Avatar coming to Animal Kingdom

[jlewisinsyr]

Did you see it in 3D???

I agree, Avatar does lend itself much better to 3D than many films. It doesn't rely on old school 3D effects like things flying at your face, rather it uses the 3D to create an immersive environment, depth to the images that you cannot get with the 2D version.

The digital animation was also amazing well done, I mean, the digital animation of Sigourney Weaver and Sam Worthington (yum) made them close to being indistinguishable from their own self.

 

[AnthonyJPreston]

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[nytimez]

Some thoughts.....

http://anthonyjpreston.blogspot.com/2011/09/avatar-pandora-coming-to-disneys-animal.html

how about the reader's digest version...

 

[mrsklamc]

HP is a win for Universal because it gets people who would not otherwise go to Universal, to go to Universal because they LOVE HP. I don't think their is a similar group of avatar fans or at least nowhere near as large a group.

 

[Jaaron2]

I for one am totally stoked! Animal Kingdom is my favorite park and we own at AKV through DVC. I am thrilled the park is expanding. I for one would want nothing more than a Star Wars themed section at HS but Avitar offers sooooooo many great options if done right. I can't wait for the Grand Opening and am anxiously looking forward to what is planned. I would focus not so much on the movie itself but what options through imagineerng it brings to the table.

 

[umichigan10]

Response to the internet backlash I'm sure:

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2011/09/answering-your-questions-about-avatar-at-disney-parks/

More like "this things just in the beginning stages, people have a lot of questions about this surprising anouncement"

 

[Jason71]

Yeah, a land based on the highest grossing movie of ALL TIME. I don't understand all the hate for this.

At the time it opened, "Titanic: The Experience" over on I-Drive was based on the highest grossing movie of ALL TIME. A lot of its props came straight from the set. It's moved three times since, and has never had the effect of, say, Dave & Busters, let alone WWoHP or a Disney park.

You need a series, something that stands up somewhat to the test of time. Whatever they did for Cameron, should've done for Lucas instead. I see this being a boondoggle, assuming it ever gets built.

 

[Donut23]

Doesn't sound like it will be much of a park.

According to the article in the Orlando Paper; Disney's investment in the new park will be $500 million. For example: In 2006 EE opened and that one ride was $100 million to build.

Disney is spending over $1 billion to fix their poorly designed California Adventure.

$500 million in 2014 and 2015 dollars doesn't sound all that impressive. It sounds like a desperate attempt to attract the guests who are flooding HP and spending big dollars there.

 

[ASteelersMidget]

Doesn't sound like it will be much of a park.

According to the article in the Orlando Paper; Disney's investment in the new park will be $500 million. For example: In 2006 EE opened and that one ride was $100 million to build.

Disney is spending over $1 billion to fix their poorly designed California Adventure.

$500 million in 2014 and 2015 dollars doesn't sound all that impressive. It sounds like a desperate attempt to attract the guests who are flooding HP and spending big dollars there.

James Camroen could be Dishing out some dough for it as well. $500 Million might just be from Disney not the total project.

 

[Donut23]

James Camroen could be Dishing out some dough for it as well. $500 Million might just be from Disney not the total project.

Perhaps Disney will use it's new budget building and buying developed in the last few years. You know, more bang for the buck. Restaurants will have plastic folding card tables and chairs from Walmart.....saves $$$. Look at BLT - opened and had to redesign some of the construction - like the bathroom sink actually....IN the bathroom . California Adventure - $1billion to fix what they did wrong the first time . Yetti. Fantasmic Dragon at DL.

Disney no longer deserves the reputation of bringing ideas and quality into their building. The days of imagineers building rock solid buildings and attractions are long gone. How sad is that.

I guess with this new expansion we will just have to hold our breath until 2014 to see if......Pandora falls down on a windy day!

 

[CurlyJo224]

Feeling largely "meh" on the whole thing. Never bothered to see the movie, and I fail to see what it has to do with Disney.

If they wanted a new area for AK, then do Australia or finally build the freaking Beastly Kingdom already.

Maybe this will at least draw off some of the crowds from the rest of the park.

