AVATAR coming to Disney Parks

[Jared]

Regarding the violence in "Avatar," I agree it's irrelevant in this instance. It's safe to say that won't be what Disney chooses to highlight, much like how Star Tours focuses on the world of layman travelers rather than intergalactic battles.

[sorarail]

Hub and I love Avatar. We are hoping that the Imagineers and Cameron are able to convey the bioluminescense that was so much a part of the Pandora landscape.

[seanyred]

Sorry, I meant to post this earlier, but I got caught up in the posts and forget about it....also forgive me if something similar got posted in the interim and I missed it....but the violence in Avatar really isn't all that different from other movies disney has featured. The following numbers are widely available from the numerous body count websites that document each on screen death in a movie. (I did not do personal counts to verify the data )

Avatar - 69 humans, 74 Nav'i, 4 hairless tar dogs, 1 blue deer, 2 avatars, 17 6-legged blue horses, 13 banshees and 1 panther dragon.

Raiders of the Lost Ark - 55 people, a monkey and 63 snakes.

Star Wars (first movie) - 115 humans, plus 9 jawas, 6 X-wings, 8 tie fighters, 3 Y-Wings, the entire planet of Alderaan.

By the way for those thinking the Lord of the Rings would be a good fit....consider that the last episode's (Return of the King) body count is reportedly as follows. 15,107 men, 205,066 orcs, 110 trolls, 7 horses, 1 worm, 1 hobbit, 1 catfish, 20 elephants, 9 Nazgul, 9 Fell Beasts, 1 giant spider, Sauron and Gollum.

So, the violence of Avatar isn't really all that different from several movies already featured at WDW.

You forgot all the Storm Troopers on the Death Star. But since they were all clones they only count as one right?

[Buttercup]

There's something from the show Robot Chicken that talks about how there must have been all kinds of independent construction contractors on the Death Star that were hired to rebuild it after the first time it blew up... and those poor souls were destroyed the second time the Death Star exploded.

[Mousemates]

You forgot all the Storm Troopers on the Death Star. But since they were all clones they only count as one right?

absolutely

[ImagiAsh]

Sounds like Harry Potter Land Part Deux... Avatar was pleasing to the eye, but I really can't imagine a whole land in a park.

My initial thought was to compare it to Harry Potter Land. Disney shouldn't be competing with the antics of Universal. This move seems like an obvious attempt at a "one-upper". Where is the originality? Things like this really get under my skin.

[Mrs Bus Driver]

Years from now, when Avatar land is all built out and awesome, we'll all claim to be experts in the land that is the greatest Disney theme park adventure of all time. Until then, we'll be able to enjoy and respect the many opinions of Disney fans from all over the world by reading these types of boards as each press release is provided to us.

I didn't get through all of the Avatar movie when watching it OnDemand, but Titanic was one of my favorite movies of all time. James Cameron is an amazing mind and talent that you just don't see everyday, read up on some of his inventions beyond the movies. This guy is incredible. He's partnering with the most creative company in the world. I have faith this will be amazing and quite possibly turn me into a fan of something I just haven't gotten into. Seriously, Disney is taking a major risk with this, and I'm curious to see it go through the phases of a major project. I'm sure we'll all be surprised and intrigued by what they come up with. I seriously hope it isn't too small and that the investment is truly realized at the end through an amazing product. Good for them, good for us, good for the theme park battle ongoing in central Florida. May the games continue.

Could not have said it better myself. I have not seen the movie, heard about the bad script. However my DD did see it and she knows a thing or 2 about CGI. While she didn't like the movie she did like the backgrounds. She says see once just for the visuals and try to ignore the plot. I just hope Disney spends the money to get it right the first time. I would love to see this if it is well done. I can see this being a real money maker for them. But if they do this like DCA (Disney's California Adventure) when it opened on the cheep then no one is going to forgive them. DCA could have been a great park from the start. But it was a disappointment, like a lot of things Disney was doing around that time. I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt because they are trying to do more with the parks to bring people in. Just look at what is being done with DCA now. I think this will be a hit, can't wait until its done.

[Mrs Bus Driver]

I feel I have to add that while DD said to see the movie once in her opinion it was so bad that she refuses to set one foot in AK once the new land opens. Not my opinion, hers. Just like the boards no one can agree in my house. She doesn't even want to talk about it.

[Mogie]

So it appears that Disney is out of their own ideas.

Or is it just that Cameron and FOX gave them such a great deal that they couldn't resist?

...or are they desperately trying to compete with Harry Potter?

I agree. Disney's competitive advantage comes from their CONTENT and attention to detail. This will probably be a really cool land, that they will be able to ride out for the next decade or so of Avatar sequels. But I would have preferred some original Disney content to fill a new area of animal kingdom.

[Mogie]

Avatar? Really?

I think this might actually be a worse idea than adding real cloned Tyranosaurs and Velociraptors to Dinoland and putting them behind electric fences.

[darthmacho]

I think this might actually be a worse idea than adding real cloned Tyranosaurs and Velociraptors to Dinoland and putting them behind electric fences.

That sounds like a great idea actually. I'd love to see some real live dinosaurs! What could possibly go wrong?

