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Disney's Avatar Land Shows Why It's So Hard to Keep Epcot Futuristic
- Thread starter Dalek
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ratcliffja
Member
Epcot should be more about education and sci-fi. Trying to accurately predict the future for any large scale attractions is a losing battle.
peteykirch
Member
I miss the old school days of Epcot. Especially riding Horizons and the original Living with the Seas.
PushTheButtonMax
Banned
I can't believe they're still doing this shit.
Discotheque
Banned
it's bad timing on their part. best believe avatar 2 will be another 2 billion dollar movie tho.
also it's just not licensing friendly either. it's a great sci fi adventure flick but nobody trying to buy toys of these ugly ass Navi. park was always a mistake.
edit: actually some of it will probably look pretty cool at night though. it's very fluorescent.
also it's just not licensing friendly either. it's a great sci fi adventure flick but nobody trying to buy toys of these ugly ass Navi. park was always a mistake.
edit: actually some of it will probably look pretty cool at night though. it's very fluorescent.
Mammoth Jones
Member
They need to make a "No long lines for the rides" amusement park. They'll make billions...
JimJamJones
Member
There's so many other IPs they could have gone with.
I'll never understand the Avatar fad.
I'll never understand the Avatar fad.
yanipheonu
Member
It is remarkable how fast that shit became irrelevant. I do wonder what this means for Avatar 2.
"fad"
I was at Disney World in April. We did all 4 parks and honestly....we only had maybe 3 long waits.
For whatever reason Snow White roller coaster at Magic Kingdom seems like the most popular ride at any of the parks. Huge lines.
D
Deleted member 80556
Unconfirmed Member
They'll do fine once Avatar 2 release.
They gotta know they're in for a long haul though.
They gotta know they're in for a long haul though.
peteykirch
Member
Disney needs to take a page from Universal and learn how to build with some sense of speed.
The scary thing is Disney used to be really good about getting things done in about a years time.
Plus here is the truly amazing thing. 99% of DISNEYLAND was built in less than 365 days.
The scary thing is Disney used to be really good about getting things done in about a years time.
Plus here is the truly amazing thing. 99% of DISNEYLAND was built in less than 365 days.
jstevenson
Sailor Stevenson
I believe this expansion to Animal Kingdom is going to be amazing, and it'll be ready just in time for new Avatar sequels.
And honestly, while I'm not huge on inserting IP into Animal Kingdom, it does fit the overall theme and allows for some cool out of this world stuff.
We'll see how it shakes out, Avatar was gigantic overseas and if the sequels stir things up it's great.
Besides, Animal Kingdom was desperately in need of expansion, and on top of that expansion that works well in the evening hours. Avatar checks all of those boxes.
And honestly, while I'm not huge on inserting IP into Animal Kingdom, it does fit the overall theme and allows for some cool out of this world stuff.
We'll see how it shakes out, Avatar was gigantic overseas and if the sequels stir things up it's great.
Besides, Animal Kingdom was desperately in need of expansion, and on top of that expansion that works well in the evening hours. Avatar checks all of those boxes.
NOLA_Gaffer
Banned
Epcot hasn't been worth a damn since about 1994. The gradual removable of all the noteworthy attractions has left the park a withered husk of its former self.
Super depressing, really.
Super depressing, really.
The overall point that trying to base something that's as slow to build as a theme park on "near future" is difficult is absolutely true, which is why the vast majority of stuff at Epcot isn't themed that way anymore. Basically, you've got a couple of rides that are futuristic, some retrofitted movie rides, and then the whole country showcase. It's a mess.
FWIW, I don't really like Avatar, but I think the land could be interesting. The best parts of Avatar were the visuals and Pandora, and Disney's quite good at bringing that sort of stuff to life. Additionally, it's actually not a terrible fit for Animal Kingdom, and while I actually love that park, it can absolutely use some more stuff in it.
Honestly, doing Disney without many long lines isn't that hard (well, depending on when you go it can be, but generally it's not). You just have to do lots of upfront planning and make the most of the reservation system. We went down this past January and ended up waiting in very few lines, and I think the longest was 20 minutes.
FWIW, I don't really like Avatar, but I think the land could be interesting. The best parts of Avatar were the visuals and Pandora, and Disney's quite good at bringing that sort of stuff to life. Additionally, it's actually not a terrible fit for Animal Kingdom, and while I actually love that park, it can absolutely use some more stuff in it.
Honestly, doing Disney without many long lines isn't that hard (well, depending on when you go it can be, but generally it's not). You just have to do lots of upfront planning and make the most of the reservation system. We went down this past January and ended up waiting in very few lines, and I think the longest was 20 minutes.
6 months out there will be lots of interest and hype. I suspect they'll drop a 5 minute trailer like they did for the first movie and that'll generate the buzz.
Compsiox
Banned
They'll advertise the new movie and make it huge again?
Peterthumpa
Member
Meanwhile, Universal opened a Skull Island attraction last July that ties pretty well with the upcoming movie, it's technologically pretty advanced (and cool) and the movie isn't even out yet.
VistraNorrez
Member
Increase park capacity and reduce lines at other attractions. The parks are about the experience there, not promoting people to go see a movie, that's just an added bonus. The movie will be more of an ad for the park than the other way around. Plus these attractions always have problems when they open. Best to give it some time to fix issues so that when the movie comes out things are functioning better.
echoshifting
Banned
The wait for that ride is so crazy, I guess because it's new. It's fun but short for the line, few better uses for fastpasses in the Magic Kingdom at the moment.
vinnygambini
Why are strippers at the U.N. bad when they're great at strip clubs???
Terrible article.
''nobody cares about Avatar''
''there’s virtually nobody begging for an Avatar-themed environment these days''
I'd beg to differ, once Avatarland is open to the public and the films start coming out starting 2018, people will once again be dazzled by the power of Cameron.
''nobody cares about Avatar''
''there’s virtually nobody begging for an Avatar-themed environment these days''
I'd beg to differ, once Avatarland is open to the public and the films start coming out starting 2018, people will once again be dazzled by the power of Cameron.
It isn't an entire park. It is a'land'. Just a new theme area within the Animal Kingdom park...which imo needs the new attractions to make it a full day (and afterdark) park.
In a way, the timing might be good, because I suspect that opening a new section at Disney is a big enough deal that it can carry it through a year or so on it's own. Then, when it might start flagging, the movie comes out and picks it up.
This is absolutely true. Universal has so much building going on, and it seems like Disney is way too slow with this stuff. The new Fantasy Land took forever, and from a ride perspective is not very impressive. Meanwhile, Universal has built two major lands, one major ride, has a water park and two more major rides underway. It's sad.
I suspect Universal's reliance on video projection versus animatronics might be part of the reason for this, though I suspect a lot of it also comes down to the fact that Disney doesn't need to try as hard.
ratcliffja
Member
Animal Kingdom is a great, but exhausting, all-day park. Hopefully this keeps the crowds away from the parts of the park I care about.
Yeah we certainly enjoyed it. We were staying on-site and did Magic Kingdom on a night where it had Extra Magic Hours. So we avoided the line all day and then at 10 when over half of the park vacated, we got on it in 10 minutes and we both loved it.
jstevenson
Sailor Stevenson
yeah, that's the big ride right now since it's the new E-ticket in the park.
I was there in April too.
Hollywood Studios is a shitshow due to only having 4 real rides. You can fastpass/do it at open to get through it all. But if you try to standby ride through there it's rough.
With proper fastpass reservations you can pretty much crush Disney World though. Put your fast passes a bit after open (cause at open you can ride a ton with no lines - then hit fastpasses as lines build, and then book additional fastpasses throughout the rest of the day).
Dreams-Visions
Member
That's a weird article.
Avatar's issue is that they didn't quickly turn Avatar into a traditional franchise. People have stopped caring because they didn't keep making more Avatars like they did with say, Harry Potter.
What the fuck does that have to do with Epcot Center or keeping its future musings properly futuristic? One is a failure of Disney or whoever is developing future Avatar films; the other is simply about the challenges of predicting the future. The former is resolved by what should be a series of Avatar films (provided anyone still cares). The later is resolved by getting scientists and engineers takes on what they expect the world to be like in 25 years, then letting artists have at it, finally turning their vision into your future attractions.
Remind me what one has to do with the other? I may have missed it. I'm a bit tired.
Also, I love Epcot Center so fuck ya'll that don't like it.
Avatar's issue is that they didn't quickly turn Avatar into a traditional franchise. People have stopped caring because they didn't keep making more Avatars like they did with say, Harry Potter.
