Nearly two years ago, Disney announced plans to add a new Avatar land to Disney’s Animal Kingdom that would be based on the James Cameron film. After months of teases, leaked plans, and rumors of its demise, Disney has finally unveiled concept art and a timeline for the new Avatar attractions and world of Pandora.
Disney’s version of Pandora will bring to life James Cameron’s world of floating mountains, bioluminescent rainforests, and soaring Banshees. When it opens in 2017, the new Avatar land will be the largest expansion to Disney’s Animal Kingdom since the theme park opened in 1998. Avatar land will use the space used by Camp Minnie-Mickey, which has been home to several character meet and greets as well as the Festival of the Lion King stage show.
From what we know so far, Avatar land will include two attractions, an E-ticket flying ride (similar to Soarin’ Over California) and a C-ticket boat ride.
Soarin’ Over Avatar
The ‘E-ticket’ is an enhanced version of Soarin’ and will be a massive, multi-level show building with four independent theaters. The ride will take guests on a 3D flight over Pandora. Disney is known for adding elements like scents, blasts of air, and water sprays to enhance the experience of 3D movies. It is entirely likely that these types of effects will be used in this new 3D ride experience.
“It’s a Pandora World”
The second attraction will be a family-friendly, slow moving boat ride (similar to the design of “it’s a small world”). The plans that leaked last year had this labeled as a C-ticket ride, which indicates the ride will be fun, but won’t be a knock your socks off thrill ride (like Pirates of the Caribbean). This should be a good alternative for families with children who are not tall enough to experience the Soarin’ Over Pandora attraction.
Animal Kingdom After Dark
Disney also announced plans to add a new nighttime show that will feature live music, floating lanterns, water screens, and animal imagery along Discovery River. The plans for evening entertainment will be a big shift in how the park operates, as it typically closes several hours earlier than the other Walt Disney World theme parks. The park has also never had a fireworks show to avoid disturbing the animals. Because of this, the new evening show will likely rely on projections, water fountains, and other light effects to prevent excessive noise.
Disney keeps the animals on a strict schedule to avoid stress, so it is unlikely that Disney will keep the animal experiences open late into the evening. Over the years, the theme park has added several rides like Expedition Everest that do not include live animals. Disney will likely keep the non-animal attractions open in the evening, which should still provide plenty to do.
Grand Opening in 2017
With a planned opening in 2017, we should expect to see Disney breaking ground on the project very soon. The world of Pandora isn’t necessarily the most exciting concept for a new Disney experience. But if the concept art is any indication, the new Avatar land should be full of interesting visual elements and will be a fun addition to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Concept art via Walt Disney Imagineering
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