Here's Your First Look at Disney World's New 'Avatar'-Themed Land
Fear not, fans of Avatar (and of theme park accuracy): Pandora’s mastermind, James Cameron, is overseeing the creation of the film’s first attraction spin-off, a massive alien jungle at Disney World’s Animal Kingdom.
In development for several years, ground for Pandora was broken in January, and as you can tell from the video above, the Disney team is working closely with Cameron and producer Jon Landau on re-creating the digital paradise in Orlando. In the brief tease, we get a glimpse of some concept art, scale models of a jungle, and even a responsive light-up walking path.
But there’s more to come: In 2013, Cameron promised animatronic Na’vi, floating mountains, and several other rides and attractions. In December, Disney CEO Bob Iger talked up the mountain banshee ride that would be one of the first to open in the expansion. No word on whether there will be a ball pit made of unobtanium rocks, but knowing Cameron, anything goes.
Disney’s Pandora is tentatively slated to open in 2017, and the next Avatar sequel hits theaters late that year.