Am I the only one puzzled by Pandora?

[BrianL]

Brian, is the one you recommend the one with the added opening scene in the bar, or is that the third one? I've only watched my Blu-ray once, and that was the one I saw.

That is the extra-extended one. It's not a bad version by any means, but I feel it throws off the pacing a bit, mostly by adding more backstory with Neytiri when she was younger. It breaks up the back and forth between Jake in the Avatar body and Jake in his regular, disabled body. That is the strongest part of the movie to me, how it moves between the two, almost letting you live this dreamworld with Jake, then feeling the disappointment when he is returned to his real body.

The best addition to the extended cut was how they make subtle reference what happened at that school (i.e. bullet holes). The Third version explicitly spells a lot of it out, though I kind of liked it as more of a disturbing allusion.

 

[Beer Me]

I literally fell asleep during Avatar so don't tell me how it ends!

I love AK so it's great to have something new. Before we go I'll probably rewatch the movie and try to stay awake.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

I agree about pandora. I'm excited just because it's something new, but like others have said, I don't know why it was picked, it doesn't seem to be very popular. It did well at the box office and is rated well, but if I remember correctly a lot of people were going to see it because of the (at that time) brand new special effects. I personally don't care either way for the land but I have to admit it's weird.

 

[TygerHawks]

Skipping a bulk of the arguments just to ask...

Is there any live footage of what exactly is coming? I see plenty of concept art, and ride descriptions, but what exactly is it?

 

[ShellieMimi]

It's weird to me how I never seem to meet/talk to anyone that likes Avatar but it did $2.7 billion at the box office.

I saw some online once. They were convinced that they were Na'vi (had to Google this) in a past life. I'm expecting this new land to attract a lot of interesting folks.

 

[BrianL]

Skipping a bulk of the arguments just to ask...

Is there any live footage of what exactly is coming? I see plenty of concept art, and ride descriptions, but what exactly is it?

There is very little footage, though there was a short clip of an Na'vi shaman that you'd swear was CG, but it was actually an animatronic. That's an example of what they plan to use in the park.

 

[Farro]

Skipping a bulk of the arguments just to ask...

Is there any live footage of what exactly is coming? I see plenty of concept art, and ride descriptions, but what exactly is it?

There are lots of pictures of Pandora, all through construction, from start to now, day and night. All you have to do is google it.

 

[cigar95]

I agree about pandora. I'm excited just because it's something new, but like others have said, I don't know why it was picked, it doesn't seem to be very popular.

At the risk of repeating myself yet again, . . . . . Pirates of the Caribbean wasn't very popular either in March of 1967. But the attraction succeeded because it was a brilliant piece of imagineering. Similarly, Pandora will succeed if it's well-done, regardless of whether or not it came from a movie. And from the bits and pieces we've seen, I think we have reason to be optimistic that it has been well done.

 

[loves to dive]

Never saw the movie because I'm just not in to that type of movie, I also never saw the 3 Star Wars pre-quels or whatever they call them, I saw the original 3 when they came out (Harrison Ford is the only reason I saw them) and saw the last one Harrison Ford was in but not the one after that. I still love watching and seeing the Star Wars related stuff at the Studios (although I don't ride the current ride cause that kind of ride makes me sick). I only saw the first Toy Story movie but am looking forward to seeing what they do with the land at the Studios. I saw Frozen and, much like the Star Wars ride, it made me want to be sick. I seriously don't get the appeal of that movie and if I hear that song one more time I might let it go but it might not be pretty. I have never seen Little Mermaid (I know shoot me now) but think the ride is cute. Actually, I've seen very few of the newer Disney cartoon movies, I've seen all the old ones though. If it is pretty and has good rides, good food and is interesting, I really don't care what it's based on.

 

[JPKnapp]

When the announcement was made, Disney was trying to one-up Universal by landing "The top grossing movie of all time". It was the best counter punch Disney could throw at the moment. They realized quickly that it wasn't going to be near enough. Disney started the knockout blow when they bought Star Wars about a year later. I've never seen Avatar, but I dont need a movie to enjoy a couple rides. Heck, never seen any of the Pirates of the Caribbean either.

