DHS Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

[Mickeyboof]

EXACTLY. Expectations are EVERYTHING. If they don’t meet it, people are crushed and suddenly it sucks. Go in not knowing what to expect and you can end up being pleasantly surprised.

I’m kinda glad in hindsight that DL opened first as there wasn’t universal (pun intended) praise. So it helped me back off my insane expectations.

Anytime in life I’ve been SUPER hyped for ANYTHING, nothing has ever met it, NOTHING (music, movie, attraction). Then after the emotional state calms down I’m able to properly judge something.

Woah stop right there. I’m not taking the blame for being disappointed with Galaxy’s Edge.

Disney suits did interview after interview about what would be in the land.

Then they never told us that they’re taking most of it back. So they collected park admission and surprised us with a different Galaxy’s Edge than they literally described.

It’s on them. This is about my or anyone’s expectations. That’s so childish to think that way.

 

[KevinPage]

Woah stop right there. I’m not taking the blame for being disappointed with Galaxy’s Edge.

Disney suits did interview after interview about what would be in the land.

Then they never told us that they’re taking most of it back. So they collected park admission and surprised us with a different Galaxy’s Edge than they literally described.

It’s on them. This is about my or anyone’s expectations. That’s so childish to think that way.

Well two problems with that:

- you believed Disney executives
- they technically never “dated” the features they removed/haven’t followed through with

Heck, for all we know once ROTR opens was their original plan to go full Monty. Opening early to get the benefit of TWO grand openings might have been their way to try and get some extra bang for the buck out of this and figured the land itself would be enough to sell it for a few months.

 

[Mickeyboof]

Well two problems with that:

- you believed Disney executives
- they technically never “dated” the features they removed/haven’t followed through with

Heck, for all we know once ROTR opens was their original plan to go full Monty. Opening early to get the benefit of TWO grand openings might have been their way to try and get some extra bang for the buck out of this and figured the land itself would be enough to sell it for a few months.

If a Disney imagineer or exec says there’s going to be a falcon ride, there’s going to be a falcon ride.

When they say there will be roaming droids and aliens, why shouldn’t there be roaming droids and aliens?

Why bother telling the world about Oga or the bounty hunter when they’re just going to quietly cut them?

Yeah, I listened to what they had to say. It’s not that they did the things less than, or the quality was low. No, they didn’t even DO the things they said. I paid for a product and they did not deliver.

So don’t blame anyone on their expectations. Because you’ll have to tell the thousands of people walking out of there unimpressed it’s just because they set their silly expectations too high.

 

[Kate F]

Were people really setting their expectations “too high” though? First of all, this is Disney we’re talking about, if anything they should be exceeding people’s expectations, not falling short of them. Secondly, this was always going to get ridiculously hyped, both because of the massive success of Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter and because Star Wars is an arguably even more popular IP that people believed was Disney big shot at creating something of Potter’s caliber. And who wouldn’t be excited for that?

I’m not really the type of person to get “hyped” over stuff, but I can easily understand why others had high expectations for this.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Were people really setting their expectations “too high” though? First of all, this is Disney we’re talking about, if anything they should be exceeding people’s expectations, not falling short of them. Secondly, this was always going to get ridiculously hyped, both because of the massive success of Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter and because Star Wars is an arguably even more popular IP that people believed was Disney big shot at creating something of Potter’s caliber. And who wouldn’t be excited for that?

I’m not really the type of person to get “hyped” over stuff, but I can easily understand why others had high expectations for this.

As you say, it’s very simple; this was Disney’s shot to create something to rival Potterverse. They missed, and they didn’t really get very close. Maddeningly, fans seemed to have understood what was at stake with SWGE much more clearly then Disney execs.

Folks saying that the choice to focus on the ST over the OT is at the core of SWGE’s problems seem to be making a rather absurd claim. Switch the Hondo AA with a Han figure and have Vader walk around with troopers instead of Kylo. Now it’s an OT land. Does anyone seriously think these changes would have boosted crowds to the level Disney expected?

