Pandora: The World of Avatar Announcement, Construction, & Preview Discussion

[UniversalRBLX]

At the time of the announcement, Disney wanted the "next cars land" for WDW, and Avatar had become a very successful film. So from that point of time, Avatar was the way to go. Now, imagineering is wondering what they could have done with 1 Billion for Beastly Kingdom.

 

[twebber55]

Personally what I find more unbelievable than those plot points is that enough people thought that Avatar was a worthy enough property that this whole thing actually got built.

Harry Potter and Star Wars its not but lets not pretend it wasnt very popular
Avatar DVD and Blu-Ray sales set to break UK records after 6.7m sold in US | Daily Mail Online
looks like it will be opening to pretty big crowds in May

 

[fryoj]

If, without knowing the IP, someone told you that universal was opening a billion dollar land based on the largest grossing movie of all time, everyone on here would be drooling. If this makes it to 4 or 5 movies, this land will be seen as a success regardless if it is overpriced right now.

 

[UNIrd]

Let's not circle back to this same discussion about the current irrelevance of Avatar. We all know it. But theme park attractions ARE a way to breathe life into franchises and they can be marketing tools for films too. It's not strictly vice versa.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

If, without knowing the IP, someone told you that universal was opening a billion dollar land based on the largest grossing movie of all time, everyone on here would be drooling. If this makes it to 4 or 5 movies, this land will be seen as a success regardless if it is overpriced right now.

They wouldn't open a $1bn land based on an IP in 2017 because they know the ROI wouldn't be there, Hard Rock Park was an awesome new park but was a terrible business decision. From a rhetorical perspective we could also get to the park in our flying cars and in an alternate reality Comcast bought Disney, not NBC, in the 2000s, but there's no point in speculating based on it.

 

[Brian G.]

If, without knowing the IP, someone told you that universal was opening a billion dollar land based on the largest grossing movie of all time, everyone on here would be drooling. If this makes it to 4 or 5 movies, this land will be seen as a success regardless if it is overpriced right now.

There was a rumor back in the day that Avatar was coming to Universal (replacing T2) and it wasn't met with great excitement. Granted this was before Potter showed what they can really do when they try - so the point is moot.

I know we keep circling to this but......... not all IP's can be rides/lands; just like all great rides/lands doesn't need to come from a Top 10 IP.

I think the argument is fair to be made by critics of it's drawing power - especially for spending 1 billion. I hope we can move on to better debates than just "yea, but if Universal".

 

[Alicia]

I for one am excited. And strange as it may be, I am a theme park enthusiast, and I absolutely love Avatar. Seems like those two things rarely overlap on the venn diagram of people chatting on theme park forums these days.

So yea, Avatar is one of my favorite films of all time. I saw it 5 times in IMAX 3D. I'm one of those people. I own 3 versions of it on Blu-ray, because they released it several times with different special features each time, including one with an extra half hour added (and that's my favorite version.)

Not everyone loves Avatar. But super fans like me might pick up the slack. I'm sure those crazy people that paint themselves blue for comic con and wanted to visit Pandora so bad they wished they dead (really hope those news stories were exaggerating,) those are the people that will travel across the world to visit this new land Harry Potter land style.

In either case, we're getting a new Disney dark boat ride, people. It should all be worth it for that!

 

[darkridelover]

Even so, I bet you could ask anyone you know to name 3 characters by name from the movie and they would have a very difficult time.

I for one am excited. And strange as it may be, I am a theme park enthusiast, and I absolutely love Avatar. Seems like those two things rarely overlap on the venn diagram of people chatting on theme park forums these days.

So yea, Avatar is one of my favorite films of all time. I saw it 5 times in IMAX 3D. I'm one of those people. I own 3 versions of it on Blu-ray, because they released it several times with different special features each time, including one with an extra half hour added (and that's my favorite version.)

Not everyone loves Avatar. But super fans like me might pick up the slack. I'm sure those crazy people that paint themselves blue for comic con and wanted to visit Pandora so bad they wished they dead (really hope those news stories were exaggerating,) those are the people that will travel across the world to visit this new land Harry Potter land style.

In either case, we're getting a new Disney dark boat ride, people. It should all be worth it for that!

 

[Alicia]

Anyone you know, besides me, sure. But there is me.

Jake Sully
Naytiri
Dr. Grace Augistine
Norm Spellman
etc...

