No Carsland Announcement today at "Around Our World"

[Buffalo2Disney]

Carsland was NOT announced today at the "Around Our World" presentation and still remains a rumor for the time being, possibly until the 2013 D23 Expo in August. However, they did talk about Avatar and it is definitely a go but still remains in the very early planning stages.

[Toy_Story2010]

Was avatar land explained or just a ride or two or no solid details?

[Gina]

I can't believe that ridiculous Avatar-land thing is still supposed to happen... Does anyone even still care about that movie?

[SMorgan711]

Has Carsland been rumored to make an appearance at WDW??

[disneyworld1977]

Originally Posted by Gina

I can't believe that ridiculous Avatar-land thing is still supposed to happen... Does anyone even still care about that movie?

I thought it was a decent movie, but not crazy about. Honestly, I never have been big on it coming to Disney Parks. I am still up and down about it. If they have more movies coming out, then it will probably be ok for Disney to movie forward with. If Disney does it, then it may be pretty cool though. Either way I am neither excited or mad about it. I am neutral!

[Pixiedust34]

Originally Posted by Gina

I can't believe that ridiculous Avatar-land thing is still supposed to happen... Does anyone even still care about that movie?

Agree. I keep hoping they'll sweep that project under a rug and let it stay there.

Originally Posted by SMorgan711

Has Carsland been rumored to make an appearance at WDW??

Yes. Strong rumors indicate that Studios will have a Cars Land sometime.

[JustMeFran]

FWIW- Avatar 2 is in the works (2014/15 release) and they plan on filming Avatar 2 and 3 back to back. Trilogy has been the plan for Cameron from day 1.

-Fran =)

[Peter Pirate 2]

Originally Posted by Gina

I can't believe that ridiculous Avatar-land thing is still supposed to happen... Does anyone even still care about that movie?

I can't believe your ridiculous comments about a land that will allow the imagineers to actually use their imagination! Using your logic, does anyone even still care about Mickey Mouse? Way to have an open mind.

[beer dave]

Originally Posted by Peter Pirate 2

I can't believe your ridiculous comments about a land that will allow the imagineers to actually use their imagination! Using your logic, does anyone even still care about Mickey Mouse? Way to have an open mind.

Thank you.

Don't repeat or re use anything.

Don't do something new that I don't like.

Leave everything the same.

Change everything so it is all different.

[Peter Pirate 2]

Originally Posted by beer dave

Thank you.

Don't repeat or re use anything.

Don't do something new that I don't like.

Leave everything the same.

Change everything so it is all different.

I see you have a nice grip on it.

[mixitup1979]

Can't wait to see this .. California so far away from NJ

[twebber55]

Originally Posted by Peter Pirate 2

I can't believe your ridiculous comments about a land that will allow the imagineers to actually use their imagination! Using your logic, does anyone even still care about Mickey Mouse? Way to have an open mind.

thank you...why not let this evolve a little bit before you rip it

[Peter Pirate 2]

Originally Posted by twebber55

thank you...why not let this evolve a little bit before you rip it

What???

People rip Avatar Land because they didn't like the movie, that's it, without even trying to understand the reasoning that actually makes Pandora a pretty good vehicle for imaginative people to make something beautiful (whether this disney has the balls to step up remains to be seen).

Dismissing it out of hand because "I didn't like the movie" is a pretty small attack and not much of a starting place for productive discussion, is it?

The movie Avatar is irrelevant if your focus is on a theme park and its attractions and as far as the creativity of the land goes. Do you think you have to have loved Cars or Harry Potter to appreciate the respective theme park lands?

