Animal Kingdom- Avatarland Breaks Ground

Image from Disney Parks Blog

 Avatarland Breaks Ground at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

 With the official closing of Camp Minnie-Mickey attractions, Avatarland had it's first big day in the spotlight.

 On January 10th,  Disney Parks Blog posted up this image of their groundbreaking ceremony, with "Na'vi" themed shovels and some photoshop work on "Jake Sully" in his Avatar form to show a size reference. When in reality it was really Mickey Mouse who attended the groundbreaking ceremony. Disney didn't really leak much information about this new 'land' coming to the park.

Image from Orlando Sentential

The area, which is being designed by Walt Disney Imagineering in partnership with “AVATAR” creator James Cameron and Lightstorm Entertainment, will be unlike anything ever experienced at a Disney park. Guests will experience the wonders of Pandora when they fly with banshees and explore a rich natural environment with mountains that float and interactive plants that glow at night.

Currently no one is sure what attractions will be added into the "Avatarland" project.  However, with adding Avatarland to Animal Kingdom Disney is hoping that the park will become a full day experience and keep guests in the park longer. No word right now if this will expand the parks operating hours but between Avatarland and this addition of a new night-time show, it's very likely the park will finally buck it's standard 6pm closing time.

Camp Minnie-Mickey Closes Soon, Makes Room for Avatarland

Image from MousePlanet.com

 Disney Confirms a Closure Date for Camp Minnie-Mickey, Making Room for Avatarland.


 The last days of Camp Minnie-Mickey are upon us and by default so are the last days of the popular so "Festival of the Lion King" All to make room for the new addition of Avatarland to the Animal Kingdom park.

 You last day to visit will be January 5th- Disney World has announced that the closing date for this land will be January 6th, 2014.

 While 'Festival of the Lion King' will eventually move to it's new theater home, it will be closed for several months while construction finishes. Camp Minnie-Mickey will never be see again, Not for the much desired "Beastly Kingdom" which fans have been clamoring for since they learned about it. It's closing to make way for the seven-foot-tall-blue-cat-people from James Cameron's "Avatar" movie.  Avatarland is Disney's Newest "Big Budget" expansion, hoping to draw in millions even though no one is sure if Cameron plans to release the next two movies on their proposed dates.

 Like it or Not- Avatarland is coming.

Signs of AvatarLand- Festival of the Lion King has a Closing Date

Image from Disney World

 Well Folks, Like it or Not- Signs of Avatarland looks to be coming soon.

 Yesterday Disney's Animal Kingdom announced that 'Festival of the Lion King' which is currently housed in Camp Minnie-Mickey, will be closing on January 5th.  This will be a six month closure until their new theater in Africa is complete, this could also mean new changes coming to the show for the future.

 It also shows that heavy construction on Avatarland will probably begin shortly after this January 5th closure as 'Camp Minnie-Mickey' is the area of Animal Kingdom where the new land will be placed. Frankly, it' about time they get started on the heavy construction if they plan to keep their 3 year deadline to open in 2017.

 At this time it's unknown if Avatarland will open in Phases. However, it's probably safe to guess this will happen as it's pretty much a standard at the Disney World Parks at this point.

News from Animal Kingdom- Avatarland will happen in 2017

Disney's Animal Kingdom Releases information about "Avatarland" and a rough Opening Date

Big news over the weekend. Disney's D23 released images and information regarding the barely confirmed and highly speculated project based around James Cameron's 'Avatar' movie (and it's possible franchise which is also up in the air at the moment).  We now have an rough opening date for the project- "The first few months of 2017" and construction will 'fully begin' in 2014.

 Now I fully admit, this project has little interest to me other then the simple fact of "How pretty can they make it look?". 

Because honestly, we've all seen the story given to  us in the movie 'Avatar' as it exists in other forms. The most notable are "Furn Gully" and "Pocahontas" but the story wasn't the reason you saw that movie, it was the beautiful computer imagery they created. I admit fully I watch it for the effects and visuals on the alien planet of Pandora, I could care less about 9 foot tall blue cat people. It was beautiful, the effects are like nothing I've ever seen. They honestly took my breath away and I'll fully admit I've paused the movie many times just to stare as the scenery.

 That's the only part of this "Avatarland" project that interests me. Now with it having a projected deadline of "the first few months of 2017" I think we're finally going to see a true test of what Walt Disney Imagineering can do.  This isn't going to be nearly as easy as projects in the past, working with James Cameron and bringing the planet to life won't be anything like what Disney has done before.

