Will "Tokyo DisneySky" Be The Third Theme Park of Tokyo Disney Resort With Star Wars and Avatar Lands ?

The big news of the day - which is still a rumor so far - is about a third theme park named Tokyo DisneySky to be build at Tokyo Disney Resort! The news is coming from a Mainichi Shimbun article and this 3rd park is rumored to include a Star Wars land and an Avatar land so the name “Tokyo DisneySky" starts to make more sense… as well as the strange "L" shape of the park - that you can see on the TDR Explorer above - as they could build a Star Wars land in the lower part and an Avatar land in the upper one ( or the contrary ). If they put Star Wars land in the upper part of the "L" shape TDL Tomorrowland and Space Mountain so there will be a kind of continuity in the background and i'm betting on this location for the Star Wars land. Another good news is coming from a TDR official who said that they “want to build a park with only one in the world, like Tokyo DisneySea”, and with this odd shape it surely will be.

Jump to TDR Explorer HERE and to WDWNT HERE to learn more about this exciting news which, by the way, has of course not be confirmed by TDR which just released a statement this Sunday morning saying "that it has made no such announcement". The interesting part of the statement is that they don't deny it, or say that it's wrong, but only that they didn't announced such thing which of course we had noticed already... I have the feeling that you can put your bets on this one, and wait until April or May when it the expected announcement will happen!

Picture by TDR Explorer

Star Wars Land and Avatar Land Opening Dates Announced !

During the WDC earning calls this afternoon was announced the opening dates for Star Wars Land and Avatar Land! For Star Wars land both lands at Disneyland and Disney's Hollywood Studios will open in 2019 - two more years to go, folks!

As for Pandora: the World of Avatar at Disney's Animal Kingdom the opening date will be May 27th of this year, in just three and a half months from now! Now, let's see if the final result will be like the beautiful rendering below!



Pictures: copyright Disney

Walt Disney World Water Permit Shows the Layout of Animal Kingdom Avatar Land Na'vi River Journey Boat Ride

A new Walt Disney World water permit filed with the South Florida Water Management District shows the layout of the Na'vi River Journey boat ride of Disney's Animal Kingdom Avatar land.

The permit say that it is for a "indoor water system" ride has been filed to have the approval to discharge water to a stormwater pond nearby the construction site of Avatar land. And a map included with the documents shows the blueprint of what is most probably the location for Pandora's Na'vi River Journey boat ride.
 

Last November the Disney Parks Blog described Na'vi River Journey as "a family-friendly attraction called Na’vi River Journey. The adventure begins as guests set out in canoes and venture down a mysterious, sacred river hidden within the bioluminescent rainforest. The full beauty of Pandora reveals itself as the canoes pass by exotic glowing plants and amazing creatures. The journey culminates in an encounter with a Na’vi shaman, who has a deep connection to the life force of Pandora and sends positive energy out into the forest through her music. Na’vi River Journey will open with Pandora – The World of Avatar in 2017"
 

Pictures: copyright Disney

Avatar Land Pandora Floating Mountains Rocks Arrive At Disney's Animal Kingdom

At Disney's Animal Kingdom the making of Pandora "floating mountains" continues and, after the building of the metallic structures, the main elements are arriving. Good luck for Disney and more readers as Geert, a good friend of mine photographer - see previous article with his amazing WDW pictorial report - was there yesterday when a crane was lowering one of the rocks of these floating mountains.

Obviously the rocks are prepared in another location and then each will be fixed one by one to the metallic structures, to form at the end the floating mountains, which is a pretty smart way to create these mountains, and even probably the only way to do it...

First view of the rock from backstage...

Closer shots from inside the park...

This last picture was shot by Geert from the top of Expedition Everest!

Thanks a lot to Geert for his special report!

Pictures: copyright Geert Jan Bijlstra

D23 Expo Parks and Resorts Pavilion : Part Two : Pandora – The World of AVATAR - NEW Article With Andy Castro Pictures !

Editing: This is a brand NEW article with dozens of pictures shot by Andy Castro at D23. When i did the previous version as i couldn't find pictures from Andy i thought that he didn't shot the Pandora model. But today Andy posted his latest set of pictures in which was these fantastic pictures of the model! So, i've totally edited this article and it's a brand new one that you must not miss if you've read the previous one!

Make sure to follow Andy on his Dateline Disneyland site!


The other area inside the Parks and Resorts pavilion at D23 Expo is about "Pandora – The World of AVATAR" - as this is now the official name of the land - where was displayed the model of the land. Disney’s Animal Kingdom guests will journey into the magnificent world of Pandora at this new AVATAR-themed land – a world that includes floating mountains, a bioluminescent forest and the winged creatures known as Banshees, giving guests a transformational experience they will never forget.

Pandora – The World of AVATAR is a key part of the expansion of Disney’s Animal Kingdom and will feature awe-inspiring floating mountains, a nighttime jungle of bioluminescent plants as well as an amazing new attraction called A"VATAR Flight of Passage". This e-ticket attraction will allow guests to experience what it’s like to fly with banshees.

Let's have a close look at the Pandora model. By the way, Imagineer Joe Rhode - picture below - confirmed during the presentation that the boat ride is still part of the land. What is not 100% clear to me if it will be totally indoor or outdoor, or half an half.

And now, Andy's great series of pictures of the model. Please note that the model was presented with a day light and night time versions to show to D23 guests the electroluminescent lighting effects. Click on each picture for a better look in big size.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Bob Chapek shared the update on Pandora – The World of AVATAR at the D23 EXPO 2015 with Imagineer Joe Rohde who said one of the things that has made work on this project so special has been the collaboration with the Oscar-winning team behind the film – James Cameron, Jon Landau and the rest of the Lightstorm team:  “We’ve been working side-by-side with Jim and Jon to make sure that what we do is true to the story, characters and vision for the beautiful, mythical, epic land of Pandora,” Joe said. “We’re creating a transformational experience that you’ll remember for the rest of your life.” 

New visuals were also displayed!

Alpha Centauri Expeditions ( ACE ) will be the travel tours company supposed to help you totravel to Pandora. In the video below filmed by The DIS you'll see a short video explaining you in details what is Alpha Centauri Expeditions, as well as close shots on the model and in glorious 4K definition!




He was joined then during the D23 presentation by Imagineers working on these projects as well as legendary filmmakers James Cameron and Jon Landau who shared new details about Pandora – The World of AVATAR including the names of the land and E-ticket attraction – AVATAR Flight of Passage.




Don't miss in the next article below or HERE the great Pandora "travel" posters!

On Disney and more i've covered essentially the D23 Expo announcements about Parks or Imagineering but there was more so make sure to follow Andy Castro others updates on D23 Expo either on his Dateline Disneyland page HERE or on Mice Age HERE.

Pictures: copyright Disney

Videos: copyright The DIS