Major Disney refurb and construction completion dates worldwide

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Not literally forget it's there but I personally don't think people would go out of their way to go to animal kingdom for Pandora where as I'm sure people will go to Hollywood studios for Star Wars land.

Pandora will be more of a "oh cool they have an Avatar area" kind of thing
I will at least the first few times but I'm in the minority and like what they are doing to my favorite Disney park. I am also not the typical Disney guest.
 
I will at least the first few times but I'm in the minority and like what they are doing to my favorite Disney park. I am also not the typical Disney guest.

I agree. I am actually looking forward to Avatar coming. I think the rides will be a welcome addition to AK. They will also tie in nicely with the night time show because of all the lights and colors.
 
Thanks for the thread, this is great! I will be following along.
3. Frozen ever after- set to open this spring (May-June)
I had heard this too and hope it is true! I will be in WDW in July and hope this will open already when I'm there. I know I will definitely need a FP though...that should be interesting.
Speaking of FP+ I am wondering how the new Frozen ride will fit into the tier system at EPCOT. Do you have any idea?
4. Soarin refurb and third theater- closes Jan. 4th for Summer 2016 opening (Rumored June 2nd)
Oh my gosh if this is true I will be so happy!!! It would make sense for them to open it back up before the big summer crowds coming.
 


Thanks for the thread, this is great! I will be following along.

I had heard this too and hope it is true! I will be in WDW in July and hope this will open already when I'm there. I know I will definitely need a FP though...that should be interesting.
Speaking of FP+ I am wondering how the new Frozen ride will fit into the tier system at EPCOT. Do you have any idea?

Oh my gosh if this is true I will be so happy!!! It would make sense for them to open it back up before the big summer crowds coming.
My guess would be the frozen ride will be tier 1 for sure. The meet and greet could go tier 1 or tier 2.
 
Not literally forget it's there but I personally don't think people would go out of their way to go to animal kingdom for Pandora where as I'm sure people will go to Hollywood studios for Star Wars land.

Pandora will be more of a "oh cool they have an Avatar area" kind of thing

Whether or not people will go will come down to how worthwhile the experience is. Pandora might not draw people in the way that Diagon Alley does, but an e-ticket is an e-ticket. If the ride is solid, and the overall environment works for people, then people will spend time there. It's not like BTMRR is based on some hugely beloved IP, but it's popular enough.
 


Not literally forget it's there but I personally don't think people would go out of their way to go to animal kingdom for Pandora where as I'm sure people will go to Hollywood studios for Star Wars land.

Pandora will be more of a "oh cool they have an Avatar area" kind of thing

Personally, I think this is the least accurate thing I've read in awhile. It'll have a huge impact. I've been following this project closely and got an up and close look at D23 Expo. It's going to be incredible.
 
I agree. I am actually looking forward to Avatar coming. I think the rides will be a welcome addition to AK. They will also tie in nicely with the night time show because of all the lights and colors.

I agree also. I cannot wait until this land opens. When I was younger, I was always more focused on the ride experience. Now, as I age, I find that the theming and immersion is that much more important to me. And for that reason, the addition of Avatar will be on a new level for me. Floating mountains, glowing bioluminescence in the Pandoran forest. I just can't wait to walk around this area, with the experience at night being unlike pretty much any other park in Orlando. I have always had the highest regard for the theming at DAK in Harambe and Anandadpur. This expansion will be no different.
 
I thought the best pick was one of those tweeted by Rohde. He had a guest eye view shot that helped greatly to give the model a relatable sense of scale and presence. I've not been able to find it since the D23 reveal.
 
Personally, I think this is the least accurate thing I've read in awhile. It'll have a huge impact. I've been following this project closely and got an up and close look at D23 Expo. It's going to be incredible.

It will have a huge impact on Animal Kingdom but I don't think international guests would go to WDW for Avatarland where as I think they would for Star Wars
 
While I understand the mixed feelings about the movies, it seems people are already assuming that the rides themselves will be tier B attractions. If you took Avatar's name off the attractions and just indicated there will be a richly themed fantasy type land with 2 new headline type rides at a Disney park, how much excitement do you think that would generate? While the tie to the movie may or may not be a hit, I suspect that the land itself , with 2 new state of the art headline attractions, will be a huge draw and very crowded for quite a while. In fact, it may be on the border of unbearable until Star Wars land opens. While people assume Frozen will be a mob scene, Avatar land will be of a size and scope that significantly dwarfs anything WDW has released in quite a while and will be significantly better quality than Norway. I am actually very excited about Pandora and what it will bring to Disney.
 
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It will have a huge impact on Animal Kingdom but I don't think international guests would go to WDW for Avatarland where as I think they would for Star Wars

Apples and Oranges. People travel to Disney World mainly to see the Magic Kingdom and the rest is gravy. Star Wars may change that a little but there are very few properties with that power. Nobody travels to Disney World just to do Tower of Terror, and yet it is unquestionably a draw once guests are there.

I don't think anyone including Disney ever expected the Avatar attraction to be an international, or even domestic draw. Its function is to help fix a park, expand its hours, increase its ride capacity and move the perception of that park from half day to full day. If the rides are decent it will do that and more.
 
Apples and Oranges. People travel to Disney World mainly to see the Magic Kingdom and the rest is gravy. Star Wars may change that a little but there are very few properties with that power. Nobody travels to Disney World just to do Tower of Terror, and yet it is unquestionably a draw once guests are there.

I don't think anyone including Disney ever expected the Avatar attraction to be an international, or even domestic draw. Its function is to help fix a park, expand its hours, increase its ride capacity and move the perception of that park from half day to full day. If the rides are decent it will do that and more.
Just to play the "devil's advocate" here, will two additional rides really increase the park from half a day to a full day? I think the new night time show might help. In all honesty, I am probably in the minority as Animal Kingdom is my wife's and my least favorable park. I can see us going in mid-afternoon and staying for the light show, but for us (only), I don't see it as a full day park.
 
Just to play the "devil's advocate" here, will two additional rides really increase the park from half a day to a full day? I think the new night time show might help. In all honesty, I am probably in the minority as Animal Kingdom is my wife's and my least favorable park. I can see us going in mid-afternoon and staying for the light show, but for us (only), I don't see it as a full day park.


THe belief that AK is a half day park is, in my opinion, misguided. If you are only looking for thrill rides, then I get where you are coming from. But AK has more than 18 attractions that appeal to my kids, and they have, at times, spent more than two hours at the dinosaur dig alone. We never finish AK in one day, and usually it takes 2-3 to do everything that our family wants to do. In contrast, we usually finish DHS in 4-5 hours, depending on the wait times for the 4 e-ticket rides. Avatar is part of expanding the park hours with something that will grow AK into a more than one day park for more people, not just those with younger kids (like us).
 
THe belief that AK is a half day park is, in my opinion, misguided. If you are only looking for thrill rides, then I get where you are coming from. But AK has more than 18 attractions that appeal to my kids, and they have, at times, spent more than two hours at the dinosaur dig alone. We never finish AK in one day, and usually it takes 2-3 to do everything that our family wants to do. In contrast, we usually finish DHS in 4-5 hours, depending on the wait times for the 4 e-ticket rides. Avatar is part of expanding the park hours with something that will grow AK into a more than one day park for more people, not just those with younger kids (like us).
If you're looking for thrill rides in general WDW isn't really your best place to go. I love AK it is my favorite park right now but I even recognize it isn't a full park. Yes there is 18 attractions but those 18 attractions don't work for everyone.
 
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