Damage Control PR Spin for Star Wars Begins

Family_Man

Family_Man

Member
I have to say, this thread is a fun read. Putting aside the politics aspect, and even putting aside whether the movies were “good”, I think a problem Disney has is that this trilogy lacks likable characters you can root for.

Han left his wife and the fight against evil – am I supposed to root for him?
Luke tried to kill his nephew in cold blood – am I supposed to root for him?
Poe is now the embodiment of toxic masculinity – am I supposed to root for him?
Finn is a coward who accomplishes nothing – am I supposed to root for him?

The original trilogy characters were beloved. They felt like family to many people. Is that true of the latest trilogy? These latest movies have made a lot of money, but Avatar made a lot of money too, and people can barely name any of the characters.

I think its hard to quantify love of a fictional character, but I think of the kids in my neighborhood on Halloween. I see A LOT of Marvel heroes. I even see Wizards even though the last Harry Potter movie was 8 years ago. I have never seen a Poe or a Finn.

I don’t know how much my above analysis plays into Galaxy Edge’s popularity. Maybe hardly at all. Maybe Disney did too good of a job controlling crowds. But it seems like they expected (wanted?) people banging down the door, and that isn’t really happening yet. Maybe in 2020??? Maybe with Rise of the Resistance??? I really don’t know.

But I am pretty sure Disney didn’t spend $2 billion on the Galaxy's Edge to make people spend a 2nd day at Hollywood Studios instead of a 2nd at Epcot. Disney spent $2 billion to have a phenomenon. Universal Studios revenue increased 30% in 2010 and another 25% in 2011 due to Harry Potter. Is Disney going to see anything close to that?
 
WDW Pro

WDW Pro

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
George Lucas on a Bench

George Lucas on a Bench

Well-Known Member
The line for MF is boring and ugly until you get to that one room with the robot.

One of the only vloggers I watch was really exaggerating about the line for that ride as well, even saying it was better than Avatar. He's a bit of a corporate kissbutt, so I took it with a grain of salt. The Flight of Passage line is WAY better than the MF line excepting the lame pre-show part.

I think a lot of these people were too excited for the land and having reservations and being among the first in increased that excitement for whatever reason. You just don't end up with a realistic view. They were completely prepared to be un-critical.
 
justintheharris

justintheharris

Well-Known Member
So many people say that the crowds got hyped so everyone stayed home... In theory, that makes sense but in practice, it makes no sense. People know opening days are crowded. They still showed up in droves for Wizarding World, Pandora and even Toy Story. How is Star Wars any different? Is it different because it has a larger and more dedicated fan base? That means MORE people should have shown up. This opening was supposed to be the opening in which people paid thousands of dollars just to see it for five seconds and have a door slammed in their face promptly with a four thousand dollar up charge to put your left foot in the land and a three million dollar price tag to ride the Millennium Falcon once. Disney is caught VERY off guard by the low crowds. It's not necessarily due to the quality of the land but Disney is not pleased and is probably very concerned. The virtual queue, the lift of blackouts for cast members and the new summer deal is evidence that Disney expected droves of people and is observing that none of them showed up.
 
shortstop

shortstop

Well-Known Member
justintheharris said:
So many people say that the crowds got hyped so everyone stayed home... In theory, that makes sense but in practice, it makes no sense. People know opening days are crowded. They still showed up in droves for Wizarding World, Pandora and even Toy Story. How is Star Wars any different? Is it different because it has a larger and more dedicated fan base? That means MORE people should have shown up. This opening was supposed to be the opening in which people paid thousands of dollars just to see it for five seconds and have a door slammed in their face promptly with a four thousand dollar up charge to put your left foot in the land and a three million dollar price tag to ride the Millennium Falcon once. Disney is caught VERY off guard by the low crowds. It's not necessarily due to the quality of the land but Disney is not pleased and is probably very concerned. The virtual queue, the lift of blackouts for cast members and the new summer deal is evidence that Disney expected droves of people and is observing that none of them showed up.
Click to expand...
The difference boils down to a few things:
  • For years, we have been hearing about how much crowding SW:GE would draw in. I don’t remember hearing anything like this for any of the other expansions you listed
  • Disney went totally overboard with their anti-crowding strategies (blocking AP’s, reservations, etc.) Universal has never done anything like this. Nor had Disney, for that matter
  • The flagship E-ticket attraction hasn’t opened, and everybody knows this
SW:GE is built for the long-run. This is different than a movie bombing at the box office opening weekend. The land is here to stay, and surely over time it will draw sustained crowds. The fact that crowds have been significantly smaller since the land opened should tell you that the lack of crowding is a self-inflicted wound on Disney’s part.
 
justintheharris

justintheharris

Well-Known Member
shortstop said:
The difference boils down to a few things:
  • For years, we have been hearing about how much crowding SW:GE would draw in. I don’t remember hearing anything like this for any of the other expansions you listed
  • Disney went totally overboard with their anti-crowding strategies (blocking AP’s, reservations, etc.) Universal has never done anything like this. Nor had Disney, for that matter
  • The flagship E-ticket attraction hasn’t opened, and everybody knows this
SW:GE is built for the long-run. This is different than a movie bombing at the box office opening weekend. The land is here to stay, and surely over time it will draw sustained crowds. The fact that crowds have been significantly smaller since the land opened should tell you that the lack of crowding is a self-inflicted wound on Disney’s part.
Click to expand...
I agree that it's self inflicted and likely due to block outs but Disney made those block out dates under the assumption the park would be packed with one and done visitors. The first bullet point still doesn't sell it for me. The third bullet point I think is a factor but not a big one. And regardless, Disney is still caught off guard. Hence the lifting of cast blackouts, the bring-a-friend deal and the ending of the virtual queue.
 
Nirya

Nirya

Well-Known Member
justintheharris said:
I agree that it's self inflicted and likely due to block outs but Disney made those block out dates under the assumption the park would be packed with one and done visitors. The first bullet point still doesn't sell it for me. The third bullet point I think is a factor but not a big one. And regardless, Disney is still caught off guard. Hence the lifting of cast blackouts, the bring-a-friend deal and the ending of the virtual queue.
Click to expand...

First bullet point definitely works once you realize Disney definitely thought they could offset the lack of APs with single-day visitors without taking into account the fact of Disneyland being a locals park compared to WDW. I’m of the opinion that, had they at least left Deluxe with its same blackout schedule, you wouldn’t have seen nearly as much issues with crowd levels.

Basically, I think a huge part of the problem was that Disney chose the path they did in willful ignorance of the actual year-round attendance situation at the DLR.
 
The_Mesh_Hatter

The_Mesh_Hatter

Well-Known Member
shortstop said:
  • Disney went totally overboard with their anti-crowding strategies (blocking AP’s, reservations, etc.) Universal has never done anything like this. Nor had Disney, for that matter
Click to expand...


  • Universal did actually do something like that in its Hollywood park for the opening of WWOHP. Raised prices too aggressively and lost their core pass holders. The land was a ghost town.
 
shortstop

shortstop

Well-Known Member
The_Mesh_Hatter said:


  • Universal did actually do something like that in its Hollywood park for the opening of WWOHP. Raised prices too aggressively and lost their core pass holders. The land was a ghost town.
Click to expand...
That’s right, I’d forgotten about that. Then I guess what’s happening with Star Wars isn’t unprecedented.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom