DHS Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

[SWGalaxysEdge]

Posted this in our Resistance ride thread on the Disneyland forum, but it applies here even more.

Just watched the "big" DHS opening ceremony. Here are my Deep Thoughts on that...

• No celebs. Just Chewbacca, Vi Moradi Presented by Clairol ColorSilk, and a gaggle of kids from Tallahassee Junior College pretending to be fighter pilots and gritty townsfolk on stage. You can dress up a blonde twink as a fighter pilot and smear dirt on his face, but that doesn't mean the audience buys it.
• Drones. Okay, kind of cool, but also kind of pointless. They moved more like the Goodyear Blimp than an X-Wing Fighter. Were they supposed to do something more?
• Bob Chapek. He is still exactly like Bob Chapek, or the animatronic they use for Mr. Chapek. He read his script reasonably well and hit all his Power Words. Immersive is still firmly in his vocabulary, thank God. He still has a good grasp of how to pull off Executive Casual with the blazer, so thank you to Mrs. Chapek or whomever styles him.
• Does the ride work? At the end Mr. Chapek didn't tell the crowd "we invite you to experience Rise of the Resistance!". Instead he said "we invite you to live your own adventure throughout Star Wars Galaxy's Edge!" They didn't mention the ride was open. That's odd.

...I think they based the AT-AT walkers after him because his head didn't move... off the teleprompter. Even then, he could not read what was in front of him. - "...Immersive....Immersive....Live your OWN adventure...Immersive"

 

[Notes from Neverland]

Were the drones worth it? What do you all think?

For one media event? No. If it was a regular feature of the land? Yes.

 

[VJ]

Bob Chapek moves as if he's perpetually stuck in a tiny box and can barely move his arms/upper body. So stiff.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Let’s get real. Do you say, “A. T. A. T. Walker” or “At at walker”? I’m not a big enough fan and have heard both in Disney videos. All I know is “’til the spire!”

 

[Brer Oswald]

Let’s get real. Do you say, “A. T. A. T. Walker” or “At at walker”? I’m not a big enough fan and have heard both in Disney videos. All I know is “’til the spire!”

AT&T

 

[trainplane3]

• Drones. Okay, kind of cool, but also kind of pointless. They moved more like the Goodyear Blimp than an X-Wing Fighter. Were they supposed to do something more?

Apparently...

No idea. As I said before, I am not Disney. I haven’t seen the drones in a bit I just know what I am told. Original plans started with Ties and X-Wing, then it went to X-Wings patrolling a bit than hyperspacing out. That is the last of what I know. I guess they ultimately decided on this.

 

[SWGalaxysEdge]

Bob Chapek moves as if he's perpetually stuck in a tiny box and can barely move his arms/upper body. So stiff.

... Bob 3-P-EK - "I am fluent in NO forms of communication"

 

[VJ]

... Bob 3-P-EK

Nah, C-3PO has more upper body movement than he does.

 

[TP2000]

You weren’t negative enough on Mr. Chapek. If I didn’t know any better, I’d suspect he rehired you to say nice things about him (or as nice as one could say about Ol’ RoBobto).

Ha! Buy me a drink and I'll tell you how I really feel.

I'm trying to be polite because it's clearly obvious the man has no clue what he's doing in general, and more specifically is not good at hosting opening ceremonies. Even with backup from the drama club at Tallahassee Junior College.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Ha! Buy me a drink and I'll tell you how I really feel.

I'm trying to be polite this evening because it's clearly obvious the man has no clue what he's doing in general, and more specifically is not good at hosting opening ceremonies. Even with backup from the drama club at Tallahassee Junior College.

If you don't mind my asking...why do you have Samantha drinking out of a punch bowl as your avatar?

 

[TP2000]

If you don't mind my asking...why do you have Samantha drinking out of a punch bowl as your avatar?

That's not a punch bowl, it's a massive martini glass. See the olive?

I have no idea how or why I chose that, it just spoke to me. I loved that show back in the day! And every day at 5 o'clock I have a much smaller version of Samantha's beverage. Because I'm only a mere mortal.

 

[SWGalaxysEdge]

Bob can't help being stiff and robotic - he is from WESTWORLD after all...

 

[Animaniac93-98]

All I know is “’til the spire!”

Tilda Swinton was at the ceremony? Why wasn't she on stage!?

 

[fgmnt]

But please tell me why I'm supposed to care about Rey, be scared of Kylo, or give a damn about The Resistance. I cared about the Jedi, et al, in the OT because I cared about the characters and what would happen to them. The razzle-dazzle effects were the icing; the characters were the cake. Compared to the OT, Iger's Star Wars is just a bunch of woke empty calories. Again, meh.

I don't want to dogpile on a new ride that I have not even ridden, but in the spirit of Star Wars, I'm sure the company has had a series of moments where they had to "search their feelings, for [they] know it to be true." I see that Kylo scene and am replaying in my head what would happen there in the OT.

Your car is cruising quickly but comes to a very harsh stop. The lights go out. Sparks start shooting out of control panels. You feel the car slowly creep backwards as you hear the heavy breathing fill the room, only to have it pierced by the light and sound of a lightsaber ignition. The car swirls around, and you're confronted with Vader, towering over you, cape flowing, hand clenching into a fist.

The creators of that moment cement themselves as creating a defining memory in the minds of tens of millions of people.

Instead, it's Kylo Ren ducking a falling ceiling.

You know there are designers who worked on this ride who thought of this exact scenario.

I say this as someone who is excited and relieved that the ride looks to be a great experience, and a reassertion that WDI can still deliver great themed ride attractions that engage and satisfy the whole family. It's great to see the marriage of decades of ride system concepts come together, and I hope it can stay together. I hope and expect to have a new #1 in Orlando, and that #1 to be back in Disney after my next visit.

