Walt Disney World has seemingly permanently closed the ACE Avatar Maker experience in Pandora – The World of Avatar in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The closure comes at the end of the 2025 fiscal year, after months and months of discounts for the experience. Here’s a look at the area from our visit to Disney’s Animal Kingdom today.
Pandora ACE Avatar Maker Experience Permanently Closed at Animal Kingdom
As you can see, the ACE Avatar Maker experience is now behind curtains in the Windtraders gift shop. We didn’t see any indications that the immersive scanning device was still in place.
Cast Members that we spoke to said that the experience would not be returning. Walt Disney World has not returned a request for comment about the future of the experience, but we’ll keep you updated should we receive confirmation of its closure.
Interestingly, the ACE Avatar Maker experience was not only a day-one experience in Pandora – The World of Avatar, but it went on to inspire other experiences, such as the TRON Identity Program in Magic Kingdom. The TRON Identity Program is also struggling to attract guests. We would not be surprised to see it discontinued as well.
ACE Avatar Maker Experience Background
The ACE Avatar Maker experience debuted in 2017, and was one of the unique merchandise experiences offered in Pandora – The World of Avatar at the time. At ACE Avatar Maker, the natural feel of Windtraders gives way as guests step into a futuristic transformation booth. Guests are greeted by an Alpha Centauri Expedition Scan Technician who uses a state-of-the-art, facial capture scanner to enter data into the Hybrid Digitizing System.
After an image is captured, guests select their avatar’s body style from four different choices. Both youth and adult sizes are offered. They also choose eye color, facial striping pattern, and hairstyle.
Throughout the experience, the technician shares interesting details about the Na’vi. For example, Na’vi naturally have yellow eyes; or the Na’vi gene for dark hair is so strong that it is always dominant in the creation of an avatar.
Once the customization process is completed, guests receive an ACE identification tag. This keepsake card is used about 30 minutes later at the ACE Avatar Maker Fabricator inside Windtraders where guests receive their completed action figures. The packaging was inspired by the Amnio tank that is seen in the Avatar Flight of Passage queue.
“We were inspired by the breathtaking Avatar Flight of Passage attraction when designing ACE Avatar Maker,” explained Cody Hampton, merchandise product developer. “During the attraction, guests are connected with an avatar for first-person flight on a banshee over the moon’s incredible landscape. We thought guests would love to see what they actually look like as a human/Na’vi hybrid. Using a digital process, guests can now create and personalize their own avatar action figure.”
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