Avatar land- when will it open?

[rteetz]

I have to be honest, I was waiting for your response --- if you read the "ROL Lounge" thread, you might realize that
( at least in MY case --- I won't speak for others) sarcasm is not the intent - it's said more "tongue-in-cheek" as a joke. I understand ( as I am sure that everyone else does as well) the amount of hard work that goes into even the smallest project -

We all understand that this is a huge project. As far as optimism-- I am kind of ambivalent -- not negative or positive.
Honestly, our family will have a great vacation regardless of any of these projects.

So, again, it was a joke --- which ( no pun intended) is meant to shed some light on the topic. Really no reason to comstantly jump to their defense.

I understand but I find people like to hate on the avatar project. There are plenty of things Disney does that I won't jump to the defense but this isn't one of them.

 

[rteetz]

I think it does sound very interesting. I think the movie was pretty good but moreso than the quality of the movie, I thought it was very colorful and exotic. That should translate well into a theme park then.
I'm not so sure how it relates to animals though as aren't the characters in Avatar like aliens who are part man and part something else?

It relates to the conservation message of animal kingdom.

 

[tinkerhon]

I understand but I find people like to hate on the avatar project. There are plenty of things Disney does that I won't jump to the defense but this isn't one of them.

Like I said --- I'm ambivalent --- I'm not crazy about it, but "hating on it" definitely not the case.

Again, was meant to be a joke -- nothing more

 

[BrianL]

I understand but I find people like to hate on the avatar project. There are plenty of things Disney does that I won't jump to the defense but this isn't one of them.

For the record, I LOVE Avatar the film and am very much looking forward to Pandora opening. I just won't hold my breath during anything Disney is constructing...they just take a while. Then again, quality takes time.

 

[HopperFan]

I understand but I still don't see any reason to believe that this will open in 2018. As I said before they are at about the same stage carsland was 12 months out which makes sense for an April 2017 opening.

I don't think we can compare construction in SoCal to Florida, especially during the rainy/hurricane season. Hey, I hope you are right, but I think Avatar is a much bigger project in terms of attractions. Radiator Springs is cool but the others are just glorified carny style rides. OR at least I hope the Avatar attractions will have more WOW power.

 

[rteetz]

I don't think we can compare construction in SoCal to Florida, especially during the rainy/hurricane season. Hey, I hope you are right, but I think Avatar is a much bigger project in terms of attractions. Radiator Springs is cool but the others are just glorified carny style rides. OR at least I hope the Avatar attractions will have more WOW power.

I want to say carsland was pretty close to three years. Also carsland is actually bigger than avatar at 12 acres. Avatar is 11 acres. I'm comparing carsland to avatar because of the rock work. Both projects have massive amounts of rock work all done by the same Imagineer I might add.

 

[Hannahinwonderland]

I'm having pipe dreams of soft openings in late February 2017, since that's when my next trip is. But I definitely won't be holding my breath......

 

[Anal Annie]

We just decided that we're going to renew our AP's this summer (exp. July 25th) so we will eventually be wanting to plan another trip for summer 2017 before they expire again. I don't want to pick dates for that trip until we hear more about the Avatar land opening (my luck we'll plan a trip & it will open the NEXT month). Since we have DVC we can book at 11 months out but wouldn't want to go past 7 months because that's when our non-home window opens - but the exact booking window date is fluid based on WHEN we go. Points-wise it's cheaper for us to go in early June VS mid-summer. But if the opening is projected for July then we'll skip the June points savings and plan for July. Best case scenario would be if they DO open next spring (and announce it as such sometime in the next 6 months). Do they EVER announce anything in an official capacity? Like when they were building Cars Land at DL did they announce an opening date ahead of time?

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

With the announcement of D23 Expo in July 2017, I'm really hoping Pandora definitely opens around April 22, 2017. I am hoping to be there on the day it opens officially like I was for the opening of New Fantasyland and I really want to go to D23 Expo too.

Guess I'd better start saving my pennies for 2017.

 

[HopperFan]

With the announcement of D23 Expo in July 2017, I'm really hoping Pandora definitely opens around April 22, 2017. I am hoping to be there on the day it opens officially like I was for the opening of New Fantasyland and I really want to go to D23 Expo too.

Guess I'd better start saving my pennies for 2017.

Just curious why you think that it would open in April just because D23 is in July?

In my mind, D23 is full of announcements and maybe it will be the official opening date of Avatarland.

 

[MermaidMommy]

I understand the sarcasm but why can't we be more optimistic. Construction started in January 2014. If it opens April 2017 it will be three years and about 4 months. Personally for the amount of rock work they are doing that seems reasonable at Disney standards.

I think a big part of the reason Pandora seems like it is taking so long to build is that they announced it back in 2011 but didn't break ground until 2014. So, while three years to do the actual construction isn't excessively long - by Disney standards, at least - it will have been at least six years since they announced it when it finally opens. And that is a long time.

I think Disney would be better served to be more like Universal in that aspect.

 

[rteetz]

I think a big part of the reason Pandora seems like it is taking so long to build is that they announced it back in 2011 but didn't break ground until 2014. So, while three years to do the actual construction isn't excessively long - by Disney standards, at least - it will have been at least six years since they announced it when it finally opens. And that is a long time.

I think Disney would be better served to be more like Universal in that aspect.

That is true. It was announced was too early. They hadn't even started design work. What they should've just announced was that Disney was working on something with James Cameron and that's it.

 

[LaurenT]

I think the best attitude is to expect that it will wind up being complete in 2018. That way if they get it done for earth day 2017, it'll be a great bonus.
Rivers of Light is supposed to open on Earth Day this year ... But it's become pretty clear that they're having issues. They have yet to officially change AK hours to accommodate the show, to offer FPs or to offer dining packages ... And earth day is just over 3 weeks away.
I'll be there on April 25 and then again mid May ... But I'm trying not to be hopeful about seeing ROL until next time.

 

[Moonwolf]

That is true. It was announced was too early. They hadn't even started design work. What they should've just announced was that Disney was working on something with James Cameron and that's it.

I completely agree but now that Disney has the reputation for announcing things early if nothing is announced then they just get complaints on why Disney isn't working on something just like how things were with Star Wars. Star Wars was bought by Disney in 2012 and we didn't get an announcement for the land expansion until 2015. The entire time in between there was nothing but complaints on why Disney was bothering with Avatar and demanding news on Star Wars. Even though Avatar was green-lit before the Star Wars purchases was finalized.

There's no keeping fans happy.

 

[rteetz]

There's no keeping fans happy

That's something everyone can agree on.

 

[DizDaD7]

I don't think we can compare construction in SoCal to Florida, especially during the rainy/hurricane season. Hey, I hope you are right, but I think Avatar is a much bigger project in terms of attractions. Radiator Springs is cool but the others are just glorified carny style rides. OR at least I hope the Avatar attractions will have more WOW power.

Don't you mean WDW Power...LoL... I hear ya...Here's to fingers crossed..