Pandora - The World of Avatar is set to open this Summer at Disney's Animal Kingdom, but here are some images just captured to show the progress of construction.  The above picture shows a construction wall at the entrance to the new Pandora - The World of Avatar section of Disney's Animal Kingdom and a glimpse of the impressive floating mountains that were made famous in the movie.

Disney World guests are getting ready to step into what promises to be an immersive environment that will transport them into the world that James Cameron created with the help of both James Cameron and his team combined with the talents of Joe Rohde and the Disney Imagineers.

 

There are two highly touted attraction that will become must do's for guests:

• The family friendly Na’vi River Journey will send guests down a sacred river hidden within a bioluminescent rainforest. Their journey will end in an unforgettable encounter with a Na’vi Shaman, a figure who has a deep connection to the life force of Pandora. 
• The Avatar Flight of Passage excursion will offer the jaw-dropping experience of riding on a Banshee over the world of Pandora.

Shown above are different angles of the construction of the giant show building and the floating mountains of Pandora.  These can be seen by Animal Kingdom visitors, but you cannot get any closer to them at this point in time.

Excitement builds to see if the amazing Joe Rohde who led the original design team for the Animal Kingdom theme park again succeed with his skill at creating detail and story filled attractions and spaces that transport guests into the heart of the stories.

Things will be changing dramatically at Disney's Animal Kingdom starting on April 22nd (aka Earth Day 2016!)  The Disney World theme park that has typically closed as the sun went down will now provide a compelling reason to stay well into the evening hours!

Rivers Of Light

The first, immediately noticeable change will come in the form of the first night time show in the park's 18 year history.  The new 'Rivers Of Light' show will now become the signature end of the day event at Disney's Animal Kingdom set to rival the Magic Kingdom's Wishes, Epcot's Illuminations, and Disney's Hollywood Studios' Fantasmic!



For those of you that have visited recently, you have probably seen the construction that has been taking place surrounding the water that is located on the Asia & Dinoland side of the park.  Unlike Epcot's Illuminations that only provide standing locations around the water, this show will have a large number of seats built into the waterfront for prime viewing of the Rivers Of Light.

Light, Water, Fire, & Animal Spirits!

Disney Imagineers have created a night time setting that is set to transform the entire theme park into a totally different experience from the day.  It will all start at the iconic Tree Of Life and manifest itself throughout the park, drawing guests to the Rivers Of Light performance that will take place on the water and into the sky.



Joe Rohde narrates the short video explaining the emotions and sense of family that this new show will evoke.

More Attractions To Come!

This is just the beginning for Disney's Animal Kingdom in terms of nighttime offerings.  Along with the new signature end of night show will be a new evening version of the Kilimanjaro Safaris and ultimately the addition of Pandora - World of Avatar  which will bring even more options and attractions into the evening hours.

We are excited about these changes to the best themed Walt Disney World Resort park.  There will now be several reasons to stay all day and into the night to explore all that Animal Kingdom has to offer!

Construction has been underway, but few details have emerged regarding the massive project that will bring Pandora and the world of AVATAR to Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park.  Recently Disney shared some of the details around this much talked about, and sometimes polarizing project.

AVATAR Brings New Technology and Amazing Visuals To Disney World

The incorporation of James Cameron's vision of Pandora with the detail oriented design team at Disney led by Joe Rohde, is bringing something never before seen at any Disney Theme Park.

Here are some of the comments posted by Bruce Vaughn, Chief Creative Executive, Walt Disney Imagineering shared on the Disney Parks Blog:

Since we first broke ground last year at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, we’ve been looking forward to welcoming guests into Pandora, the mythical land based on the blockbuster film AVATAR. We’re having a lot of fun dreaming up ways to bring to life the land’s iconic elements from the magnificent floating mountains to the interactive bioluminescent forest, and even to the soaring banshees. 

