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News Star Wars Galaxy's Edge Disneyland opening reports/reviews
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
Stevek
Well-Known Member
Finally got a chance to visit Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge yesterday and was blown away. It’s absolutely beautiful, amazing craftsmanship. Could have spent much more time exploring but had lots to see given we hadn’t been to DL in a year for me and 2 years for my wife. Unfortunately did not get in to Ogas. As for Disneyland, park looked great, like the new entry into TL BUT this visit absolutely reaffirmed our rationale for not getting APs again. We were on the fence going in but the crowds became absolutely unbearable later in the day after what was a very nice morning and afternoon. I just don’t have the tolerance anymore and we will likely go old school like when I was a kid and make 1-2 full day visits per year.
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BrianLo
Well-Known Member
I do like that Coca-Cola has helped in a small way to plus the land. We just need a few more droids to fill in a few more of the stagnant areas and the entertainment package to unlock.
The One day at Disney episode strangely honed in a lot on the semi-failed autonomous droid experiment, but still made it seem like they are working on it. Then the 6th episode of the Imagineering episode also left with images of it sprinkled into the end on stuff they are developing.
It would be nice if they could get that rolling, even if it's just the one we've seen. Bring R2D2 into the land out of launch bay, with a handler. A Mandolorian would be great too.
It's so close to being what it needs to be.
The One day at Disney episode strangely honed in a lot on the semi-failed autonomous droid experiment, but still made it seem like they are working on it. Then the 6th episode of the Imagineering episode also left with images of it sprinkled into the end on stuff they are developing.
It would be nice if they could get that rolling, even if it's just the one we've seen. Bring R2D2 into the land out of launch bay, with a handler. A Mandolorian would be great too.
It's so close to being what it needs to be.
Figments Friend
Well-Known Member
Coming soon to a Batuu near you.....
bryanfze55
Well-Known Member
I visited SW:GE for the first time last week. I have to say, I now understand some of the negativity. I wanted to like it. Hopefully it’ll grow on me.
I really like the look of it, as I thought I would. Especially at night, it has a strange and rugged beauty to it. But the lack of any sort of kinetic energy kind of killed it for me... much more than I thought it would. I think I would enjoy exploring a place like this in the real world but not in a theme park.
This isn’t limited to SW:GE. I feel the same way about Cars Land and Pandora. All three are beautiful, immersive lands with a stellar ride (RotR does by all means appear stellar). But I don’t necessarily enjoy hanging out in these lands. Once per trip (my trips are always multiday), I’ll go ride Flight of Passage or Radiator Springs, grab a bite to eat at Satu’li Canteen or Flo’s... and then I’m pretty much on my merry way. These immersive IP-based lands simply don’t beckon my soul the way that New Orleans Square, Frontierland, Adventureland do. Even with roaming droids and aliens, I don’t think I would want to spend time in SW:GE the same way I do the other lands in Disneyland.
On my last night of the trip, I went back to SW:GE with the intention to ride Smugglers Run for the second time. But when I got there, I realized I would just prefer to ride Star Tours and Hyperspace Mountain. So I went back to Tomorrowland to finish my trip. I know Tomorrowland has its issues, but it makes me happy in a way that SW:GE doesn’t. Disneyland just possesses a whimsical charm that won’t ever be recreated, and that’s what brings me back.
In all, SW:GE is successful in the same way that Cars Land and Pandora are. Theme is the key to a good theme park, and these lands are very well-themed. But they don’t tug on my heart the way Disneyland does. Truth be told, I would rather explore Tom Sawyer Island or shoot at the Frontierland Arcade or sit through the Enchanted Tiki Room multiple times than ride Smugglers Run. And I don’t think that’s necessarily a knock on Smugglers Run. Rather, it’s a testament to how perfect Disneyland really was - and still is, to an extent. If there’s a positive about SW:GE, it’s that it is out of the way of the rest of the park and doesn’t intrude upon its charm at all.
I really like the look of it, as I thought I would. Especially at night, it has a strange and rugged beauty to it. But the lack of any sort of kinetic energy kind of killed it for me... much more than I thought it would. I think I would enjoy exploring a place like this in the real world but not in a theme park.
This isn’t limited to SW:GE. I feel the same way about Cars Land and Pandora. All three are beautiful, immersive lands with a stellar ride (RotR does by all means appear stellar). But I don’t necessarily enjoy hanging out in these lands. Once per trip (my trips are always multiday), I’ll go ride Flight of Passage or Radiator Springs, grab a bite to eat at Satu’li Canteen or Flo’s... and then I’m pretty much on my merry way. These immersive IP-based lands simply don’t beckon my soul the way that New Orleans Square, Frontierland, Adventureland do. Even with roaming droids and aliens, I don’t think I would want to spend time in SW:GE the same way I do the other lands in Disneyland.
On my last night of the trip, I went back to SW:GE with the intention to ride Smugglers Run for the second time. But when I got there, I realized I would just prefer to ride Star Tours and Hyperspace Mountain. So I went back to Tomorrowland to finish my trip. I know Tomorrowland has its issues, but it makes me happy in a way that SW:GE doesn’t. Disneyland just possesses a whimsical charm that won’t ever be recreated, and that’s what brings me back.