SWGE is disappointing because, unlike the Potterlands, the land itself doesn’t feel like an attraction. There are several reasons for this;
1) not enough life (shows, characters, drones)
2) no music (related to above; the immersion excuse is ridiculous; Star Wars isn’t a real place, it’s a movie; Battu is invoking a movie, not a reality; in the movie, there is ALWAYS music)
And the big two:
3) one rather disappointing ride
4) not enough shops and restaurants that invite exploration and dawdling; the land should have been PACKED with big, intricate, carefully crafted venues (no Rowling to restrict size here) with clever gags and Easter eggs and little places to be discovered

Disney knows how to build the kind of land they needed. They built it with Radiator Springs. But SWGE was the one that mattered, and astonishingly... they missed the mark.

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

What they built is a dull, lifeless, abandoned movie set

If the land was around in the 1960's Charlie Manson was still around him and his family would have moved right in it is soo abandoned.

 

[easyrowrdw]

Can you imagine the outcry if ROTR opened with that kind of downtime? The pitchforks would be out. No sense in rushing what seems to be the most complicated theme park attraction ever created.

But when you are 2nd fiddle in the market, you are given much more leeway.

It's been 4 years since the land was announced. If they're rushing at this point, that's just ridiculous. Like you said, Disney isn't second fiddle. They should be doing this stuff better than Universal so when they don't they get rightly criticized.

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

Another thing I forgot to mention in one of my previous posts (about this weird obsession with the land having to be OT)...WE ALL KNEW THIS WAS A NEW PLANET for at least a year or so.

I barely heard anyone saying “mistake”, “needs to be OT”, “needs area music” when all of this was announced. Everyone was excited over the prospects. Then TDA messed up the marketing, opened early to get a double bounce of people with the B attraction only, and suddenly, because it wasn’t packed to the gills (which we are all happy about since we can, ya know, ENJOY IT), it becomes the “IT THING” to do and create this false narrative about being a failure and here’s why & “look how smart I am by pointing it out”.

EVERY THEME PARK IN ORLANDO has had down attendance this summer. Call it the perfect storm of price hikes, concerns about the economy, coupled with fear of insane crowds for SWGE and not having the major E ticket open. Disney may have expected more and planned for more but they are still making $$$$ hand over fist.

I conveniently don’t see articles about the insane down time of Hagrid and it being less than 10 minute waits plenty of days. Cause ya know, it’s easier and more fun to take pot shots at the big dog and it’s big dog franchise.

We all blame management/Chapek for their short sighted vision and ‘profit today at the expense of the long term’, YET everyone tries to paint this idea that something that isn’t gobbsmacked with people is a disaster after 3 weeks.

In 6-12 months when ROTR is humming along and they add some live entertainment to the land, you won’t hear anyone proclaiming “my bad I overreacted”

Don't include me in that. From the get go i though building it around the sequel trilogy and on a previous unknown planet was a bad mistake but was hopeful they could still pull it off. and yet.. they haven't

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

Completely disagree with the narrative of ‘dull and lifeless’. What other land at any of the Disney parks (stateside) has this much detail and cast member “in world”? Hint: NONE OF THEM.

New Orleans Square is on the phone and would like to have a word with you.

 

[Tom Morrow]

When I'm in WWoHP and hearing the same small selection of very familiar themes from the films for the umpteenth time that day, I wish there was no music. Playing the movie scores is NOT immersion, it's just a constant reminder of the fact that the movies exist. I would like to see more ambient noise in SWGE and some original ambient music here and there but the last thing I want is the familiar themes blasting endlessly.

 

[WDWTrojan]

So is the live entertainment aspect the ‘make or break’ point for you? Pandora has a guy in a mech suit and no musical score, just sounds affects. SWGE has a couple of Stormtroopers, Kylo Ren, Chewie and Rey. Far bigger footprint so maybe it feels like less. Harambe has musicans playing, otherwise it’s just a highly themed marketplace to a real world area.

The “Battuuians” and the catch phrases can be a little over the top/bit much at times, no doubt.

Again I chalk this up to Disney not fulfilling a promise so people are latching onto a narrative to drive their “piling on” point home. If they never promised a stunt show and roaming characters/droids, expectations would be different.

Pandora definitely has BGM. It's not as loud as some areas, but it's definitely there. Made a point of noticing it last week after the let down of SWGE.

Cast Members tried, but as someone who works on Broadway with arguably the highest skilled actors in the world, it was like nails on a chalkboard hearing Susie on her college program semester struggle to tell me about the wishing tree outside Savi’s, before informing me that no, I can not tie my wish to the tree.

Bright suns, man.

