Is anyone really excited about Avatar Land?

[ojeight]

I know the movie has fans and was more than a financial success but is that fan base big enough to warrant a new land? I am sure it will do well in the beginning as most of us would love to see any new attractions but I am afraid after a while it will seem dated like The Great Movie Ride. It doesn’t seem to have the fan base and staying power of a Star Wars or Harry Potter and has yet to prove itself as powerful franchise.

 

[LisaCM614]

The conspiracy theorist in me has never believed that Avatarland is real and that it is a cover for something better. I guess that tells you what I think about the idea.

 

[Jennytoon]

OK, here's the thing: I don't care about the movie. I don't need to have seen Pirates of the Caribbean to appreciate it as a well-themed, interesting ride - which is good because the ride existed before the movie. Really what I'm trying to say though, I feel there are very few rides at WDW (can't think of any in fact) that have value only if you have seen the movie or are familiar with the background, or lose anything if you're not up on the backstory.

I trust that Disney Imagineering will succeed in creating Avatarland as a beautiful, immersive experience that does not require you to know any backstory, nor leave you feeling like you're missing something if you haven't seen the movie that was the basis of the experience. I don't anticipate that it will be something that people will give only 3 stars if they haven't seen the movie, but 5 stars if they did. Given that, is there any reason to lose excitement just because the movies may not line up temporally? I don't think so. So yes, I am excited about Avatarland.

 

[BudgieMama]

I liked the film- I can't say I loved it, but it was good enough. I am, however, very excited about Avatar Land. The concept art and the info that Disney have released sound amazing, and I think it's going to be pretty spectacular when it's done. My lovely, cynical DH insisted that we pick 2018 as the year we take our mothers to WDW as he too is impressed by the concept and wants to see it realised.

By contrast, I have been a HUGE Harry Potter fan since I was 15 (nearly 30 now!), and I have no interest in visiting the WWOHP. I'm too emotionally invested in what those places look like in my head (I didn't enjoy the films so much as a result), and I have no interest in walking around somewhere that looks wrong!

 

[LoodlesNoodles]

The conspiracy theorist in me has never believed that Avatarland is real and that it is a cover for something better. I guess that tells you what I think about the idea.

Could it be Beastly Kingdom?! Honestly, I'd prefer anything else other than Avatar. It was an ok movie that was pretty. But to make a land in DAK...eh. i could take or leave it. I probably won't be making a special trip to visit it!

 

[jrtoastyman]

OK, here's the thing: I don't care about the movie. I don't need to have seen Pirates of the Caribbean to appreciate it as a well-themed, interesting ride - which is good because the ride existed before the movie. Really what I'm trying to say though, I feel there are very few rides at WDW (can't think of any in fact) that have value only if you have seen the movie or are familiar with the background, or lose anything if you're not up on the backstory.

I trust that Disney Imagineering will succeed in creating Avatarland as a beautiful, immersive experience that does not require you to know any backstory, nor leave you feeling like you're missing something if you haven't seen the movie that was the basis of the experience. I don't anticipate that it will be something that people will give only 3 stars if they haven't seen the movie, but 5 stars if they did. Given that, is there any reason to lose excitement just because the movies may not line up temporally? I don't think so. So yes, I am excited about Avatarland.

This pretty much sums up my take on it. I've seen the movie and I thought it was visually stunning, but the story was just meh. I could honestly care less about it from that standpoint. That said, it creates a great palette for the imagineers to pull from, and I expect it to look great, even to someone that isn't familiar with the subject matter. If the rides are good, and the land looks fantastic, the subject matter is immaterial. There are loads of things that aren't tied to a movie at all, or that weren't tied to a movie when created, that are great fun.

 

[tlmadden73]

It feels like this was a knee-jerk reaction to the success of the Wizarding World.
Avatar is no Harry Potter, but if they make that area as immersive as the Harry Potter sections at Universal it will be fun whether you are a fan of the movies.
It also doesn't seem to fit .. seems like a South American section would have been a more logical addition to Animal Kingdom.

I just think Harry Potter has more source material to draw from then Avatar though. Not sure why they chose to work on Avatar before Star Wars ... Star Wars has even more source material to draw from then Harry Potter.

 

[Mome Rath]

Very excited by it, and I may be able to get my husband to go with me to DW again because of it! It fits AK mainly because of the heavy conservation theme of the movie, the fact that it is visually stunning and has several set-up's for great rides is a bonus. I don't go to AK now on my trips any more, but will when this area finally opens.

 

[dogdangling]

I'm really looking forward to it. With all the frustrations about How Long it takes disney to build, you cannot deny that this land will be awesome and the Imagineers do not let us down.

 

[Hootch]

I have faith in Joe Rohde based on what he did with DAK and what I have read on Aulani.

 

[LisaCM614]

Could it be Beastly Kingdom?! Honestly, I'd prefer anything else other than Avatar. It was an ok movie that was pretty. But to make a land in DAK...eh. i could take or leave it. I probably won't be making a special trip to visit it!

No my name really is Lisa, not Jim Hill LOL
I was dreaming that it was an Ewok Village. That would be cool

 

[Skywise]

No. I'm curious about the nightime experience and the lighting, which might be cool, but I just can't get excited about the concept itself.

*A* ride or experience in Hollywood studios would've been a good fit, but an entire land in Animal Kingdom, especially for a non-Disney owned movie series is... weird.

 

[Maddysdaddy]

Honestly, no. Saw the previews for the film which created zero interest for me in actually seeing the film itself.

I want to say that it's my age and stage of life where the thought of spending two or three hours watching people in blue makeup fly around on dinosaurs(?)/birds(?) was a non-starter - but then I think about the last "adult" film I saw, which included a green rage-monster beating up robots for 150 minutes, and I'm not sure why I mentally make a distinction between the two. All I can think of is that Marvel (and Star Wars) has an emotional attachment to me and my childhood that Avatar (as an adult) could never have, or that Harry Potter currently has for my daughter. The opening of Avatarland will in no way be a draw for me to bring my family back to WDW.

 

[palmtreegirl]

I liked the movie. I think the concept art looks really cool and I'm excited for something new at AK.

 

[jsrj21]

I am absolutely stoked for it! I think and expect it to be AMAZING! It will be a zoo to get on the rides like 7DMT at MK but it comes with the territory I guess.

 

[ojeight]

I think this is Disney trying to market to the teenage and young adult males. This is an area that they seem to lacking in their marketing as there is not much out there except for Star Wars Weekends.

 

[MainMom]

I'm looking forward to more things to do in AK. I am not excited that the theme is Avatar. I don't like the movie and the blue people creep me out. I'll give it a chance though.

 

[Jeannie in NJ]

I liked the movie and am excited for new things at AK. Heck, I like whenever there is anything new at any of the parks.

 

[agavegirl1]

My fiance' is positively "stoked" for this land and we are planning a trip to Orlando around it. I would rather have had something else but I think it will be lovely.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Never seen the movie. So, I don't really care one way or the other. Once it opens, before the next time we go, I'll watch the movie.

I would have preferred they spent time and energy on something else. Like Star Wars.

Actually, I wish they would have been able to bend a little and work with Warner and Rowling to get Harry Potter, but that's moot...