Subsonic Radio

It's amazing to me how little enthusiasm there seems to be around this expansion. I agree with the general sentiment here and think Avatar was a mistake, or at least a mismatch, for DAK. A waste of Imagineering time and development dollars. Unless, as Wizz said, the next movie (when it ever comes out) ends up being a huge hit and Disney looks smart for having it ready.

horizons1 wrote:It's amazing to me how little enthusiasm there seems to be around this expansion. I agree with the general sentiment here and think Avatar was a mistake, or at least a mismatch, for DAK. A waste of Imagineering time and development dollars. Unless, as Wizz said, the next movie (when it ever comes out) ends up being a huge hit and Disney looks smart for having it ready.

That seems like a crapshoot. Who can predict what will be a hit? Did anyone predict Frozen would be the megablockbusterchildrenflippingout hit that it was?

The analysts did, but to say specific longevity possibly not. Before the song was done, it would have shat the bed hard.

Speaking of, I am getting more and more of a feeling that the response to Pandora is going to be lukewarm. The hype train still isn't really moving and it opens in a month. Throw in they are offering resort discounts (granted, they could jack prices up 200% and knock things down "up to 25%" as the ads state). I would have expected more cross promo now rather than one full ad and a spot in another multi-park ad.

This is before it was even announced that the films are delayed again and will not be in theaters till 2019/20 at the earliest.

horizons1 wrote:It's amazing to me how little enthusiasm there seems to be around this expansion.

I've questioned myself as to why I'm not more excited about a new "land" at WDW. I guess it's because I really didn't like the Avatar movie that much... definitely not enough to want to immerse myself into the storyline (by living it out in a theme park).

Watch videos of the space, it isn't great. The design is well done but one ride is pretty good and the other is a "meh" at best.

10 days until it opens. I'm excited!

momeja wrote:10 days until it opens. I'm excited!

I've been seeing a lot from people going for the CM previews and everyone really seems to be enjoying it ~ I've never seen the movie, so before I go again, I would want to see that so it makes a bit more sense, but it is exciting to see Animal Kingdom get some attention as it seemed like it was neglected for a bit there.

So now that the area is open what are everyone's opinion on the area? Or is there another topic to post a reply. I'll have to check. I have experienced it and like most of you, I wasn't too excited about it. It seems out of place in AK to me as well. Also I agree with the thought that it's an overall bad idea to create an area that is based off this film. Especially with the sequels coming out so long after the original, even more so that the sequels keep getting pushed back and back.

I will say one good effect of Avatar is that DAK is now open after dark in the off season. A quick spot check of park hours shows the park closing no earlier than 8pm in Oct, Nov and Dec. DAK is better at night.

horizons1 wrote:I will say one good effect of Avatar is that DAK is now open after dark in the off season. A quick spot check of park hours shows the park closing no earlier than 8pm in Oct, Nov and Dec. DAK is better at night.

I would have to agree ~ we were lucky enough to go to a few nights at AK and it is so pretty after dark. And so much cooler in terms of temperatures as well!

The take is one meh-ride and one good-ish ride (oddly featuring the voice of the player character from Mass Effect: Andromeda as a background in the queue).

Don't use the first movie for a reference on these because apparently everything has basically been undone, including the main villain.

Wizzard419 wrote:The take is one meh-ride and one good-ish ride (oddly featuring the voice of the player character from Mass Effect: Andromeda as a background in the queue).

Don't use the first movie for a reference on these because apparently everything has basically been undone, including the main villain.

That's sort of what I've been hearing as well. People LOVE Flight of Passage, and they say the Na'vi River is nice. Not having to know the movie is a bonus for those of us who have never seen it...and really have no overwhelming desire to either

I think the problem, at least in this case, is that the rides and land directly call out to the film and explain why tensions between the species have been stressed, why things are the way they are, and what exactly is significant about the content in the two rides. It is one of the important parts of immersive story-telling. If the answer to "Why am I here and why should I care" is simply, "I don't know", then it breaks down.

I really liked Avatarland. The attention to detail is outstanding and it is very immersive. One of the podcasts I listen to said that imagineering outperformed a very weak concept from the movie. I agree with that.

The river journey ride is done well - the screens, animation, projections and physical backgrounds blend well. And the audio animitronic at the end is impressive. Flight of the banshee is the next generation of soarin' and I felt just as excited for it as I did when I rode soarin' for the first time.

My biggest take away is that Disney can still create "magic" in the theme parks. This makes me really look forward to toystory land and star wars land.