating from it's mouth.

I'm not a collector of Disney Trivia, but even I think that's soooo coool! Thanks for posting.

Whoever up there said they're tired of hearing how a Lord of the Rings "land" would be so much better, sorry but your mere mention of that possibility makes me fall over in a swoon. Can you imagine a LOTR world? That would be... it would just be...like Harry Potter but 1000x better! Elvish bread! Orcs! Dragons! Erebor! Balrogs! I. Am. Having. A. Serious. Geek. Meltdown.

 

[Borishack]

Originally there was supposed to be a deal for two sequels, and Avatar Land was to open around the time the final movie was released. OTOH, it's been 4 years and Avatar 2 is still in the "Treatment/Outline" stage, not even an approved script much less in production, so that doesn't look good. In the SF con circuit you see a bit of Avatar cosplay and maybe some tee shirts, but no Avatar panels, no Avatar fan groups, no talk about the next movie. Online, I'm not seeing any thriving Avatar fan sites, no forums, not even very much fanfic. And that's in the fan community. In the general population, I think it's pretty much over and done.

It was impressive, but doesn't appear to have much staying power. While in the end it depends on the quality of the ride, it helps creates excitement if there is a tie in to something popular. Avatar was impressive, but it doesn't seem to have the staying power of a lot other popular media. On the gripping hand, there is a signed contract out there to be dealt with even if Disney has lost enthusiasm for the project. Perhaps part of the delays is behind-the-scenes re-negociating.

If we are going to have a Sci-Fi land but not Avatar, can I put in my vote for Firefly? Or maybe Stargate?

Excellent points.

Frankly, the hub of online activity that reflects any ongoing interest in Avatar is probably right here, primarily amongst the "whatever Disney does to add a major attraction is fine by me" crowd. You are absolutely spot on in pointing out the sobering reality check of there being no evidence out there of any thriving "fan" interest in Avatar as a franchise.

Or put another way, Avatar in AK is completely different -- and arguably a much riskier strategic bet -- than Harry Potter was in IOA. The latter was a case of a park adding a major, breakthrough attraction based on a huge franchise with a massive, highly engaged fan base. Management didn't have to argue with the stockholders about making that investment.

Avatar in AK is a case of adding a new attraction (of yet unknown scale and impact -a few concept drawings don't prove it is going to be breakthrough like Potter) that is not a proven franchise and doesn't have the embedded fan draw of Potter. That holds uncertainty, which is why many constituencies of Disney are expressing concerns about whether this is a sound investment.