Avatar experience coming to Disneyland

[DizMe]

I think the issue isn't so much about hating Avatar or thinking it doesn't deserve to be at Disneyland based on movie popularity or fanbase.

An Avatar ride would be one thing, but if Disney is making an entire new land it would seem like an obvious choice to use something more Disneyish. Like Frozen, Encanto, Moana, Tangled etc. I think another area for little kids at DCA would be really fun, maybe based on characters from older movies like Bambi, Fantasia, Peter Pan or 101 Dalmatians.

I love Galaxy's Edge and Avengers Campus, but honestly I feel like those barely "fit" at the parks as it is. I think DCA is better for the more modern rides/lands and I don't like major changes at Disneyland.

But I'm the nostalgic type, so it could be just me. I still miss the Country Bears, Animazement and Billy Hill.

Completely agree. A whole new land? Why choose something with what I would guess would be minimal appeal to the DL fan base? A ride would be cool (disclaimer: I've never seen the movie), but a whole land is a big nope for me and probably a lot of others.

I understand, and grudgingly accept, that Galaxy's Edge has a huge built-in fan base, but I never go there. Honestly? I don't like it, but I know it's near and dear to the hearts of many and I don't expect Disney to cater to me personally, (though if you're interested in doing that, Disney, please PM me for ideas). It's just a little sad to me that the whole area is something I actively dislike and that Disney seems to have moved away from incorporating many different types of movies within a more general unifying genre.

I too wish they'd overhaul Avenger's Campus. I think parts of it are cool but what a waste of space in terms of things for people to do. I was in there at night with my sister during the Christmas season, and there wasn't another soul to be seen. We went around taking really silly/strange/OMG-what-was-I-thinking pictures in odd spots and it was quite entertaining at the moment, but...it was empty. No people. Holiday season.

 

[BrianL]

Completely agree. A whole new land? Why choose something with what I would guess would be minimal appeal to the DL fan base? A ride would be cool (disclaimer: I've never seen the movie), but a whole land is a big nope for me and probably a lot of others.

I understand, and grudgingly accept, that Galaxy's Edge has a huge built-in fan base, but I never go there. Honestly? I don't like it, but I know it's near and dear to the hearts of many and I don't expect Disney to cater to me personally, (though if you're interested in doing that, Disney, please PM me for ideas). It's just a little sad to me that the whole area is something I actively dislike and that Disney seems to have moved away from incorporating many different types of movies within a more general unifying genre.

I too wish they'd overhaul Avenger's Campus. I think parts of it are cool but what a waste of space in terms of things for people to do. I was in there at night with my sister during the Christmas season, and there wasn't another soul to be seen. We went around taking really silly/strange/OMG-what-was-I-thinking pictures in odd spots and it was quite entertaining at the moment, but...it was empty. No people. Holiday season.

I absolutely agree with this. There is no reason that a "Land" has to be based on only one thing. There should be a unifying theme, sure, but it shouldn't always have to be this immersive "it's real" kind of place. Actually, the more I think about it, the more I would jsut like to see one Avatar attraction added to Tomorrowland. There's no reason it can't coexist with Star Tours and Buzz Lightyear!

 

[Love Tink]

The cultural impact is making $2 BILLION DOLLARS and being nominated for Best Picture...just like the first film. Disney World and Disney Land are NOT inundated by tens of thousands of superfans. They are packed by the same people that saw Avatar/Avatar 2 to the tune of $2B.

To your point, Star Wars and Marvel fandoms are peopled by folks who buy the t-shirts, and go on the messageboards, and see the movies 4+ times in theaters. So when it makes $1B dollars (say $15 a ticket), and all the diehards saw it four times, the NUMBER of people it impacts is actually LESS than half of what Avatar 2 impacted. Because Avatar is filled with a bunch of people who see 4-5 movies every ten years. They DON'T go three and four times. So Avatar 2 was seen by a LOT more people. They don't go on messageboards. They don't buy t-shirts. They just occassionally go see movies and periodically go to Disney World.

In short, Avatar fans are notably less "passionate" than Star Wars and Marvel fans, as measured by chotchkes made in China. But Disney would rather have 1000 people who like Avatar than 400 people who absolutely LOVE Zootopia (or whatever). To further prove this point with your points...Avatar was released in 2009. It made a ton of money and was nominated for a bunch of Oscars. It then essentially disappeared, outside of DAK. The fanbase did NOT keep the franchise alive with lunch boxes and posters and fanfiction and whatever. 13 years later, the sequel came out, and made almost as much money as the first; a lot more than the Marvels and Star Wars and Harry Potters and (insert passionate product here). So I'd argue, it's not just a movie. Movies need all of that other stuff to live. Avatar just needs the movies. That's a feature, not a bug, as they say.

