Avatar land coming to Animal Kingdom!!

[Goofypop]

And why is it going to be in AK, Avatar isn't about animals.

No, it's about nature.

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

Mike Thomas, O'Sentinel columnist, gives his take on Avatar land. He knows nothing more than anyone posting here, but he had some interesting things to say.

First few paragraphs:


'Avatar' — a sad consolation prize for Disney

"Disney finally came up with an answer to Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter — a barrel full of giant blue monkeys.

The Imagineers better get their imaginations cranking overtime.

Disney built its empire on great characters, great dialogue and great storytelling.

"Avatar" has none of the above."

Full Article

The guy's an idiot, read post 571.

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

And finally, here is another rant -

The idea that Disney does things in response to Universal is laughable. Worldwide, Disney Parks draw 5X as many guests as Universal (2010 figures)

And Universal Studios in Florida draws HALF the customers of.....Animal Kingdom (2009 figures). So let's assume WWOHP doubles Universal attendance in the U.S. (it opened in early 2010)...it's still just as big as ONE of Disney's smaller parks.

Universal is great (so is Sea World, so is Six Flags for the right goals)....and WWOHP is by all accounts fantastic....but these claims that Disney sits around saying "oh no what are we going to do about Universal!" and "oh boy Disney has a consolation prize and is losing out to Universal" are just nonsense.

 

[reelmom]

I have never seen the movie but I probably will now. Not sure what to expect but I am sure that Disney will come up with something awesome. I do think that the WWoHP does have something to do with adding a new land. Does the Avatar movie tie into the mythological creatures that Animal Kingdom has on it's sign?

 

[DCTooTall]

And finally, here is another rant -

The idea that Disney does things in response to Universal is laughable. Worldwide, Disney Parks draw 5X as many guests as Universal (2010 figures)

And Universal Studios in Florida draws HALF the customers of.....Animal Kingdom (2009 figures). So let's assume WWOHP doubles Universal attendance in the U.S. (it opened in early 2010)...it's still just as big as ONE of Disney's smaller parks.

Universal is great (so is Sea World, so is Six Flags for the right goals)....and WWOHP is by all accounts fantastic....but these claims that Disney sits around saying "oh no what are we going to do about Universal!" and "oh boy Disney has a consolation prize and is losing out to Universal" are just nonsense.

The really funny thing is that it's not like Disney and Universal are really competing. There is not need for Disney to really respond to WWoHP because they know whatever is good for Universal is good for Disney.

You may ask how so? Well, Think about how huge the Harry Potter advertising has been. Think about how much press the place has gotten... and how many Harry Potter Fans from around the world are making trips to the Orlando Area to Visit the "Harry Potter Park". Are you Seriously telling me that all these people are spending the massive amounts of money to come to Orlando, to spend a day or 2 at the Universal parks before going home?

If you look at Disney's numbers, you can see how while Universal's numbers have seen a big jump, Disney is also getting an attendance boost from people who are coming to Florida to see the Harry Potter stuff. So from Disney's point of view, Universal is spending massive amounts of money on marketting to bring people into Orlando, and then Disney is getting people swinging by their parks for several days while down there. Ok, They may not be spending as much time at the Disney parks, but Disney didn't have to increase their spending to get the people there, and since the tickets are so heavily front-loaded cost wise, They are still making some nice $$$ from the Harry Potter park.


So obviously, Disney really doesn't have to compete with or provide an answer to Harry Potter, because anything that brings people to the area is going to end up being a net positive for Disney. That why the Fantasyland expansion isn't a response to Harry, and that's why this announcement isn't an attempt to compete with Harry. If anything, it's the Sea Worlds/Legolands/I-drives of the area who have to worry because as vacation days get swallowed up by the big boys its the smaller attractions in the area that are going to see the biggest attendance drops.

 

[tiki23]

DCTooTall - you hit that nail squarely on the head!

 

[WLSILVERCREEKSPRINGS]

Not excited about this addition to DW; too many good Disney movies that are under represented in the parks!

 

[PrncesKMW]

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall during the talks between James Cameron and Disney.

I hate to bring it up, but I do have to compare this WWoHP - when Universal made that announcement, the HP franchise already had 5 hit movies and a bestselling series of books.

With Avatar - they've got one movie, and I have not seen the merchandising strength at all. I am surprised that Disney is putting faith in two unreleased movies.

I've got faith in the Imagineers, but I'm wondering all the motives behind this move.

 

[nytimez]

I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall during the talks between James Cameron and Disney.

I hate to bring it up, but I do have to compare this WWoHP - when Universal made that announcement, the HP franchise already had 5 hit movies and a bestselling series of books.

With Avatar - they've got one movie, and I have not seen the merchandising strength at all. I am surprised that Disney is putting faith in two unreleased movies.

I've got faith in the Imagineers, but I'm wondering all the motives behind this move.

I don't think it's faith in two unreleased movies. It's faith that idea of Pandora -- what we've seen what's to come -- will sustain a theme park world that can captivate people whether they've seen (and enjoyed) the films or not.

