Most of the attention surrounding Disney’s newest land, Pandora: The World of Avatar, has centered around the two hotly anticipated rides, Avatar: Flight of Passage and the Na’vi River Journey or other amazing sights like the floating islands, new eateries or the bio-luminescent rainforest that comes to life at night. But did you know that over 700 Disney cast members are also readying themselves for the opening of Pandora: The World of Avatar in just a few short weeks?
In an article released today by the Orlando Sentinel, they revealed that the Pandora cast members are currently undergoing extensive training and will be split into three camps as they interact with guests.
According to Matt Beiler, a producer with Disney Imagineers, “Each group understands their role and can tell you a little more about Pandora. We’re teaching them culture, the language, the flora and fauna.” To prepare for these new roles, cast members were schooled in Na’vi history, have learned the basics of the Na’vi language as well as developed an understanding of the Na’vi way of life. For instance, cast members will be able to great guests using the Na’vi word for “Hello” and other common phrases from the Avatar film including “I see you.”
These new Pandora cast member groups outlined in the Orlando Sentinel article are as follows:
- Alpha Centauri Expeditions (ACE) – Cast members under this umbrella will assume the role of an ACE employee. ACE is a tourism company from earth that provides exclusive vacations to Pandora. You’ll find them at Satu’li Canteen, Wind Traders and on the Na’vi River Journey.
- Pandora Conservation Initiative (PCI) – This group will largely be based at Flight of Passage as well as Wind Traders.
- Ex-pats – These cast members will play the role of residents of earth who loved Pandora so much they decided to stay. You’ll find them at Pongu Pongu and doing face painting. Their costumes will be the most colorful.
There are a broad mix of roles that fall into these camps from food and beverage employees to ride attendants and also highly technical roles to cover the new ride mechanics .
It was also revealed that most of the 700 employees that will be working in Pandora come from different parts of Disney World. This is in addition to the over 800 employees that were involved in Pandora’s construction.
You’ll be able to see these cast members hard at work when Pandora: The World of Avatar officially opens its doors at Disney’s Animal Kingdom on May 27th.
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