You just used a lot of words to agree with me. A lot of people saw Avatar. Most of them aren't really that excited about it.

 

[irlandaise]

An Avatar ride would be one thing, but if Disney is making an entire new land it would seem like an obvious choice to use something more Disneyish. Like Frozen, Encanto, Moana, Tangled etc. I think another area for little kids at DCA would be really fun, maybe based on characters from older movies like Bambi, Fantasia, Peter Pan or 101 Dalmatians.

That's a great idea, Pluto. It was a pity to lose that kiddie area at DCA, and one could easily be created based on the movies you mentioned and/or others.

 

[Lumpy1106]

You just used a lot of words to agree with me. A lot of people saw Avatar. Most of them aren't really that excited about it.

That was my point too - but I think we are on opposite sides of the table(?). No matter - people went to see Avatar, not because it was a cinematic masterpiece, but because the movie was fully engrossing - it took you to a place you couldn't even imagine. Pandora IS the star of the movie. THAT'S why they built Pandora in DAK - not because people love the movie. I don't care where, but if built to the same quality as DAK I can't wait to see it in DL/DCA.

 

[Pluto468]

I understand, and grudgingly accept, that Galaxy's Edge has a huge built-in fan base, but I never go there. Honestly? I don't like it, but I know it's near and dear to the hearts of many and I don't expect Disney to cater to me personally, (though if you're interested in doing that, Disney, please PM me for ideas). It's just a little sad to me that the whole area is something I actively dislike and that Disney seems to have moved away from incorporating many different types of movies within a more general unifying genre.

A. Disney should PM you for ideas!

B. I do love Galaxy's Edge because I'm a Star Wars fan, but I could have seen Galaxy's Edge once and never gone back. Oga's is cool, and it's a neat place to watch the fireworks, but I can't ride the rides and there's nowhere to sit lol. Why aren't there any benches there?

 

[ClaraOswald]

I agree...the lack of benches sucks. My husband and I have taken turns on rides in GE and yeah...hard for us to find benches to wait.

Speaking of Galaxy's Edge. So at Disneyland...they did a nice job of transitioning from other areas of the park. Whatever they do with Avatar and where ever they put it...I would hope they would at least give us some decent transitions.

I feel like they did NOT do that with GE at Hollywood Studios and it was so....weird. Not a fan at all. I wouldn't want Avatar land to be like that at Disneyland or DCA.

 

[PaladinButters]

Are we at the bananas-place where people pretend that Avatar isn't actually popular because they don't like it, and it doesn't have a bunch of ridiculous fansites and ancillary product lines?

FoP routinely has the longest line at WDW, somewhat driven by the fact that AK doesn't have a lot of marquee rides, but also from the fact that Pandora is pretty popular and the ride is one of the best at any of their properties.

I'm not certain how to measure popularity, but Box Office is probably a good start:

Avatar 2: $2,320,250,280
Guardians 3: $845,555,777 (the most popular Marvel movie in 2023)
Rise of Skywalker: $1,077,022,370 (the last Marvel movie in theaters, 2019)
Frozen 2: $1,453,683,480 (the last massive blockbuster DFA film, 2019)

This isn't rocket science.

The argument is Avatar doesn't have any cultural impact. - (Which is also bananas because it could be argued that Disney *gave* it it's impact. It's more than just movies, it's an incredible part of the Disney experience now).
But it doesn't seem to work that way. Nobody was tripping over themselves to give a 2B box office to the Haunted Mansion movie. It's almost like Avatar is just really, really, good on it's own.

 

[starlite_]

So, yes, Avatar has made a lot of money, and apparently it does have some devoted fans (you literally just named a character I've never heard of, so I am guessing you might be one of them). But it's really not a stretch to say it doesn't have the cultural impact as many other films/TV shows that are out there, franchises or not. And it's no offense to those who love it, but the rest of us mostly remember the visuals and not the characters or the story.

The thing is, it doesn't have to. It doesn't have to be the most loved movie, or the most culturally impactful. I'll argue that it's better than it isn't. It just has to be well done. It has to be pretty.

You hit the point of the land accidentally. The point of Avatar land is that it's immediately recognizable by everyone. Average guests Jane and John know the movie, it doesn't matter if they remember the character names at all. "Giant blue elf" works just fine for immediate visual recognition. Something not even Marvel can claim since folks confuse Marvel and DC properties all the time. Pandora is a land that everyone can enjoy with (hopefully) good enough attractions that help spread crowds.

It's the same thing as with Galaxy's Edge, it's not for the mega uber fans. It's done in a way that Jane and John and grandpa Pete can enjoy it without needing a crash course on lore. WDW is proof enough that it's working as a land, FoP has huge lines all the time.

