BIG Announcement from Disney today

Disney has announced that they are going to be building an new themed land at Animal Kingdom. ; They are pairing with James Cameron and bringing Avatar to the parks. ; Here is a link to the blog post on Disney's site. ; http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2 ... ney-parks/

Thoughts?

 

uh... ; not too sure how I fell about this. ; I was really hoping for Beastly Kingdomme to make a comeback.

 

1) For some reason Disney thinks the highest grossing film EVAR will be a Potter-killah....
2) Assuming that they actually spend $$$ on it, Pandora will be an excellent addition to the park. ; It finally adds the "mythological" part that DAK was always supposed to have.

 

I think they should be able to come up with at least two rides....there were other things than the Ride of the Toruk that could be made. ; A dark ride through some of the scenes perhaps in 3D but not like Star Tours would be intriguing.

But it is probably unobtainable. ;


I am trying to figure out how to handle walkaround Na'vi. ; Time to sell wide angle lenses at the park? ; Or will the characters not be to scale?

 

Two. ; #2 is filming, #3 is in preproduction. ; Fortunately it seems that what Cameron has touched turns to gold.

 

I'm not really thrilled about the choice, either, but then I recall Disney's recent history.

When they announced they were going to project photos of guests on the castle, we were all underwhelmed. ; If you've seen "The Magic, The Memories and You," you know how wrong we were.

And the Fantasyland expansion design has changed since they originally announced it. ; Construction of Avatar-land isn't scheduled to start until 2013, plenty of time to revise whatever plans they have now.

At this point, I'm content to wait and see what happens over the next four or five years.

 

Should have phrased that better. ; How are they going to handle the character photo opportunities with them?

 

ROTFL ; ; ;D

 

A commenter at a non-Disney based news aggregator site said this, and it would be a HUGE part of this land:

"Heck, if they make the night scenery look like Pandora's, the park might regularly stay open beyond 5pm... "

 

The reasoning behind putting it in AK is the fact that the movie has an undercurrent of conservation and living with the land. ; All of which resonates throughout AK. ; I think that we are witnessing a change in the theme park industry. ; They are trying to bring more and more experiences to the masses. ; Sure they are going to make money on this, but let's be honest, James Cameron won't release a sequel just to release one. ; It will be, in his mind, equally as good or better than the original movie. ; With two more movies over the next few years, all while building the land, it allows for sneak peaks at the new movies. ; More importantly, Potter mania will dissipate over time, now that all of the movies and books are done. ; Avatar, is only 1/3 complete, and the land and attractions are going to be open while the movies are fresher in people's minds, and I would even bet we will see the land open before the third movie. ; Just my thoughts on this.

I do like the idea that this could finally keep the park open further into the night.

 

Wasn't AK already cleared behind Asia to start a new land - which I thought might have been rumored to be a 'down under' type theme? ; Is this meant to be 'in addition to' that section, or is this an idea that will be intended to build on that spot and take its place? ; Anyone know? ; I was looking forward to an Aussie section in AK.

 

Ewa approves of this message. ; The whole movie fits in with DAK's mission.