[Red24Red30]

Just a few more things. You claim that you don't think DAK's education programs are up to par with many other zoos, but how would you know? You said yourself that you don't go to DAK for the educational experience; you go for the rides. And there's nothing wrong with that in and of itself, except when you try to comment on the conservation programs that you yourself claim you have not paid much attention to. Indeed, judging by your lack of awareness regarding DAK's conservation education programs as well as the work that went into tying the architecture and attractions into the encompassing conservation theme, I'd say you have too little experience to be so harshly judging the facility's merits. Simply watching the animals interact at DAK, as you say, does not grant you a great amount of perception about the unique conservation efforts going on all around the park, both onstage and offstage. You agreed with me that the people who work at DAK are some of the best in the animal business; at the end of the day, isn't that what's most important? I recall a certain quote from a certain man who would agree. Combined with huge, expansive enclosures and facilities, world-class animal care and veterinary services, a robust conservation research institute, and a diverse, highly passionate education team, DAK is pretty high up there (my opinion, of course!) I just find it ironic how you seem to think you can judge DAK's programs when you say you haven't even paid attention to them, nor have you worked in Disney's Animal Programs and seen what I've seen in terms of the daily operations backstage (the ARK Institute backstage, for instance, is an amazing conservation facility for some of the most endangered birds in the world, located backstage to be away from the stress of crowds. I was lucky enough to visit, and it's simply incredible!) Also, the fact that you desire a nighttime show at DAK also might say something about your lack of knowledge regarding animal care. The whole reason they haven't put in a nighttime show is because the light and noise would startle and stress the animals. Plus, Disney purposely closes the park earlier than the others (and doesn't have much in the way of nighttime lighting) because they want to give the animals more chance to rest, as well as more time for the keepers to clean, work, and perform training and veterinary sessions. You don't see that sort of consideration and care at Sea World, San Diego Zoo, or Busch Gardens: all of which have fireworks shows either in the summer or year-round and feature loud late-night entertainment. (And don't try to bring the whole nocturnal argument into this, as there are many, many species at all of these facilities that are diurnal and/or require up to 20 hours of sleep per day). DAK truly places the animals before the guests in this regard, and I think it's great that they do so. Unless your idea of a show is considerably low-key, low-light or perhaps indoors or ridiculously far outside of the park berm, you really have no consideration for the care of the animals. And there's no way I'd know if you were considering those show options, now that I've already mentioned them.

Forgive me if this sounds a bit implicative and presumptuous from my part, but in all honesty, that's the impression I got from your posts. Especially since you said yourself that you don't spend any time exploring the conservation and education offerings at the park. You might say that they simply didn't jump out at you or grab your attention, and I think that would be a somewhat fair assessment. Disney does a fair amount to try to put the message out there, such as putting conservation messages throughout Kilimanjaro Safaris (the queue video as well as the ride). And the education program I was a part of actively tries to engage guests by approaching with cool biofacts and conservation props, as well as conversation hooks to try and draw more people in, but we could always do better. Believe me though, it takes skill to attract attention away from Everest at park opening at the Asia KDC, but we did it. In fact, we often got a surprising amount of families who would rush to us first thing in the morning to complete their Conservation Hero activity books. We even caught the attention of plenty of rope-drop folk who were originally rushing to the foreboding mountain, only to have their eye caught by our activity centers; they always left genuinely surprised and appreciative of our activities and knowledge! And for the rest who continued on to the mountain first, many I would recognize running back over to us right after they finished their ride!

In the Conservation Education internship, we were expected to be able to relate everything to a conservation message, even it seemed completely unrelated. Because honestly, you can always find a way to connect everyday life with conservation. In fact, our creativity in finding conservation messages for guests was a main criteria for our evaluation. We were encouraged to use our own experiences and ideas and apply them out in the park. We had weekly meetings where we would share our messages with fellow interns to increase our knowledge. In fact, we were always praised by our managers when we managed to smoothly connect a conservation message to a seemingly unrelated topic, because it takes a certain amount of skill and thought to do so. Any and everyway we could transition to a conservation message, we were expected to take advantage of it (being friendly and respectful about it, of course. If a guest-in-a-hurry came up to me asking for directions so as not to miss his dinner reservation, I wasn't going to give him a conservation earful first!)

I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of freedom afforded to us to really make a personal connection with guests and to use our own material, so long as it fell under the conservation guidelines. Sure, we were given a packet with many suggestions on how to connect conservation messages. But we were evaluated on how we expanded upon and created our own messages, as well as how smoothly we tailored said messages to the audience.