In the past, Disney has only worked with and created attractions/lands their own franchises or with ones which they have a vetted interest in (such as Lucas and Star Wars). As you notice, Star Tours doesn't yet have a huge 'themed land' in Hollywood Studios, just a small area used to mostly hide the sound-stage. In Epcot, they worked with the countries to re-create the feel of the land through already standing historical buildings.

 As much as I'd like to believe "If anyone can do it, Disney can" I've got some doubts. Disney is great, don't get me wrong, but they've never been very good at 360 degree themeing. To pull off a project like Pandora/Avatarland their going to have to go above and beyond anything they've ever done in the past. All the while with Cameron breathing down their collective necks.  I'm really hoping they do pull it off but I don't believe this is going to be the answer they have been searching for.

 I don't think it's going to be the "Harry Potter Killer" they expect. The movie Avatar didn't grab hearts, it was immersive but non-original. Beautiful to look at but lacking the story to really make it stand the test of time, plus with unknown or fluctuating dates on on the next two movies, I don't believe this is the answer Disney is looking for. However, it does solve a problem in Animal Kingdom. The age-old question of "What do we do with Camp Mickey-Minnie OTHER then put in Beastly Kingdom?".

What about rides and shows?

 

Rides is a huge question, one none of us have the answers to right now.  However, if you view the picture I posted on the left you'll see what looks suspiciously like what I'm calling "A Pandora Jungle Cruise" style boat ride.

 This gives me some reservations already. While I'm sure it'll be very pretty to look at we only know a few animals from the rather large planet of Pandora.  While I'm sure Cameron will provide plenty of images, no one will know what they are!  Can you see the oddness of that? You'll be viewing an alien animal without any concept of reference.  From the movies we know some are dangerous while others aren't, if we don't have that reference for new 'animals' a lot is going to be lost on riders. Well, other then "Oh pretty" or "Okay that thing is cool looking".

 The rest of the attractions are up in the air as no one has any real confirmation but many of us have been speculating about this since the project was announced in 2011.  Let me give you the most popular ideas of what other rides we may see in Avatarland.

- Some type of "Flyer" or "Flying" attraction. Perhaps something similar to Islands of Adventure's "Peteranodon Flyers" and some speculate even a Vekoma "Flying Dutchman" style coaster (although that second is highly unlikely due to height limits and 'family friendly' issues).
- River Cruise. This is all but confirmed by the image above but as fans well know, what we see in concept art doesn't always come true in the end.
- Some form of a Na'vi stunt show/theme show. You can't have Avatarland without working in the 9 foot tall blue cat people.. somehow.
- Simulator Ride/Tour Pandora?  This is the second option for a "flying' or visiting the planet. Another simulator ride similar to Star Tours.

 In the end, until things are confirmed we're all riding on speculation.

 While many of us hoped this project would fall to the wayside, it doesn't look like that's going to happen. Not with the money involved and not with a working release date finally being announced. Because of that I think it's time we all let go of the 'Beastly Kingdom' idea and tuck it away into our special bags of "Things to be angry with Disney about...".

 In the end, I will give Avatarland a fair (if highly critical) chance. Perhaps when more details are reveled, my opinion will change.. but I wouldn't take that to the bank if I were you. Which leaves me with one last question: Will Disney place some silly Pandora animal in the Dragons place on their 'Animal Kingdom' logo?

Disney's "AvatarLand" Project: Why this is a bad time.

Disney's "AvatarLand" Project

...and why it pisses me off!

In case you couldn't tell by the title, this little rant is about Disney's idea of building an entire land in the Animal Kingdom park based off the idea of James Cameron's blockbuster movie "Avatar". Also why I think it's about the dumbest idea I've heard yet.

Image from IMPAwards.com

Well Folks, It's that time of the month again. 

No, Not that time, Geeze!

Time for Carrie to begin bitching as yet another "AvatarLand" rumor pops up. I know I've said it before but I don't think I've ever really explained exactly why this project aggravates the complete living HELL out of me! Allow me to pull out my little soapbox here and I shall enlighten you. 

Now, before anyone get's on their high horses, let me explain a few things. 

-I have nothing against the movie, I thought it was one of the most amazing and beautiful thing's I've ever really experienced. Especially in IMAX. Wow, Pretty! However, this isn't original folks. Most of us have seen this exact story before, in a different setting.  It happened in 1992, We called it Furn Gully: The Last Rainforest and it had Tim Curry, it wins.  It's also pretty much every iteration of Pocahontas we've ever seen.  So while beautiful and amazing, not original.

