Today, the Walt Disney World website was updated to include an image of what appears to be the Banshee Connect experience in Pandora – The World of AVATAR…
While not announced formally by Disney, here’s what we know about experience…
“Banshee Connect” service is where you will be matched with a tiny version of the beast; a robotic creature that you can take home with you for a price.
So it appears as though guests will enter this area where a number of small Banshee creatures will be perched on a wall. From there, a guest will somehow be linked with one in particular that they can then purchase and take home. This will apparently be located inside of the Windtraders shop in the land.
Pandora: The World of AVATAR will open on May 27th, 2017 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Today, Disney has given us a look at some of the specialty drinks you will be able to purchase at Pongu Pongu and Satuli Canteen in Pandora: The World of Avatar.
One of the drinks you can find, which is featured above, is the Pandoran Sunrise. It is a non-alcoholic drink mix of tropical juices blended with Powerade Melon – and you can get in the souvenir Satu’li Canteen Flute Flask. Banshee Chardonnay and Banshee Pinot Noir are on the menu by the glass, as well as a refreshing Dreamwalker Sangria with a splash of Blue Curaçao. These drinks listed above are only at the Satuli Canteen.
These 2 specialty ales from Pongu Pongu on the menu and are the Hawkes’ Grog Ale that has a fruity hop character (a taste of apricot and peach, a hint of wheat on the finish), and Mo’ara High Country Ale, which is a malty amber ale with the aroma of herbal spice hops and tastes of caramel, toffee, and nuts.
If you go to the walk-up counter at Pongu Pongu, you can also find the Night Blossom, which is a frozen drink, a non-alcoholic mixture of limeade with apple and desert pear flavors topped with passion fruit boba balls. You can purchase it in a souvenir Pongu Pongu mug with a glow cube as well. The walk up window will have the 2 Pandoran ales on tap, as well as the Mo’ara Frozen Margarita, which is another frozen drink with Sauza Conmemorativo Añejo Tequila with strawberry and blood orange flavor topped with strawberry boba balls. That drink can also be purchased in a souvenir cup.
Pandora: The World of Avatar opens May 27th, at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
As Pandora: The World of Avatar is only 32 days away from its official grand opening, Disney is putting the final touches on the land. As you know by now, Pandora will feature some out-of-this-world unique dining options to satisfy your hunger cravings. With those options will be specialty desserts available for purchase at both the Satuli Canteen and Pongu Pongu. At Satuli Canteen you can find the delicious Nav’i Blueberry Cheesecake, which is featured below.
According to the Disney Pastry chef who was behind this unique dessert, the inspiration came from the movie itself. In his words, he has said, “We watched ‘Avatar’ and noted that the Na’vi are in stellar shape – very lean, with beautiful skin and bright yellow eyes, so the Na’vi colors were the inspiration for the Blueberry Cheesecake with Passion Fruit Curd, a cream cheese and blueberry creation with passion fruit to connect to the film’s tropical environment. The cheesecake tastes as delicious as it looks, with a combination of acidity from the passion fruit with bold blueberry and creamy cheesecake.”
Another delicious dessert you can expect to find at Satuli is the Chocolate Cake (and yes that is what it is called).
The Chocolate Cake as described on the menu is a Chocolate Cake with a Crunchy Cookie Layer and Banana Cream Topping. The same pastry chef who created the blueberry cheesecake created this one as well.
“We used dark chocolate because it’s rich in antioxidants, then add a little crunch with a cookie wafer and the contrast of creamy mousse. The cake is topped with banana cream, made with a few simple (but delicious) ingredients: cream, white chocolate, and bananas, with a little drizzle of lemon. The chocolate-banana is a great flavor combination. Then we added goji berry on top – it tastes a little like a raisin, and we hydrated it with simple syrup. The taste of the goji berry with the banana cream and chocolate is a lovely balance of flavors. We created this as inspiration from what the ‘Healthy Nav’i would eat.”
These 2 desserts are meant to be savored and not meant to be quickly eaten.
If you are looking forward to trying out these 2 delicious desserts from Pandora, the wait is almost over as the opening day is only 32 days away! Pandora: The World of Avatar opens May 27th, at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
As the opening of Pandora: The World of Avatar is officially only 1 month away from today, Disney today released some new photos of the items guests will find for sale on the alien planet.
The merchandise above is inspired by the land itself. It incorporates the beauty of the bioluminescence you can expect to see at night.
The painting used on the merchandise was created by Dylan Cole, Co-Production Designer for the upcoming “Avatar” movie sequels. In it, he captured the bioluminescent world of Pandora at night with two new pieces. One image was inspired by the Na’vi River Journey, while the other pictures the beautiful Valley of Mo’ara. In addition to being available as prints, elements from his nighttime artwork were added to the apparel, home décor, accessories and other products. More of Dylan’s work is found on the Countdown to Pandora pin collection that was released this spring.
The cave painting art above was based on sketches by Walt Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde for the Avatar Flight of Passage attraction.
This merchandise is based on the ‘Shaman of Songs’ who is in the Nav’i River Journey ride. The key importance was the connection the Shaman had to nature and Disney wanted items that represented that idea.
Finally, the art team at Disney created patch designs representing different experiences guests will have while visiting Pandora. In addition to other products, guests will find select patch designs in the Intergalactic Passport Kit from Alpha Centauri Expeditions. The kit includes a passport, three sticker pages, a button, and a photo ID badge. This item, along with the Na’vi Translator Device, are perfect for exploring Pandora.
You can expect to find all of these merchandise items and more at Wind Traders in Pandora: The World of Avatar when it opens May 27th at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Our latest photo report brings us to Animal Kingdom as it draws nearer and nearer to the opening of its largest expansion in its 19 year history…
Welcome to Disney’s Animal Kingdom!