 

[ChrisFL]

HP is a win for Universal because it gets people who would not otherwise go to Universal, to go to Universal because they LOVE HP. I don't think their is a similar group of avatar fans or at least nowhere near as large a group.

As far as I know, Animal Kingdom is consistently ranked 4th place in attendance of the Disney parks....(did it ever beat DHS?)

So if they can attract more visitors to AK which I'm SURE this will, if done correctly, they will benefit.

 

[ChrisFL]

Feeling largely "meh" on the whole thing. Never bothered to see the movie, and I fail to see what it has to do with Disney.

I have an idea

Why don't you actually watch it once?

 

[DulcetDiscord]

The creatures in Avatar are mythical creatures from our world, they are from the imaginations of people who live on Earth. That's the definition of a mythical creature, one of people's imagination, something based on lore, belief, sometimes with historical reference, but all the same, based on the imagination.

I get what you're saying, but my point is that unicorns and dragons and such have a theoretical habitat on Earth; when people first imagined them, they imagined them HERE, in real forests and on real mountains. Yes, people have imagined them elsewhere, but they're always in environments that are Earth-like. That makes them fit in among the real animals of Earth's ecosystems. The Yeti isn't real, but he's part of Earth's mythology, he has a home in Earth's Himalayas.

Avatar's mythical creatures are located on a completely different planet in a completely alien ecosystem and were never imagined to be part of ours. In fact that idea is part of the story; that humans (Earth-creatures) do not belong on Pandora.

This doesn't mean the attractions won't be awesome or visually appealing. I just think it doesn't flow logically. Like Dinoland, Avatarland/Pandora will seem out of place.

 

[mrsklamc]

As far as I know, Animal Kingdom is consistently ranked 4th place in attendance of the Disney parks....(did it ever beat DHS?)

So if they can attract more visitors to AK which I'm SURE this will, if done correctly, they will benefit.

Since most people buy multi day tickets anyway, just drawing people from the other 3 parks to AK will not be a huge moneymaker.

In order to be worth the investment it needs to draw a LOT of people who are not otherwise Disney goers, and that's not going to happen on a large scale.

 

[skier_pete]

Doesn't sound like it will be much of a park.

According to the article in the Orlando Paper; Disney's investment in the new park will be $500 million. For example: In 2006 EE opened and that one ride was $100 million to build.

Disney is spending over $1 billion to fix their poorly designed California Adventure.

$500 million in 2014 and 2015 dollars doesn't sound all that impressive. It sounds like a desperate attempt to attract the guests who are flooding HP and spending big dollars there.

Your kidding, right? Are you just baiting us? OK I'll bite. You do realize that Universal spent about $250 Million on Harry Potter land. I was worried that this would be only $200-300 Million. As you pointed out - EE was $100 Million in 2006. FLE is around $200-$300 Million. If they actually sink $500 Million into a single park expansion - this has gotta be pretty big. Not just one ride, but at least 2-3 attractions + shops and food. A true LAND. Inflation from 2006 to today's dollars is not that great (perhaps 10% as we've gone through a recession since then and are probably entering a 2nd).

Now, I'll be the first to admit that just because they make an announcement, in fact, it would be surprising if at some point it was NOT scaled back. (Though I also do have to point out here that both the DCA expansion and the FLE have NOT been cut back at all beyond the first announcement, and the FLE was actually improved beyond the first announcement when they realized that the fans weren't thrilled with princess central.)

It comes as no surprise that there are people on here that will bash Disney no matter WHAT they come out with.

 

[skier_pete]

Since most people buy multi day tickets anyway, just drawing people from the other 3 parks to AK will not be a huge moneymaker.

In order to be worth the investment it needs to draw a LOT of people who are not otherwise Disney goers, and that's not going to happen on a large scale.

Not true at all - your not thinking properly.

What expanding the existing parks does is allow Disney to increase CAPACITY. For instance, the FLE allows them to bring an additional say 5 % in attendance to MK with the same crowd levels in the park. An expansion like this at AK might increase CAPACITY at AK by 25 %. The concept is that they will be able to accomodate MORE PEOPLE at WDW. This is necessary as they continue to build hotels.