 

[prprincess]

I just re-watched the movie over the weekend, and to be honest with you, it did make me question how it fits into the grand scheme of things at AK. I get the whole message of conservation and that we are all connected, and I am excited for something brand new, but I'm not thrilled that it's Avatar. Maybe I'll feel differently once new movies come out. Or it will grow on me like the idea of SWland did.

 

[CAS239]

lol, tell that to the hordes of elementary aged children wearing star wars merch, playing with lightsabers, building star wars legos, etc. Preschoolers might not but they aren't the only audience, far from it.

Yea and more than half of those kids I'd be willing to bet haven't seen a Star Wars movie. That franchise has grown popularity over the last couple years, not surprisingly, and kids are just going with the flow and what everyone else is doing.

My 10yr old nephew has Star Wars shirts and thinks it's all cool, but he hasn't watched a single SW movie yet. Sure plenty of kids love it, but it's really not a kids movie franchise

 

[Roxyfire]

Yea and more than half of those kids I'd be willing to bet haven't seen a Star Wars movie. That franchise has grown popularity over the last couple years, not surprisingly, and kids are just going with the flow and what everyone else is doing.

My 10yr old nephew has Star Wars shirts and thinks it's all cool, but he hasn't watched a single SW movie yet. Sure plenty of kids love it, but it's really not a kids movie franchise

I'm not saying it's a kids franchise, it's got broad kid appeal. And I would suspect a majority of kids have seen it in some way, shape, or form. But maybe not as much as I watched it when I was their age or as much as my kid watches it now.

 

[IrishNYC]

And, in keeping with earlier observations, I'll bet that the thing that makes DinoLand a poor fit in your eyes is not that it's about dinosaurs, but that it's simply not very well-done. A *good* dinosaur-themed area would probably get your support.
Again, related to my claim that Pandora will succeed or fail based on how good it is, not whether or not movie fans will flock to see it. The (apparent) lack of a fan-base may actually help it in the near-term, as you'll see less of a rush of super-fans who have to see it right away. We've all seen those unbelievable photos of opening day at Hogsmead. Pandora figures to avoid that.

I have to admit this.

I am the one and only person charmed by DinoLand. I really like it. Primeval Whirl is one of my favorite rides.

Nice to meet you.

I think DinoLand is brilliantly themed, but the story isn't told well, or at the very least, isn't obvious at all. I had read about it before we went there, so I got it. DH didn't get it at all. Once I explained the story to him, pointed out the clues, he got it, and agreed it was brilliant and perfect. It's very clever, but not explicit enough for most people to really see.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

People who don't get Avatar really don't matter. Disney doesn't want you to get the movie. They want you to enjoy the attractions. And they are not betting that Avatar will bring in huge increases in park guests like Universal was with HP because WDW can't handle huge increases in attendance - Universal needed it to survive at the time.

So, happy for Universal that they got what they needed to stay in the game. Happy for Disney for investing is something very cool. Glad to see real competition pushing both. That is how the parks improve - competition.

 

[randumb0]

There are plenty of Disney movies I haven't seen yet I can enjoy what a Disney park has to offer. With that being said, I think it's funny that so many people on here are saying they havent seen and or heard of the movie yet it's one of the highest grossing movies of all time

 

[Robo]

-I think it's funny that so many people on here are saying they havent seen and or heard of the movie yet it's one of the highest grossing movies of all time

That just tells you how huge the population is that even if millions HAVE seen a movie, many millions more have not.

 

[eastendlights]

Heck, never seen any of the Pirates of the Caribbean either.

Blasphemy!!!

 

[Robo]

Heck, never seen any of the Pirates of the Caribbean either.

If you are a fan of the Disney ride, the FIRST PotC movie is a blast!
So many great references to the theme park attraction.

The rest of the films in the series were as though they had never seen the ride...
Very odd!

 

[Robo]

Blasphemy!!!

“You will always remember this as the day you almost caught Captain Ja...”