Annie the Anteater returned to the Oasis recently. She was removed when the construction of Pandora began as she would have been bothered by the noise and such.
Lots of Animals
The Tree of Life is trail is closed while Disney is doing some work on the Tree. You can walk up both sides, but you can’t go under the tree.
And now a gorilla in a bowl…
BABY DUCKS!!!
Sleepy lizards…
A trip to the Maharajah Jungle Trek isn’t complete without seeing tigers.
Pandora: The World of AVATAR
The opening of Pandora looms over the park, just a few weeks away on May 27th.
Walls off to the left of the bridge leading to Pandora were taken down recently.
The second pin in the countdown to Pandora series was released recently.
A look at the bridge from Nomad Lounge. Not much change to see these days as the project nears completion.
Nighttime lighting tests continue to happen in the area once night falls:
Apparently, some photos from inside of Pandora: The World of AVATAR were leaked and are now being shared on social media. In the photos, we get a better look at the current state of the Valley of Mo’ara, Pongu Pongu Refreshments, the Navi River Journey, and more.
All of the photos come from @logantmiller on twitter:
The first photo appears to take us beneath the floating mountains in the Valley of Mo’ara, among some of the woven artwork of the Navi people.
Next, we take a look at Pongu Pongu refreshments, home of the Lumpia dessert and fine beverages. The hula skirt is sadly not installed on the big mech suit yet.
Above and below, a better look at the boat vehicles for the Na’vi River Journey attraction.
Above, we get another look at one of the bioluminescent floors in the land.
A themed sign shows remnants of the RDA mining compound, likely the building that now houses some of the queue for the Flight of Passage attraction (in story).
Pandora: The World of AVATAR opens at Disney’s Animal Kingdom on May 27th, 2017.
The first episode of Welcome Home: A Disney Parks and Vacation Club Podcast. Tom, Trevor and Damon discuss all the details about Pandora: The Land of Avatar and the new Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.
Disney is starting to release more information to the cast members who will be working in Pandora: The World of AVATAR at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, giving us the scoop on some things we didn’t know we would encounter when the area opens on May 27th, 2017.
Floating mountains grace the skyline while exotic plants fill the colorful landscape inside Pandora – The World of Avatar, which opens May 27, 2017 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. (Kent Phillips, photographer)
Reportedly, there isn’t much in the way of signage for the attractions in the land, as it would impede on the natural environment around the two rides (in story). Na’vi totem poles will be used to convey to guests what the attraction is they are entering the queue for. Whether or not this means there will be wait time signs or not remains to be seen. Also, there will be no Mickey icon readers for MagicBands as it would not make sense on Pandora, so expect custom readers or ACE crew members with iPads I suppose.
The Wilderness Explorers attraction at Animal Kingdom will be tied into the land as well, adding two more pages for guests to obtain while they are on Pandora.
Supposedly, the Na’vi River Journey attraction will feature only one Audio-Animatronic Na’vi creature, the Shaman character we were already introduced to. She will be seated along the riverbank in a crossed leg pattern, but if she were to stand, she would clock in at over 10 feet tall. There will however be additional “AAs” of some of the wildlife on Pandora.
Windtraders, (pictured here) travelers can find Na’vi cultural items, toys, science kits, and more.
Regarding merchandise, AVATAR products will only be sold in Pandora and not anywhere else in the park. There will also be specific daytime and nighttime merchandise, such as flip flops, staffs, and spears that interact with their surroundings in the land in the evenings. Disney Parks branded bags and receipts will also not exist on Pandora, instead, everything will be branded to Alpha Centauri Expeditions.
The D-Tech “AVATAR Me” station that can be somewhat made out in the store concept art is apparently a real thing, similar to when Disney offered the service where guests could become a Jedi or a Stormtrooper. There is also a “Banshee Connect” service where you will be matched with a tiny plush version of the beast; a robotic creature that you can take home with you for a price.
The stores will include a bead station where guests can make their own bead necklace or bracelet. As well, the Na’vi artifacts that will be for sale will be actual, hand painted props.
We will share more tidbits like this with you as we inch closer to the opening of Pandora: The World of AVATAR on May 27th, 2017.
Disney today shared a sneak preview at another item that will immerse guests in their in-park experience like never before and connect them to Pandora: The World of AVATAR at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The item is called the Na’vi Translator.
“This device was originally developed by Alpha Centauri Expeditions founder Marshall Lamm,” explained Cody Hampton, product developer. “The Na’vi have no written language, so the translator will be a helpful tool for any human visiting Pandora. Guests using the translator can learn how to pronounce 90 Na’vi words using interchangeable translation cards. The device also lights up at night, which makes it perfect for nighttime explorations on Pandora.”
The Na’vi Translator set will come packaged with 15 translation cards. The device has a clasp that extends up to 12-inches and can be attached to a belt or backpack.
Additional translation cards will be sold in trading card packs, each containing eight randomly selected cards. There are some common cards such as Nouns (Blue) and Adjectives (Purple). Other cards will be less common to find in the trading packs including Animals (Orange), Phrases (Aqua), and Landscapes (Tan). The rarest cards are Plants (Green) and Gear (Yellow).
“When selecting the words and phrases for this set, we thought about the most essential words a guest might use when exploring another country on Earth,” continued Cody. “My favorite word is ‘Ikran’ which means ‘Banshee.’ I must have said that word hundreds of times while developing products for Pandora [laughs].”
Cody partnered with Lightstorm Entertainment and Dr. Paul Frommer, creator of the Na’vi language for “Avatar,” to acquire audio recordings of spoken Na’vi words for the translator.
This product and more will be available May 27th when Pandora: The World of AVATAR officially opens to guests at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
