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WDW Animal Kingdom: General Discussion

It's been a while so here is a new Avatar update.

First of all a couple of new aerial photos from MickeyXtreme:

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And some ground level photos from bioreconstruct on Twitter:

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I'm not too sure about the smaller floating mountains on sticks, they look a bit silly really, especially from the car park. I'm not sure how Disney could make them look better either.

The boat ride will apparently be the same ride system as Pirates in Shanghai although will not use screens in the same way; their use is more limited and it will have a different type of wow factor.

:)
 
That last photo seems to be taken from the cast member access road - it's the same view I had every day on the way to work on the F bus , so don't think it's a real guest perspective !
 
WOW! Awesome photos, must have used a drone for the overheads... I am excited for this but it's still a long way off. We're visiting in late March 2017, does anybody have any idea what new stuff will be ready by then?
 
More new aerial photos from MickeyXtreme:

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Considering this is meant to be opening sometime in 2017 there is still a lot to do. I still can't wait to see the finished product though.

:)
 
Rob said:
Considering this is meant to be opening sometime in 2017 there is still a lot to do. I still can't wait to see the finished product though.
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I've seen lots of rumours that it is heavily delayed. Should still open in 2017, but more like November 2017 not the originally planned before summer 2017.
 
At the D23 Destination D event held over the weekend, it was confirmed that Pandora - The World of Avatar is set to open in summer 2017. They also showed off the bridge that will connect the area with the rest of the park:

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You can read more on the Disney Parks Blog.

:)
 
Rob said:
At the D23 Destination D event held over the weekend, it was confirmed that Pandora - The World of Avatar is set to open in summer 2017. They also showed off the bridge that will connect the area with the rest of the park:

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You can read more on the Disney Parks Blog.

:)
Click to expand...

The link you provided just lead to the image, I assume you were referencing this

Also they have shown off the Animatronics and wow... we are on our way to uncanny valley here people, everybody on the hype train!

For a quick 15 second clip:



For a 10 minute clip of the presentation:



and...
 
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It has just been announced by Bob Iger that Pandora - The World of Avatar will open on May 27th!

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EDIT:

And after huge delays, Disney have announced that the Rivers of Light nighttime show will officially open on Friday 17th February.

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:)
 
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Great video below which aired on the ABC TV network in America yesterday. Great tour of the Pandora and includes shots on board the rides (you get a good luck at the boat ride). The area looks amazing and looks like Disney have done a fantastic job.

 
With only a month to go until opening day here are a few stunning photos of the area:

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It really is going to be something else at night!

:)
 
Huge picture update over on TPR. There are too many pictures to pick out the best, but just seeing that it seems like maybe Disney have outdone Universal with HPWW here. Absolutely insane detail!
 
It looks like Disney have done an amazing Job, the area just looks fantastic. I think the area will prove a lot of people wrong from 5+ years ago when the area was first announced who said Disney had made the wrong decision to build this area and it was in the wrong park.

Animal Kingdom has always been my favourite theming wise of the Disney World parks and with the addition of Pandora and the recently opened Rivers of Light make this truly a full day/night park now. Cant wait to visit in person next year.
 
Wow, wow, WOW! Okay, I've said for a long time that I felt this was going to be unlike anything else ever even attempted in a theme park and it does not look like I am going to be disappointed. This is an incredible and immersive themed area with spectacular visuals and a level of detail that you do not often see.

This could be controversial, especially amongst Potter fans, but I feel that Disney have more than surpassed both Harry Potter areas at Universal Orlando. Of course I need to visit to confirm my thoughts however from what I can tell the theming here just seems so much more intense and the area more complex/explorable. But the big point is this, and to be fair to Alvey he gets it spot on, because Pandora is based on the world overall and not the film or events in the film it can be fully enjoyed and appreciated by all. I'm not saying that the Harry Potter areas can't be but you do need some understanding of the films to make sense of what's going on in the rides and to appreciate what is what in Hogsmede/Diagon Alley. However in Pandora is does not matter, it is just a themed area based on a world that anyone can look at and think 'wow'. Disney/James Cameron have got it spot on.

Great to hear that Flight of Passage really does take Soarin' to another level in terms of the experience and thrill. The boat ride seems to be a delight too.

But on to the big question, will this be as successful as Harry Potter? Of course not, there is no way in a million years that this will generate even half of the merchandise/F&B sales that the Potter areas have. And that is the big difference between a strong and weak IP. Avatar is a perfect IP for Animal Kingdom (I know many disagree but just look at the photos and try telling me that it does not enhance what is already a beautiful park) but it is just not as marketable. Disney will be hoping that Star Wars is the Harry Potter competitor.

Disney have well and truly upped it here. I cannot wait to see Universal's response with Super Nintendo World! Let the theme park wars continue!

:)
 
I've said from day one that if they based this on the world of Pandora rather than the movie we'd have something spectacular. So glad that they have done this (and honestly knew they would when the name was revealed as Pandora, not Avatar Land).

as a massive Harry Potter fan I cant quite agree this is better (maybe better than Hogsmeade but not Diagon Alley) but this further elevated Animal Kingdom as my favourite park.
 
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