Just to clarify for those that are following along at home and may be concerned by Spirit's thoughts - nothing has changed with SWL. Alcatraz is still the "everything including the kitchen sink" headliner and Big Bird is just a simulator in the vein of Hogwarts Express for the SW fan. Nothing has been value-engineered out of either.
At the end of the day, the Falcon is an elaborate simulator attraction. It will ride very much like what we already have in Star Tours; but, the whole ride experience is more than just the trip around the RV's carousels being shaken. For a Star Wars fan, the entire experience is going be like a Potter fan going through King's Cross and rounding Platform 9 3/4 and seeing the bright red train spewing out steam. For a Star Wars fan, walking up into the ship and sitting down in the "mostly" authentic cockpit and pulling back on the hyperspace levers will be an experience that isn't measured by how many degrees of yaw/roll/pitch the motion base can exert. There is a reason why guests to the sets of the Force Awakens and Last Jedi shed tears when visiting the Falcon sets. Expect a plussed version of Star Tours in very pretty wrapper and that is Big Bird. Tempered expectations are crucial with this one as if you go into it hoping for something more than it can deliver in terms of what the ride in motion can provide. There is only so much you can do with a spaceship cockpit in terms of an RV. Maybe if Disney had access to the RoboCoaster arm, they could gyrate it around a bit more aggressively; but, ultimately, a flight simulator has to rely on projections to fly guests around an environment. From a technical perspective, I'm excited by how seamless the whole package should be. It's really interesting how the fight for an authentic Falcon experience versus the need for capacity in an attraction led to the multiple carousels and docking bays.
In regards to the "fun" going on in Anaheim, I did get to talk to several of my friends when I was there at the end of last month. Both friends from the Resorts and a couple of owners of Harbor Blvd hotels. I had a lunch planned to bring a couple from both sides together; but, the Disney folks couldn't make it. That's a shame because communication is at the heart of the current blockage. While I don't want to over simply things; but, if Disney were to listen to the objections of the business leaders on Harbor and come up with a compromise for access that allows guests that want to head West to the parks from not having to go East... then the current difficulties with the City would be minimized. Until there is a break through, I expect both sides to continue not to talk and that will get nowhere.
Another item on the agenda for my DLR trip was to find any evidence of any cross training that Orlando had been doing with their Anaheim counterparts to relearn the Disney way... and unfortunately, nobody has any indication of this happening. The closest I heard of it was one manager that read it here and opined that maybe it got cancelled due to the operational struggles this summer in Orlando. Of all the things that
@WDW1974 said earlier this year - Chappie's "Go Back to Disney Parks School" mandate for Orlando was the most promising. Hopefully, that's still in the cards.
Things are looking up for Parks for the most part. I've been to WDW 3 times this year and DLR once. WDW seems more "alive" than it has been recently due to the construction, Smurf Village, and the inclusion of the fantastic Happily Ever After. My only concern is if the great 50th Bailout Funds are as successful as they should be... if the resort falls back asleep once the funds have depleted. DLR is still doing nicely. Disneyland feels whole again as the river has awoken from it's slumber and looks a feels spectacular. Having the original(ish) World of Color back at CA makes a day there end on a good note (as opposed for we waiting for Celebrate to finish so I could watch the only good part of it - the post show). Other than some operational issues regarding crowd control, it was good to see the most recent high water marks for the resort for the 60th are still holding firm. While I think paying for MaxPass is crazy... there is no denying that using it was a breeze (it's included in my Premier pass) and you could completely abuse its power. I would get a Mansion reservation, get in line and scan my card and reserve another in the stretching room that would be available just as soon as I got off. Add in the occasional Indy or Splash pass added in with a Pirates ride here or there and you could ride to your hearts desire on that side of the park. It's amazing to see how fast the bar code readers are. I would say they are even faster than the Magic Band's RFID. I'm glad Parks didn't waste a billion dollars developing a dedicated system based on that.