-I've got nothing against James Cameron, Except Titanic. However, I can forgive him that since he made Aliens which is one of my favorite movies.  

-I fully believe that Disney, of all the theme parks, really has the power to bring this rich and beautiful world to life. If anyone any can, it would be Disney. 

Okay, Carrie. What started this rant anyway?

Good Question! Let me explain!

Since this project was announced,  details have been sketchy. The opening date of 2015 has been bumped back twice now yet Disney keeps insisting the project is still in the design process. Also rumors of having trouble working with Cameron already exist. 

Well on Friday, those great folks over at OTPN posted an update about "AvatarLand" which reads something like this:

AVATAR - Walt Disney Imagineers are currently in the design stage for AVATAR at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide is joining forces with visionary filmmaker James Cameron and Fox Filmed Entertainment to bring the world of AVATAR to life creating themed lands that will give Guests the opportunity to explore the mysterious universe of AVATAR first hand. With its emphasis on living in harmony with nature, Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a natural fit for the AVATAR stories, which share the same philosophy. Construction is expected begin in 2013 and project of this size typically takes approximately five years to design and build.  

I suggest you head over to their and read the whole article which can be found at: Orlando Theme Park News: AVATAR Land construction expected to start soon.

Why it's a shoddy idea..

1. The Current State of Disney World..

 Okay if you haven't been keeping up with the gossip, rumors and other general rants of the Disney Fan community, let me explain. Disney World, isn't in the best of shape right now. Many attractions have issues, large and gaping issues. Everything from Mechanical (broken animatronics, collapsing mountains) to "Bad Show" problems (Dirty, Worn and Visible Paint, Gaping holes). Don't believe me? Do some google searches, you'll quickly find half a dozen message boards with photos pointing out these huge problems. 

 Frankly, Disney World needs to pay more attention to these current problems and fix them now.   

 Letting things go and go some more until their major problems has never worked for this company. Point in fact, this is exactly what they tend to do when the idiots in upper management want an attraction gone from the parks. Still don't believe me? When was the last time you rode 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? The Skyway to Tomorrowland? BodyWars? 

 Hopefully your thinking along my lines here, that being, they're letting so much fall apart as it is...  can we really trust these people to build something that requires the attention to detail that Avatar requires? I honestly have no answer for this question but not much hope either. Corners keep being cut that I can't really put the faith into the current Disney World upper management (you know, the people who okay the spending budget?) to do this right.

2. Still Under Construction...

 Aside from the problem Disney World already has which is not fixing and maintaining what they've got, there is the added problem of still having one major expansion still under construction. Remember, the new FantasyLand Expansion (which isn't really and expansion!) still isn't finished. Nor will it be finished until summer of 2014 when the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is anticipated to open.  

Image from Disneyparks.disney.go.com

 So this project is still unfinished and already their wanting to bite off another two possible projects!

One being this shoddy "AvatarLand" idea and the second being the much rumored "Disney Hollywood Studios Expansion" which may or may not include a Florida version of a Pixar movie attraction. This seems a little too much going on at one single time to really work well in resorts favor.

 My parents always taught me to finish one project before I begin another. Because things get muddled and often important and vital parts end up missing. Mostly because your attention is now in two places when it should be focused on one.  I'm sure you've all heard some version of this at least a thousand times in your own lives. Perhaps Disney should pay more attention to the old words of wisdom passed down from parents to kids, they tend to really mean something. 

3. Wish in one hand, shit in the other. See which get's full first. 

 Another one of those catchy slogans and a direct quote from my own Mother. 

 We all know Disney doesn't really listen to their fans and critics unless we complain loudly enough, in person and only while at the parks. If they listen then, we're lucky but they still need to hear it. While I doubt they'll ever listen to reviews or concerns about projects like "AvatarLand" they do listen when we complain about the state of the parks. 

 So with that folks, I ask you this. If you see a bad show at any Disney Park, from a broken animatronic to peeling paint.. Please tell guest services. File a complaint or let them know your disappointed in the show you got. This is about the only control that we, the paying guests, have left within our power. 

Alright, We get it. You don't like the project, done yet?

 Yes! I'm done and I thank all you wonderful readers to taking the time to listen. I'll get off my soapbox now and allow you to either do the research or draw your own conclusions from the basic info I've provided. 

Special Saturday Update- Rumor RoundUp!

Happy Saturday!

So rumors have been flying all over the damn place lately to the point I left it was time for yet another "Rumor Round-Up". So get comfortable! We've got a lot of juicy materiel to cover here today!
Please remember, these are RUMORS and have not yet been confirmed!


