Disney's Avatar land cancelled?

[kathy884]

Could they do Titanic land instead? // Just kidding, but I have a family of Titanic enthusiasts who aren't into Avatar, but are into everything Titanic.

 

[Wadecool]

I think of it as "Pocahontas in the 24th-and-a-half Century."

I think of it as "Dances With Wolves in the 24th-and-a-half Century".

 

[BebopBaloo]

And instead of gold they want unobtainium

Speaking of unobtainium... that name is a prime example of why Disney shouldn't use Avatar. They have so many creative minds that could think of a name far better than 'unobtainium.' Seriously..wonder how long it took the writers to think of that one...

 

[astrostan]

I just wished that WDI put their effort and money into something that is more universally adored. No offense to Cameron or Avatar, but Avatar just doesn't have that "It" factor that big time attractions have. I know that I would rather have something along the lines of a Star Wars land. Not only would it satisfy the WDW fanboys, but it would also draw a lot of attention and revenue (if done correctly, of course).


While we are pondering ideas for new lands, I know that I would adore a Lord of the Rings land. Not only are Peter Jackson's movie amazing, but the books alone give it that "It" factor.

 

[Jestocost]

~I don't think Disney has ever had an opening day turn out like WWoHP, for their whole parks, let alone a single land or attraction!

~Disney wants to capitalize on Avatar's predicted upcoming box office success for the second and third films. Avatar is the highest grossing film ever. I am not a fan of Avatar the film, but James Cameron has a strong track record of successful projects. The collaboration between Cameron's team and Disney Imagineers could be spectacular!

~Sorry, but people are not going to travel in droves to see unicorns and dragons. Disney will not put a shovel into the ground unless they feel they will have a similar turn out to HP.

~Universal was already in talks with Cameron, they wanted Avatar bad, in order to replace the Terminator series! Disney snatched it by promising Cameron a huge budget, resources and land. If we lose this, we'll have nothing at all. And when everyone lines up over at Universal to see Avatar world, we'll be shaking our heads again.

That's impressive so far as it goes, but I'm non convinced that US has it over WDW.

We did both resorts during Spring Break last year and other than the crowds at WWOHP, you could have shot a canon through both IOA and US without much danger of hitting anyone. All of the WDW parks, on the other hand, were packed every day.

That said, I have less than zero interest in Avatarland.

 

[TurkA77]

~I don't think Disney has ever had an opening day turn out like WWoHP, for their whole parks, let alone a single land or attraction!

~Disney wants to capitalize on Avatar's predicted upcoming box office success for the second and third films. Avatar is the highest grossing film ever. I am not a fan of Avatar the film, but James Cameron has a strong track record of successful projects. The collaboration between Cameron's team and Disney Imagineers could be spectacular!

~Sorry, but people are not going to travel in droves to see unicorns and dragons. Disney will not put a shovel into the ground unless they feel they will have a similar turn out to HP.

~Universal was already in talks with Cameron, they wanted Avatar bad, in order to replace the Terminator series! Disney snatched it by promising Cameron a huge budget, resources and land. If we lose this, we'll have nothing at all. And when everyone lines up over at Universal to see Avatar world, we'll be shaking our heads again.

These are 2010 park attendance numbers:


1 Walt Disney Parks and Resorts United States 120,600,000
2 Merlin Entertainments Group United Kingdom 41,000,000
3 Universal Studios Recreation Group United States 26,300,000


Universal might have had an amazing honey moon period with Harry Potter, but Disney will always have the bigger fan base and loyalty. These companies will fight with each other til the end of time and in the end "we" win. As long as they are competing with each other, we will continue to see multi million dollar expansions that will only benefit us and the future generations.

 

[Haley]

oh i hope this is true!

 

[WaltD4Me]

Avatar was a visually stunning boring movie. It was a novelty. I would be shocked if the sequel did nearly as well as the first one, if not be an outright flop. If Disney puts Avatarland in AK it will be the theme park version of Ishtar. Just my humble opinion.

