Avatarland Canceled?

[KingEric]

This is beginning to just come out... I had been wondering about this since everyone I know has been silent on this for the past month.

Also I just talked to my first insider I trust who suggested that Avatar may have been cancelled last month.

https://twitter.com/#!/MinnieMGirl/status/177232876746711040

Please take that with a grain of salt but they know their stuff......

https://twitter.com/#!/MinnieMGirl/s...33340242468864

Heads up Avatar apologists: this thing was put over on the entire Parks/Resorts division with no warning. Almost nobody wants it to succeed.

https://twitter.com/#!/MinnieMGirl/s...79693571772416

This @MinnieMGirl knows her stuff, her tweets are about some of the smallest changes in lighting and fixtures, and construction at the parks.

Take this for what you will, but if I could bet right now, I am going to bet this is currently on thin ice, and close to dead.

[Dagobert]

That's a very interesting rumour. Although I liked the idea of Avatarland, I still think it is planned for the wrong park. I would prefer it to be built in DHS.

If that's true, than Disney realized that there is not much to tell with Avatar. Although it's the most successful movie, I didn't like it at all, because it is nothing special, except for the fantastic CGI generated images. It has nothing to do with nature or animals in my opinion, that's why I have never understood, why they planned it for DAK.

[flynnibus]

This would be the phase to do it in... Easy to kill when there is nothing invested yet.. and no need to 'kill' it publicly.. just walk away and keep the door open for 'future concepts' that you never actually follow-up on.

[Dagobert]

Does someone know, if James Cameron can go to another company, like Universal, when Disney drops out?

[KingEric]

This would be the phase to do it in... Easy to kill when there is nothing invested yet.. and no need to 'kill' it publicly.. just walk away and keep the door open for 'future concepts' that you never actually follow-up on.

Back away slowly not making a noise... lol

Which has also made me think of a lot of other big Disney announcements that end up not coming to pass.

---------- Post added 03-07-2012 at 08:52 AM ----------

Does someone know, if James Cameron can go to another company, like Universal, when Disney drops out?

I know Universal was mulling over avatar concepts.

[flynnibus]

Back away slowly not making a noise... lol

Which has also made me think of a lot of other big Disney announcements that end up not coming to pass.

That's the other thing that I'm sure will be lost on many youngins posting about this if it comes to pass... that Disney has a long history of projects announced that for various reasons both creative or economically die before they ever come to be.

[KevinYee]

That's the other thing that I'm sure will be lost on many youngins posting about this if it comes to pass... that Disney has a long history of projects announced that for various reasons both creative or economically die before they ever come to be.

Nonsense! I just got off the Rhine River Cruise and am writing this to you now from the Russian pavilion! (I couldn't wait to go back to my room the Persian hotel)

[Virtual Toad]

Wow. Just... wow. I would love to know the inside scoop on this.

If this is true, between this and Hyperion Wharf (both massive WDW projects touted with extreme online fanfare recently) you have to wonder if DisCo has *any* cohesive, *creative* vision for WDW right now. It could appear to the casual observer that they're grasping at straws.

On the other hand, maybe this is a good sign that someone isn't afraid to pull the plug on projects which provide questionable value to the long-term WDW brand, even after they've been publicly announced.

[Meville]

Please be true. Avatar has yet to prove itself as a viable marketable franchise and Disney needs to focus on developing its own properties.

[goofy donald]

Easy to kill when there is nothing invested yet..

well except the millions they invested getting the rights lol, but I agree better to toss it now then to be half way through and then do it.

---------- Post added 03-07-2012 at 02:02 PM ----------

I know Universal was mulling over avatar concepts

it doesn't matter what Universal was mulling over now though as they would have to buy the license from Disney or wait for it to expire (depending on the specifics of the contract). Unless universal wants to pay a kings ransom for it (since Disney would probably want to make a profit on their purchase) there will be no Avatar in Universal any time soon.

I'm still not anywhere near convinced yet that this is true, however I'm praying desperately for it to be so!!! It will be a very happy day if or when it happens that Avatar is officially cancelled in DAK.

[Coheteboy]

Another possibility is that Disney wasn't willing to spend as much on it as James Cameron wanted them to?

[flynnibus]

well except the millions they invested getting the rights lol, but I agree better to toss it now then to be half way through and then do it.

I doubt Disney is on the hook for large amounts if they abort it. An agreement to license it can be binding without actually paying for all the licensing for example.

If Disney were to pay for an exclusive and have to put the money up front - they would insist on KEEPING the rights even if they don't use them. That wouldn't be advantageous to Cameron who would lose money if the project didn't complete and he'd still have his property tied up where he couldn't use it elsewhere. So there are reasons why both sides would find an 'escape' clause valuable to their own interests without having to pay the full price up front.

[goofy donald]

I doubt Disney is on the hook for large amounts if they abort it. An agreement to license it can be binding without actually paying for all the licensing for example.

If Disney were to pay for an exclusive and have to put the money up front - they would insist on KEEPING the rights even if they don't use them. That wouldn't be advantageous to Cameron who would lose money if the project didn't complete and he'd still have his property tied up where he couldn't use it elsewhere. So there are reasons why both sides would find an 'escape' clause valuable to their own interests without having to pay the full price up front.

Unless Disney did in fact put that money upfront and think they can get some sort of resale value from say Universal, or on a less likely option Bush Gardens.

[KingEric]

I personally was rooting for Avatar Land as I feel that it was the best idea to grow WDW as a whole with international visitors.

That being said, you can't ignore all of the internal push back this project has gotten.

Who knows maybe WDI has been pulled off this, and an outside firm is designing it.

[flynnibus]

Unless Disney did in fact put that money upfront and think they can get some sort of resale value from say Universal, or on a less likely option Bush Gardens.

That wouldn't make any sense from Cameron's camp. They wouldn't relinquish their control of the license and allow it to be resold (no one does this). That is because it's more to Cameron's advantage to have Disney punt.. and then have the license be free again.. and Cameron to sell it at full face value again. And the idea not not giving up creative control over output.