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

[epcyclopedia]

Of course they can't quantify interest in the property. Do I have to explain why? A bad situation? We'll see. A poor choice? Most definitely not.

Yeah, you do need to explain because they quantify nearly every other bit of everything. Disney's analytic game is on point.

 

[DoubleJ]

Diagon works because the landscape is full of -meaningful- details.

Drag someone who doesn't know Potter there and they like it ok, but they typically want to do the ride and go. They may shop a little and look at things, and while it's very interesting it's not terribly meaningful for them.

Please point out what items in Diagon are selling like hot cakes to people who don't know the franchise.

Thank you for pointing that out. The beauty of Diagon Alley is in the architectural details, that are very curious and unique, and specific to a well-defined story. On the other hand, Pandora has a beauty with more broad appeal: nature.

Perhaps one of the biggest flaws with WWOHP is that you must know the story to fully appreciate it, otherwise many intricate details will be overlooked. (Of course, this due to the IP.) Pandora simply doesn't have this problem. It will be fully appreciated by anyone that enjoys beautiful nature,which is an infinitely larger market than those who have a fondness of Harry Potter.

In many ways, Pandora has been designed to replicate Cars Land, not WWOHP. Regardless of whether you've seen Cars or not, Ornament Valley will make anyone's jaw drop, Pandora will be likewise. I can't say the same for Hogsmeade or Diagon.

 

[DoubleJ]

Yeah, you do need to explain because they quantify nearly every other bit of everything. Disney's analytic game is on point.

The only possible, sound, approach to quantify interest is to test the market. When it comes to Avatar, this hasn't been done for at least 6.5 years.

 

[Nick]

In movie related news, it appears that the scripts for Avatar 2, 3, 4, and 5 are all finished and motion capture work will begin in August.

'Avatar 2' Release Date, Plot Spoilers News: James Cameron Feels Like He Is Freed from Jail After Completing Scripts for 5 Films

 

[epcyclopedia]

AK has always had nice presentations of "nature."

If a majority was going to appreciate it the park wouldn't be as troubled as it is now in the first place.

 

[Speed]

 

[DoubleJ]

AK has always had nice presentations of "nature."

If a majority was going to appreciate it the park wouldn't be as troubled as it is now in the first place.

:bonk:

 

[quinnmac000]

Tell me, why do you like Diagon Alley? Is it the story? Is it because it's Harry Potter? Or is it because the "landscape" is fascinating and stunning?

A theme park's job is to immerse you in a landscape, a fantasy. Avatar's landscape is one of the most fascinating and remarkable landscapes of any IP. Simply put, this is why it will blow away any pessimistic financial expectations set by those who romanticize the monetary prowess of the Harry Potter expansions. They think they get it. They don't. (And I have no shame in admitting that I'll be quite happy when they're proven wrong.)

Horrible example because I have every harry potter film, every book so I'm a potter fan so the reason I like diagon alley is I have an connection with the story, characters and environment as I grew up with it for a majority of my life

 

[DoubleJ]

Horrible example because I have every harry potter film, every book so I'm a potter fan so the reason I like diagon alley is I have an connection with the story, characters and environment as I grew up with it for a majority of my life

Same. Not only have I watched all the films more times than I can count, but I've also read each book at least 7 times (some more). However, you must realize that we're a relatively small minority. Despite the overwhelming view of many on this forum, the U.S. Harry Potter fan base isn't very large. (Internationally, it's a bit more respectable, but the vast majority of Florida theme park visitors are American.)

Of course, I love the story and the characters as well, but that's not why I go to a theme park land. Otherwise, I might as well spend my time watching the movies or reading the books. I go to immerse myself in a beautiful environment.

The insistence that Avatar's lacking qualities somehow doom Pandora to failure without any regard for execution, is a demeaning and confused interpretation of what a theme park is, and what makes one successful.

 

[Nico]

i disagree with most points here

Ummm...care to elaborate?

 

[Brian G.]

Thank you for pointing that out. The beauty of Diagon Alley is in the architectural details, that are very curious and unique, and specific to a well-defined story. On the other hand, Pandora has a beauty with more broad appeal: nature.

Perhaps one of the biggest flaws with WWOHP is that you must know the story to fully appreciate it, otherwise many intricate details will be overlooked. (Of course, this due to the IP.) Pandora simply doesn't have this problem. It will be fully appreciated by anyone that enjoys beautiful nature,which is an infinitely larger market than those who have a fondness of Harry Potter.

In many ways, Pandora has been designed to replicate Cars Land, not WWOHP. Regardless of whether you've seen Cars or not, Ornament Valley will make anyone's jaw drop, Pandora will be likewise. I can't say the same for Hogsmeade or Diagon.

