My family's opinion is that Avatar was visually beautiful, but that the story was a rehash of any number of things from Pocahontas on, blended with a strong political message -- all very heavy-handed and preachy. The political stuff stuck out like a sore thumb to me -- very inartfully done -- and was a big turnoff.
I'm looking forward to Avatarland ONLY because I'm sure it will be visually stunning and immersive given Disney's track record. I have LESS THAN ZERO interest in any "story" aspect to it -- and BOY do I hope it isn't preachy.