[NewDVCowner]

That sounds like a great idea actually. I'd love to see some real live dinosaurs! What could possibly go wrong?

But if the Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists.

[HackLaSalle]

But I would have preferred some original Disney content to fill a new area of animal kingdom.

I think its funny we use "original disney content" or other such language so much. When you think about it most of Disney's most popular stories and characters were developed by others. Maybe Avatar winds up like Dinosaur where you have to be reminded that there is a movie that goes with the attraction(s).

Unless youre talking about the return of guys like the timekeeper, dream finder and the hat box ghost... Theres not much that disney has imagineered in a while that is solely based on a disney property or has completely original characters and the my guess is that they have alot of research stating people want familiar names and characters when they go to WDW. It does take away some of the old school creativity we loved about WDI, it gives them a familiar story to make their own. Much like Walt did back in his day.

[Cassieblanca]

Here's my thoughts for whatever they're worth. I thought Avatar was just okay. The visuals were stunning and have great potential as the basis for a themed land in any theme park. I honestly give this a 50/50 chance of succeeding the way Disney hopes it will. However if it flops, I believe it should be easily rethemable to the Beastly Kingdomme. Either way DAK needs an update, and Disney will somehow make this work in their favor.

[Mogie]

The big plus for Disney is that they can finally keep the Animal Kingdom opened at night time. I've heard some reports saying they expect this to be an area of the park that people can spend an entire day in. (I don't know about that but I'm sure the lines will make that a reality when it opens). So I guess "Night Kingdom" and "Beastly Kingdom" are truly dead.

The idea is to see Pandora at night time where everything is glowing with all the funky colors from the movie. Sounds like it will be pretty wild. From what I hear the reason they close the park early is to avoid stressing the animals. I guess Avatar Land is far enough away to avoid this? Looks like they are going to clear the area where Lion King show and character meet and greets are.

[MstngDrvnDsnyLvr]

I do find it amusing that everyone goes on about "original" Disney and yet Pinocchio was written by Carlo Collodi, Bambi by Felix Salten...they watered down the original Little Mermaid tale, etc. There is very little that is truly and originally Disney.

[BrerGnat]

I do find it amusing that everyone goes on about "original" Disney and yet Pinocchio was written by Carlo Collodi, Bambi by Felix Salten...they watered down the original Little Mermaid tale, etc. There is very little that is truly and originally Disney.

The difference is that Disney used fairy tales and classic stories as a basis for their own version of the same story. Stuff like Peter Pan, Little Mermaid, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, are all based on "non Disney" original stories, but they were turned into something truly unique when Disney put its mark on them. Characters (original) ones were added, songs were written, and the stories were expanded upon or elaborated beyond the "original tales" to create something that stands alone as unique to Disney.

If Avatar was a really, really old movie, and Disney decided to "remake" it, and added their own spin on it, THEN it would be a different story.

AVATAR has no connection to anything Disney. They are doing what Universal Studios does: take a movie property, and turn it into an attraction.

I don't think it has been mentioned yet, but I think what makes this so strange is that, until this point, there has been NO connection between Disney and James Cameron. His (arguably most popular) franchise, Terminator, is in the Universal parks. He has never been a public Disney fan. On the other hand, George Lucas apparently LOVES Disney, and chose to collaborate with them for Star Wars and Indiana Jones in the Disney parks due to his desire for those properties to be attached to the company that he really believed in and had an affinity for as a fan. That speaks volumes. Seems like Cameron is in it for money, and not much else.

Also, does anyone find it strange that Bob Iger is "stepping down" as CEO just before this new land is set to open? That's kind of poor timing. If the thing tanks, who's gonna take the heat?

[Cassieblanca]

I don't think it has been mentioned yet, but I think what makes this so strange is that, until this point, there has been NO connection between Disney and James Cameron.

He did have a once removed connection to Disney. All though Alien was written by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett. It's direct sequel Aliens was both written and directed by Cameron. I doubt if there would've been an Alien based attraction if the franchise had died after one movie.

That being said, I'm still not a huge fan of the idea of an Avatar land.

[joonyer]

. . . . .
I don't think it has been mentioned yet, but I think what makes this so strange is that, until this point, there has been NO connection between Disney and James Cameron. His (arguably most popular) franchise, Terminator, is in the Universal parks. He has never been a public Disney fan. On the other hand, George Lucas apparently LOVES Disney, and chose to collaborate with them for Star Wars and Indiana Jones in the Disney parks due to his desire for those properties to be attached to the company that he really believed in and had an affinity for as a fan. That speaks volumes. Seems like Cameron is in it for money, and not much else. . . .

My opinion is: Who cares what Cameron's motive is? Of course he expects to make money. So What? So does Disney. So does George Lucas.

For anyone who is bothered by the idea of an AVATAR attraction at a Disney theme park, they can simply choose not to visit the attraction. Simple. The rest of us can decide for ourselves if it's worth a second or multiple visits.

[Disney Hungarian]

My opinion is: Who cares what Cameron's motive is. Of course he expects to make money. So does Disney. So does George Lucas.

For anyone who is bothered by the idea of an AVATAR attraction at a Disney theme park, they can simply choose not to visit the attraction. Simple. The rest of us can decide for ourselves if it's worth a second or multiple visits.