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Channel 9 gets an inside look at Disney's World of Avatar

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Pandora: The World of Avatar doesn't open until May at Animal Kingdom inside Disney World, but Channel 9's Jamie Holmes got an inside look at the attraction Thursday.

The floating mountains are some 156 feet high and there are waterfalls people can walk under.

"This is the biggest media blitz we've seen here in forever, for any attraction,” said Tom Corless, with WDW News Today.

Pandora is a 12-acre addition to Disney's Animal Kingdom, with rides, restaurants and stores.

Construction began in 2014 and it’s a half-billion dollar expansion.

"It's about the size of Cars Land in California, and two acres smaller than Star Wars Land, which they're building at Hollywood Studios. So it's giant,” Corless said.

There will be two restaurants featuring Na-vi inspired dishes.  There will be two rides, the first is Avatar Flight of Passage where guests’ bodies will be scanned and be matched to their very own avatar where they’ll ride the sky on their very own flying banshee.

The second ride is down the Na’vi River Journey, where guests float through a glowing forest.

There is a lot riding on Avatar. Disney's attendance has drifted lately, and was down some 5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016.

This is a big investment for Disney, the biggest until Toy Story in 2018 and Star Wars Land in 2019.

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