The newest addition to Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park is not just a new attraction, but rather an entire new land as part of a massive expansion project that had been in the works for several years.  It is open now and here are 7 Reasons Why you MUST visit Pandora - The World of Avatar:

1. Pandora is home to the Best Attraction/Ride at Disney World

Disney World's new best attraction is called Avatar Flight of Passage and it has soared to the top of the Disney Must Do List.  This incredibly well-themed attraction takes you into the world of the Na'vi, links you with an Avatar, and allows you to ride on the back of a Banshee for an experience you will not soon forget.

This is the FastPass that you definitely want to get as Stand-By Line waits are consistently in the 2-3 hour range.

2. The theming is amazing (and very photogenic)!

The Valley of Mo'ara, as it is known, takes immersive theming to a new level for Disney World thanks to Joe Rohde and his team of talented Imagineers.  From floating mountains to flowers, plants, and animals this land is nothing like anything you have seen before.  Through the winding paths you will discover numerous opportunities to explore the scenic wonders and capture incredible photographs.

With scenery like this it is not difficult to imagine that you truly have transported yourself to Pandora!

3. The most awesome audio animatronic figure ever created lives here!

Within the Na'vi River Journey you will have the opportunity to discover a breakthrough in audio animatronic technology.  The Na'vi Shaman moves and sings in a manner that will have you memorized.  This is a long way from the original Tiki birds!

4.  There are some really cool drinks here

At the Pongu Pongu Outpost you will find some cool looking drinks to explore.  Whether you try the non-alcoholic Night Blossom that mixes limeade with apple and desert pear topped with passion fruit boba balls or the more potent Mo'ara Frozen Margarita with Sauza Commemorativo Anejo Tequilla with strawberry and blood orange flavor topped with strawberry boba balls, you will discover an exotic drink that tastes as good as it looks.

For fun you can also try the Hawkes' Grog Ale that is green in color and not just for St. Patrick's Day.

5. The food at Satu'li Canteen is really good.

For a totally different theme park dining experience you can try the food at the Satu'li Canteen.  Featured menu items include a "build your own bowl" concept where you pick your choice of Protein (Slow roasted grilled beef, wood-grilled chicken breast, sustainable fish fillet, or chili-spiced crispy fried tofu), Choose your Base (Quinoa & Vegetable Salad, Mixed whole grains & rice, Red & Sweet Potato Hash, or Romaine & Kale Salad), Finally you choose your sauce to complete the bowl (Charred Onion Chimichurri, black bean vinaigrette, or creamy herb dressing).

6. The place looks totally different at night and becomes even more awesome.

At night the Valley of Mo'ara comes alive and appears (and sounds) differently than the day time.  It makes a great reason to come back to enjoy the different look and feel of the land.  Also great Photopass opportunities to capture memories of your family in Pandora.

7.  Cool gift shop with Banshees!

The special banshee souvenir was the talk of the Disney fans as soon as this land opened. They sold out instantly every time they were restocked.

Although they are a little easier to obtain if you visit now, they are still really cool and definitely worth checking out.  You will also find a lot of other amazing items unique to Pandora at the Windtraders shop.

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: 

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!

Recently, at the D23 Expo in Japan, Disney had James Cameron and Joe Rohde announce some of the upcoming visions for the new Avatar based attractions that will be added to Disney's Animal Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

The video clip below shows both James Cameron, the writer and director known for such great films as: Titanic, The Abyss, The Terminator, Aliens, and Avatar, as well as, Joe Rohde, the Senior Vice President of Creative at Disney Imagineering and one of the lead designers of Disney's Animal Kingdom, talking about combining the world of Avatar, known as Pandora, and bringing it to Disney's Animal Kingdom as a transformational, immersive experience for guests.


Construction has begun to make the necessary space within what is currently known as Camp Minnie Mickey to prepare the space where the Avatar based version of Pandora will exist.

Here are more pictures of the current sketches of what may be coming:






The last picture shows James Cameron and Joe Rohde looking at early models.

This will be a major expansion to Disney's Animal Kingdom and give it a version of the original land of Mythical Creatures that it was originally designed to contain.

Disney's Animal Kingdom is already the most well themed of all of the Disney World Theme Parks, mostly in part to the hard work and relentless vision of Joe Rohde and it will be exciting to see what he can come up with to bring James Cameron's fantasy world of Avatar and Pandora to life.