Would I love a NBC land? Sure, I've loved that movie since it was an obscure thing that I watched on a cassette recording. But it's also a niche love, though it seems like Halloween itself has increased in popularity in recent years so maybe it would also work out great.

So sure, give me Disneyland Forward: Lands of Imagination and fill it with pretty things like Water Avatar land and the Casita from Encanto, a Moana anything, and hey maybe throw in there NBC's Halloweentown and that Kuzcotopia roller coaster I've been dreaming of for decades. As long as there are enough B rides in there to spread crowds (yes, Na'Vi River does serve a purpose) and the park has benches every now and then I am excited about anything.

 

[BrianL]

The thing is, it doesn't have to. It doesn't have to be the most loved movie, or the most culturally impactful. I'll argue that it's better than it isn't. It just has to be well done. It has to be pretty.

You hit the point of the land accidentally. The point of Avatar land is that it's immediately recognizable by everyone. Average guests Jane and John know the movie, it doesn't matter if they remember the character names at all. "Giant blue elf" works just fine for immediate visual recognition. Something not even Marvel can claim since folks confuse Marvel and DC properties all the time. Pandora is a land that everyone can enjoy with (hopefully) good enough attractions that help spread crowds.

It's the same thing as with Galaxy's Edge, it's not for the mega uber fans. It's done in a way that Jane and John and grandpa Pete can enjoy it without needing a crash course on lore. WDW is proof enough that it's working as a land, FoP has huge lines all the time.

Would I love a NBC land? Sure, I've loved that movie since it was an obscure thing that I watched on a cassette recording. But it's also a niche love, though it seems like Halloween itself has increased in popularity in recent years so maybe it would also work out great.

So sure, give me Disneyland Forward: Lands of Imagination and fill it with pretty things like Water Avatar land and the Casita from Encanto, a Moana anything, and hey maybe throw in there NBC's Halloweentown and that Kuzcotopia roller coaster I've been dreaming of for decades. As long as there are enough B rides in there to spread crowds (yes, Na'Vi River does serve a purpose) and the park has benches every now and then I am excited about anything.

Your ideas intrigue me, and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

I think you are spot-on here. Despite the grousing , Avatar is in fact popular. No, it's not Star Wars popular, but not much is. It still stands as a very successful film series and a well-received theme park land/attraction. You are also right about B-Rides - they absolutely serve a purpose. Na'vi River Journey could use a little extra bang, but a ride like that is still necessary. I think a huge failing of SWGE is not having a ride with no height requirement.

I do think that it's time that Jack Skellington got his own ride, aside from HM Holiday. I don't know that he needs a full Land, but I like your idea of tossing it in with other things. An NBC dark ride would be awesome!

 

[Aladora]

It's the same thing as with Galaxy's Edge, it's not for the mega uber fans. It's done in a way that Jane and John and grandpa Pete can enjoy it without needing a crash course on lore. WDW is proof enough that it's working as a land, FoP has huge lines all the time.

I said something similar to my husband the first time we went to Galaxy's Edge. So, he is a huge SW fan, I am what you would generously call a casual fan. I've seen all the movies plus all of the live action tv shows but it is not a property that I love.

The first time we walked into GE I remember saying to my husband something along the lines of "they put in enough small touches so that casual fans get the feeling of Star Wars and enough easter eggs so mega fans feel like they ARE in Star Wars."

But, I also said that I thought it would have been much better if they had set GE in a place recognizable by both casual and mega fans. I think Disney is trying to retro-fit this by having characters that many of us know wandering around but I really think that setting it somewhere else might have been better.

As for Pandora, the land is in my opinion, one of the most beautiful and well themed lands out of all the North American Disney parks. CarsLand is my #1 on that list but Pandora is breathtaking and at night it is even more amazing. FoP is possibly my favourite attraction of any of the NA Disney parks, I could literally ride it over and over and over but as I said somewhere else in this thread (I think?), I HATED the first movie and will likely never see the second.

Was Avatar a mega hit? Of course it was, the numbers in this case do not lie.
Do people have the same passion for it as they do other franchises? Not even close.
But, Disney has shown that regardless of fan base they can make a stunning land and an amazing ride that people will wait hours for.

 

[Chuck96]

You just used a lot of words to agree with me. A lot of people saw Avatar. Most of them aren't really that excited about it.

I wasn't agreeing, and you may have missed my point. You appear to measure their excitement by t-shirt sales and Funko Pops and message board activity. Disney measures it by BO sales. Avatar 1 sold more than anything ever. Avatar 2 more than anything but Endgame and Avatar. And Marvel hasn't come remotely close to Endgame since. The fact that Avatar 1 and Avatar 2 made consistent amounts of money 13 years apart further confirms their measure of "excitement."

