LOL, no Avatar land after all?

[lockedoutlogic]

How long since the announcement and we have scene not an ounce of concept art or site prep????

Wasn't like that with FLE or Carsland?

I think you might be a little premature on this one...though i have significant doubts about what we'll get out of this.

From what it seems - they really don't have anything planned as of yet...just a loose "creative partnership agreement". And that leaves alot of potential but also alot of space for it to go nowhere and the thing to crumble.

I don't think the money has been worked out...just some figures thrown out. I don't honestly believe that any planning has gone above blue sky...while i also don't believe that the important costs/ licensing/ merchandise conversations have been completed.

Which means it could go bye bye.

I also - don't trust disney on this. Because they have not shown the ability to work smoothly, quickly, or all that effectively with other entertainment figures over the past 30 or so years. They had pixar walk on them at one point...and pathetically little has come out of the lucas partnership in most ways. They just want too much of the profit and they want too many strings attached while they take the profits. The basic world showcase agreement is: you help build it, you pay us to run it, we'll keep the giftshop take. What a load of crap in this day and age...and probably 99.95% of why there hasn't been a shovel moved around that lagoon in 25 years now.

Back to Avatar - They may also have done the "announcement" well before they're ready too to kinda test the waters and see how much buzz they're getting off the Avatar name...and intentionally leaving a backdoor out of it by not moving quickly and committing resources or funds.

Cameron is very similar to Lucas...he's a big kid, but he has his babies and he likes to make gobs of money with his babies. And isn't gonna share it on the playground.
Cameron seems to be every bit as possessive of the Avatar stuff as Lucas is of the Skywalkers...

I'm a very cautious about this...i dont' know if we'll get anthying close to a fully immersive land - a la Harry P (granted alot of that was retrofit, not construction...and that matters). I think we are more than likely to get some kinda nextgen ride and a giftshop...and in the end AK will be 20+ years old and still neglected and lacking.

Current management has not earned more faith than that...as they are "piecemealing" their investments in their centerpiece property and worrying too much about china and disneyland...my opinon.

 

[tjkraz]

No Source is former Imagineer Eddie Sotto which I spoke to yesterday.


Anyway if it is canceled I would bet on no expansion.

Uh-huh...

How long since the announcement and we have scene not an ounce of concept art or site prep????

Wasn't like that with FLE or Carsland?

Cars and the Disney Princesses are wholly owned properties. With Avatar, everything will have to be vetted by Cameron and his people. Additional delays shouldn't be surprising.

The original announcement said construction wouldn't begin until sometime in 2013. I wouldn't expect to see site prep 12-18 months ahead of time.

As for artwork, this is a deal that was clearly kept under wraps. Absolutely nobody predicted this before the announcement and few knew about it. The original announcement came right out and said that design work was just beginning.

When you factor in the short lead time, size of the project, extra layers of approval and the fact that future films are still in development, the lack of info doesn't surprise me one bit.

Now, that's not to say that it won't be cancelled. Certainly anything can happen. I've read the same insider reports / rumors you have and the only things they really allege are:

1. Cameron is reportedly harder to work with than some people anticipated.
2. Some execs are supposably rethinking the decision due to lukewarm public reception to the original announcement.

Whether or not that's enough reason to cancel the entire project remains to be seen. As of this moment, there are still people actively working on the project.

 

[skier_pete]

So, because we haven't heard Disney mention in the last month something that is 4-5 years away, it must be cancelled? Makes sense!

My guess is we haven't really heard anything because there really isn't anything concrete to hear yet. The announcement was so early in the development that I think all they had was a signed agreement. With things like Fantasyland and Carsland, they had all the design work done and were almost ready to break ground (FL groundbreaking was within a few months of the announcement). They are still probably another 1.5-2 years from breaking ground here.

Actually, Cameron is currently shooting more deep sea ocean footage. I think the more likely reason this doesn't go forward is James Cameron is killed in a deep-sea Submersible accident. Everything Cameron does takes longer than expected because (a) he's such a obsessive perfectionist and (b) he's underwater.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Now, that's not to say that it won't be cancelled. Certainly anything can happen. I've read the same insider reports / rumors you have and the only things they really allege are:

1. Cameron is reportedly harder to work with than some people anticipated.
2. Some execs are supposably rethinking the decision due to lukewarm public reception to the original announcement.

Whether or not that's enough reason to cancel the entire project remains to be seen. As of this moment, there are still people actively working on the project.

Though i'm sure that it was more than an elaborate ruse and that it has not been cancelled - already...

I would not dismiss thie above point out of hand....

Let's face it - the reaction has been practically nonexistent. And as i said the day i found out - it's because AVATAR is the most forgettable, highest grossing, 2.5 billion dollar movie imaginable (no pun intended). It just was forgettable...practically before you expelled your 11.00, 84 oz coke after the credits rolled...

It is nowhere near the fangeek following of Harry Potter or Star Wars...not even close. I see nothing to indicate it has mass/ casual appeal. I tried watching it on my new 3D tv and I COULDN'T EVEN MAKE IT THROUGH IT. It probably would get less buzz than a lord of the rings land...and that has long been forgotten.

Disney won't pay for a "non-big deal" at this point...they're not gonna take a flyer on it. And contrary to the harry potter sweepstakes of 5 years ago...nobody seems to care.

We all must sense this...and it makes a collapse of the deal very possible. Besides...half of disney's motivation with their ridiculous early announcements and slow as molasses constuction schedules it to get pre-build hype. And it isn't there. The Beauty and the Beast restaruant seems to be more anticipated...just look at this on this or the countless other boards.

Not that i'm advocating it - but an expanded star wars/ indiana jones presence at studios would get way more immediate and longterm attention than this.