 

[magicbob]

to compare to star wars....
New hope...sucked

Sacrilege! The original Star Wars SUCKED?!?!?!?!?!? You've got to be kidding me. There's no comparison. Avatar is a flash in the pan compared to Star Wars which shaped SEVERAL generations. I guess because it wasn't filmed using 3D CGI (which is about the ONLY thing Avatar had going for it), it must be crap.

 

[magicbob]

This author is a complete idiot and a pathetic Potter fanboy.

Let's just take the first few paragraphs:

>>>>I saw it once, my daughter saw it twice, and neither of us could name a Na'vi.<<<<<

Ummm, the main character is Jake Sully. I guess if you are an ignoramous that could be diffcult to remember. The main female is Nytiri. Again, if you can't remember that after a 3 hour movie you are a blithering fool that should not be listened to.

Next bit of stupidity:

>>>We couldn't even tell you if any of the important ones died in that final battle with the evil white capitalists, even though we both darn near cried when Harry held a fatally wounded Dobby.<<<

Ok, well, the main Na'vi warrior and Jake's rival dies in SLOW MOTION after leaping off his bird onto an enemy character and taking down 3 or 4 soldiers because he dies. I suppose this thickheaded numbskull was too busy fantasizing about Hermione to notice this. Or maybe he was still tear-filled from Dobby's death and couldn't see. What a loser. His fanboy mentality begins to make this article not worth reading.

>>>Avatar has no memorable heroes, no memorable villains, no memorable lines, no memorable twists, not even a memorable musical riff.<<<

Hero= Jake Sully. You have to be a dolt to miss this.

Villian= Quaritch - you know...the jarhead boss marine who survived countless near death experiences and almost single handedly wiped out a civilization. Only a blithering buffoon would miss this.

Memorable lines - I guess this twit needs an "I'll be back" to enjoy a movie

Twists - look...it ain't a Alfred Hitchcock movie. What a dweeb.

At this point - less than a 3rd of the way into the article, anything else this drooling, unhinged dolt has to say is not worth reading. He should go back to his wand collection and brush up on his Quidditch rules rather than writing for a newspaper.

Jake Who??? The article says Avatar had no MEMORABLE hero. Which it DIDN'T! No one beyond the most enthusiastic Avatar "fanboys" (to borrow your term) has a clue what the guy's name was because he was completely forgettable. Ask ANYONE who Harry Potter is and they can tell you (whether they like HP or not). Casting all those insults about just because you disagree or don't like what he said about your beloved Avatar says more about you than the author.

 

[La2kw]

Avatar is no Harry Potter. The fan base isn't as large or as intense as the HP fan base. I think it's a mistake on Disney's part, and I'm not just saying that because I didn't like the movie. (I thought it was pretty, but the story was not original in the least.)

I agree that Disney has way more things that would be a better match.

 

[Jennasis]

I certainly couldn't tell you the name of the villain (either the army guy or Giovanni Ribisi), or the name of Sigourney Weaver's doctor character or any of the other Na'vi other than Neytiri (who I know only because AICN advertises a maquette of her all the time). I remember Jake Sully's name.

I guess if that makes me ignorant to some, so be it, but when I watched it I was simply staring at the pretty colors and not at all drawn in to the story (though I tried) so it makes sense that not a single character made an impact on me.

Perhaps the land won't focus on any particular character?

 

[DCTooTall]

Sacrilege! The original Star Wars SUCKED?!?!?!?!?!? You've got to be kidding me. There's no comparison. Avatar is a flash in the pan compared to Star Wars which shaped SEVERAL generations. I guess because it wasn't filmed using 3D CGI (which is about the ONLY thing Avatar had going for it), it must be crap.

As someone who just forked over the cash to buy the original Star Wars films on Bluray, I just gotta say this.....


New Hope's plot was almost as thin as Avatar's. It's primary driving force when it first hit the theaters was something EXTREMELY similiar to what helped Drive Avatar in the box office. Namely..... The movie used completely cutting edge visuals that brought something to the public that they had never seen before.


Remember, When Star Wars was made, many of the special effects used in it had never been done before....at least to that scale. Many of the processes used to create those effects were designed by Lucas and his team. (ILM was basically started to do Star Wars).

Outside of the effects, Lucas did a great job of creating a universe and world for the audience. Other SciFi fair released around the same time used the ole clean/boring/office building kinda of vibe for the world, Whereas Lucas traveled to exotic locations in order to create the exotic feel for the world his characters lived in.

Plot wise? Princess gets captured by evil badguy. Farm Boy gets sucked into plot after evil badguy's henchmen kill off his family leaving him nothing at home. Farm Boy, with help of mentor figure and 'out for himself' rogue manage to save the princess from the evil badguy. Farm boy then manages to save the day and destroy the evil badguy's forces thru hokey skill learned shootting at womprats back home (Which appearently massively trained rebellion couldn't produce skills to match that wompray shooting ability). Trust me.... The first Star Wars movie wasn't the deepest of plotlines. It was the sequels, and the fact it introduced audiences to a whole new type of film that really helped cement its place in history. Star Wars also didn't really "Blow up" in popularity until the past 15-20 years (early-mid 90s).... several years after the last movie was in theaters, but after which those who fell in love with the first film in their teen/young adult years started to raise their own families sharing their love for the world with their kids..... and when people who saw it as a kid started to feed the pop culture themselves and could throw in their own references to the films.


