Construction Walls Go Up in Animal Kingdom's Africa

[twebber55]

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.

who are the many constituencies? disney message board fans

look im not here to start another debate just curious

 

[Borishack]

who are the many constituencies? disney message board fans

look im not here to start another debate just curious

• The mass universe of visitors to WDW who don't frequent these forums
• Disney Stockholders
• Hotels, bus and transfer firms and every other tourist oriented industry you can think of in central Florida
• Domestic and foreign tour operators who market package trips to WDW
• DVC members
• Annual pass holders

 

[twebber55]

Orlando theme park news posted some interesting pictures on the construction of Fotlk. These pictures could be connected to nighttime show

 

[Merida DunBroch]

I'm thinking that - while I'm a huge LOTR geek, and I'd love to meet an Orc just like all of y'all - it'd be fit more for Universal or IOA than Disney.

Now, I'm not a huge Avatar fan. Do I believe it was the best of films? Not at all. I'd much rather Batman or even The Croods. But, well, Avatar has a nice "save the environment" theme going and the land could be wholly immersive and exciting as a land at DAK. I don't really mind Avatar. I have high hopes for it. Think about how awesome it may be!

It could also bring some Beastly Kingdomme ideas to fruition, as well. Instead of Thunderbirds and unicorns, we have blue-skinned recolors.

Would I prefer BK? Yes. I love cryptozoological creatures and think an area based on them would be epic. I'd adore a 20KLUTS reboot featuring Nessie; I'd fawn over a dragon roller coaster; I'd geek over a Thylacine, bigfoot, unicorn and phoenix-themed play area; and I'd most certainly nerd out over whatever else Disney could come up with. In fact, were I a Disney Imagineer I'd make it so this idea would come to life (as well as reconstructing Dinoland, but...).

But I'm optimistic about Avatarland. As a huge DAK fan (my favorite park, FOTLK is my favorite show, EE, DINOSAUR and KS are my favorite rides...), I'd love to see what they could do with the land of Pandora.

TL;DR? Don't complain. Be happy DAK is getting new stuff. Be optimistic! If we're negative, we won't be satisfied with anything Disney does. People scoffed at a whole animated film until Snow White came out; why scoff at Avatarland?

And on-topic with the bridge... I honestly think it's to curb possible snoops trying to see what they'll be doing with FOTLK.

 

[tiki23]

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.

Has Disney actually announced that Avatar/Pandora is in direct response to Harry Potter? IMO, the only thing that comes close to the Potter franchise is Star Wars - and Disney is working on it.

Harry Potter is a phenomenon, rightly so, and it won't be equaled anytime soon.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

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.

this is excellent

 

[rpw2014]

Does anyone have thoughts on the possible "inconvenience" factor for AK visitors? We're in the initial planning stages for an October 2014 trip and wondering how the construction might affect our plans.

 

[Yellowstonetim]

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.

How long Avatar lasts doesn't matter in the least. No fan base is necessary at all. Just like an ongoing fan base for Song of the South is not the cause of Splash Mountain's great popularity.

More successful movies will just be icing on the cake. The next movie about Pandora's oceans will do fantastic because of the visuals and in spite of any Dances with Smurf's storyline. Risk? James Cameron has made two movies in the last 15 years. The two most profitable movies of all time. Not a bad risk at all! This actually has minimal risk.

What Disney saw was that millions of people around the world saw this film, and even those that didn't like it said; wow, the world of Pandora is beautiful and amazing! Many on this board have said they hated the movie BUT the visuals were awesome. That's all that's necessary. Disney knows they will enjoy visiting it. There is no doubt the flying dragons are cool and the floating mountains will be amazing. Same with a unique glowing jungle.

In fact, there isn't another property out there that is a better fit for AK!

 

[DanBoris]

Does anyone have thoughts on the possible "inconvenience" factor for AK visitors? We're in the initial planning stages for an October 2014 trip and wondering how the construction might affect our plans.

There will probably be very little impact. Lion King will be re-opened in it's new location long before that and the Avatar construction will be happening where Camp Minnie Mickey is now. A lot of it probably won't even be visible to guests. There may be other projects related to the night time show and night time safari, but these aren't likely to have a major impact either.

 

[twebber55]

How long Avatar lasts doesn't matter in the least. No fan base is necessary at all. Just like an ongoing fan base for Song of the South is not the cause of Splash Mountain's great popularity. More successful movies will just be icing on the cake. The next movie about Pandora's oceans will do fantastic because of the visuals and in spite of any Dances with Smurf's storyline. Risk? James Cameron has made two movies in the last 15 years. The two most profitable movies of all time. Not a bad risk at all! This actually has minimal risk. What Disney saw was that millions of people around the world saw this film, and even those that didn't like it said; wow, the world of Pandora is beautiful and amazing! Many on this board have said they hated the movie BUT the visuals were awesome. That's all that's necessary. Disney knows they will enjoy visiting it. There is no doubt the flying dragons are cool and the floating mountains will be amazing. Same with a unique glowing jungle. In fact, there isn't another property out there that is a better fit for AK!

