Disney CEO, ‘Avatar’ director attend Pandora event,
Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger and “Avatar” director James Cameron appeared briefly Wednesday as Animal Kingdom theme park showed off its new Pandora land to hundreds of reporters from around the globe.
Pandora — The World of Avatar opens Saturday at Walt Disney World.
“At Disney, we have a ‘how do they do that?’ standard,” Iger said. “I cannot think of a better example of that than what we’re standing in front of right now … Pandora is just as great in person as it is on the screen.”
He praised the movie for introducing viewers to a stunning new world.
“Today, some years after its release, it still captivates us as we eagerly await the next chapter,” he said. “No pressure, Jim.”
The original movie came out in 2009. Sequels have been delayed, and the next one is not expected out until 2020.
Cameron greeted reporters with “oel ngati kameie,” a phrase from Avatar’s Na’vi language that means “I see you.”
“This is a spectacular, very surreal day for me,” he said, recalling how the idea for “Avatar” first came to him in a dream when he was 19 years old.
“Literally, a dream has come true all around me,” he said. “Anyone can now visit Pandora in all its majesty.”
“Avatar” actors, including Sigourney Weaver and Zoe Saldana, also attended Wednesday.
The scale of the theme park “really blows me away,” said Laz Alonso, who plays Na’vi Tsu’tey.
Feeling immersed in Pandora is a new experience for the actors because the movie sets relied heavily on computer imagery — there were no traditional sets.
Disney’s Pandora will be populated by Alpha Centauri Expeditions travel guides. Disney cast members took two full days of “Passage to Pandora” classes to get into character for their new roles.
“We asked our cast members … ‘If you’re going to go to a different place out of this universe, what do you want to know, and what do you think you need to know to tell other people that will ultimately use your travel services … to get there?” Disney’s Animal Kingdom vice president Djuan Rivers said. “We wanted to teach people about the flora, the fauna, the language itself.”
Part of the immersive experience of Pandora is its merchandise and food.
Theme parks have increasingly made buying souvenirs more of an experience than just carrying something up to a cash register.
At Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter, there’s an adoption ceremony when you buy a pygmy puff. Similarly, Pandora’s Windtraders has a ceremony in which you take a pledge to protect the environment when you buy a $49.99 banshee, with optional perch for $14.99.
You can also make your own $19.99 necklace from an assortment of beads, charms and crystals. “We do want it to be an experience,” said Steven Miller, Walt Disney World’s merchandise communications manager.
Meanwhile over at Satu’li Canteen, fare includes assortments of proteins, grains, vegetables and sauces.
The food is mostly simple and healthy — a reflection of how the lean, muscular Na’vi would have eaten, said Robert Aams, the executive chef at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
There are 88 ingredients throughout the entire menu — probably about half of that in a typical Disney restaurant.
There are also some twists on more typical theme-park fare — cheeseburgers are in “pods,” or steamed bao buns.
At Saturday’s opening, Rivers predicts big crowds, though he declined to give numbers.
“There’s huge demand, huge interest,” he said. “Come early.”