So let's get started!

Cedar Point
Location: Sandusky, Ohio
 RUMOR: 2013 B&M Wing Coaster
Cedar Point may well be building in 2013. A new Wing Coaster from B&M is the rumor floating around right now. The Sandusky Register posted up a 'leaked' document stating that Disaster Transport and Space Spiril will be removed  to make way for project "CP Alt.Winged" in 2013.

"Cedar Fair stands ready to spend big money on a new roller coaster for 2013 at Cedar Point that will change the park landscape.
Code-named “CP Alt.Winged,” the coaster will have the “longest drop, run the fastest and be the longest ride” of its kind, Cedar Fair CEO Matt Ouimet wrote in Feb. 15 memo to Cedar Fair’s board of directors."

Read the Full Piece: Cedar Point to build Coaster in 2013


In additional News about Cedar Point and this 2013 Project, It's possible track is already being built and possibly transported to the park!
Screamscape: Industry News, Green Track?! 


Disney Imaingeering/ Project Avatar/Testing
Location: Orlando, Florida 
RUMOR: Testing for AvatarLand?
This came as a bit of a surprise to me, Could it be Disney is starting testing on some of their "AvatarLand" projects? This article seems to show they may just be doing that!

 

Dragon spotted over Minter Field

Universal Orlando Resort
Location: Orlando, Florida 
CONFIRMED: Universal to add Themed Resort
Universal Orlando Confirmed that they will be adding a new resort to their growing collection of on-property hotels. Also to be run by Loews Hotels, Cabana Bay Beach Resort will be a family friendly property as well as "High Value" which really means "Budget Hotel" for those not familiar with the lingo. 

"Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort will offer two distinct experiences within the development’s multiple buildings: 900 family suites, capable of sleeping six, that include kitchen areas and 900 standard guest rooms – offering both moderate- and value-priced accommodations. It will be operated by Loews Hotels & Resorts and is scheduled to open in 2014."

Amusement Today: Cabana Bay Beach Resort 

Six Flags Magic Mountian

Location: LosAngelos, California

CONFIRMED: Lex Luthor "Drop Tower".

For this, let my quote one of my favorite writers over on Theme Park Insider, Jeff Elliott.  Simply because he sums this up perfectly, at least in my opinion!

"Let’s super glue a drop tower onto the Superman tower so that we can use it some of the time while Superman is down for one of its many maintenance issues…..and thus was born Lex Luther’s Drop of Doom…..which just opened. Some of the other drunken rants that didn’t quite make it onto the fabled napkin include all of them going down to Disney to punch the Mouse right in the nose, taking sidewalk chalk over to Universal to write signs that say “Magic Mountain is cheaper and has more than 6 rides”, and some sort of launched roller coaster that uses the old tunnels through the middle of the mountain."

Lex Luthor.. Stapled to Superman!

Discovery Cove

Location: Orlando, Florida

CONFIRMED: Freshwater Oasis is Now Open!

"Now Open is Freshwater Oasis, an all-new attraction featuring wading adventures and face-to-face encounters with playful otters and curious marmosets. Designed with a rainforest canopy above and sparkling-clear springs below, Freshwater Oasis is a natural fit within Discovery Cove’s tropical vibe. You can relax and explore. You’ll wade, wonder, and float in the water-filled trails. No matter where you turn, you’ll find endless discoveries. "        

Disney World

Location: Orlando, Florida

RUMOR: Master Plans for 50th Anniversary

Screamscape has a GREAT bunch of pieces devoted to the "Disney Master Plan" which continues some information on what we could be looking at for the big 2021 "50th's Anniversary".  Also notice how Epcot has once again been completely left out in the cold?

Magic Kingdom: 50th Anniversary Rumors 

Hollywood Studios: 50th Anniversary Rumors

Epcot Center

Location: Orlando, Florida

RUMOR: New Illuminations/Nighttime Show

Rumor has it that Illuminations may be going threw a change soon. The Video Globe could well be retired with water-screens and fountains taking it's place in various areas of the World Showcase Lagoon.  

Screamscape: Possible New Illuminations? 

Freestyle Music Park

Location: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

CONFIRMED: Land purchased for "Hard Rock Hotel" sold in auction.

Freestyle Music Park is still closed with no buyers in site. Due to the fact this little park folded within it's very first year of operations, it's not a big surprised the extra land purchased by "Hard Rock" for their hotel plans got thrown to the chopping block. 

Hard Rock Hotel Land SOLD.