News Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge - Historical Construction/Impressions

[wityblack]

No matter what, Galaxy's Edge was worth it for Rise of the Resistance, one of the greatest theme park attractions ever built. Would I have preferred Discovery Bay? Yeah probably. And I agree with the consensus regarding dead space, lack of kinetic energy, Smuggler's Run being a disappointment, etc. But as long as Disney/WDI is open to tweaking and expanding Galaxy's Edge, I don't see its existing shortcomings as impossible to overcome. And again, we got Rise out of it, a phenomenal addition to Disneyland's already-stacked lineup of E-tickets.

Do we know the extent to which expansion plots are available? IMO ideally they could put something low-key/indoor/hidden (to preserve the sensibility of resistance forest) in plot 1 (Dagobah System boat ride a la Navi River Journey?), something kinetic in plot 2 (flat ride? outdoor track ride a la Tokyo DisneySea's Tinkerbell's Busy Buggies?), and a large outdoor attraction in plot 3 (Luke & Leia's Magical Creatures Speeder Bike Adventure?). But who knows if these spaces are actually workable.

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1 would be impossible. You can't just cut off service roads like that.

 

[Too Many Hats]

1 would be impossible. You can't just cut off service roads like that.

Build a tunnel

Guess they’ll have to relocate Pooh and use that plot for my Dagobah System boat ride.

 

[mickEblu]

Build a tunnel

Guess they’ll have to relocate Pooh and use that plot for my Dagobah System boat ride.

Hahah. It’s hard to envision a scenario where Pooh’s space doesn’t end up getting absorbed by GE. Not sure for what ride or attraction. I think Ewoks would be a good spiritual successor to Pooh/ Country Bears and the area already looks Endor-esque. I think it’s a good way to bring some more OT presence to the land and also wouldn’t do too bad in the merch dept. Maybe not Pooh level sales but I’d imagine the Pooh Meet n greet and store could stay over on the Critter Country side. Pooh n friends to me are kind of like Mickey n friends at this point? Do they really need a ride to sell merch?

With all of this said I’m more than Ok with nothing happening. These days everything is high risk and I find the area very charming as is.

 

[Disney Irish]

Hahah. It’s hard to envision a scenario where Pooh’s space doesn’t end up getting absorbed by GE. Not sure for what ride or attraction. I think Ewoks would be a good spiritual successor to Pooh/ Country Bears and the area already looks Endor-esque. I think it’s a good way to bring some more OT presence to the land and also wouldn’t do too bad in the merch dept. Maybe not Pooh level sales but I’d imagine the Pooh Meet n greet and store could stay over on the Critter Country side. Pooh n friends to me are kind of like Mickey n friends at this point? Do they really need a ride to sell merch?

With all of this said I’m more than Ok with nothing happening. These days everything is high risk and I find the area very charming as is.

Question is, are Ewoks even a merch seller anymore at this point (not that they ever really were hot anyways, but still)? I mean I can't even remember that last time I saw something Ewoks related being sold at all, let alone anyone having anything Ewoks related on any apparel.

So Pooh still seems like the hot ticket on this one.

 

[mickEblu]

Question is, are Ewoks even a merch seller anymore at this point (not that they ever really were hot anyways, but still)? I mean I can't even remember that last time I saw something Ewoks related being sold at all, let alone anyone having anything Ewoks related on any apparel.

So Pooh still seems like the hot ticket on this one.

I think the ride would boost the Ewok (build a bear) sales but of course there are hotter properties for sure. But what aren’t they already selling between GE or Star Trader?

 

[Disney Irish]

I think the ride would boost the Ewok (build a bear) sales but of course there are hotter properties for sure. But what aren’t they already selling between GE or Star Trader?

Well we don’t know what merch will come out of the Mando/Grogu movie next year.

 

[Phroobar]

There will be figures of the main characters in both Vintage and Black Series. Same old stuff as usual. There might be ship or just a rebranded Mando ship for $40 more than it's last release.

 

[mickEblu]

Well we don’t know what merch will come out of the Mando/Grogu movie next year.

True but they already have an attraction with Smugglers Run so they’re out. That merch would probably go in the bazaar or Dok Ondars. Or most likely at Star Trader considering how commercial the characters are.

 

[Disney Irish]

True but they already have an attraction with Smugglers Run so they’re out. That merch would probably go in the bazaar or Dok Ondars. Or most likely at Star Trader considering how commercial the characters are.

I guess my point is that I don't see that area being used for something that isn't marketable with today's IP.

 

[mickEblu]

I guess my point is that I don't see that area being used for something that isn't marketable with today's IP.

