When you wish upon a….movie

The recent news that Walt Disney Co. will build a theme park based on the movie “Avatar” in Animal Kingdom in Orlando raises a question about the world’s most famous tourism operator: Can a movie be the entire and sole basis of a theme park?

Disney’s success is well established but the company whose is associated with the famous slogan “when you wish upon a star” be facing a potential nightmare?

Disney's parks currently include attractions based on some movies from other studios, including "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones." But this time the entertainment giant is risking all on a single film, though it was a blockbuster.

Disney’s plan is to build lands based on the film’s fictional world of “Pandora.” There will be themed shops, restaurants, rides and entertainment.

“Avatar is just a set of worlds that is really rich and offers so much to explore, we thought that offering a land-based approach gives us a much better opportunity to explore,” Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs told the Orlando Sentinel in an interview following the announcement.

Construction is set to start in two years. It should open in 2006. Its cost is estimated at US$500 million.

Film creator James Cameron said he initially thought Disney would want to build only an individual ride based on his film. That’s common practice among theme parks.

“I quickly realized that their vision for this thing is far beyond what I imagined,” he told reporters.”

Set on the fictional world of Pandora, "Avatar" is populated with exotic creatures, plants and scenery. Many of those elements, including a bioluminescent forest and dragon-like flying animals, are likely to be part of the Disney World installation, according to Staggs.

Other Disney company officials said the company is likely to add "Avatar" attractions at its other theme parks around the world, though no specific plans have been made.

Disney currently has five theme-park resorts worldwide and is building a sixth in Shanghai, China.
 

“We obviously appreciate that this was a film that was enjoyed by millions globally. So it’s now a global product,” Disney Co. President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said.

“We can clearly leverage the global interest in this property in multiple places, although we don’t have any plans at the moment or specifics to announce to you.”
 

The Avatar land should provide a huge jolt in the arm for the 13-year-old Animal Kingdom theme park, according to the Orlando Sentinel, which has been criticized for lacking major attractions, among other reasons.

For film attractions to draw customers, they generally need to be based on movies with sequels and ancillary businesses like toys and children's clothes, writes The Wall Street Journal.

"Avatar" is a single movie—albeit the biggest-grossing of all time, with a world-wide box-office take of nearly US$2.8 billion. But Iger said that it fits Disney’s requirements.

 "The property is only going to continue to grow and expand with new stories, new characters and new environments," he said.

“A precise date hasn’t been set for completion of the Avatar attractions in Animal Kingdom, but an opening in the future could allow Disney to capitalize on a fresh wave of fan interest in the ‘Avatar’ film franchise from the two sequels currently in development,” said the Orlando Sentinel.

Cameron said the tentative plan is to release the first sequel around Christmas 2014 and the second around Christmas 2015.

“The timing seems to work out well in terms of the sequels,” Cameron said.
The track record for such parks may be found at nearby Universal, which opened the hugely successful “Harry Potter,” which it licenses from author J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Entertainment.

In addition to themed attractions, Wizarding World, which opened in June 2010, includes shops and eateries peddling fare from the Potter universe, from magic wands to mugs of butter beer.
 

Sales of food and merchandise in Universal’s theme parks were up 90 percent during the first half of 2011 to US$171 million. Attendance at the two-park resort soared 52 percent.
Staggs said it is possible that Disney’s Avatar land will include food and merchandise based on items found in the films, though he said the project is still in the very early design phase.

By David Wilkening