Ground was broken this week for Avatarland

[AmyB2006]

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply Avatar was part of that. I think they were already too far into it.

I'm thinking there were a lot of projects planned in DLR for the 60th anniversary that have supposedly been put on hold.

I did read that article, but as surferdave mentioned, I don't know if that was ever confirmed. But there is probably some truth to that.

 

[cruisingtwins]

As long as the rides are good and they build more than a restaurant and bathrooms I'm good.

 

[AshleeH]

I think the answer here is obvious. Disney should have made "Gone with the Wind" land.

I actually would be excited about that one!

Seriously though, and I'm sure it's been mentioned (I haven't read the entire thread) - Avatar was a hit because it had groundbreaking CGI. Not a groundbreaking story or theme. In fact Cameron's story-telling has always been his weakest link. The next one will probably be a blockbuster, but won't be shattering box office records, by any means. For one - it's taken too long to release the sequel, interest has dwindled - and for another - more interesting things are out now.

Disney might as well have bought the rights to Twilight and done a Bella and Edward theme park. It would have created just as much animosity. This is their answer to Harry Potter, but HP will be around for generations. Star Wars (and I'm not a fangirl) would have been a smarter business approach because it's stood the test of time. Avatar has already scored a low grade on that test.

 

[mom2rtk]

I actually would be excited about that one!

Your last name isn't Wilkes by any chance, is it?

 

[clsteve]

I actually would be excited about that one!

Seriously though, and I'm sure it's been mentioned (I haven't read the entire thread) - Avatar was a hit because it had groundbreaking CGI. Not a groundbreaking story or theme. In fact Cameron's story-telling has always been his weakest link. The next one will probably be a blockbuster, but won't be shattering box office records, by any means. For one - it's taken too long to release the sequel, interest has dwindled - and for another - more interesting things are out now.

Disney might as well have bought the rights to Twilight and done a Bella and Edward theme park. It would have created just as much animosity. This is their answer to Harry Potter, but HP will be around for generations. Star Wars (and I'm not a fangirl) would have been a smarter business approach because it's stood the test of time. Avatar has already scored a low grade on that test.

Very good point.

I guess that's the most surprising thing. Disney has been a bit "risk averse" for awhile, now. To bet so much on a non-Disney movie franchise only one movie into it, and build a whole Land around it. It's very surprising. The Potter Franchise is based on one of the most successful book series ever printed, not just the movies. So, it has multi-generational legs to continue it's relevance.

I'm sure Disney will do a great job with the whole theme, etc., and AK desperately needs something to move it into a nighttime Park.

But, they better hope the next movies are very well received (with better plot development) or there's a real risk it will have short term relevance.

 

[fostrmom2mny]

My family is very excited about Avitar Land!! Loved the 1st movie! Beautiful, and we can't wait for the next two. Timing of the release of the other two movies and the completion of the Disney Avitar Land will definately bring more excitement than what is currently going now.

 

[ShannonMB]

As long as the rides are good and they build more than a restaurant and bathrooms I'm good.

Right? I love everything in New Fantasyland, but boy was it a lot of hype for what we get out of the deal.

I haven't read the whole thread, so I'm sure it's been said here before as it has been on previous Avatarland threads - just because the movie franchise "Avatar" may not have the staying power of a, say, Star Wars, franchise, doesn't mean that Disney can't create something out of it that is awesome and has staying power in its own right. The classic example is Splash Mountain. Lots of people younger than me (who saw Song of the South in the theater!) have never even heard of the movie and LOVE the ride.

Pandora is straight-up COOL. One may not care for the storyline or the politics or whatever of the movie, but I can't imagine anyone feeling like it's just ugly and it sucks. There are a LOT of possibilities there, and if Disney can pull off some MAGIC (a little something they are kinda known for), they could create something that will stand the test of time and be AMAZING!!! Guess we shall see!

 

[JeremyGNJ]

Disney might as well have bought the rights to Twilight and done a Bella and Edward theme park. It would have created just as much animosity. This is their answer to Harry Potter, but HP will be around for generations. Star Wars (and I'm not a fangirl) would have been a smarter business approach because it's stood the test of time. Avatar has already scored a low grade on that test.

I think the problem with StarWars, is that they aren't 100% sure yet what direction StarWars will be taking.