I'm having a real hard time trying to formulate a coherent thought right now based on what I just read....and it being 2am; but are we saying a benefit of Pandora is the broad appeal of nature - something that literally can be found the world over.......

 

[Miketheboss]

I'm having a real hard time trying to formulate a coherent thought right now based on what I just read....and it being 2am; but are we saying a benefit of Pandora is the broad appeal of nature - something that literally can be found the world over.......

I haven't thought about it like that but it makes sense. My parents like the Potter lands but they don't really know the story/characters. I feel like they'd enjoy Pandora much more.

If you take someone who knows nothing about Avatar & Harry Potter to their respective lands, which one do you think they'd like better?

We don't even know much about Pandora yet so we just have to wait and see.

 

[Nick]

We could argue for years and years (as we already have) on if this was worth it for Disney, if it will be deemed a success, how well it will sell merch, etc, etc, etc...

Doing so is simply going around in circles imo at this point though. Once the land opens, we should judge it based on how good the attractions are, how immersive the land is, how good the land entertainment is, if the quality of the merch/F&B is up to snuff. And comparisons to Potter and Carsland in this process are obvious. I think we should also look at how much this improves DAK as a park as well.

Point being, i'm sick of coming in this thread and reading the same conversation for the thousandth time. It either is or isn't worth it, but it's here no less.

 

[Brian G.]

I haven't thought about it like that but it makes sense. My parents like the Potter lands but they don't really know the story/characters. I feel like they'd enjoy Pandora much more.

If you take someone who knows nothing about Avatar & Harry Potter to their respective lands, which one do you think they'd like better?

That's subjective. They could very well prefer Harry Potter still. No way to determine that until experiencing it.

Either way - I still think it's a weak viewpoint that a flaw for a place that doesn't exist is a strength for another that can be found pretty much anywhere.

We could argue for years and years (as we already have) on if this was worth it for Disney, if it will be deemed a success, how well it will sell merch, etc, etc, etc...

Doing so is simply going around in circles imo at this point though. Once the land opens, we should judge it based on how good the attractions are, how immersive the land is, how good the land entertainment is, if the quality of the merch/F&B is up to snuff. And comparisons to Potter and Carsland in this process are obvious. I think we should also look at how much this improves DAK as a park as well.

Point being, i'm sick of coming in this thread and reading the same conversation for the thousandth time. It either is or isn't worth it, but it's here no less.

You know it's beating a dead horse when NBT says enough

 

[DoubleJ]

I'm having a real hard time trying to formulate a coherent thought right now based on what I just read....and it being 2am; but are we saying a benefit of Pandora is the broad appeal of nature - something that literally can be found the world over.......

While Pandora's nature is "otherworldly", and therefore unlike anything on Earth, you have the gist of my argument.

However, I'm with @Next Big Thing, I don't think anything I say will convince anybody whose mind is made up. I suppose we'll know by July what the land's prospects are.

You should get some rest. Have a good evening!

 

[Brian G.]

While Pandora's nature is "otherworldly", and therefore unlike anything on Earth, you have the gist of my argument.

However, I'm with @Next Big Thing, I don't think anything I say will convince anybody whose mind is made up. I suppose we'll know by July what the land's prospects are.

Yeah, agreed - I was approaching the appeal aspect in the most basic of terms.

But yea, for the sake of sanity - let's try to steer clear from this debate until the land opens.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Whether or not peope like Avatar, people will come because there's something new.

 

[Andysol]

They cannot quantify interest in the property. The point I made still stands, at this point Disney is stuck in a bad situation and a poor choice.

Universal couldn't quantify Harry Potter, kong, Spider-Man, or transformers. They can now.

Disney couldn't quantify splash mountain, Everest, or mission:space. They can now.

No one can specifically quantify anything beforehand. All they can do is run analytics and make qualified guesses and estimates. They did that. Will it work out? Maybe. But you can't quantify anything until it has already been done.
It's no different than drafting someone in the first round of the NFL- you scout and analyze and he might seem great, but he isn't. And it might be a reach and he's a hall of famer. But you don't know until the dust settles.
And I'm with @Next Big Thing

 

[Blaw923]

I feel like we are on the verge of an awesome stretch of new information coming out.

 

[Nick]

I feel like we are on the verge of an awesome stretch of new information coming out.

I sort of hope they don't go full FLE and release details about the land daily to create hype. I want to walk into the land filled with wonderment, not already knowing where every detail is because the Parks Blog spelled it out for me.

Just open the place and let me explore on my own!