Avatar has a lot more in common with the original star wars then you may realize at first. Cameron developed whole new technologies to bring the movie to life and create the universe within the film. He actually managed to create a livable, believable, and complete exotic world within which to tell his story. Within that world, a pretty shallow plotline.... but he created enough depth within the world that he can actually build off it.


I think the main thing going against Avatar is that while it was a breakthru in technical film making, the whole concept of CGI is taken for granted by many people these days.... so it may not seem as large of a change over previous films as Star Wars was over it's contemporaries. It's also easier to do, so the imitators (3D and CGI) are more ubundant. [Vs. Star Wars and it's special effects, which also created it's imitators in the likes of Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek The Motion Picture, etc..... many of whome ended up hiring the same people who created the effects in Star Wars to help them do theirs.])




Sorry for the rambling tangent, but I do hope I was able to get my point across. It's WAY too early to write the final chapter on Avatar.... and it's completely unfair and incorrect to go and say that Star Wars was a complete and total masterpiece/legend after the first movie.

 

[Planogirl]

I think a few Avatar rides would be cool. I could see them doing some live stuff as well as movies.
For some to say one movie or series of movies is better than another is purely subjective.
Avatar reached an entire generation of children, when they grow up they would love the Avatar stuff featured.

IMO Avatar will be superior to star wars if they can put out another movie equal or better than the first movie.
to compare to star wars....
New hope...sucked
Empire...ok
Jedi....good
Phantom menace...sucked
Clones...sucked
Sith....ok

 

[macfinn]

OK, i get that James Cameron is involved so maybe a "good" thing...BUT really James Cameron is no GEORGE LUCAS...i think this will eventually go by the wayside as other Disney atratcions did...

What would Uncle Walt say....STAR WARS is one thing..it has staying power...i saw AVATAR on a cruise ship, i never got more that 30 minutes in and could not follow it....

Here is another point....i have 2 kids (both boys)..both like the "cartoon" version...but have never once asked for the "toys" from this movie...if there is any "toys" 2 boys 7 and 5 would want them..GOD knows that they have all STAR WARS toys....


i think Disney should have went to the public and polled there audience?? they do that all the time...WHY not movie that has more staying power from there own archives...NOT SURE..

I will go to see it, even tho the space would have been better utilized to expand AK and bring more to that park that has to do with AnimalS...

THIS IS MY OPINION...every one has one...I AM NOT THRILLED..but it will be open minded...LET's see what happens ......

 

[BBBlade]

I think they are looking at using this movie and the idea of conservation to take over what they use Rafiki for. As cute as Rafikis little island is, its completely forgettable when surrounded by dinosaur, everest and the rapids.

I would love to see the Lion King represented a little more in AK but if they can bring some more excitement to the park and a little more awareness about the earth to some of our younger guests, than Im all for it.

Do we really think they make these decisions without clearly thinking them over?

 

[tiki23]

OK, i get that James Cameron is involved so maybe a "good" thing...BUT really James Cameron is no GEORGE LUCAS...THIS IS MY OPINION...every one has one...I AM NOT THRILLED..but it will be open minded...LET's see what happens ......

Hey, I grew up with the 3 original Star Wars movies and still love them...but wow, bad acting and directing runs rampant!

When I saw your comment about JC vs GL all I could think was "James went a whole level beyond George" imo.

Again, just imo, Disney didn't necessarily jump on the Avatar bandwagon for the movie, but for the beauty represented by Pandora.

My kids are involved in cosplay, anime and costuming - there has been a lot done with Avatar. (I'm not confusing Avatar with The Last Air Bender.)

My family is excited to see what Disney will do with this. We love Animal Kingdom, it's our favorite park, and we're thinking Avatar is a good match.

 

[jenrose66]

Found this via some updates on Twitter....

This morning Disney has announced plans to bring James Cameron’s film franchise “Avatar” to Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park at Walt Disney world. In a “long-term creative partnership,” Cameron and his team will act as creative consultants with Walt Disney Imagineering with construction on the new land beginning by 2013.

Specifics of the new Animal Kingdom themed land are not yet revealed, though a press conference is being held at Walt Disney Imagineering headquarters in Glendale, Calif. today. Plans are expected to feature more one ride in a whole new park area.

Mythical creatures were intended to be part of Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park since its opening, but this is the first opportunity for Disney to showcase more than animals on Earth.

I'm indifferent about this. I'm sure it will look cool....I don't really get the tie in.

 

[Snow Shoe]

Well when the movie came out, my two sons, both adults with families now, just couldn't wait to take me and their sons to see it. So we all trecked to our local movie theater and watched it, or at least they did. I slept through it. I guess it wasn't that interesting to me. Sorry to see that Disney is headed in this direction.