You know, I thought it exhausting enough just getting my lazy ass to the movie theater to see James Cameron’s Avatar. After a quick bathroom visit, a small popcorn and passing by BLUE PEOPLE in the auditorium, I figured, “Alright, well, I’m exhausted as hell.” But now James Cameron and Walt Disney Theme Parks are gearing up to magnify that experience by about a million. James Cameron and 20th Century Fox have inked a deal with the giant mouse and now will be releasing Avatar-themed attractions across a number of its parks, the first being located inside of Disney’s Animal Kingdom park. Somewhere right now, Walt Disney’s cryogenically frozen head is laughing uncontrollably and I can’t blame him.
“Avatar created a world which audiences can discover again and again and now, through this incredible partnership with Disney, we’ll be able to bring Pandora to life like never before. With two new Avatar films currently in development, we’ll have even more locations, characters and stories to explore,” said James Cameron. “I’m chomping at the bit to start work with Disney’s legendary Imagineers to bring our Avatar universe to life. Our goal is to go beyond current boundaries of technical innovation and experiential storytelling, and give park goers the chance to see, hear, and touch the world of Avatar with an unprecedented sense of reality.” [THR]
Okay, okay, slow down there James. The way this is being built up, I’m expecting Neytiri to jump out of the ride and bludgeon my girlfriend while we’re just waiting in line.
For the most part, Disney is pretty consistent with only building attractions based on Disney property, but along with the existing agreements they have with Pixar, George Lucas and Spielberg, now you can add Cameron to the top of that list. Purely based on the original film, the attractions are going to stir up a ton of business – add on top of that the next two chapters, releasing on Christmas 2014/2015, and we’re talking a full on religious following. You’ve been warned.