Haha, an amazing description. It's a shame, because "performance theming," Disney's term for front-line operations people portraying a "character," can really enhance an experience, but only when done right. A bellhop at the Hollywood Tower Hotel giving you that foreboding smile and telling you that your room is almost ready, truly enhances the experience on that attraction. However, that same bellhop working at the front entrance refusing to acknowledge that Fantasmic is not only a thing but that it starts at 8pm, is quite annoying and condescending. Same applies here.... forcing an outdoor foods person, who is probably struggling with the heat and just wants to know when her next break is, to tell you to "have a nice flight" or spout nonsense about "bright suns" is tacky and cringe-worthy at best. The fact this has replaced real actors telling real stories in the land itself is embarassing.

 

[cjkeating]

So is the live entertainment aspect the ‘make or break’ point for you? Pandora has a guy in a mech suit and no musical score, just sounds affects.

There is music in the 'human' area of Pandora around Pongu Pongu and Satu'li.

 

[KevinPage]

I just know that when executives talk to take it with a certain amount of blowing smoke up our keisters.

Again, they opened the land early to get extra $$$$, so MAYBE (big maybe) their plan is to add it back once ROTR opens or soon after.

Then again, once/if they do, most people will rip into them claiming they only did it because of backlash/public pressure and somehow it’s no longer good enough, even though that’s what their main complaints were.

 

[mikejs78]

New Orleans Square, Cars Land, Harambe, Pandora, most of World Showcase, etc. are all more alive, energized, and entertaining. Not to mention the far superior two Harry Potter lands that make SWGE look like the dull, depressing land it is.

If you are asking which other land has the fundamentally terrible creative choice to have union food & beverage and merch cast members practice their cringe-worthy improv skills saying "Bright Suns" and "May the Spires keep you", well, you are correct, none of them. Thank God.

(Note: Little old Knotts Berry Farm's Ghost Town has an entire "immersive" cast of characters that roam the streets and put the guests into a day long old west story. It can be done well when you use actual trained actors and make the right creative choices.)

 

[mikejs78]

False narrative? It’s just a fact that reviews all across the internet are meh or negative. It’s just a fact.

No, it's not. There are a large number of positive reviews out there. In fact I've seen far more positive reviews than negative/meh reviews.

It’s already in a worse state than Hagrid. Hagrid opened.

And maybe it shouldn't have. Why is Rise in a worse state when it is opening essentially on time, at least in DHS?

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

No, it's not. There are a large number of positive reviews out there. In fact I've seen far more positive reviews than negative/meh reviews.

But those aren't fun to focus on -- and they don't make for forum fodder.

 

[Ravenclaw78]

I've said it before, I'll say it again... There is literally nothing Disney could have built on this planet that would have met the expectations that the phrase "Star Wars Land" conjures in the minds of fans. Could they have done better? Sure. But no matter how immersive they made it, even if they delivered everything Iger and Chapek said there'd be, it would still be criticized for falling short.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I've said it before, I'll say it again... There is literally nothing Disney could have built on this planet that would have met the expectations that the phrase "Star Wars Land" conjures in the minds of fans. Could they have done better? Sure. But no matter how immersive they made it, even if they delivered everything Iger and Chapek said there'd be, it would still be criticized for falling short.

Agreed. Nothing people seem to love more these days that complaining — about anything and everything — especially online.

Let me just add that our family is full of SW fans — from my husband, sister and I who were huge fans of the original way back when, and my kids who grew up with the originals and new films. We all LOVED SWGE. As have the vast majority of those we know who experienced it — big SW fans and not.

We’d love more streetmosphere and a falcon ride that switched up missions. But even without that — and without ROTR yet — we spent HOURS exploring and will spend many many more.

But people LOVE to complain and those voices are often way louder than those of people who like something — anything.

 

[Steph15251]

I really liked SWGE and can not wait for ROTR to open .Yes I feel it needs more but the land is really nice

 

[KrzyKtty]

Haven't visited the land yet, so can't really speak to it on a personal level. And while I do enjoy Star Wars, I wouldn't really say I'm a dedicated fan. So at the end of the day, I'm probably just not as invested in the issue. I'm sure my family will love the new area, but we would love any new area simply because it is something new to experience. So far, my family thinks the most amazing ride Disney has created was FOTB. If RotR can at least equal that, it will be awesome.