Universal gained 36%* more guests when it opened the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Harry’s fans and tourists had allowed to surge Universal’s amount of guests. With Universal’s new Transformers, Despicable Me 2 and Harry Potter expansions, fans of the theme parks in Orlando are waiting to see what Disney puts out next. J.K. Rowling had denied Disney the rights to make a Harry Potter area as she prefered Universal’s more true design than Disney’s.
With the success of Disney’s Frozen guests are already lining up for up to 6 hours to meet Disney’s Anna and Elsa. In addition there is an Avatar expansion in the works. The Avatar Expansion will be entered in the Animal Kingdom rather than the historic Magic Kingdom pictured above. The Avatar expansion will be the largest expansion Animal Kingdom has seen ever. The land is set to be open in 2017.
The concept art for the new expansion.
The Pandora inspired land is being worked on by James Cameron, Lightstorm Entertainment and the Walt Disney Imagineering Team.
The groundbreaking of the Pandora inspired land.
The new Avatar/Pandora inspired land seems to be quite exciting and refreshing. It seems like a place to be on your list to visit once it opens. There are great opportunities for creativity. Avatar being on of the most highest making movies of all time, it seems like a worthy investment. There would be a great amount of possibilities.The film was also well received on Rotten Tomatoes, scoring an 83% approval rate from critics. This would be a great way to draw older guests to come to the park. Parents may also finally have something close to their demographic in Disney World. This may give parents a reason to go to Disney World besides their kids which would be helpful in gaining annual and frequent guests.
One problem with this new expansion is that Avatar is rated PG-13 by MPAA. This may be a setback as Disney World’s main demographic is children. Many younger children may have not seen it due to it’s rating and to it’s release date of 2009. It’s opening would be in three years time, 2017. Children may not be familiar with the film as adults may have been. Children might be less excited or encouraged to go to this specific land compared to others relating to the animated movies they most likely would see.
In addition, Avatar would not seem to age well as in comparison to the animated features park areas are based off of. Despite its record breaking success in the box office, Avatar does not have the same cultural impact and importance as the line of animated features and franchises that Disney already tapped in. It doesn’t even have the same cultural importance as Harry Potter or Jurassic Park themes in Universal.
The Avatar land seems to be a great idea. There is so much potential in the unique Pandora universe. The concept art for the land is stunning. It is movie loved by audiences and critics. However, it just doesn’t have the universal, family appeal that Disney and it’s parks are known for.
Along with the new Avatar inspired land, Disney will be adding a Snow White themed ride.
This might be in response to the closing down of Snow White’s Scary Adventures. The
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is coming out this year. It is a family friendly coaster to be
operated in Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom.
Works Sited
*Garcia, Jason. "Wizarding World of Harry Potter Powers Universal Orlando to Record Results." Orlando Sentinel. N.p., 15 Oct. 2010. Web. 02 June 2014.
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