This creative process has been one of the most dynamic and collaborative ones we’ve ever undertaken. It began when our then-Chairman of Disney Parks and Resorts proposed to James Cameron that together we might recreate the world of Pandora at Disney. Since that time, our creative development team, led by Joe Rohde, has been working hand-in-hand with Jim, Jon Landau and their team of artists and designers at Lightstorm on every aspect of this project—from overall design to the smallest—yet crucially important—details. And along each step of this process, Tom, as well as Disney CEO Bob Iger have been actively involved in helping guide the creative vision that is shaping the extraordinary world we’re building.  

We all recently got together at our offices in Glendale, California and walked through the fantastic progress on the whole land—including the awesome experience of seeing Pandora while riding on a banshee.

When he was with us, Jim said, “I think one of the things that people loved about the movie is that they felt as if they had visited Pandora… now, thanks to Disney’s amazing Imagineers, people are going to truly experience Pandora firsthand. From the details in the plants to the production and design, extraordinary thought and care has gone into this entire world. The teams have really created something special, and it’s not going to be like anything else.” 

This project is really pushing the boundaries of what is possible. But one of the things that makes Disney Parks so special is that it takes all of our Cast—across the segment—to really bring these experiences to life. We were glad to be able to share our work with the creative teams and thought you might want to see it, too. Here’s a sneak peek of what we showed them: 

One of the best shows in all of Disney World has been closed recently due to the construction in Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park.  As construction has begun for the new AVATAR themed land, the Festival of Lion show had stopped since it's theater was going to be destroyed.

New Harambe Theater (picture from the Disney Parks Blog)

Fortunately a new theater has been built in Harambe, the African village in Animal Kingdom.  This is probably a better fit for the show anyway then the previous location in Camp Minnie Mickey.

Harambe Theater Construction

Recently the Harambe Theater looked like the picture above as construction continued.  The new theater is located behind the Tusker House Restaurant..  If you are traveling from Discovery Island into Africa and Harambe it will be on your left as soon as you cross the bridge.

Festival Of The Lion King Show at Disney's Animal Kingdom

The Festival Of The Lion King Show has been a Must Do attraction since Disney's Animal Kingdom opened on April 22, 1998.  This 30 minute live performance features singers, dancers, acrobats, aerial performers, audio animatronic characters and much more.  It has been a fan favorite and fortunately will continue in it's new home.

Welcome To Harambe!

We welcome the Festival Of The Lion King to its new home the Harambe Theater!  We are looking forward to the show restarting in June 2014 and continuing on for many years to come, as it delights new and returning Disney World guests to this spectacular show!

The Magic Kingdom Fantasyland Expansion is almost completed!  Shortly the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train will open, thus completing this multi-year expansion that has totally reshaped the look and feel of Fantasyland.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Fantasyland's newest roller coaster is not to be confused with the Barnstormer.  The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train looks like a coaster that the teens and adults will love.

As we wait not so patiently for the official opening, we have taken a number of pictures of the portions of the track that are on the outside of the main building of the attraction.  A good portion is also contained inside as well.  It is obvious that there are going to be a number of times where you go inside the Mine and then come outside and then return inside again.

One of the best features of this attraction is the lush landscaping the is incorporated into the mine and surrounding track.  Disney chose to utilize a lot of real trees to build into the landscaping and it looks great.

Roller coaster fans will not that the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is now the 4th Roller Coaster at the Magic Kingdom and Disney World's 6th Coaster.

Enjoy the pictures and let us know what you think!











The transformation to the land and area is amazing.  The entire attraction and grounds are so well done it feels like it has been there since the beginning and blends in seamlessly with Beast's Castle and grounds.  It is hard to believe that it looked like the construction photo below not that long ago.

Whether you love the idea or hate it, expansion at Disney's Animal Kingdom is certainly news.

Construction has officially gotten underway for the building of the new AVATAR inspired land in the area that once housed Camp Minnie Mickey.  This James Cameron joint venture with Disney Imagineers will attempt to add a portion of Disney's Animal Kingdom that had been on the drawing board since the park's inception.