Avatar is just forgettable...to everyone outside the comic book, PS3, fangeek crowd...
who spend too much on comic books and wont' be able to afford the $138 one day ticket to animal kingdom by the time this thing opens anyway.

 

[ASteelersMidget]

^My feelings exactly. Avatar is really really bad from a purely theatrical standpoint. It does not deserve the money it made.

 

[crazy4wdw]

Iger commented today at the Disney shareholder meeting that the Avatar addition to DAK is moving forward and is scheduled to open in 2015.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

With the way Disney has been going lately, I got a feeling that it will be done on time 2015. Opening day everyone will be asking who the hell is the bald kid and why does everything look lika ancient China.

 

[ASteelersMidget]

Iger commented today at the Disney shareholder meeting that the Avatar addition to DAK is moving forward and is scheduled to open in 2015.

They say 2015 so I'm going to say it will open in 2017. Just based on recent events.

 

[skier_pete]

Iger commented today at the Disney shareholder meeting that the Avatar addition to DAK is moving forward and is scheduled to open in 2015.

Oh good, that means we get another 27 days before the "avatar canceled" rumor resurfaces.

Sometimes I really loathe the internet.

 

[tjkraz]

They say 2015 so I'm going to say it will open in 2017. Just based on recent events.

Which recent events?

Oh good, that means we get another 27 days before the "avatar canceled" rumor resurfaces.

Sometimes I really loathe the internet.

+1

Oh, it won't even take 27 days. There are already people digging in their heels and insisting that the project is still in trouble because Iger didn't spend 20 minutes bragging about it during the shareholder meeting.

After all, why wouldn't he use valuable time to rave about a project that is still a year away from groundbreaking and 3 1/2 years from completion?

 

[skier_pete]

Which recent events?



+1

Oh, it won't even take 27 days. There are already people digging in their heels and insisting that the project is still in trouble because Iger didn't spend 20 minutes bragging about it during the shareholder meeting.

After all, why wouldn't he use valuable time to rave about a project that is still a year away from groundbreaking and 3 1/2 years from completion?

Yup. And what I can hardly stomach is all the people that complain for 5 years that Disney never builds anything new, and then when they declare they're going to build something new (for half a billion dollars) those same people say..."Oh, why are they wasting their money on THAT!"

Picture an alternate world where the internet was invented 30 years earlier. It's 1978 and Disney announces plans to build an attraction at Magic Kingdom based on this new movie this called "Star Wars". The announcement causes an uproar on the internet:
"How can you base a theme park attraction on a single movie just because it was the most successful movie of all time!"
"Sure, the effects were great, but the story was lame. Recycled from older, better movies."
"Yeah, sure they're might be sequels...but I bet they'll be LAME and a total bust. Or they might never even be made."
"Walt would never go for this! It's not Disney!"
"How about they focus on opening that 2nd gate instead of this!"
"Why aren't we getting a Black Hole ride instead!" (OK, I know, Black Hole didn't come out until 1979.)

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Yesterland had an article this morning quoting what Bob Iger said about Avatar Land a few days ago at the shareholder meeting. It's toward the end of the article:

http://www.yesterland.com/wdcmeeting2012.html

From that quote, it seems that Avatar Land is alive and well.

I don't expect to see any Imagineering artwork or to read any details about what Disney intends to build for at least a year.

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

Get the feeling this thread will start buzzing any second now.

 

[loveysbydesign]

Get the feeling this thread will start buzzing any second now.

any hints?

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

any hints?

Perhaps it's this story:

http://behindthethrills.com/2012/06...ce-could-mean-good-news-for-disney-expansion/

With three sequels to AVATAR filming simultaneously, James Cameron may create a number of new settings that translate better to a theme park environment than the setting of the first AVATAR movie.

More importantly, it suggests the AVATAR franchise (including an Avatar Land at DAK) is, in fact, alive and well.

 

[PortMickey]

Or maybe the Flying Dragons reported on Screamscape

Screamscape - Disney Imagineering has been spotted testing something very odd at a small airport north of Bakersfield, CA. It can be best described as a heavily modified Ultralight style personal aircraft, heavily themed to appear as a dragon in flight. According to the local news report sent in, the dragon’s mouth can open and close, breath a little fire, tail wag and more. Apparently Disney signed a secret deal with the airport to keep quiet about the project, which is being kept inside a rented aircraft hanger at Shatter’s Minter Field. Some believe that the flying dragon may be a wild prototype created for possible inclusion in a new Avatar themed show concept for Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

http://www.screamscape.com/html/wdw_-_animal_kingdom.htm

.

 

[prfctlyximprfct]

I hope Avatar land gets scraped! I hate this idea!! Avatar is not Disney! i wouldn't mind a jungle like land or something of that sort.. but blue people scare me.

 

[bdoyledimou]

If there isn't a Mech style Navi-Hunt simulator the whoe project is a fail. I wanna shoot me some rabbit people.

 

[umichigan10]

I hope Avatar land gets scraped! I hate this idea!! Avatar is not Disney! i wouldn't mind a jungle like land or something of that sort.. but blue people scare me.

Winnie the Pooh isn't Disney either. Perhaps we should phase that out while we're at it.

Not to be harsh but some of disneys best attractions (I.e. ToT and RnR) are based off outside properties. Just because they didn't make it doesn't mean it cant be good.

 

[prfctlyximprfct]

Winnie the Pooh isn't Disney either. Perhaps we should phase that out while we're at it.

Not to be harsh but some of disneys best attractions (I.e. ToT and RnR) are based off outside properties. Just because they didn't make it doesn't mean it cant be good.

I wouldn't mind an Avatar ride maybe, but a whole land just doesn't fit. It's not disney to me. It's universal.