Years before Disney acquired 20th Century Studios and made James Cameron’s Avatar one of its assets, the two worked cooperatively on a theme park land. “Pandora: the World of Avatar” immersed visitors to Florida’s Disney’s Animal Kingdom park in the first fully themed area, where even the stores, restaurants, and cast members stayed in character. It set the tone for Disney parks to do similar areas with Star Wars (Galaxy’s Edge, on both coasts) and Marvel (Avengers Campus, Disney’s California Adventure). Yet Disneyland California remains bereft of Avatar presence. Save a couple of plushies and T-shirts at the main store.
Now that Disney owns the Avatar movies outright, that’s about to change. On a Disney investors’ conference call (via Deadline), chairman Bob Iger announced Avatar would come to the original Disney park. “He called it the ‘Avatar Experience’ and said details will be ‘coming soon.'”
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West coast fans probably shouldn’t get their hopes up for something like the Flight of Passage ride, though. There’s little space in Disneyland for that, and it would take a while to build in Disney’s California Adventure. More likely, Disneyland will do what it did after Disney acquired Lucasfilm and Marvel. Namely, costume and prop exhibits in the former Innoventions building, which currently remains mostly inactive. Then, years later, a proper themed area. Long-term, Disney’s California Adventure could easily sacrifice several of its more generic rides like Goofy’s Sky School to make room. Or re-theme the Hollywood Backlot area that’s mostly empty space.
Whatever form the attraction takes, this is Disney, so we can surely expect a lot more merchandise regardless. What do you hope to see in the theme parks from Avatar? Let us know in comments.
Recommended Reading: Avatar The Way of Water The Visual Dictionary
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