Disney reveals plans for huge Avatar theme park land – with new water raft ride
DISNEY has unveiled plans for a brand new Avatar-themed land set to open at Disneyland.
The park said the idea was one of the ways the parks were looking to “bring stories to life” with new immersive experiences.
A new concept image was released by CEO Bob Iger during The Walt Disney Company Annual Meeting of Shareholders.
In a recorded message, Bob explained how the California park’s “imagineers” are working on bringing the land to life, although plans aren’t set in stone quite yet.
He said: “You’ve heard me mention before our intention to bring Avatar to Disneyland and our imagineers have been hard at work dreaming up what guests might expect.
“And today, I’m today, I’m excited to give you a first look at the creative inspiration for this possible new destination.”
The image is pretty non-committal in terms of features for the land, however it does show park-goers wandering through scenes from Pandora, the magical and colourful land from the Avatar movies.
What’s more, others can be seen in the distance riding on what appears to be a water raft ride, others are depicted flying on potential attractions high above the ground.
The Disney Parks blog shared the picture and explained that this was just one of the ways in which they were looking to create new experiences for guests at the various Disney parks across the world.
They wrote: “Avatar is the latest example of how we are looking to create new and innovative ways to bring our powerful stories to life.
“Over the past decade, we’ve delivered massive, immersive experiences at our destinations around the world, including new lands and attractions based on Star Wars, the Avengers, Pixar and more.”
It is by no means the only iron they have in the fire however, with Iger also discussing the possibility of other Disney favourites that could also pop up at the theme parks.
According to Blooloop, the CEO added: “With such a deep well of untapped IP and buildable land, there are so many experiences that have yet to be brought to our parks around the world.
“We have a lot of projects in development. Many of them are known to us. But we disclose these at a cadence and when we really feel we’re ready, and we have something more tangible to show people.”
Avatar fans can already enjoy an experience based on the popular films at Disney World‘s Animal Kingdom theme park.
Guests on the Avatar Flight of Passage ride are invited to “climb atop a winged mountain banshee for a breathtaking 3D flight over Pandora’s otherworldly landscape”.
Deals for Disneyland trips
If you click on a link in this box, we may earn affiliate revenue
Flights from London Gatwick to LAX from £298pp
Hotels in Anaheim from £52 per room with booking.com
Airbnbs in Anaheim from £27 per night
Attraction tickets for Disney CA from £97 per day
Car Hire from £37 per day
It’s not just stateside where Disney has announced new developments, with Europe’s Disneyland Paris in line for a brand new Frozen land.
The new world is due to open in the not-too-distant future, possibly even in 2025, although no opening date has been officially revealed as of it.
Once it is complete, it will have Elsa’s castle, which will sit next to a huge lake, with plenty of Frozen-themed attractions.
There will also be a new restaurant, with views over the kingdom of Arendelle and new shops built in Nordic-themed huts.
Elsa, Anna and Olaf will be found milling around for character meet and greets too.
Meanwhile, these are the big mistakes that guests always make when they visit Disney theme parks.
And these are the plans for the brand new US Disney theme park, with lands, rides, hotels and more.