Fans of the movie Avatar will be pleased to hear about the new addition to Disney World’s Animal Kingdom theme park. Disney has partnered with Avatar producers James Cameron and Jon Landau to create Avatar Land. The project is still in its design phase, but the plan is to design and focus the area to resemble Pandora, the fictional moon that is home to the avatars in the movie. Construction should begin in 2013, and the opening date for the area could be as early as 2015.
Animal Kingdom was chosen to host Avatar Land largely because the themes of Avatar are a good fit with the themes of the park. A Disney spokesperson was quoted as saying, “Animal Kingdom is a great fit for this project because it was created to give guests the opportunity to experience the worlds of animals and nature – real and mythical – in new ways. Disney’s Animal Kingdom also celebrates adventure, living in harmony with nature and environmental stewardship – themes that are deeply rooted in the story of Avatar.”
Avatar Land is planned to be an immersive experience for park-goers. It will span several acres, and will include several rides, as well as attractions like 3-D holograms, audio animatronics, a variety of Avatar-related entertainment, and retail, food and beverage venues. It is rumored that at least one Avatar Land ride will simulate flying. Another interesting rumor tells of an unexplained dragon prototype that may – or may not – be connected to the coming Avatar themed area of the park.
It is also worth noting that two Avatar sequels are in the works that are due out in 2014 and 2015. Images and themes in Avatar Land are likely to reflect not just the original movie, but both sequels as well. If both sequels are not reflected in the park from opening day, they will certainly leave room to add on as the movies come out. Without a concrete deadline for the opening of Avatar Land, it could just as easily open after the release of the third movie, and include imagery from all three parts of the series right from the start.
The $400 million project is said to already be experiencing some delays, due to creative differences between Cameron and Walt Disney World’s Imagineers. Given that construction hasn’t yet begun, it is possible that the vague projected opening date of sometime in 2015 is a little overly ambitious. Other sources place the likely opening date for Avatar Land at somewhere between three and five years after construction actually begins. There is also talk of eventually creating other, similar Avatar themed areas in other Disney parks, though there do not seem to be any immediate plans to do so. Whether or not the idea is taken to other parks is probably dependent on what level of success the first Avatar Land experiences when it does officially open.
