Gadgetory

Disney is ready to transport guests to a whole new world one that's 4.4 light-years away this is Pandora the world of Avatar it's an expansion to the animal kingdom theme park at Walt Disney World in Florida now it doesn't open until May 27th but Disney Imagineers took us on an early sneak peak tour of this land where visitors are immersed in the alien world of James Cameron's 2009 blockbuster movie avatar wait a second this movie is almost 8 years old what if you don't remember the film where nature-loving knobby beans battle money-grubbing humans bent on destroying their land for the mineral unobtainium well Disney working in collaboration with Cameron and his production company made sure you didn't need to know the plot to enjoy this alien jungle and make it feel believable so there's a whole integration here between technical solutions and artistic solutions even James Cameron himself is crafting that world of Pandora to remind you of things you know animals you know plants you know we're doing the same thing here it's really a remarkable dreamlike alien place but it seems very familiar Cameron is working on for more Avatar movie sequels but your journey takes place long after the plot of the movies now human tourists visit to learn Noby language culture and of course taste local food and drink in the relaxing navi river journey boat ride you drift through the beautiful nighttime jungle past glowing animals and plants and then you meet the magnificent Navi shaman of songs and an olive disney I have never seen an animatronic figure move so lifelike and then there's the thrill ride avatar flight of passage this is where you're going to be matched to an avatar those are the hybrid human aliens engineered to be controlled by the human mind put on the 3d glasses sit in your seat and hold on tight since it's 3d we can't quite capture how you write a banshee that's swooping and whipping around the sky but this ride hits all the senses blasting you with air water and smells at sundown the plants rocks and water begin to glow bringing you energy into the night play around to see what reacts to your touch this world needed to be interactive we hear it with the sounds right now where there's a call-and-response all of the lighting fixtures go back to a huge programming board that allow us to create the bioluminescence literally thousands that you see throughout the land are connected through one central system the mythical land drives home the same message of conservation that's woven throughout Animal Kingdom park with the hope the visitors will take a lesson from our Navi neighbors in Alpha Centauri and cherish our precious planet you