This is completely accurate
Good points

 

[Rumors Rocks]

How long Avatar lasts doesn't matter in the least. No fan base is necessary at all. Just like an ongoing fan base for Song of the South is not the cause of Splash Mountain's great popularity.

More successful movies will just be icing on the cake. The next movie about Pandora's oceans will do fantastic because of the visuals and in spite of any Dances with Smurf's storyline. Risk? James Cameron has made two movies in the last 15 years. The two most profitable movies of all time. Not a bad risk at all! This actually has minimal risk.

What Disney saw was that millions of people around the world saw this film, and even those that didn't like it said; wow, the world of Pandora is beautiful and amazing! Many on this board have said they hated the movie BUT the visuals were awesome. That's all that's necessary. Disney knows they will enjoy visiting it. There is no doubt the flying dragons are cool and the floating mountains will be amazing. Same with a unique glowing jungle.

In fact, there isn't another property out there that is a better fit for AK!

 

[Borishack]

Has Disney actually announced that Avatar/Pandora is in direct response to Harry Potter? IMO, the only thing that comes close to the Potter franchise is Star Wars - and Disney is working on it.

Not really. Disney was thinking about it - but that has changed.

Disney never made any formal announcements whatsoever of any definitive plans to add a Star Wars land to WDW, Iger had thrown out some teasers in interviews, but again nothing definitive.

Disney however has been been actively working on plans to add Star Wars attractions to Tomorrowland in DL...but those plans have just been put on hold:

http://micechat.com/49401-my-magic-plus-failure/

Excerpt regarding Star Wars from the latter:

Originally the plan to add Star Wars to Tomorrowland was going to be divided into two phases; a first phase involving some placemaking and a replacement for Captain EO to be finished prior to the 60th Anniversary, and a second phase kicking off in late 2015.

The second phase included the Speeder Bike E Ticket ride, Ewok village and forest where Autopia currently is, a Millenium Falcon walk-thru where the PeopleMover platform is, tearing out the decaying PeopleMover tracks and moving the Astro Orbiter up on top of the Space Mountain concourse, and turning Tomorrowland Terrace into an interactive Tatooine Cantina restaurant show.

All of that is now on hold indefinitely.

Although Anaheim gets off a bit easier with its Star Wars plan on hold, as the plans for many of these Star Wars elements coming to Disney Hollywood Studios in WDW have just been cancelled outright.

 

[mvk]

Not really. Disney was thinking about it - but that has changed.

Disney never made any formal announcements whatsoever of any definitive plans to add a Star Wars land to WDW, Iger had thrown out some teasers in interviews, but again nothing definitive.

Disney however has been been actively working on plans to add Star Wars attractions to Tomorrowland in DL...but those plans have just been put on hold:

http://micechat.com/49401-my-magic-plus-failure/

Excerpt regarding Star Wars from the latter:

Originally the plan to add Star Wars to Tomorrowland was going to be divided into two phases; a first phase involving some placemaking and a replacement for Captain EO to be finished prior to the 60th Anniversary, and a second phase kicking off in late 2015.

The second phase included the Speeder Bike E Ticket ride, Ewok village and forest where Autopia currently is, a Millenium Falcon walk-thru where the PeopleMover platform is, tearing out the decaying PeopleMover tracks and moving the Astro Orbiter up on top of the Space Mountain concourse, and turning Tomorrowland Terrace into an interactive Tatooine Cantina restaurant show.

All of that is now on hold indefinitely.

Although Anaheim gets off a bit easier with its Star Wars plan on hold, as the plans for many of these Star Wars elements coming to Disney Hollywood Studios in WDW have just been cancelled outright.

When in doubt, link back to the same mice chat speculative article that you have for the past week.

 

[rteetz]

When in doubt, link back to the same mice chat speculative article that you have for the past week.

He really likes that article!