But everyone knows this is true: the Star Wars Lands would have been better if the egos stepped aside and let these experiences be a tribute to the original trilogy instead of a project built on all of the work and the minimum amount of necessary nostalgia Lucas created.

 

[Dragonman]

Anyone have a master list of all the practical effects? I’ve seen videos but everything moves so smoothly it’s hard to tell sometimes. Most of the screens are fairly obvious however.

 

[MrConbon]

So what time are people getting there tomorrow morning?

 

[THE 1HAPPY HAUNT]

As soon as Star Tours was mentioned I began to laugh.

He is trolling...

Right???

I am being serious. I dont hate this ride. I like it a lot.
Its not a horrible ride. Falcon is a horrible ride. ROTR is not. The queue is right up there with some of the best Disney queues of all time. Right up there with Indy's (but Indy's has the leg up). My postives from the ride povs:
The BB-8 AA is awesome
The Rey Hologram is amazing(I just dont like Rey as a character)
EVERY PART OF THE ITTS SHUTTLE IS FANTASTIC although I was told Niem Nub (sic) would be flying and the pilot AA doesnt look like he turns around to make out if it is him or not.
The first Kylo AA is damn good(and I am not a Kylo fan)
The AT-AT lowering its guns at you and firing on the 1st pod is great.
The cannons shooting as you travel under them is good.
THE RAMP. We finally get one we can walk up in the land.
THE NOT SOO GOOD:
The Storm Troopers once you get off the ITTS SHUTTLE have little to no movement.
The door that "falls apart" as the reisistance members help youescap and load you onto the vehicles looks like a crappy effect.
The Probe Droid comes down too sloow and you can tell how the effect is done
Too many screens used in the ride that look like screens
Having a General Hux AA
The Lightsaber effect is like I predicted
The At-At heads don't move so Disneylied in its advertising and STARWARSGALAXYEDGE poster lied about them moving and the Kylo running st you part or his source lied to him
THE STORY IS CONVULTED AND POINTLESS. The ride's story is "spinning its wheels the ride." We are recruited, get captured, escape only to go back to batuu on our merry way. Um..werent we on our way to see Leia cuz she needed us? Why not have her come to Batuu at the end. "Sorry you couldnt come to me so i came to you". Guess that mission to leia was meaningless if they dont have us get on another ship to go see her. Also why is Finn on the ship?? Did he know we were going to get randonly kidnapped in advance? If not why is and the other resistance fighters in disguise on a random star destroyer???
The Finn AA's are too robotic.
The last Kylo AA looks very robotic and moves unnaturally and the door falling in front of him is not convincing at all and looks like something out of Earthquake from Universal as others have pointed out.
Overall it is a solid ride. I like it as a whole but its been way overhyped. Is it a good ride? Hell, yeah. Does it look fun? Hell, yeah. Does it set a new Imagineering bar? Hell, no. Is it the best Star Wars ride? Hell, no. Star Tours is better and more thrilling and fun and Hyperspace Mountain is fantastic. Does it make up for the Falcon Ride? 100% yes. I like it. Its exactly what I thought it would be. I don't hate it, I am not in love with it. But its decent and that is all it had to be. And I love that it uses actual Star Wars music for once in the land.

 

[tirian]

I don't want to dogpile on a new ride that I have not even ridden, but in the spirit of Star Wars, I'm sure the company has had a series of moments where they had to "search their feelings, for [they] know it to be true." I see that Kylo scene and am replaying in my head what would happen there in the OT.

Your car is cruising quickly but comes to a very harsh stop. The lights go out. Sparks start shooting out of control panels. You feel the car slowly creep backwards as you hear the heavy breathing fill the room, only to have it pierced by the light and sound of a lightsaber ignition. The car swirls around, and you're confronted with Vader, towering over you, cape flowing, hand clenching into a fist.

The creators of that moment cement themselves as creating a defining memory in the minds of tens of millions of people.

Instead, it's Kylo Ren ducking a falling ceiling.

You know there are designers who worked on this ride who thought of this exact scenario.

I say this as someone who is excited and relieved that the ride looks to be a great experience, and a reassertion that WDI can still deliver great themed ride attractions that engage and satisfy the whole family. It's great to see the marriage of decades of ride system concepts come together, and I hope it can stay together. I hope and expect to have a new #1 in Orlando, and that #1 to be back in Disney after my next visit.

But everyone knows this is true: the Star Wars Lands would have been better if the egos stepped aside and let these experiences be a tribute to the original trilogy instead of a project built on all of the work and the minimum amount of necessary nostalgia Lucas created.

If it would’ve been Darth Vader instead of Whiny Kylo, he would’ve used the Force to spin our vehicles out of control, or “hover” in place, or... sigh. The possibilities.

And Leia would’ve been in the attraction kicking a$$. Her characterization in 1977 was lightyears ahead of “I’m-so-special-BECAUSE” Woke Rey.

 

[jaxonp]

So many people comparing this to MM... I wonder how many have actually ridden it. MM has to be one of the most overrated rides in the last 15 years. I’ve been on too many times to count and I can say this- Watching Rise from a YouTube video is better than MM in person. Rise looks completely different league. We haven’t seen a ride of this scale since Indy.

 

[ToTBellHop]

So many people comparing this to MM... I wonder how many have actually ridden it. MM has to be one of the most overrated rides in the last 15 years. I’ve been on too many times to count and I can say this- Watching Rise from a YouTube video is better than MM in person. Rise looks completely different league. We haven’t seen a ride of this scale since Indy.

It will become clear to all just how good Rise is (if it isn’t already) when they see Rat.