 

[YankeePrincess]

Avatar was a horrible movie. I am sure they can come up with something much better for AK than Avatarland.

 

[magicbob]

Avatar was a visually stunning boring movie. It was a novelty. I would be shocked if the sequel did nearly as well as the first one, if not be an outright flop.

If Disney puts Avatarland in AK it will be the theme park version of Ishtar.

Great comparison!

 

[ks13]

How about at AK? Imagine this, "Pandora area cancelled in favor of Kashyyyk (or Endor)".

While at HS sat I was commenting that a star wars land at AK would make tons of sense and if they have room add in a muppets area because to me AK is really lacking a reason to go back a lot of times.

Avatar I know I have seen it but i think my brain went to sleep during it

 

[Evoga]

Avatar just doesn't fit in at Walt Disney World.

I can see it being an expensive flop if they continue with it. It would make more sense financially and to the park to create a new ip from scratch with the Disney audience in mind and create a universe within which to market goods, films alongside the opening of the ride.

 

[RMulieri]

Star wars would be a FABULOUS addition.It has the popularity and the staying power.Lord of the RIngs is nice, but again this was mentioned as a possibility on the Universal survey that I got in January...I have no doubts,that if Disney is not willing to work with Cameron that Universal might.Yes, they are ensconced in the Harry Potter expansion since it is the "cash cow" they needed to bring up attendance.BUT As someone already mentioned they had wanted him in the first place to replace Terminator at the studios.Its dated and old.Unlike Disney, Universal does not have extra land to expand on.In order to stay a destination they need to continuously update and redo to bring the people in.They know this, and that is one of the reasons JAWS/Amity went bye bye this past Jan.

 

[Kathymford]

US got a 50% increase in attendance tat they NEEDED. Wasn't IOA getting on the verge of losing before they struck this deal? They are the deal with Rowling (control) because they had no choice. Disney isn't in te same boat.

That said, I think Disney and Cameron can do this right if they let themselves.

 

[Aroth28]

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[Pixie Princess]

How about at AK? Imagine this, "Pandora area cancelled in favor of Kashyyyk (or Endor)".

Now this, I could wholly get behind!

 

[RMulieri]

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

There was never any intention for an "Avatar" land...

It will be an "Avenger" land. The Marvel Avenger series (IM,IM2,CA,TH,AV) is one of the most succesful series Disney has ever produced. Early chatter is that the Avengers movie could make a run for the top grossing movie worldwide. There are 7 more scheduled (IM3,CA2,TH2,IH2,AV2,AV3,BW)with another 4 possibles after that (CA3,IH3,TH3,HE).

It would be a counter to the female gender based majority of the princess genre found elsewhere int he parks.

You watch Avenger is coming...

Not sure that could be possible..Problem is that while Disney owns Marvel , Universal has the rights to use them in their Orlando parks.They already have Capt America there( one of the avengers)..and Universal is not giving up using them since they just re-vamped and re-did the Spiderman ride( not an avenger I know but one of Marvels all the same)..

 

[Reddog1134]

Not sure that could be possible..Problem is that while Disney owns Marvel , Universal has the rights to use them in their Orlando parks.They already have Capt America there( one of the avengers)..and Universal is not giving up using them since they just re-vamped and re-did the Spiderman ride( not an avenger I know but one of Marvels all the same)..

It all depends on the wording of the contract. It is very possible that Universal only has the rights to the "comic book version" of those characters and not the "movie versions".

That's the way it works for the toys. One company could produce Spider-Man comic figures, another could produce cartoon based figures and yet another could make movie based figures.

By the way, here's an article about Avatar:

http://www.disneygossip.com/2012/03/wither-avatarland.html

 

[mesaboy2]

Because nothing says animals and conservation quite like caped superheroes in tights.

 

[Aroth28]

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