That, and to a lesser extent getting people to add an extra day to their Disney World park stay. As others have pointed out, AK is the lowest attended of the Disney theme parks. IT's why making a 5th gate makes little sense. You can get the increased capacity without putting in the $1.5 billion+ that a 5th gate would require, which would really do the exact same thing as to increase capacity.

The biggest potential issue I see is crowd management. DAK was designed very nice visually - but the narrow paths handle crowds very poorly. If you DO expand guest capacity by 25 %, that's that much more crowded that the hub area is going to get.

SkierPete

 

[Oglet]

The biggest potential issue I see is crowd management. DAK was designed very nice visually - but the narrow paths handle crowds very poorly. If you DO expand guest capacity by 25 %, that's that much more crowded that the hub area is going to get.

SkierPete

I couldn't agree more. Guest traffic flow is one of the biggest challenges that face Animal Kingdom even with lower attendance than other parks.

No matter where they put the new area there are traffic redesign / flow issues to address. I would even go as far to say they they will possibly have to change things around in other parts of the park to help with guest flow issues.

 

[nytimez]

Not true at all - your not thinking properly.

What expanding the existing parks does is allow Disney to increase CAPACITY. For instance, the FLE allows them to bring an additional say 5 % in attendance to MK with the same crowd levels in the park. An expansion like this at AK might increase CAPACITY at AK by 25 %. The concept is that they will be able to accomodate MORE PEOPLE at WDW. This is necessary as they continue to build hotels.

That, and to a lesser extent getting people to add an extra day to their Disney World park stay. As others have pointed out, AK is the lowest attended of the Disney theme parks. IT's why making a 5th gate makes little sense. You can get the increased capacity without putting in the $1.5 billion+ that a 5th gate would require, which would really do the exact same thing as to increase capacity.

The biggest potential issue I see is crowd management. DAK was designed very nice visually - but the narrow paths handle crowds very poorly. If you DO expand guest capacity by 25 %, that's that much more crowded that the hub area is going to get.

SkierPete

I also wonder if they have internal numbers that show AK visitors don't go to other parks after AK closes, which is relatively early most nights (often 5-6 p.m.). Putting in an attraction that could keep the park open later -- even if the safari isn't running -- could keep more guests spending later into the evening than they perhaps would normally. That would put a big financial justification behind the project.

Also agree on your other posts. $500 million will buy A LOT... an anyone who says it's not what it was when EE opened hasn't been paying attention to the economy. Construction workers are begging for jobs right now, especially in Florida and especially especially in central Florida.

Those of you who drive on I-4 from the west may have seen the construction equipment auctioneer on the north side of the highway with his acres and acres and acres of equipment all lined up... and after every auction, they're quickly replaced with acres and acres of more equipment.

He's always been there. But I've never seen that many pieces of equipment for sale, and it's quite a sight if you've caught it before one of the auctions recently.

 

[skier_pete]

I couldn't agree more. Guest traffic flow is one of the biggest challenges that face Animal Kingdom even with lower attendance than other parks.

No matter where they put the new area there are traffic redesign / flow issues to address. I would even go as far to say they they will possibly have to change things around in other parts of the park to help with guest flow issues.

The problem is that widening all the pathways in AK is not exactly something that can be undertaken easily. Because regardless of where the expansion is located - the added customer presence will be everywhere around the main hub. The individual sections (Africa, Asia, Dinoland) won't feel it so bad.

It makes me wonder where the expansion will be. It almost HAS to be either removal of Camp Minnie-Mickey OR place it behind Asia. (Note during the Q & A they did not deny that anything would be coming out.) Moving those CMM attractions - moving the character trails is easy, while moving Festival of the Lion King will be more difficult - OR behind Asia. Placing it behind Asia makes the traffic patterns even more problematic.

On a slightly different topic - Anybody else wondering why they couldn't have gotten this deal done for the D23 convention a month ago? I imagine they were trying but just couldn't get it in...but it would've really blown the roof off the joint instead of making it the "ho hum" event it was.

Another thing - doesn't this point out how worthless the Disney rumor mill is? Lots of talk about expansion - but NO-ONE got this one right.