In all, SW:GE is successful in the same way that Cars Land and Pandora are. Theme is the key to a good theme park, and these lands are very well-themed. But they don’t tug on my heart the way Disneyland does. Truth be told, I would rather explore Tom Sawyer Island or shoot at the Frontierland Arcade or sit through the Enchanted Tiki Room multiple times than ride Smugglers Run. And I don’t think that’s necessarily a knock on Smugglers Run. Rather, it’s a testament to how perfect Disneyland really was - and still is, to an extent. If there’s a positive about SW:GE, it’s that it is out of the way of the rest of the park and doesn’t intrude upon its charm at all.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
Bingo. In the real world, I might enjoy a place like Morocco whether it has any waterfalls, trees or any of the natural beauty I appreciate. However, even if aesthetically a real city that looks like GE isn’t appealing to some, it can make up for it with kinetic energy, street vendors, exotic food etc. GE has almost none of this. Just shut doors and windows everywhere. It obviously won’t have the exotic food or authentic street vendors as we re in a theme park which makes things like kinetic energy even more important. Interestingly enough, I can’t even remember smelling anything in GE. Let alone seeing and feeling any sort of real energy.
D.Silentu
Well-Known Member
I don't mean to imply that I don't want the things you've said, but a question keeps nagging me: what theme park has actually accomplished that? For years I have heard people shouting the praises of Wizarding World, calling it the greatest theme park land on the planet. Aside from personal taste in fiction, I see virtually no difference between the effort put into it versus Galaxy's Edge. Disney over promised what the land would entail, but past the disappointment of empty hype, I'm genuinely unsure why so many see Universal's land as praiseworthy and Disney's as inferior.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
Accomplished what? Having kinetic energy, feeling like a lived- in place and not an abandoned movie set? Nearly every land at Disneyland for starters.
As far as Wizarding World, I’ve only been to the USH version but I like it. I don’t think it’s the second coming. It’s whimsical and makes you feel like you re somewhere from another time/ place and other worldly at the same time. I don’t feel that way at GE. I feel like I’m somewhere in the Middle East on Earth, present time. The static ships behind fences don’t do anything to change that.
raymusiccity
Well-Known Member
Agreed. Having every single ship or droid behind a fence or a gate completely ruins any feeling that they're nothing more than static display pieces.
bryanfze55
Well-Known Member
I’m with you. I think Wizarding World is overrated. As far as IP-based lands go, maybe it’s the best. I don’t know. I personally prefer Pandora and Cars Land, but I’m admittedly biased towards Disney. SW:GE arguably has less kinetic energy than all of those lands. Where’s the legendary SW music?
Little things in Cars Land like the folksy music or Lightning McQueen (or Mater) “driving” down the street make a big difference. There’s something to listen to, and some sort of kinetic action that you want to see. SW:GE is painstakingly static. The land truly is well themed, so it can be fixed. I just don’t know if Disney under Bob & Bob will commit to doing so.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
In a nutshell I don’t feel that sense of escapism at GE. ROTR should help with that. Literally. It seems that they put most of their eggs and $$$ in the ROTR basket and if the end result is the best ride in the world or something to close to it then I guess it’s not the worst trade off. However, there is no reason they couldn’t have the great land to go with it if they just made some better decisions and didn’t have a merch guy in charge.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
Agreed. Having every single ship or droid behind a fence or a gate completely ruins any feeling that they're nothing more than static display pieces.
Just very elementary mistakes. The imagineers obviously know better. Maybe just maybe the Star Wars universe doesn’t lend itself to a great theme park land?
THE 1HAPPY HAUNT
Well-Known Member
I bet ya Universal could have made one.
RobWDW1971
Well-Known Member
.
With the resources committed, it should have been the greatest land ever built, but they made countless, fundamental poor creative decisions. The problem is they started with Pandora and HP as the template instead of stepping back and creating a land that creatively celebrated the breadth of a much larger universe than Avatar or Potter.
With the resources committed, it should have been the greatest land ever built, but they made countless, fundamental poor creative decisions. The problem is they started with Pandora and HP as the template instead of stepping back and creating a land that creatively celebrated the breadth of a much larger universe than Avatar or Potter.
bryanfze55
Well-Known Member
Nah. Disney and Universal are equally capable of making good IP-based lands. Disney has proven that with Pandora and Cars, as has Universal with WWoHP. Alas, Disney also has Fantasyland, Frontierland, Adventureland, and New Orleans Square while Universal has vast un-themed swaths of concrete with screen rides.
mickEblu
Well-Known Member
I agree. It’s definitely possible. I just don’t think a Star Wars Land is a slam dunk theme park land like Wizarding World. Star Wars is mostly ugly worlds, worlds that are impossible to recreate in a theme park environment and space battles. They just had to leverage the best of the IP and at the same time prioritize a good theme park environment before a recreation of something reminiscent of Tatooine. Of course, Chapeks cuts didn’t help any.
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D.Silentu
Well-Known Member
Pardon me, when making comparisons I had in mind only the newer immersive land trend that started with Wizarding World. I was only highlighting the fact that regardless of what has come before this decade, arguably none of these immersive lands posses that kinetic energy you described. In spite of that, Galaxy's Edge seems to be the whipping boy and I wonder why it gets singled out. Fair disclosure, I have not visited Pandora.
I hadn't thought much about this. Reason being is that these "Cars" really are no interest to me. Even so, I can see they have merit as they do liven up the land to a degree. For that matter, Car's Land probably has the most kinetic set piece with the final run of "Racers" being fully exposed. The only issue is that it's visible to a pathway and restaurant, but shielded from the land at large.
Phroobar
Well-Known Member
If you don't put ships behind fences, you got people climbing on them. Those ships will be ruined within weeks.Agreed. Having every single ship or droid behind a fence or a gate completely ruins any feeling that they're nothing more than static display pieces.
Phroobar
Well-Known Member
Outside of waterfalls, what kinetic energy does Pandora have? You don't even have walk around blue aliens. It is like walking into a jungle where you never see any wild life. It too is pretty lifeless.