You don't want to theme a while area according to the old 6 movies, if the next ones are going to have a different feel.

 

[clsteve]

I think the problem with StarWars, is that they aren't 100% sure yet what direction StarWars will be taking.

You don't want to theme a while area according to the old 6 movies, if the next ones are going to have a different feel.

Disney now controls the direction they will be taking. I don't think it'll be an issue

 

[wordwitt]

I am really looking forward to this, actually. I guess I can see beyond liking or not liking the movie to the possibilities opened by the concept. The possibilities, to me, are really exciting. I think too many of those who are dissing the idea are focused to much on the movie and not enough on what Disney can turn this into.

 

[rachel09985]

I was never a huge fan of the movie. It was enjoyable but I didn't have feelings of love for it. Was disappointed when I first heard about Avatarland. I didn't quite get it. I still don't quite get why they went with this theme BUT I am very excited for it to open! It looks absolutely breathtaking and I am so excited to see what it will be like.

 

[PirateD]

But that's your family,like I said dis board members are only a very small part of the people who visit,

When I say my family, I am also referring to my extended family which includes my brother's family, my sister's family, and my parents. None of them are DIS members. I'm the only DIS member, and I'm the most pro-Disney and open-minded towards FP+ and Pandora. I guess I have a different view than others because of that, so I kind of laugh when people say it's just a small percentage of DIS members who are a small percentage of people who go to Disney. I hear the exact same opinions expressed by my extended family who never visit these boards. Of course, you can just say it's just your family, but I don't think that's true either. I think that Disney is missing the mark on this one with many families. I am curious to see what Disney does with it, and I hope that the result is spectacular. I'm just worried that the only way I will ever experience it is if I go by myself, because the rest of my family is uninspired by it right now.

 

[PeterPanic]

I read somewhere that it would be a different experience focusing on nocturnal animals, but I don't know if that was just soeculation

Talk about your adventure ride. Nocturnal animals do their hunting at night. On tonight's menu... a young "tender" family from Philadelphia!

Didn't they come out recently and say that pretty much everything at DLR and WDW was on hold until MM+ started recouping some of its investment?

Yup! Somebody said that, I don't think it was anyone inside Disney. People with no real way of knowing what is going on inside Disney tend to say a lot of things that are put out there as fact, when they are nothing more then guessing. They might be holding back a little but since the Avatar construction and massive amounts of park upkeep and renewal is happening, I don't think that there was a full bore freeze on spending.

 

[NavyDad]

Meh.

For the non-Avatar fan, New Fantasyland is really all there is on that list to be excited about. And while we enjoyed New Fantasyland, the only net new rides were Ariel and 7DMT. Ariel was OK, nothing to write home about though. No way to know yet if the 7DMT will be a homerun or not.

I don't give a flying fig if Disney bought SW until it shows up in the parks in some new meaningful way.

I don't care about new DVC construction. I don't care about them redoing DTD. I don't care about MM+. I don't care about Starbucks. I don't care about new walkways in the hub.

I'm not evaluating the Disney corporation as a potential investment. I'm considering whether to schedule a vacation to the parks.

YMMV.

Well, thanks for sharing that. I don't believe the target market Disney is trying to attract is someone who has 25K+ posts on a Disney message board.

I was trying to respond to people posting that Avatar was going to be an epic failure and was a marginally popular brand and also questioning why they would do Avatar INSTEAD of Star Wars.

You may not be planning on investing in Disney but Disney is a business. They do things based on what is going to make them more money. Having honest conversations about why Disney does things the way they do allows people to make informed decisions rather than accepting preconceived notions based on emotion.

 

[NavyDad]

Didn't they come out recently and say that pretty much everything at DLR and WDW was on hold until MM+ started recouping some of its investment?

I haven't seen that officially from Disney and didn't hear it on the last earnings call but I could be forgetting something......

Most of the MM+ money has been sunk for years and they haven't scaled back any of the money they are spending on Avatar or Disney Springs.

Rarely do large successful companies make a large investment and then wait for it to be recouped before moving on to the next investment.....

 

[NavyDad]

Meh. It's no better or worse than most other Disney media outlets. I'd give the NI title to Jim Hill.

I think Josh actually does an amazing job of using data-driven observations.

He does sprinkle in some of his own opinion and speculation but I think people take this way out of context based on how reliable his crowd predictions are....