Imagineering Pandora – The World of Avatar (Part 1)

Imagination Skyway

Matthew Krul

History, Society & Culture, Places & Travel, Kids & Family

5 • 830 Ratings

🗓️ 30 January 2021

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Pandora – The World of Avatar raised the bar for immersive themed lands when it opened at Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World in 2017. Between Avatar Flight of Passage, Na'vi River Journey, Satu'li Canteen, Pongu Pongu, and of course the land itself, travelers visiting the Valley of Mo'ara (courtesy of Alpha Centauri Expeditions, per the story) are transported to an alien world that feels all too real. That's thanks to the countless Imagineers who put years of work into creating the land's attractions. While many think of Imagineer Joe Rohde or even Director James Cameron while exploring the land (virtually or in person), there are countless others who contributed to the land's design, including my two special guests on today's episode: Adam and Rebecca. Adam, a former Set Decorator for Walt Disney Imagineering, and Rebecca, a former Scenic Artist working for a contractor, helped to literally set the stage for Pandora – The World of Avatar. From hand-weaving artwork at Satu'li Canteen to setting in place the tiniest details in the Flight of Passage queue, Adam and Rebecca helped bring the story of Pandora into the real world. In this two-part episode, we'll discuss how to land a job at Walt Disney Imagineering, reveal what the day-to-day is like for most Imagineers and contractors working on a project, and of course share the stories that contributed to the many details around the land itself. I'd like to extend a huge thank you to both Adam and Rebecca for lending their time and stories to this two-part episode! For part 1, I'd love to know what you enjoyed most from this conversation. Send me your feedback via email or through direct or public message at any of the following and [with your permission] I'll include your message in a future show: Facebook: www.facebook.com/ImagineerPodcast Instagram: www.instagram.com/ImagineerPodcast Twitter: www.twitter.com/ImagineerNews Facebook Group (ImagiNation): https://www.facebook.com/groups/imagineerpodcast/ Be sure to check out our sponsor WDW Magazine, the premier magazine focused on Walt Disney World, available in print or digital. Disney news and travel tips: Be sure to visit our Disney news partner, The Kingdom Insider: Website: https://thekingdominsider.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/KingdomInsider Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekingdominsider/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/tkidisneynews YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfNy6LP8uPSjsktoPBr5JTQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/TKIDisneyNews/ Vacation Planning: Planning a trip to Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, Adventures by Disney, or another Disney destination? Visit our trusted partner, Academy Travel: Walt Disney World: https://apps.itams.com/AcademyCRM/form/waltdisney/IP Disneyland: https://apps.itams.com/AcademyCRM/form/disneyland/IP Disney Cruise Line: https://apps.itams.com/AcademyCRM/form/disneycruise/IP Aulani: https://apps.itams.com/AcademyCRM/form/Aulani/IP Adventures by Disney: https://apps.itams.com/AcademyCRM/form/DisneyAdventure/IP How to Support the Show Share the podcast with your friends Rate and review on iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-imagineerpodcasts-podcast/id1244558092 Join the Imagineer Society - https://www.patreon.com/imagineerpodcast Purchase merchandise - https://www.teepublic.com/stores/imagineer-podcast?ref_id=8929 Download Imagineer Tours - http://imagineertours.com Enjoy the show!

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to the Imagineer podcast, your unofficial guide to All Things Disney. I'm your host, Matthew Krull, and you're listening
0:24.7	to episode 96 of the Imagineer podcast. In today's episode, we're going to chat about a subject
0:32.3	that I absolutely love, which is Pandora, the World of Avatar. This is going to be a two-part episode because we are really going to dive deep into
0:41.9	the details of Pandora, the World of Avatar, including some details you probably did not
0:48.2	know.
0:48.7	And that's because my two special guests on this two-part episode are two people who actually worked with Walt Disney
0:56.5	Imagineering on the World of Avatar. That is Adam and Rebecca. I am so excited for you to hear
1:02.9	their stories. They were set designers working on virtually every aspect of Pandora, including
1:09.2	things like Satuli Canteen, Nabri River Journey, Flight of Passage,
1:13.0	and the land itself. So they have some incredible stories to share. The first part of this series,
1:18.7	we're going to chat a little bit more about their background with Walt Disney Imagineering
1:23.3	and how you can, in today's day and age, make a career at Imagineering because a lot of the guests
1:29.7	I've had on the show before, even they have admitted because they're older Imagineers who
1:34.6	worked at Disney either going back to the 50s, the 60s, the 70s, the 80s. And it was a little
1:40.5	different back then than it is today. And so Adam and Rebecca have some really great practical advice for those of you who are looking to break into Walt Disney imaginering in the modern age.
1:52.8	So a lot of our discussion is today about how to break into Walt Disney Imagineering, learn a little bit more about their backgrounds,
2:00.7	imaginering as a whole, and what the place is like, what the process for designing attractions
2:06.5	and lands might be. We'll start talking a little bit about Pandora, the World of Avatar,
2:10.8	and then in part two, we're really going to dive deep into some of the details, and I am so
2:15.1	excited for you to hear those stories. At the end of the episode,
2:18.6	I'll come back and tell you a little bit more about how you can connect with the Imagineer
2:22.5	podcast on all your favorite social media channels and how you can help to inspire and create
	...

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