5 Attractions We Want/Expect To See in ‘Avatar Land’

It’s official, the biggest movie of all time (yes, I dare to namedrop) will be cemented further into our popular culture consciousness with its own section in Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom.
Visitors to Orlando’s Universal parks will already be familiar with Islands of Adventure’s Marvel, Jurassic Park and the recently unveiled Harry Potter theme sections.

But what we’re all wondering is what exactly will we be seeing in these new attractions?
Almost certainly there will be a trademark ride or two (Islands of Adventure’s Marvel zone boasts a Hulk coaster and a 3D Spiderman ride). Around the park are ‘walk-throughs’ (basically decorated corridors or a path through a garden that tell a story), live shows and all the mod-cons you’d expect in a theme park (photo opportunities, gift shops and fast food expected as always). In the case of Avatar, it can safely be said that the overriding novelty probably won’t be on gut level thrills (which there will certainly be in some fashion), but on the marketing buzzword the movie promised: immersion.
In fact, it could be strongly argued that it wasn’t Avatar’s garden variety action scenes that thrilled audiences, it was the exploration of the planet Pandora that enabled so many repeat viewings.

In the spirit of anticipation, we’d like to present a few hypothetical, but nonetheless exciting ideas for the new park.

1. Full Scale Animatronic Thanator (or other Pandoran life).
This may be more in line with wishful thinking than what will probably transpire in actuality, but if there is a novelty to Cameron’s Pandoran creatures, it’s their scale. True, their size in the film is only really seen in comparison to the Na’vi and not really in comparison to human scale. Therefore to be in the presence of any of the creatures as a human would be stunning; ‘how big exactly is a Hammerhead Titanothere?’ ‘What is the wingspan of a Great Leonopteryx in relation to a human?’
On a movie/TV screen we only get a vague idea of scale (given shot changes from wide to close up) but to have these things in tangible reality is unquestionably exciting.

2. Bioluminescent Rainforest.
An attraction including physical versions of the glowing plants featured so memorably in the film would undoubtedly be the most rewarding aspect of the park. According to The Wrap, Cameron states that “Avatar” contains “a number of worlds, or what I think of as the biomes of that planet.”  Biomes as it happens are different ecosystems, naturally then we can assume these will be integral in being ‘transported’ to the world of Pandora. One can imagine this would probably resemble the Biosphere 2 located in Oracle, Arizona: essentially a large greenhouse maintaining a tropical ecosystem. In the case of Avatar’s rainforests, the attraction will probably take advantage of the day and nightime conditions featured in the film. Whether or not this will be moderated in terms of artificial controlled light or natural sunlight  is up in the air. Still, we can imagine a late stroll through the glowing flora and fauna ensuring some wicked evenings at the park .

3. Na’vi Culture.
Now before you scoff at the very premise of gift kiosks flogging Omaticaya-themed beaded jewellery, picture the following. A Na’vi chieftain (or olo’eyktan if we’re to preserve authenticity) before a campfire expounds upon folklore of warriors and creatures of yore, in an atmospheric light show with live (or puppeteered) performers. Naturally this would heighten the Na’vi ‘cultural experience for the audience, but crucially it would enable a revival of the work by renowned choreographer Lula Washington that had been put into Avatar’s tribal dance scenes, many of which saw the cutting room floor (the remaining dances  include the resurrection scenes at the Tree of Souls).
Although, the fact that the Na’vi are roughly 10 feet tall does pose an issue in terms of scale, not to mention the many fanboy/fangirl attempts to cosplay as Na’vi using body paint or sometimes latex appliances, unfortunately many of which only justify Cameron’s decision to wait for CG advancement than attempt Star Trek style prosthetics. Certainly, the presentation of the blue race could pretty much be a deal breaker for the park if even moderately unconvincing and let’s face it, buff blue dudes on stilts ain’t gonna’ cut it.

4. Floating Moantains.
For the sake of scale this would be impressive as a physical location, admittedly from an engineering perspective it would be a challenge to hide the struts/wires required to keep an object of the required size in position and maintain the illusion of weightlessness.

5. Pandora Safari.
More or less encompassing everything discussed above in a single attraction. If Cameron and Disney’s ‘Imagineer’s have anything similar in mind, it would certainly be a ride that would employ Avatar’s 3D stereoscopic effects and digital effects used in the film. If we picture something similar to Epcot’s Soarin’: a giant simulator ride utilising an IMAX screen in order to simulate flight over various USA landmarks such as The Grand Canyon or San Francisco. Not only would something like this be relevent to Avatar, tying into the film’s opening monologue (“I started having these dreams of flying”) but also enabling the chance to glide through the Floating Mountains alongside Banshee’s and maybe even over a herd of stampeding Sturmbeest (as seen in the Special Edition cut of the film). Although in hindsight, with so much 3D already on the market, and probably much more come 2014 (that is if current industry prognosticators are wrong in their declaration of the death of modern 3D), will there still be a novelty for 3D rides by then?

In conclusion, how the park’s attractions will be technically realised will depend on what technology is employed. It would be arguably more thrilling to see any of the attractions as more than a 3D simulator experience (Universal Studios Hollywood’s recent King Kong 360 3D ride is an example of a primarily 3D based ride), we all would want to see them as physical attractions. Anyone who has been lucky enough to experience Universal and Disney’s rides such as Revenge of the Mummy or Twilight Zone: Tower of Terror will realise, attractions like these encapsulate the film going experience as we used to remember it. When the T-Rex in Jurassic Park was in fact a life-size robot, when stunts in movies were amazing feats and not simply digitally replaced actors obscured by handheld cameras. In fact, it could be strongly argued that the talent and techniques involved in realising such iconic creations in the 80’s and 90’s is now being employed by Disney’s ‘Imagineers’ and alike for physical attractions.

The park will begin construction in 2013 and will open in Animal Kingdom around 2014-2015, clearly programmed for the release of either of Avatar’s two back-to-back sequels. According to Cameron we’ll also be seeing elements of the sequels in the planned attractions, this certainly indicates new creatures and environments alongside ones we’re familiar with.

On a side note, regarding the impact of the backlash to the film and its impact on this new development? Put it this way: Mark Kermode in his new book The Good, The Bad and the Multiplex recites an anecdote of his visit the Waterworld stunt show at Universal Studios Hollywood, the film was famously a gigantic flop and yet the auditorium of the stunt show is packed, so much so that seats are snatched up in a second. And that was for Waterworld, a movie most of the audience hadn’t seen. Here we have Avatar, a movie that most of us paid to see, in our droves. Fundementally, one would have to be pretty cynical to deny that the sounds and images in Avatar are ripe for translation as functioning, physical attractions. If the film promised the experience of a journey via 3D and a big screen, then if there is any sense in the creation of ‘Avatar Land’ (or whatever it will be called) then this is a chance to realise the sights, scents and textures of the movie. Preferably more than just a 3D simulator (still, that would be cool as well).