I have this fear that Disney will take the wild success of Carsland over at the California Adventure the wrong way and say, "Ah, lands based on a single film franchise really ARE what the people want."
Printable View
I have this fear that Disney will take the wild success of Carsland over at the California Adventure the wrong way and say, "Ah, lands based on a single film franchise really ARE what the people want."
Possibly yes, even probably yes... but even so, it may not bode well for Avatarland. Not if Carsland encourages Disney to say, "Lands based on a single film franchise that we own are what people want," and "Lands based on a single film franchise that we don't have to pay outrageous license fees to the franchise owner are what we want," and "Lands supervised by people who we employ are what we prefer over having to work with a guy whose ego is bigger than most known planets." ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Dapper Dan
Considering the numbers, yeah this is going to go bad real fast.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dapper Dan
I hope MinnieMGirl's right, because I really didn't like the idea of Avatarland. The movie's pretty irrelevant now, in the year 2012; it'll be long forgotten by 2016.
I know this thread is almost a year old...
But I think it is fair to say that the massive delays, and Joe Rhode's soon departure from Imagineering are going to continue to doom this project.
Thoughts?
Joe Rhode is leaving too? Is Disney shutting down Imagineering?Quote:
Originally Posted by KingEric
Word on the street he is being pushed out... courtesy of @WDW1974Quote:
Originally Posted by Dapper Dan
If he cannot get Avatar to work, he has no other active projects. At Walt Disney Imagineering, not having a project makes you a target. A large salary makes you an even bigger target.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dapper Dan
Who is doing the pushing? And why are they cutting their best crew??
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pizzapants
The business is about produce or leave. It is also possible that old timers can get stuck in a mindset and lose their creative edge.
While the movie did well, it is a bit like a hamburger and fries. Tastes great and then later you realize you didn't eat a real meal. The staying power of Avatar is the problem. The storyline is nothing original except for the Avatar possession concept, and even that was ripped off for the Hindus over 3,000 years ago. The storyline is also limited. There is not a whole galaxy of characters to draw from, like Star Wars. Perhaps more movies could help.
However, the biggest problem with this project is WDW managers. Notoriously cheap, I'm sure they want the diet coke version. Carsland would be doomed at WDW too. Look at the New Fantasyland. Did they really think this would be competition for Potter? There is a lack of vision by the WDW suites and that is the biggest problem with Avatarland. WDW guests seem happy to pay for worn out parks with dated attractions. Still can't believe Bear Country Jamboree is open. Jeez.
Is that a maybe?Quote:
Originally Posted by KingEric
I also first read that as Joe is being pushed out by WDW1974, which I found weird and uncharacteristic. My brain works slow sometimes.
tony baxter was past retirement age and as much as i love him, it was time for him to go. Look how long it took them to retire marty for heaven's sakes. Rhode hasn't had a major project for some time and imagineering is a very project oriented place so btw is universal creative.
Why weren't they assigned to decent projects, or why weren't any of their projects given the go ahead? I doubt it was due to any dearth of creativity on their part. I would assume that their standards are more expensive than the executives want to fund, so they go with cheaper pitches from Imagineers who aren't such sticklers for quality. This is why we are getting more magic wristbands and video game attractions and why we'll never see another Pirates of the Caribbean again. Baxter and Rhode haven't lost their touch, Disney either doesn't think they need to invest that much in their parks anymore, or they wouldn't know a good idea if it sat in their lap and fed them a churro.
Between Shanghai, and other developments there really is no shortage of projects at WDI.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dapper Dan
But management doesn't want to deal with hyper detail and story focused talents. Personally I would love to see Joe Rhode start his own design firm, and begin to design Zoos and Hotels all around the world that integrate nature in new and surprising ways.
It is true that Avatar was a smashing success worldwide, to the point that many people had "withdrawal" afterwards... However, with that in mind, Avatarland might be better suited as an attraction or mini-land at Shanghai or Hongkong Disneyland, given it seemed to be most popular in China. It really doesn't fit Animal Kingdom's theme of animals once found on Earth, now found on Earth, or in the mythologies, legends, and religions of Earthlings. Yes, aliens are animals too, but if you're going to make a land for them, make it revolve around how we'd go about discovering them and how it'd effect life forms on Earth something, not a licensed land.
More on topic though, I really hope that- if they did cancel Avatarland- they put at least some of the allotted money towards Avatarland into Beastly Kingdomme or at the very least a new AK attraction or two. Animal Kingdom isn't in desperate need of new attractions due to its unique nature as a fusion between theme park and zoo, but new attractions to distract guests would be a great excuse to close down EE and fix the yeti... Or, hey, try to fix the Tree of Life.