James Cameron and his team, moviegoers
were able to connect with the world of
AVATAR in new and engaging ways.
Pandora – The World of AVATAR will bring
a variety of new experiences to the Park,
including 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.
The centerpiece attraction, AVATAR
Flight of Passage, will allow guests to
soar on a Banshee over a vast alien world.
The spectacular flying experience will
give guests a birds-eye view of the beauty
and grandeur of the world of Pandora.
A new patent granted to Disney discloses
details of the technology behind the glowing
foliage that will dot the landscape, referred
to as cyborg plants. The patent describes
capacitive sensing to detect human
interaction with living plants. The sensing
system connects to the plant via an electrode.
The sensing system utilizes the natural
conductive paths (such as water-carrying
veins) found in an organic plant to transmit
an electrical signal to the plant. The sensing
system gets activated when a user directly
touches the plant or even comes near the
plant. In response, an audio-video effect is
played. So when a guest touches a plant, the
plant will illuminate. If the stem is touched,
a stimulated earthquake will be activated.
And if leaves are touched, a cool breeze
will be released. Water and smoke effects
will also be incorporated into the cyborgs.
Scheduled to open in 2017, Pandora
– The World of AVATAR will be
part of the largest expansion in
Disney’s
Animal
Kingdom
history.