The "Beastly Kingdom" section that was envisioned to contain mythical creatures in some form or fashion is finally being built.  You can still to this day see evidence of that in the Disney's Animal Kingdom sign that greets you upon entrance to the park.  Look at the creatures that are part of the sign (click on picture to enlarge if needed) and you will notice some mythical creatures.

 It is doubtful that anyone would have expected that when it was finally built it would be transporting Disney Guests to another planet.

Here is the video from the Disney Parks Blog that shows some of what is planned.



Tell us what you think of the AVATAR inspired land coming to be part of the Walt Disney World Resort!

The Walt Disney World Resort is undergoing a major construction project in the Magic Kingdom Theme Park where Fantasyland is receiving its largest expansion ever.  Recently the first phase of the expanded Fantasyland has opened including the 1st part of the new Dumbo The Flying Elephant attraction and the revitalized Barnstormer Roller Coaster Starring The Great Goofini.  Disney World has now released the expected opening dates for the remainder of the new attractions.

Opening Dates For New Fantasyland Attractions:

July 2012:
The next phase of Storybook Circus including the 2nd half of Dumbo The Flying Elephant attraction and the Casey Jr. Splash n' Soak Station.

Holiday Season 2012:
Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid, Enchanted Tales with Belle, Be Our Guest Restaurant, Gaston’s Tavern, and Ariel’s Grotto.

2014:
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Ride

Can't Wait!
Which attraction are you looking forward to experiencing?  Is it one of the new rides or perhaps the innovative new Table Service Restaurant.  Leave a comment to let us know!

The largest expansion ever for Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom Theme Park at the Walt Disney World Resort is taking shape with the first phase now open.  As you will see in the pictures posted in this article, great progress can also be seen on the remainder of the project.


Storybook Circus
The first phase of the Fantasyland Expansion to open is part of the new Storybook Circus area.  Magic Kingdom fans will notice that this is located in the area previously occupied by Mickey's Toontown Fair.  Guests can enjoy part of the new Dumbo attraction, although the entire double Dumbo is not complete.


The Barnstormer featuring the Great Goofini is now completed and guests can enjoy this excellent beginner roller coaster that is very well themed.


Construction Continues
Progress can be seen on the other, as yet to be opened attractions in the new Fantasyland area.  The above picture shows what will become the Journey Of The Little Mermaid attraction.


You can compare this to the Disney World Fantasyland Construction Update from October 2011.  There has been a lot of progress made throughout the area.  You can now notice the beginnings of the structure that will become the Seven Dwarfs Mine Ride.


For Disney Dining lovers the new Be Our Guest Restaurant and Gaston's Tavern are much anticipated additions to Fantasyland.  The Be Our Guest Restaurant, which will be located within Beast's Castle, will provide another Table Service Dining location within the Magic Kingdom and promises to provide an interactive dining experience with state of the art technology.


No dates have been given yet as to the opening of the next phase, but it is expected to happen later during 2012.  The expansion project will not be completed until 2013.

Work continues on the new attractions slated to open in phases starting in 2012 in Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom.  Each month there is more to see as the buildings and structures now are taking shape and beginning to look like the drawings and renderings that have been shared by Disney.


Magic Kingdom Fantasyland Expansion
Perhaps it is best to start with a drawing of what the expanded Fantasyland will look like, so that the buildings under construction make more sense.




From the above view you can see how close this attraction is to the Pinocchio Village Haus.


Nearby is Beast's Castle which already has the features at the top in place.

The building shown above is part of where the new Double Dumbo The Flying Elephant attraction will be housed.

Wait Impatiently For 2012
Magic Kingdom fans will need to wait until 2012 until these new Fantasyland attractions will start to open.  Tentative opening dates have not been announced yet, but it has been declared that the attractions will open in phases and not all at once.

Stayed tuned to Only WDWorld for updates and news regarding the Fantasyland Expansion and opening days for the attractions as they become available.