And most guests really appreciated the time we took to suggest new ways to conserve. We weren't selling anything. We weren't holding them to anything. We weren't manipulating them. And we weren't being dogmatic or claiming that our beliefs were "sacred". We were just offering suggestions for people to take part in practical, fun, family-friendly conservation that everybody can do at home.

Got a nice big backyard? Try building a backyard habitat, such as a pond to attract frogs and birds.

Don't have the time or space? Try getting a flower pot, turning it on it's side, and now you have a nice, cozy toad abode!

Discovered a new favorite animal today? Learn all you can about it at today and check out some books about it at your local library when you return home. Then you can become an animal ambassador by educating your friends and family about it.

Here's an example of how I could take a seemingly non-conservation themed attraction such as Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade and easily make a conservation method out of it, even for a guest who isn't an animal-lover.

"Seeing the colorful, beautiful, larger-than-life animal floats inspires and excites us. Many cultures across the world incorporate animals into their celebrations, folklore, and art, such as the intricate animal figures handcrafted by the people of Oaxaca, Mexico. Did you know that you can see real Oaxacan animal art in the Mexico Pavilion at Epcot? Be sure to check it out!"

It's been three years since I've visited WDW, so I'm not actually sure if the Oaxacan art is still there in the Mexico Pavilion. Regardless, it's just an example of how flexible and effective conservation messages can be. I didn't urge the guest to take any direct action like recycling or donating to a wildlife conservation fund; instead, I combined culture and art with animals to create a subtle connection to wildlife appreciation for the guest. It's not just about what you practice, it's about what you feel. By taking me up on my suggestion, the guest just might develop an appreciation for animals that wasn't there before. The first step to conservation action is sparking that initial emotional attachment; a person is not going to want to help wildlife if they don't first have that connection! I may have just initiated that, and in the process, I also promoted the synergy between two parks, perhaps providing the guest with an interesting new quest to embark on when they next visit Epcot and enhancing their vacation! Could the guest do that at your local zoo? Doubtful, unless there's a museum nearby with authentic Oaxacan art or he visits Oaxaca in person. Even if that were the case, there are few places in the world where he could see the parade, hop on a short bus ride, and be able to experience such authentic cultural artwork like that. See, it's not just about DAK, it's also the awesome ability to synergize between the parks that further enhances the overall conservation experience that you can't get anywhere else (and Epcot is very sustainability and conservation-friendly too, especially at the Seas and Land Pavilions!) And note that the guest doesn't even have to be an animal lover to appreciate this message! What's more is that my Disney education managers would appreciate a message like that, because I managed to take an attraction that is seemingly unrelated to conservation and turn it into a creative message that's more personal and interesting than simply practicing the "4 R's" (the 4th "R" being "Replenish"; before Disney, I only knew the "3 R's"!) That's a far cry from "going rogue" and "abandoning corporate ideals", as you say.

Heck, at the end of the internship, we were urged to take what we learned and apply it back home and wherever our profession takes us. That's actually a common thing in the conservation field, as well as broader field of science education: the sharing of knowledge and techniques. It's why DAK hosts many conservation education seminars and its scientists like Dr. Anne Savage contribute to groundbreaking published science around the world. We'll never stop being advocates for "wildlife and wild places."

So that whole bit about "abandoning corporate ideals to promote my own agenda?" Think again. Because if I'm "going rogue", then I'm glad Disney taught me right.

Again folks, Happy Holidays and if you're heading to the World this month, I urge you to make some time to visit DAK. They may not have quite as many decorations and holiday theming as the other parks, but they have some nice, unique holiday touches with a distinctive Animal Kingdom flair. For instance, Mickey's Jingle Jungle Parade is a blast!

[MJMcBride]

Originally Posted by Gina

I can't believe that ridiculous Avatar-land thing is still supposed to happen... Does anyone even still care about that movie?

No. No one does