What the fuck does that have to do with Epcot Center or keeping its future musings properly futuristic? One is a failure of Disney or whoever is developing future Avatar films; the other is simply about the challenges of predicting the future. The former is resolved by what should be a series of Avatar films (provided anyone still cares). The later is resolved by getting scientists and engineers takes on what they expect the world to be like in 25 years, then letting artists have at it, finally turning their vision into your future attractions.
Remind me what one has to do with the other? I may have missed it. I'm a bit tired.
Also, I love Epcot Center so fuck ya'll that don't like it.
CassidyIzABeast
Member
We'll see what's good when those Avatar 2 receipts come in
I think that's purely because the ride is so new, so there are a bunch of people who have never gone on it before.
BattleMonkey
Member
The idea of an Avatar section of the park was always stupid. An Avatar ride sure, but a huge new section of a park dedicated to one movie? What a blunder.
plagiarize
Banned
I think it's fair to question how readily people are writing off the Avatar franchise, but I also don't think that undermines the crux of this article.
It still takes a long time to build stuff at theme parks, so it's difficulty to keep epcot futuristic. I wonder how relevant Harry Potter, Despicable Me or Transformers attractions at Universal are going to be in a few years. Even something as popular as Harry Potter seems like it opened about a decade late.
Star Wars attractions are obviously a much safer bet as is anything based on something that has endured (arguably like Jurassic Park). But closing down Jaws and Twilight Zone attractions seems a bit mad to me. Those were built based on enduring love for those properties, which to my eyes still remain.
It still takes a long time to build stuff at theme parks, so it's difficulty to keep epcot futuristic. I wonder how relevant Harry Potter, Despicable Me or Transformers attractions at Universal are going to be in a few years. Even something as popular as Harry Potter seems like it opened about a decade late.
Star Wars attractions are obviously a much safer bet as is anything based on something that has endured (arguably like Jurassic Park). But closing down Jaws and Twilight Zone attractions seems a bit mad to me. Those were built based on enduring love for those properties, which to my eyes still remain.
Committing to an Avatar-themed attraction was such a ridiculous misfire, I am surprised that they actually have bothered building the whole thing. I figured that Disney would have quietly killed the whole project around the time they bought Star Wars. It seems like the only reason they went with Avatar in the first place was because at the time they couldn't get the rights to do any more Star Wars attractions.
Avatar feels like such a weird, forgotten relic of the early-3D era, and I doubt it's going to drive much traffic to the park. And even if you believe this IP is really capable of transfixing audiences again, then why is it stuck in some B-tier animal park?
Avatar feels like such a weird, forgotten relic of the early-3D era, and I doubt it's going to drive much traffic to the park. And even if you believe this IP is really capable of transfixing audiences again, then why is it stuck in some B-tier animal park?
GitarooMan
Member
The massive growth of the Food and Wine Festival makes Epcot (between September-November) amazing; it's the best event in Disney World overall. For the other parts of the year though, they do need to update Universe of Energy and Journey into Imagination to add a little more depth to Future World.
Re: Avatar, I was there recently and the structures look pretty amazing. The rides being great will sell the Avatar theming IMO. If the sequels are big, that will just help even more.
Re: Avatar, I was there recently and the structures look pretty amazing. The rides being great will sell the Avatar theming IMO. If the sequels are big, that will just help even more.
The HP sections in Universal will never be out of date. I have season passes and it's insane how packed they still are to the same levels they were when they first released. Fans of it are hungry for more no matter how often they go.
Discotheque
Banned
Another thing that much of gaf is grossly underestimating and will be wrong about when the marketing hype kicks in whenever the film is gonna release
It will be big. Don't think too highly of its prospects for toys and shirts and shit but the sequels are gonna be huge and the park will prolly be a success too
Mr. Poolman
Member
Nobody on these 6 years ever said "hey guys, maybe we should try to something newer like Marvel flicks or somethig?"
TheDinoman
Member
I wanted Beastly Kingdom fully realized at Animal Kingdom instead. 
Universal Studios has the rights to the Marvel characters. I'll bet that drives the Disney parks people insane.....especially considering how little Universal seems to make use of those characters.
Man Called Aerodynamics
Member
Sure, the timing of an Avatar theme park exhibit in 2016 is unquestionably terrible... if the movie didn't have several sequels slated for the next few years. It does though, so the worst you can say about Avatar Land is it's a gamble. Which any big new theme park project would be.
I'm not even a fan of Avatar but I was there about a month ago as well. The floating island structures are impressive
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