Animal Kingdom's "Avatar Land" delayed, possibly permanently.

[D3COY]

I've said it before, I'll say it again, Cars Land doesn't belong in DHS. It has nothing to do with Hollywood or making movies, and frankly, it needs to be exclusive to Disneyland.

I too agree with this! Carsland was the boost for California Adventure that was long needed! Besides, California has more of a rich history regarding route 66 and cars.

[Chesire]

I too agree with this! Carsland was the boost for California Adventure that was long needed! Besides, California has more of a rich history regarding route 66 and cars.

I'd like to also point out that I don't think violent rain storms and humid conditions really scream desert in the southwest...

[Dapper Dan]

The "conventional wisdom" answer here is that too many Imagineers that had been working on DAK concept defected to Universal, and built most of the planned Beastly Kingdom attractions in IoA in one form or another. That may or may not be true (it's at least plausible), but it still doesn't fly. If that's the case, come up with new attraction concepts! If Dragon's Tower and a unicorn attraction are the only possible concepts that Disney can come up with for a mythical creatures-themed land, WDI has deeper problems than probably any of us here want to think about.

If you want to call getting laid off when Beastly Kingdom was cancelled and then getting hired by Universal a "defection" that's about the same conventional wisdom I've heard. The irony is the part they used some of the Beastly Kingdom ideas for was the Lost Continent which was the area rethemed to Harry Potter, which gets really crazy when you consider that Avatarland was supposed to be the replacement for Beastly Kingdom and is largely seen as a response to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which is a retheme of the Lost Continent, which was designed by the people who worked on Beastly Kingdom. So now if Avatarland gets cancelled and Harry Potter takes over the rest of the Lost Continent, Disney can build the Beastly Kingdom and it'll be like the whole thing never happened.

I'd like to also point out that I don't think violent rain storms and humid conditions really scream desert in the southwest...

Doesn't seem to effect Big Thunder Mountain much.

[Mr Wiggins]

Too bad. "Avatarland" is the sort of made-to-fail project that Disney would have wished on its competition, back in the days before Disney became a clone of its competition. I was half hoping that Bob & Tom would have gone through with it to completion -- bank-busting budget overruns, headline-making ego wars with Cameron, Imagineers quitting in disgust, the whole gory mess -- so that ten years after it opened and tanked, Bob's successor could make another lame "we've learned our lesson" speech to the press a la DCA.

Ah, well....

[PerrySimon]

I would hate to see Cars Land come to Disney World. That would lure the guests away from Disneyland to go to Disney World. By the way that probably means that Disney has run out of ideas for DHS?

[KingEric]

Well Screamscape is hearing that it is still on track...


So who knows. I still think that the egos in play here are. It's demise.

[disneyfann121]

Maybe they should settle for one impressive Avatar E Ticket?

[KingEric]

Maybe they should settle for one impressive Avatar E Ticket?

No. The days of a 1 off E Ticket are done. No longer does the fickle tourist want just an E Ticket. For a simple thrill, people can go to Six Flags, or Cedar Point.

When people come to Orlando now they expect deeply immersive environments. The Wizaring World changed the game forever.

So Disney does need Pandora. I again to believe that it would be a great way to drive international business.

[GhostHostJeff]

I've never been a fan of the idea of Avatarland. I think it's silly when you already have a nice idea on the back burner (Beastily Kingdom)

[PSUMark]

No. The days of a 1 off E Ticket are done. No longer does the fickle tourist want just an E Ticket. For a simple thrill, people can go to Six Flags, or Cedar Point.

When people come to Orlando now they expect deeply immersive environments. The Wizaring World changed the game forever.

So Disney does need Pandora. I again to believe that it would be a great way to drive international business.

I agree with you that Disney needs deeply immersive environments. (And not just because of WWoHP.) It does not necessarily logically follow that Disney needs Pandora. Pandora is one possible immersive environment; not the only one. There are much better choices that could also drive international business.

[disneyfann121]

No. The days of a 1 off E Ticket are done. No longer does the fickle tourist want just an E Ticket. For a simple thrill, people can go to Six Flags, or Cedar Point.

When people come to Orlando now they expect deeply immersive environments. The Wizaring World changed the game forever.

So Disney does need Pandora. I again to believe that it would be a great way to drive international business.

My point was that Disney already owns the rights to Avatar, but if there are too many problems associated with the land, a new ride would be a good compromise.

Of course they will still build one-off E Tickets in the future. They just need an existing land that fits the theme of the ride, not a brand new land built around it. As for immersiveness, the exterior of the ride, queue and the ride itself always provide that, assuming it is well executed.

[Mr Wiggins]

My point was that Disney already owns the rights to Avatar, but if there are too many problems associated with the land, a new ride would be a good compromise.

Disney doesn't own the rights to Avatar, Cameron does. Disney has a licensing deal (which actually may turn out to be a time-limited option for licensing; more like a development deal). Big difference in potential for income.

Importantly for Disney, Avatar is a proven failure as a merchandise driver. There has been essentially zero merch. There are no memorable characters, memorable music or anything that can be sold in the ancillary market.

So far as licensing is concerned, the Avatar brand consists of two and only two things: Avatar itself, a mo-cap innovation whose technology is getting less innovative every year, and James Cameron, a budget-busting director whose ego is notorious even by Hollywood standards.

[toonaspie]

When people come to Orlando now they expect deeply immersive environments. The Wizaring World changed the game forever.

But is Belle's Village really the best Disney can do in this category? I know that as far as film immersions go, I don't think anything anywhere will ever top Harry Potter. But since Disney owns the rights to Star Wars in their theme parks, they could at least try and do something more with that. Immersion wise, I don't think it will top Harry Potter but working with Lucas I'm sure they can come up with some really good ideas that could make Star Wars presence in DHS beyond just one ride and one store. Better than cloning Carsland in Florida, IMO and can pull in the fandom.

[PSUMark]

But since Disney owns the rights to Star Wars in their theme parks, they could at least try and do something more with that.

I could be wrong, but I was under the impression that Disney has negotiated deals with Lucasfilm for every Lucas attraction/experience/event in the parks. I don't think they "own" the rights to use Stars Wars in the parks however/whenever they wish. If they were to create a Star Wars area, they'd likely have to negotiate for that and it may not be cheap.

[Mr Wiggins]

^ Correct. Lucas is no fool; the last thing he would do is sign over longterm rights for Star Wars to Disney.