 

[rteetz]

Not really. Disney was thinking about it - but that has changed. Disney never made any formal announcements whatsoever of any definitive plans to add a Star Wars land to WDW, Iger had thrown out some teasers in interviews, but again nothing definitive. Disney however has been been actively working on plans to add Star Wars attractions to Tomorrowland in DL...but those plans have just been put on hold: http://micechat.com/49401-my-magic-plus-failure/ Excerpt regarding Star Wars from the latter: Originally the plan to add Star Wars to Tomorrowland was going to be divided into two phases; a first phase involving some placemaking and a replacement for Captain EO to be finished prior to the 60th Anniversary, and a second phase kicking off in late 2015. The second phase included the Speeder Bike E Ticket ride, Ewok village and forest where Autopia currently is, a Millenium Falcon walk-thru where the PeopleMover platform is, tearing out the decaying PeopleMover tracks and moving the Astro Orbiter up on top of the Space Mountain concourse, and turning Tomorrowland Terrace into an interactive Tatooine Cantina restaurant show. All of that is now on hold indefinitely. Although Anaheim gets off a bit easier with its Star Wars plan on hold, as the plans for many of these Star Wars elements coming to Disney Hollywood Studios in WDW have just been cancelled outright.

That May or may not be true we don't know for sure whether it was outright cancelled and Disney isn't going to tell us. Eventually in some form other than star tours Star Wars attractions will make there way into the parks. Maybe not this year or next year or even in the next five but eventually Disney will add Star Wars to Most of their parks because it's such a large franchise and it would mean a lot of revenue. It's no doubt that MM+ is top of the lists in priority but that article says it's a fail and there is no proof yet it's not fully rolled out it hasn't failed yet. Yes it has cost them more money than thought but so did AK and does that make AK a fail as a park? It hasn't needed a major overhaul like DCA.

 

[beer dave]

He really likes that article!

I hope micechat doesn't write that the world is ending-- we will all be in trouble.

 

[Yellowstonetim]

Harry Potter is a phenomenon, rightly so, and it won't be equaled anytime soon.

It is interesting. Harry Potter is definitely a phenomenon, and we will see what future books and movies bring. Staying power is another thing.

While HP is a phenomenon, Star Wars is in a league of its own. It has been around since the 70's, books, movies, toys, TV shows, and all of these continuing. There has never been a property like Star Wars, ever. Nothing to compare it with. Grandfathers are now watching it with grandsons and granddaughters. Therefore, it was a perfect buy for Disney who knows how to respect a legacy and keep it moving. If they do Star Wars in the Parks only half right, it will be an amazing long term outcome!!

Universal had a long term phenomenon and blew it because it wasn't in their main demographic. Everyone loves Dr Seuss! Had they really gone on out and built a Seuss land to rival HP, it could have been awesome.

I hope micechat doesn't write that the world is ending-- we will all be in trouble.

The world could end any day, but if micechat wrote an article saying the world will end, I think I'd feel safer.




I don't think Star Wars has been stopped at all. There are thousands of things going on that change schedules and finances. We are privy to... lets see... one or two of them if that. Micechat however is privy to... lets see... one or two also.

All though I am really stoked about Pandora. I personally think Cameron is the perfect match for Disney and we are going to see some fantastic new technology out of the partnership. If you read about Cameron at all, he is a driven artist, genius, a bit crazy, and a technology geek and inventor. This is going to be good!

 

[rteetz]

It is interesting. Harry Potter is definitely a phenomenon, and we will see what future books and movies bring. Staying power is another thing. While HP is a phenomenon, Star Wars is in a league of its own. It has been around since the 70's, books, movies, toys, TV shows, and all of these continuing. There has never been a property like Star Wars, ever. Nothing to compare it with. Grandfathers are now watching it with grandsons and granddaughters. Therefore, it was a perfect buy for Disney who knows how to respect a legacy and keep it moving. If they do Star Wars in the Parks only half right, it will be an amazing long term outcome!! Universal had a long term phenomenon and blew it because it wasn't in their main demographic. Everyone loves Dr Seuss! Had they really gone on out and built a Seuss land to rival HP, it could have been awesome. The world could end any day, but if micechat wrote an article saying the world will end, I think I'd feel safer. I don't think Star Wars has been stopped at all. There are thousands of things going on that change schedules and finances. We are privy to... lets see... one or two of them if that. Micechat however is privy to... lets see... one or two also. All though I am really stoked about Pandora. I personally think Cameron is the perfect match for Disney and we are going to see some fantastic new technology out of the partnership. If you read about Cameron at all, he is a driven artist, genius, a bit crazy, and a technology geek and inventor. This is going to be good!

I agree i think universal could have done so much better with Seuss there is so much there that could have amounted to big things for them. Star Wars is a league of their own and they will be for a very long time I can't wait until disney does something in the parks with it because it's going to be big. I also don't believe its on hold like mice chat said or even cancelled it could have been delayed but that wouldn't really matter to us because nothing has been announced yet and that's okay I think they should wait for the next trilogy to come out. I also am excited for avatar. Cameron+disney= great things. Cameron isn't going to take short cuts and neither is disney they could really make this one of the best lands disney has ever done.