TEA, the Themed Entertainment Association announced the winners of the 18th Annual Thea Awards, which recognize and honor excellence in the creation of extraordinary visitor experiences, attractions, exhibits and places.  Disney was well represented by garnering 4 awards including:

• THE BUZZ PRICE THEA AWARD
  Recognizing a Lifetime of Distinguished Achievements (formerly the Thea Lifetime Achievement Award)
  Joe Rohde, Walt Disney Imagineering
• THEA AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
  
  Star Tours - The Adventures Continue at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood
  Studios at Walt Disney World (Attraction Refresh)
• THEA AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
  The Magic, The Memories, and You! at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom
  (Show Spectacular)
   
• THEA AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
  
  Animation Magic in the Animator's Palate Restaurant aboard Disney Cruise Line's Ship - Disney Fantasy (Ingenious use of Technology)
  
  

Here is more information about these deserving recipients from the official TEA Press Release:

The Buzz Price Thea Award - Recognizing a Lifetime of Distinguished Achievements

(formerly the Thea Lifetime Achievement Award)
Joe Rohde, Walt Disney Imagineering


Joe Rohde is a 30-year veteran of The Walt Disney Company, starting his career as a model designer on Epcot, and continuing with projects for Disneyland Park in Anaheim, Calif.; Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla.; and Disneyland Paris. Joe led the team that conceptualized, designed and built Disney's Animal Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort. He continues to oversee new attractions for that park and is also responsible for the creative design and content of Aulani, A Disney Resort and Spa, at Ko Olina, O'ahu, Hawai'i, which debuted in August 2011.

The challenge of creating Disney's Animal Kingdom, a park with a strong wildlife conservation message, involved years of research and negotiation with constituents from the scientific community, the world of zoos, and representatives of indigenous communities involved in the stories created in the park. In the process of developing the park itself, Joe was instrumental in the development of the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, which has supported more than 180 nonprofit organizations in 111 countries totaling nearly $18 million.

Joe speaks regularly about design and narrative and has appeared at NASA, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the TED conference, Portland Creative conference, and has been the keynote speaker at SIGGRAPH in Boston and Yokohama, Japan, as well as many other venues. He is also a member of the Explorers Club.


Star Tours - The Adventures Continue at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood

Studios at Walt Disney World (Attraction Refresh)
This nomination recognizes the complete reimagining of Star Tours, the first simulator experience installed in a themed environment. The original attraction had been in operation since 1987; new technologies were available that could enhance the experience. At the same time, the Star Wars mythology has remained ever relevant to succeeding generations of fans. The challenge was to remain true to the vivid stories while making use of new technical tools and guest interactive capabilities.

The refreshed attraction has succeeded both operationally and with the extremely loyal Star Wars fan base. For the guests, the most compelling feature is the variable content that affords multiple storylines, locations and characters. This element of surprise is driving multi-generational audiences to return again and again to get a shot at exploring different vistas into many realms of the Star Wars Galaxy.

Comments from the Thea Awards Committee:

Today's audience expectations for a high tech science-fantasy world as renowned as Star Wars far surpass the analogue entertainment world that existed back in1987 when Disney originated this granddaddy of simulators that became an industry template. To achieve a breakthrough experience, all new "state of the art" 3D digital media systems were a given, but what really brings Star Tours-The Adventures Continueto life is a unique branching story structure employing multiple destinations and characters. This non-traditional storytelling device evokes curiosity by providing 54 potential show experiences resulting in a dramatic increase in attraction repeatability. To bring a layer of personalization and relevance, image capture systems are used to integrate riders into the varied story branches. All of this is fed into multiple motion programs designed for each random sequence, creating a multiplicity of kinetics for the 54 distinct profiles and unique real-time guest integrations. While the major components create the guest "wows", every nook and cranny along the pre-show queue likewise received new story elements and advanced special effects. This has extended the experience of this "galaxy far, far away" way beyond the doors of the Starspeeder 1000 and repositions the total experience firmly in a new century.