Disney must see it that way also, because they are moving ahead with Avatar in DL, instead of Frozen or Encanto or more Star Wars or more Marvel.

 

[Lisa24jks]

Disney measures it by BO sales. Avatar 1 sold more than anything ever. Avatar 2 more than anything but Endgame and Avatar. And Marvel hasn't come remotely close to Endgame since. The fact that Avatar 1 and Avatar 2 made consistent amounts of money 13 years apart further confirms their measure of "excitement."

Let's hope Universal doesn't make box office their metric for building new things, because I do NOT want to ride the Oppenheimer ride.

 

[bryaalre]

Avatar has been growing in popularity relatively quickly. For example, Avatar has started to have a huge following on Reddit and has grown from 20k followers when the second movie was released to over 250k in just over a year. This will continue to grow as more and more and more movies are released and the fan base will grow.

Avatar may not have the fanbase size of Harry Potter or Star Wars but the fan base is growing, and I think this is a big reasoning for Disney to continue to expand the Avatar property within its parks and shops. There are still 3 planned movies that will be released over the next almost decade and they will all most likely be the biggest movie at the box office for those years. This will help it stay in pop culture relevancy like how the other franchises did when they were releasing books or movies every year or two.

Avatar is currently the best thing Disney has going for it at the box office and it would make sense for them to capitalize on it via the parks. As some people have stated, Pandora is the star of the movie and that really helps translate it into its own lands.

 

[MonocularVision]

… and that Kuzcotopia roller coaster I've been dreaming of for decades.

How could you have a Kuzcotopia ride not be a water ride??

 

[bryaalre]

Let's hope Universal doesn't make box office their metric for building new things, because I do NOT want to ride the Oppenheimer ride.

They already do. Hence why we are going to have 3 Harry Potter lands in Florida with one land that was supposed to fully be Fantastic Beasts but had some alterations when that spin off franchise died.

Its also no coincidence that all of Disney's lands, Zootopia, Frozen or Toy Story all grossed over a billion at the box office.

 

[Lisa24jks]

They already do. Hence why we are going to have 3 Harry Potter lands in Florida with one land that was supposed to fully be Fantastic Beasts but had some alterations when that spin off franchise died.

Its also no coincidence that all of Disney's lands, Zootopia, Frozen or Toy Story all grossed over a billion at the box office.

I was making a joke. Sometimes I do that. Sometimes people get them. Sometimes they don't. Such is life.

The point though is that Universal and Disney generally choose billion dollar properties that also sell merch. Those things go hand in hand. I do not know what merch sales are like for Avatar, but as I don't think I've ever seen a person wearing Avatar merch... well... who knows. So while it might make for a beautiful addition to the parks, I don't suspect we'll see lots of kids carrying around their plush of that blue guy or that other blue guy or the blue lady or the other blue lady as much as we see them with Elsa or Woody.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I need to get back to WDW again because I keep seeing people talk about how beautiful the Avatar Land was there. I guess I didn't look around or take it in a enough because it was only in January and I've already forgotten it. I just remembering being "meh" about it while we were there.

 

[bryaalre]

I was making a joke. Sometimes I do that. Sometimes people get them. Sometimes they don't. Such is life.

The point though is that Universal and Disney generally choose billion dollar properties that also sell merch. Those things go hand in hand. I do not know what merch sales are like for Avatar, but as I don't think I've ever seen a person wearing Avatar merch... well... who knows. So while it might make for a beautiful addition to the parks, I don't suspect we'll see lots of kids carrying around their plush of that blue guy or that other blue guy or the blue lady or the other blue lady as much as we see them with Elsa or Woody.

Gotcha, I did get the joke about the ride itself but not so much the rest.

I do agree that I rarely see any Avatar branded T-shirts or really any Avatar branded clothing. However, I don't think that is necessary a bad thing as there are a ton of huge properties that I rarely see on clothing. I don't think it necessary helped either that there was essentially nothing Avatar related for nearly 10 years after the first film was released.

 

[starlite_]

How could you have a Kuzcotopia ride not be a water ride??

To be fair I was thinking about Izma's evil lair. But you are right, this Kuzkotopia deserves more. So I am proposing Izma's Evil Lair rollercoaster (needs to have upside down loops), Pacha and Kuzco's Great Escape (see Chiapas

) and finally the actual Kuzkotopia (see that cool one on Volcano Bay

).

There can also be a QS restaurant in there somewhere.

This movie was made to be a land, someone call disney, we are on a roll here.