News of the area coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2017 featuring the world of Pandora from the movie Avatar has been met with a lot of hate. A lot. Like, a metric ton of hate. Instead of falling into that default mode, though, I wanted to take a look at all the positives that might come from the #1 movie of all time setting for the stage for the biggest addition to the Animal Kingdom since its inception. Here are 7 reasons I think Pandora: The World of Avatar has the potential (read: potential) to be awesome.
1. The truly new experiences
Sometimes it feels like it’s hard for something truly “new” to come to a theme park. Pandora: The World of Avatar, perhaps more than any other upcoming attractions, offers really unique experiences for theme park attendees. After all, where else are you going to find floating mountains? Or a bioluminescent forest? Or rides on a flying banshee? I can’t think of anything quite like that anywhere in the world. 3-D will also be a major addition to the theme park experience, expected to be a part of the flying banshee attraction. 3-D has been done before in parks, but James Cameron, the writer and director of Avatar, elevated the format to a whole new level in the cinema, and he has a major role in the 2017 addition to the Animal Kingdom. So expect to encounter 3-D in Pandora: The World of Avatar as you never have before.
2. All of the scenery of Avatar, less of the story
The flying mountains and bioluminescent forest, among other visual spectacles, will likely makePandora: The World of Avatar home to some of the most beautiful scenery in theme park history. The visuals of the Avatar movie were widely beloved by viewers. Where the film falls flat for some is in the acting and especially in the script. It doesn’t seem like there will be any real storyline at Pandora: The World of Avatar for it to suffer from. Sure, some attractions might have plots to them, but the focus is going to be on the scenery that everyone loved so much about the movie.
3. The nighttime festivities
A common complaint of the Animal Kingdom is that it’s not a “full-day” theme park. It’s fun during the day, but over by 6pm. The Imagineers recognize this as a problem, and are taking steps to address it. The bioluminescent forests of Pandora will also play a major role in making nighttime as exciting at the Animal Kingdom as your visit during the day.
4. The major shift in the status quo
Even if you hate the idea, it’s hard to be bored by theme park news with projects like Pandora: The World of Avatar being developed. Readers of sites like Theme Park Tourist can probably respect that on some level. It’s not what a lot of people wanted, of course, but it definitely has many of us amped up and invested in the future of the Disney theme parks.
5. The finally-fulfilled promise
The dedication for the Animal Kingdom from 1998 actually promised something that will only be fully delivered with Pandora: The World of Avatar
Welcome to a kingdom of animals… real, ancient and imagined: a kingdom ruled by lions, dinosaurs and dragons; a kingdom of balance, harmony and survival; a kingdom we enter to share in the wonder, gaze at the beauty, thrill at the drama, and learn.
—Michael D. Eisner, April 22, 1998
Save for Expedition: Everest and a few other small additions to the park, we haven’t gotten the kingdom of imagined animals Michael D. Eisner promised us over 15 years ago. The Disney Imagineers had plans for it in the form of a Beastly Kingdom, but that never came to pass. With Pandora: The World of Avatar, however, Disney is finally giving us what we’ve been asking for. Maybe not in the form we wanted, but it still might be something to celebrate.
6. The people involved
Image: Disney
The Avatar project is headed up by Joe Rohde, a veteran executive at Walt Disney Imagineering. He is the lead designer of the Animal Kingdom, and widely respected by theme park fans and professionals alike. He’s also a bit of a character. His trademark is a large collection of earrings he wears in his left ear, which he’s collected over decades of travel to remote corners of the world. That love of nature is definitely good trait for someone in charge of a theme park like Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Rohde was actually the creator of the proposal for the Beastly Kingdom, mentioned above, and will now be the one in charge of fulfilling that promise of legendary animals, now decreed to be in the form of Pandora: The World of Avatar. His role as well as the role of other Imagineers has to inspire some confidence that, even if it’s not what you necessarily wanted, this new area will be spectacular.
7. The continued focus on the Animal Kingdom’s core values
Theme park fan site BigFatPanda.com was lucky enough to catch an event exclusively for Disney cast members held at The Theatre of the Wild in which both Joe Rohde and and film producer Jon Landau (but mainly Rohde) explained to employees at Walt Disney World what Avatar is and why they decided to move forward with what seems like many to be an unusual choice. The presentation didn’t reveal much new information in regards to rides/attractions, but Joe Rohde did say some wonderful words that helped convince me personally that Pandora: The World of Avatar will be good for the Animal Kingdom. I encourage you to watch the whole video here. To summarize, Joe Rohde first outlines the themes of the Animal Kingdom. Read them below
An intrinsic and supreme value of nature: Nature is of more value than anything you can hold against it
Transformation through adventure: Unlike the repeated motions of many theme park attractions, at the Animal Kingdom something new happens every single day.
The sense of a personal call to action: Most of the stories in the Animal Kingdom are about you and what’s happening to you, not third-party characters.
Rhode believes the 2009 movie Avatar aligns near-perfectly with those all-important values, which is why Pandora: The World of Avata will be good for the Animal Kingdom and the Walt Disney World Resort. I’m starting to believe that, too. What do you think? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page or in the comments below.
