Pandora: The World of Avatar

**Pandora: The World of Avatar** is a themed area at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida.

The area is based upon the fictional exoplanetary moon Pandora from James Cameron's *Avatar* film series and set a generation after the film events. Pandora: The World of Avatar includes two major attractions, Avatar: Flight of Passage and Na'vi River Journey, as well as retail, food, and beverage outlets. The area also includes Pandora's floating mountains, alien wildlife, and bioluminescent plants.

Construction began on January 10, 2014, and the attraction opened on May 27, 2017.

## History

In early 2011, James Cameron was approached by the Walt Disney Company's chief executive officer, Bob Iger, regarding the possibility of *Avatar*-themed attractions in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Originally, discussions were held about creating an *Avatar*-themed attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios, perhaps at the park's then-functioning Studio Backlot Tour. Instead, Tom Staggs suggested to incorporate the film into a newly designed "land" at Disney's Animal Kingdom to improve the park's attraction roster. Disney entered into an exclusive, long-term licensing agreement with Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment and Fox Filmed Entertainment for the worldwide theme park rights to *Avatar*; Disney agreed to pay Cameron and Fox a licensing fee and a percentage of merchandise sales. This deal was officially announced to the public on September 20, 2011, on the Disney Parks Blog. The highlight of the announcement was that Disney's Animal Kingdom would receive a new themed area entirely devoted to *Avatar.* The area is set to cost approximately $500 million. Construction began in January 2014, with a planned opening date between three and five years later. The deal could see *Avatar* attractions added to other Disney theme parks in the future, however, there are no immediate plans to do so.  This possibility is increased by the fact that, as of March 20, 2019, *Avatar* is now a Disney property (with the second movie distributed by Disney), following Disney's purchase of 21st Century Fox.

## Design

Pandora – The World of *Avatar* is designed by Walt Disney Imagineering and Lightstorm Entertainment with *Avatar* producers James Cameron and Jon Landau also providing creative assistance. The area is being built in the former location of Camp Minnie-Mickey, which was originally earmarked for the Beastly Kingdom, a never-built themed land which would have been based around mythological creatures.

Disney showcased a first look presentation of the land at the 2013 Japan D23 Expo. In September 2011, James Cameron confirmed that a flying attraction featuring "3-D projections and creature designs that were cut from the original film" was a concept on the drawing board for the area. Pandora: The World of *Avatar* will include elements from the original *Avatar* film as well as its four, yet-to-be-released sequels.

## Storyline

Pandora - The World of *Avatar* is set a couple of generations after the film series. In the Valley of Mo'ara, nature has been steadily reclaiming the RDA's old facilities and relationships between the humans and the Na'vi have become much more friendly. A new eco-tourism group, Alpha Centauri Expeditions, or ACE for short, has established a treaty with the Omaticaya tribe to establish a base camp for human tourists to visit Pandora and share in the Na'vi culture. Additionally, a scientific group known as the Pandora Conservation Initiative has been working with ACE in helping restore the damage wrought on the environment by RDA's operations and have taken over the Avatar program to allow guests to fly on Banshees.

## Attractions

* Avatar: Flight of Passage
* Na'vi River Journey
* Pandora Utility Suit
* Play Disney Parks
* Wilderness Explorers - Flaska Reclinata
* Wilderness Explorers - Valley of Mo'ara

## Entertainment

* Pandora Drummers – Swotu Wayä
* Pandora Rangers

## Restaurants

* Satu'li Canteen
* Pongu Pongu

## Shopping

* Windtraders
* Colors of Mo'ara

1. ↑ Smith, Thomas (August 16, 2015). Pandora – The World of AVATAR will be New Land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved on August 16, 2015.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Staggs, Tom (20 September 2011). Answering Your Questions About AVATAR at Disney Parks. Disney Parks Blog. Retrieved on September 23, 2011.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Disney to Build 'Avatar' Attraction in Theme Parks. Associated Press (September 21, 2011). Retrieved on September 23, 2011.
4. ↑ Clark, Jayne (22 September 2011). 'Avatar' land is coming to Disney World. Retrieved on September 23, 2011.
5. ↑ Graser, Marc (February 26, 2015). Disney ‘Pushing Boundaries’ with ‘Avatar’ Land at Animal Kingdom Theme Park. Retrieved on August 14, 2015.
6. ↑ Template:Cite news
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Template:Cite news
8. ↑ Smith, Thomas (February 7, 2017). Just Announced: Pandora – The World of Avatar Will Open May 27 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Retrieved on February 7, 2017.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Smith, Thomas. Construction Begins For AVATAR-Inspired Land At Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Retrieved on January 10, 2014.
10. ↑ Pandora – The World of Avatar to Open May 27, Star Wars Lands Coming in 2019 - The Walt Disney Company (February 7, 2017). Retrieved on February 8, 2017.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Chmielewski, Dawn C., Keegan, Rebecca (21 September 2011). Disney to license rights to 'Avatar' for theme park attractions. Retrieved on September 23, 2011.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Barnes, Brooks (April 25, 2015). Thomas Staggs: Disney’s Heir, Apparently. Retrieved on April 26, 2015.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Chmielewski, Dawn C., MacDonald, Brady (20 September 2011). Details emerge on Disney's plans to bring 'Avatar' to its parks. Retrieved on September 23, 2011.
14. ↑ Smith, Thomas (20 September 2011). AVATAR Coming To Disney Parks. Retrieved on September 23, 2011.
15. ↑ Coming to Disney World: Avatar Land. Australian Associated Press (22 September 2011). Retrieved on September 23, 2011.
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Weinstein, Joshua L. (21 September 2011). James Cameron on 3D, "Titanic" and all things "Avatar". Retrieved on September 23, 2011.
17. ↑ MacDonald, Brady (July 7, 2015). What to expect from Avatar Land at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Retrieved on August 16, 2015.
18. ↑ Staggs, Tom. First Look: AVATAR to Come to Life at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved on October 12, 2013.