 

[Mad Dog]

My feeling is this will draw very well for AK and increase it's attendance like Everest did. But will it be a strong enough draw to prompt the general public tourists to visit WDW if they hadn't originally planned a vacation? I have my doubts. I think it will cannibalize DHS attendance and draw some overflow from Magic Kingdom. But it won't spike WDW attendance overall with tourists. Though I'm sure there will be a spike from locals. .....Now, my thoughts concerning Star Wars land. SWL "will" prompt the general public to schedule a vacation to WDW and increase the entire resort's attendance. There will be a large spike from tourists in addition to locals.

 

[Imperius]

I don't think Disney is putting it in for the drawing power of the IP. It's more the immersiveness of the property they wanted IMO. Avatar fanatics like Alicia are few and far between I would think.

 

[Disneyhead]

I don't think Disney is putting it in for the drawing power of the IP. It's more the immersiveness of the property they wanted IMO. Avatar fanatics like Alicia are few and far between I would think.

They chose it because it is the #1 movie ever. Iger was thinking this, as an IP, could compete with Potter. That's not gonna happen. But it should be a spectacular theme park land.

Word of mouth is the only way this has a chance at moving the needle.

 

[Alicia]

I don't think Disney is putting it in for the drawing power of the IP. It's more the immersiveness of the property they wanted IMO. Avatar fanatics like Alicia are few and far between I would think.

Yea, as it's been said before, this is a good fit for the park. It's conservation message about living with nature fits. The movie even centered around a giant tree, which Animal Kingdom has. And now Joe Rohde finally gets to build his dragon land, and in the same spot no less, so now the park will finally have its mythical creatures. It's a perfect fit.

(And fans like me might be few and far between, but how that film got to over a billion dollars starts to make more sense when you realize how many repeat viewings people like me had when it was in theaters.)

 

[Disneyhead]

Yea, as it's been said before, this is a good fit for the park. It's conservation message about living with nature fits. The movie even centered around a giant tree, which Animal Kingdom has. And now Joe Rohde finally gets to build his dragon land, and in the same spot no less, so now the park will finally have its mythical creatures. It's a perfect fit.

(And fans like me might be few and far between, but how that film got to over a billion dollars starts to make more sense when you realize how many repeat viewings people like me had when it was in theaters.)

Sci-fi pop culture space kitties aren't mythical creatures. Mythical creatures have the weight and depth of human history and culture behind them. Jimmy's space kitties, not so much.

 

[Alicia]

Sci-fi pop culture space kitties aren't mythical creatures. Mythical creatures have the weight and depth of human history and culture behind them. Jimmy's space kitties, not so much.

Aw cmon, they're at least dragon-ajacent. Mythical-like.

 

[Imperius]

Avatar made its money on amazing 3D. No other reason IMO.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

There was a rumor back in the day that Avatar was coming to Universal (replacing T2) and it wasn't met with great excitement. Granted this was before Potter showed what they can really do when they try - so the point is moot.

I know we keep circling to this but......... not all IP's can be rides/lands; just like all great rides/lands doesn't need to come from a Top 10 IP.

I think the argument is fair to be made by critics of it's drawing power - especially for spending 1 billion. I hope we can move on to better debates than just "yea, but if Universal".

Avatar was an attraction to replace T2, Cameron wanted a land not a ride, Universal walked. Disney jumped in thinking they were getting the coup of the generation.

 

[Donald Razorduck]

They wouldn't open a $1bn land based on an IP in 2017 because they know the ROI wouldn't be there, Hard Rock Park was an awesome new park but was a terrible business decision. From a rhetorical perspective we could also get to the park in our flying cars and in an alternate reality Comcast bought Disney, not NBC, in the 2000s, but there's no point in speculating based on it.

Hard Rock Park was a fantastic idea that suffered from placement and timing.

It should have been in Orlando, LA or Vegas preferably Orlando. It would have been a hit if had survived the recession and it was part Universal's complex with an attachment to the Hard Rock Hotel. Hell It stood a better chance being located by the Casino/Hotel in Tampa. Nearly every Brit that entered Orlando would have hit up the Zeppelin coaster with a blanking custom soundtrack. It needed customers already in place that would have seeded it's attendance as it found it's place.

A part of me wishes to see it happen again but in Orlando

 

[twebber55]

Even so, I bet you could ask anyone you know to name 3 characters by name from the movie and they would have a very difficult time.

name the characters on Dinosaur, Everest, the Safari
this park is not really about characters its about the places and environments
as Joe R says its a first person park, the adventure is your

EDIT: this debate is old, onward to a great May with Avatar and Volcano Bay!

 

[UNIrd]

I just hope they figured out a way to get some ROI on the land via guest spending, because it won't be on Avatar merch. That's the biggest Potter difference.