BAY LAKE, Fla. — Crews will spend Thursday putting the finishing touches on Pandora, an "Avatar"-themed land will open Saturday at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom theme park.
Matt Beiler, a producer for Walt Disney Imagineering, said that although the film is science fiction, he and his colleagues designed the land with a focus on realism.
[ Read: Pandora: What to know about hours, rides, food ]
[ Watch: Dedication ceremony for Disney's Pandora ]
"When I go to Africa, this is a real place in Africa," he said. "The same thing happens here when guests come here to Pandora. They are going to a real valley."
The resort's newest attraction brings the film to life with scenery inspired by the movie, including majestic waterfalls, boat rides down the fictional Na’vi River and a bioluminescent rainforest, which illuminates at night.
"From the moment you walk in, it's astonishing," visitor Christian Rivera said.
[ Photos: Dedication ceremony for Disney's 'Pandora: the World of Avatar' ]
Read: Pandora primer: recap of 'Avatar'
Park visitors will be made to feel as if they're walking among floating mountains and soaring on the back of a flying "banshee."
Park visitors will also be able to beat on drums at Pandora, and Satu’li Canteen serves a movie-inspired menu.
"Walt said, 'It's kind of fun to do the impossible,'" Beiler said. "And that is what every imagineer has at their core: They embrace the challenge."