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That isn't even remotely true. Universal is light years behind Walt Disney World. WWOHP is great, but it's criminally small and lacking in ambition, one of its three proper attractions is dire (and the duelling dragons coaster is pathetically under-themed) and adding the train and Diagonal Alley (to the OTHER park no less) isn't fully going to alleviate any of that. It'll still be cramped and have very little to do, and you're still going to be able to see the Forbidden Journey show building from Jurassic Park.
Putting WWOHP aside though, for all its plus points (and despite the problems outlined above, it has many pluses - including having one of the world's best examples of eyeline design), it's just a tiny fragment of one single park. A park that isn't very big and is mostly made up of some truly unremarkable rides, with the odd standout E-ticket scattered here and there. And everywhere but WWOHP and the Marvel section in that park needs a helluva lot of TLC.
Jurassic Park is a mess, the ride is in need of an overhaul but is generally okay. The Discovery Center is woefully decrepit though, with many of its features broken and the rest hideously old fashioned. The area's SIGNATURE attraction, Triceratops Encounter (I refuse to use the crappy newer name on principle), is all bar SBNO.
And that's just one example, there's many more examples of disrepair and lack of attention in IOA. Universal Studios Park proper has fared a little better, but not much - there are glaring defects with Men in Black and Terminator is being shuttered, but I know for a fact it was operating with one of its three 3D screens almost completely nonfunctional at times last year.
And then there's attractions like Twister. Twister is awful. It is a waste of everybody's time. But there it sits, like a gym sock on a shower rod, just DARING you to wish the space had been used for an attraction that was actually worth a damn.
Universal may have some great stuff, and it's greatest attractions are indeed world-leading (Spider-Man is still EASILY a candidate for best ride in the world outright, for example), but it is an incredibly uneven resort with only a few days worth of stuff to do at most. It is nowhere close to catching the consistent brilliance of Walt Disney World.
Bring back Beastly Kingdom! (Please?)
An Avatar Land is just a stupid idea and they should just abandon the project altogether. It doesn't tie in with the theme of Animal Kingdom, it was a lackluster movie that in my opinion really sucked, it won't really draw in any park guests because it won't be memorable like WWOHP, and within a decade or two the movie will be practically forgotten leaving Avatar Land to collect dust.
You are absolutely correct. Is there a talking head getting in the way of the imagineers? Disney is sinking fast, and that's frightening.
Always thought Avatar was a bad/weird choice.. aside from the massive box office (which was mainly down to the novelty value) is there any real passion for this film? Will it be long lived enough to justify the investment?
I also really don't get how it fits in Animal Kingdom.. :S
Avatar land sound like a good but I dont see.it in AK. Instead of spending a lot of cash in that land they can make a simulator like Sorin but in3d and builded in HS where all related to movies should be.
I loved teh movie but, wouldn't really be interwsted in visiting a land based on the movie. If they don't make another one soon, this movie will just be another FX monday morning movie and eventually forgotten. They need a bigger better Sta Wars area. Now that would be impressive my young Jedi......
Am I the only person in the Western world not to have seen Avatar? Am I missing out?? I have no enthusiasm at all for a themed area at Animal Kingdom given over to this film. Its hardly a Disney classic.
Disney have seriously lost the plot. Mind you I still haven't forgiven them for tinkering with Test Track at Epcot by re-theming it around Tron.
I've always thought it was a terrible idea, no one really cares about Avatar. It was big box office news a couple of years ago but has left no lasting fanbase. I'm no big fan of Star Wars but I think that's what they need to be investing now. A huge extension to the Star Wars area at the Studios would be the only thing that could compete with the Harry Potter expansion. I'd love to see them finally build the beastly kingdom, but I know that wouldn't have the pulling power of something like Star Wars, which is kind of a shame because a beastly kingdom is more "Disney", but better that than a huge white elephant, which is what Avatar land will be.
An AvatarLand (and please let the official name actually be Pandora or a riff on Pandora like Pandoran Outpost) around the size of the current Wizarding World of Harry Potter will be more than sufficient in my view. I could even see scaling back to just the E-Ticket, a shop & a restaurant. Any money saved can be spent on additional Star Wars attractions & theming in Hollywood Studios and/or Tomorrowland, and possibly duplicating Carsland.
In an ideal world I'd like to see an E-Ticket added to World Showcase Pavillion with some of the money too, but that is a mere flight of fancy.
Disney is so far behind universal at this point. The new fantasyland is a complete dud unless you are a 5 year old girl, and cars in Disneyland, while a major step forward, doesn't compare to the gossip about diagonal alley. They need a major, major influx. That influx is NOT avatar! They need a major capital investment to update Epcot and add rides/experiences, and they need the obvious: a Star Wars immersive land/experience. To waste so much on a dated movie like avatar would get someone fired and drive crowds to Harry. Right now it feels as if they are trying to sink to the level of six flags instead of rising to the brilliance of Walt, and that is sad.