That fair but you also have the space constraints so the IP needs to fit within those. Not sure what space they have to work with back there but if it were limited to just Poohs building or a little more than we can’t expect much. Not sure you can add a super popular franchise in that spot without people being disappointed.

 

[Disney Irish]

That fair but you also have the space constraints so the IP needs to fit within those. Not sure what space they have to work with back there but if it were limited to just Poohs building or a little more than we can’t expect much. Not sure you can add a super popular franchise in that spot without people being disappointed.

Which is why maybe we've been wrong in terms of Pooh being replaceable, at least in terms of the "building". I'm sure at some point maybe Pooh himself. But I expect he would be replaced by something that can go in that same building.

 

[mickEblu]

Which is why maybe we've been wrong in terms of Pooh being replaceable, at least in terms of the "building". I'm sure at some point maybe Pooh himself. But I expect he would be replaced by something that can go in that same building.

I don’t see Pooh getting replaced by anything other than more Star Wars. Of course it could just stick around but Pooh getting replaced by other animated Disney etc IP seems like the least likely scenario of the 3.

 

[Disney Irish]

I don’t see Pooh getting replaced by anything other than more Star Wars. Of course it could just stick around but Pooh getting replaced by other animated Disney etc IP seems like the least likely scenario of the 3.

I still remember long ago the rumors of Zootopia coming the area was being pushed. So I don't put it past them to push more regular Disney IP into the area, especially as they push into DLForward from there.

 

[mickEblu]

I still remember long ago the rumors of Zootopia coming the area was being pushed. So I don't put it past them to push more regular Disney IP into the area, especially as they push into DLForward from there.

No IMO Zooptoopia would have to go across the street if anywhere. There’s no room where Pooh is.

 

[Disney Irish]

No IMO Zooptoopia would have to go across the street if anywhere. There’s no room where Pooh is.

Not the point, it wasn't that Zootopia would be used in this scenario, the point was that the area has already been looked at for a retheme to regular Disney IP even as GE was being built, which is why I would think they would continue with regular Disney IP for a future retheme over expanding GE.

 

[mickEblu]

Not the point, it wasn't that Zootopia would be used in this scenario, the point was that the area has already been looked at for regular Disney IP even as GE was being built, which is why I would think they would continue with regular Disney IP for a future retheme over expanding GE.

Considering the space constraints and the IPs popularity I could only see it being removed for a Star Wars expansion. Don’t see why they would bother with anything else. Might also be why they went ahead and renamed the land to the much more restrictive Bayou Country.

 

[Disney Irish]

Considering the space constraints and the IPs popularity I could only see it being removed for a Star Wars expansion. Don’t see why they would bother with anything else.

Dunno, did anyone have Pooh on their bingo card when it was converted over from Country Bears years ago? Or even GE itself for that matter, or even DLForward? Point being is that until its done we can't see all the possibilities. And given again that Zootopia was at one point considered for the area (or at least rumored, several at the time including a whole Splash retheme) it indicates they have ideas for it beyond just GE expansion. So I could see a smaller property being put in there as a replacement for Pooh, still a dark ride, but would hope they would redo the tech.

Heck, thinking about it, they do have a new animated movie coming out in 8 months that could potentially fit the area, or at least just a well as Pooh does. So if Hoppers does well I could see maybe a Pooh retheme to it.

 

[Professortango1]

Isn't Pooh one of the biggest franchises in terms of merch sales? I ride the ride every trip and typically wait between 10 and 25 minutes, like other similar FL-style rides.

 

[mickEblu]

At a conference for the Unreal gaming engine, which provides the visuals for Smuggler's Run, they talked about the coming update to the ride. Aside from it using the latest version of Unreal Engine, they acknowledged the branching storyline and added this: “ ...even within each of the level environments themselves, we've worked with our partners at ILM to develop levels that have considerably more branching,” Kalama adds. “So that even if you return to the same destination, there's a new route or new secrets to uncover. ”

In addition to this I hope they design more moments that utilize the ride system to its fullest. Like the moment where we fall down the shaft currently. Perhaps more than one of those types of moments would get repetitive but I feel like there is a little room for improvement there.

 

[mickEblu]

Isn't Pooh one of the biggest franchises in terms of merch sales? I ride the ride every trip and typically wait between 10 and 25 minutes, like other similar FL-style rides.

Yeah that’s why I don’t see it going for anything other than more Star Wars because of its location. I feel that it may have also been a factor with the lands name change. But who knows, I could be wrong and also plans change all the time.