James Cameron's Pandora comes to WDW!

I'm surprised this hasn't been discussed here yet, The Mouse secured the rights to Avatar and will put it in their Florida park with Disney's Animal Kingdom

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide is joining forces with visionary filmmaker James Cameron and Fox Filmed Entertainment to bring the world of AVATAR to life at Disney parks. Announced on September 20 2011, the project will see an AVATAR-themed land begin construction at Disney's Animal Kingdom in 2013, with opening expected in 2016. The budget is speculated to be in the region of $500 million.

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Here is the release:
https://www.wdwmagic.com/Attractions/avatar.htm

I'm interested to see how this plays out within the Disney licensing machine and even though SSC has the Avatar license if anything specific to the parks will fall under the Disney umbrella. Supposedly Cameron is planning on having things placed within the theme park which won't fully appear on film until the second or third film so that audiences will be familiar with them already...

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31g0YE61PLQ"]The Office- Michael Scott No God No - YouTube[/ame]

However...

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCbfMkh940Q&feature=related"]Nuke the entire site fom orbit - YouTube[/ame]

There was a brief discussion over in the WDW park thread, but most did not seem to thrilled. I am beyond stoked about it

Sweet... I hope its in 3D.

Sounds neat.

It's not an attraction, Madden, it's a whole land, so it won't just be 3D, but you'll be able to touch stuff too.

I'm not thrilled about it, but I think it has the potential to have some cool stuff. There are just alot of other things I would much rather see. Most Disney fans are less than thrilled.

Barf. And barf.

I'm going to go ahead and say AWESOME!!!!

Hope we can control our own Na'vi.

I am still waiting for Disney to wise up and build some roller coasters in Animal Kingdom. Serious ones like the ones at Busch Gardens.

They have so many movies they can use as themes when it comes to nature/jungle movies such as Tarzan, Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis, etc. That park needs more attractions for grown people.

Yah, we talked about it in the Disney theme parks thread but if you want to do a more focused discussion here, that's fine too.

Here's the official Disney release:
https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2011/09/avatar-coming-to-disney-parks/

James and his producing partner Jon Landau and their team at Lightstorm Entertainment will serve as creative consultants on the project and will work side-by-side with our Walt Disney Imagineers as we dream up experiences that will take our guests deep into worlds of AVATAR like never before. There are also two sequels to the record setting first film in the works, which will offer more fascinating stories, characters and locations to explore in the AVATAR universe. Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort is planned as the site of the first AVATAR-themed land with construction expected to begin by 2013.

We believe Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a great fit for this project because it was created to give guests the opportunity to experience the worlds of animals and nature – real and mythical – in new ways. Disney’s Animal Kingdom also celebrates adventure, living in harmony with nature and environmental stewardship – themes that are deeply rooted in the story of AVATAR.

The design phase on the Disney’s Animal Kingdom project has just begun so stay tuned to the Disney Parks Blog for more details.

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Chairman Tom Staggs answers reader questions about the new land...
https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...-your-questions-about-avatar-at-disney-parks/

6) ATTRACTION THEMING
Many of you, including Justin from Orlando, want to know, “How does AVATAR fit in with the Disney theme?” and more specifically, how does it fit in with the Animal Kingdom?

As I mentioned in a previous answer, AVATAR is a uniquely powerful franchise that has global appeal with audiences of all ages. With its spectacular settings, intriguing characters, imaginative creatures and strong themes of family and loyalty, it’s a great fit for the Disney brand and our parks.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the perfect place for our first AVATAR land because at its core, the park gives guests the opportunity to experience the worlds of animals and nature – real and mythical – in whole new ways. With AVATAR, we’ve found the perfect opportunity to let our guests explore one of the most compelling mythical worlds ever conceived. Animal Kingdom also celebrates adventure, living in harmony with nature and environmental stewardship – themes that are deeply rooted in the story of AVATAR.

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My thoughts on the topic echo the Orlando Sentinel frankly...
https://articles.orlandosentinel.co...92211-20110921_1_avatar-sequels-na-vi-pandora

Disney finally came up with an answer to Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter — a barrel full of giant blue monkeys.

The Imagineers better get their imaginations cranking overtime.

Disney built its empire on great characters, great dialogue and great storytelling.

"Avatar" has none of the above.

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Disney's Animal Kingdom does need a new land and attractions. It's been hurting for them ever since opening. And since we never got Beastly Kingdom like they promised, Camp MInnie Mickey has been a terrible substitute.

Avatarland will be a better addition than nothing at all, but they're not building until 2013... and requiring 5 years to complete. That's nothing until 2018 for so far, a one hit wonder that never did well in merchandise the way Star Wars did.

This is kind of a blind risk for Disney to do and I'm not fully behind it. I know they will deliver something stimulating and fun, but I'm really skeptical on the concept. I think Disney could have done something original and it would have worked. But I suppose they wanted the marketable franchise to go with it.


Here's all I ask though. Give us all oxygen masks so we can explore Pandora the way we would if it were real.

(places hand on mouth. makes fart noise.)

That is all.

I really like this idea. Sounds pretty awesome if they do it right

Coheteboy said:

Here's all I ask though. Give us all oxygen masks so we can explore Pandora the way we would if it were real.

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That would be one of the best things they could do to make this attraction really great

cokebabies said:

(places hand on mouth. makes fart noise.)

That is all.

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