The Magic, The Memories, and You! at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom

(Show Spectacular)

A new nightly show at Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom, Florida. "The Magic, The Memories and You!" is a richly emotional and spectacular 10 minute show presentation. Using classic Disney icons and images, the show uses "mapped projection" to transform the castle into an ever-changing and magical canvas. In preparation for this nightly event, photographers have spent the day out in the park, capturing thousands of images of that day's guests having fun. Five hundred of these images are selected and incorporated into the show that night. The result? A show that is different at every performance and engages the audience in a unique way, and at a whole new level.

Comments from the Thea Awards Committee:
This show demonstrates excellence for the artistic and creative way that technology was utilized to create a memorable and compelling experience. Impressive as the technology is, the show is ultimately successful because it uses that technology, along with visual creativity, adept directorial pacing and showmanship together with a stirring musical score in an innovative and compelling way to create a most memorable, unique and emotionally fulfilling experience for its audience.


Animation Magic in the Animator's Palate Restaurant aboard Disney Cruise Line's Ship - Disney Fantasy (Ingenious use of Technology)


Animator's Palate on the Disney Fantasy brings the visual joy of Disney animation into the dining room with a new show called "Animation Magic." Guests are invited to draw a character of their own using a simple template on their placemat. After dinner, animated curtains are opened on screens and Sorcerer Mickey conjures guests' drawings - now fully animated and brought to life side-by-side with characters such as Mickey Mouse, Jiminy Cricket, Cinderella and Snow White in scenes from beloved Disney movies. At the conclusion of the show, Mickey returns to say "so long" to the guests and, as he does, credits roll onscreen showing each guest's name listed as a guest animator.

Comments from the Thea Awards Committee:
Delightful image capturing and video magic have made it possible for a guest's sketch to come to life moments after being drawn. The amazing animation, from a simple face expression to a complicated dance step, is made possible in this ingenious use of technology. Everyone from Grandpa to a child can be an "Animator" and see their drawings come alive. A refreshing new take on "interactive" without the typical monitor screen.

Thea Awards Nominating Committee
Brad Merriman (Management Resources) Chair
John Robinett (Economics at AECOM) Vice-Chair
Steve Thorburn (Thorburn Associates) Board Liaison
Karen McGee (BRC Imagination Arts) Coordinator
Marty Sklar (Marty Sklar Creative Inc.)
Monty Lunde (Technifex)
Bob Gurr (GurrDesign)
Tony Baxter (Walt Disney Imagineering)
Don Iwerks (Iwerks Entertainment founder)
Barry Upson (Barry Upson Company)
Yves Pepin
Bob Rogers (BRC Imagination Arts)
Bob Ward (Strategic Insights & Creative Imagination)
Kim Irvine (Walt Disney Imagineering)
George Wiktor (The GW Group)
Jeremy Railton (Entertainment Design Corp.)
Steve McIntyre (Anitech Systems)
Phil Hettema (The Hettema Group)
Dawn Hollingsworth (Zuzink)
Patricia MacKay (Ones and Zeros)
Larry Wyatt (MSI Design)


About TEA
The TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) is an international nonprofit alliance founded in 1991 and based in Burbank, Calif. TEA represents some 7,000 creative specialists, from architects to designers, technical specialists to master planners, scenic fabricators to artists, and builders to feasibility analysts working in more than 650 firms in 30 US states and 40 different countries. TEA presents the annual Thea Awards and the TEA Summit and hosts the annual SATE Conference (Storytelling, Architecture, Technology, Experience). TEA also produces a variety of print and electronic publications, including the TEA/AECOM Theme Index, TEA Project Development Guidelines, TEA Annual & Directory and Thea Awards Program magazine.

About the Thea Awards

Like the TEA, the Thea Awards, sponsored by Economics at AECOM, were created to bring recognition to achievement, talent and personal excellence within the themed entertainment industry. From a modest beginning in 1994, the Thea Awards have become internationally recognized as a symbol of excellence. The public is welcome to attend the black-tie 18th Annual Thea Awards Gala, which will be held March 17, 2012 at the Disneyland Hotel, Disneyland Resort, Anaheim Calif. USA. Tickets may be ordered online at teaconnect.org. The name of the award is a play on three words: the first is "Thea," the Greek goddess from whom all light emanates. Thea was the mother of Helios (the sun), Eos (the dawn), and Selene (the moon). The second key word is "Theater," a word derived from the goddess Thea. The third word, of course, is TEA, the name of our association.