Is Disney unlikely to invest in buidling a "land" again?

DanielBB8

Well-Known Member
Desert is not inherently ugly. What do you think Carland is? I would reverse the current buildings. From the west, there’s the long walk that first brings you to Luke’s Aunt and Uncle’s place. Walk a path to the underground living quarters and buy some blue milk refreshment. Continue to Mos Eisley and see the famous cantina and escape from Tatooine with the Millennium Falcon at the famous hangar. Upon exiting the ride, you’re on Death Star. Explore on your own and exit to the Death Star gift shop.

The second ride is based on prequel location. Naboo or Coruscant. These have grand architecture. Help Obi Wan and Jedi warriors.
 

Figments Friend

Well-Known Member
No, the lesson that should be learned is Don't Mess with Disneyland. Batuu is not Disneyland.

Disney designed and built a land that intentionally ignored what makes Disneyland great, and the crowds didn't come. Basic design and storytelling principles were ignored. Actual substance was ignored for fluff lingo and design to give the impression of depth.

Not to mention the myriad of changes made to Disneyland's pricing structure in anticipation for Galaxy's Edge since 2015. And the Stardust alterations present throughout the rest of the park, harming Disneyland's beauty to anticipate crowds that haven't shown up.

Instead of building a real D ticket attraction with depth and intriguing design, we got a half hearted video game that both seeks to distance itself from the original trilogy, but also rely on that nostalgia for it's appeal.

Instead of designing a land that's intended to integrate and improve Disneyland's mythology, we got a land that ignores the rest of the park in an attempt to create more 'immersive' storytelling.

The rest of the park are lands intended to reside within Disneyland, USA. It's why you see it written on the Twain for example. Galaxy's Edge is intended to reside on Batuu. This is confusing and disjointing. It also causes guests to hold the land to a different standard- many idiosyncrasies present throughout Disneyland are ignored because, well, Disneyland! It's the identity of the park, and it's why the park is beloved. Galaxy's Edge won't get this same luxury, and because of this- the land will be far less charming than what's been built before.



I'm speaking for myself only here, but I'd take 2014 Disneyland with Fantasmic, the longer river, and planters+curbs any day over the 2019 iteration of the park.

Coming Soon - 'Discovery Bay' overlay / rebuild over exsisting 'Galaxy's Edge' remains (opens 2022)

Problem solved.
;)

Yes, please.

(Thank you.)


:)

-
 

danheaton

Well-Known Member
Galaxy's Edge is definitely a big disappointment so far in terms of a draw at Disneyland. I do think we need to see what happens at Walt Disney World and Rise of the Resistance before we can put a nail in the coffin. I don't think it's going to be as nuts as expected, and it does make me wonder about Episode 9 and the future of Star Wars as a mega franchise. Still, the story of Galaxy's Edge really can't be fully written until both attractions are open. The big mistake from Disney was opening the lands in an unfinished form.
 

Nirya

Well-Known Member
I do think a lot of the problems are related to things that have nothing to do with Galaxy’s Edge (with the sole exception of “it’s going to be insanely busy there!” as a marketing strategy which is just dumb) and more to do with general trends that Disney felt SWL would either easily reverse or just didn’t think were a big deal. Chief among them is the clear misunderstanding that Disneyland’s attendance model has severely shifted over the last decade to be almost-entirely AP-dependent, and catering to that market instead of trying to get more people to pay for single-day tickets.

Now, if Galaxy’s Edge has some truly specific problems, it’s these:

1. It’s still missing it’s signature attraction.
2. There’s Star Wars overexposure.

Now, #1 is pretty self-explanatory, but #2 is maybe as important when you consider a few factors. Now, when I say Star Wars is overexposed, I’m specifically stating that building the same land on both coasts was a mistake. By doing so, it leaves little incentive for east coast (and even Midwest) tourists to fly out to Anaheim, because why go to California when you can just wait a few months and go experience it at a resort that is better-equipped to provide an all-encompassing tourist experience. It just leaves Star Wars die-hards, and that’s a group that I have to imagine has access to the internet and can see that the Disneyland version was not going to open at full capacity, which cuts into who all is going.

(Anyway, tl;dr version: I’m not in the camp that believes Galaxy’s Edge has failed because it’s based on the ST and not the OT, but rather because of a host of macro problems coming to a head that Disney chose to ignore).
 

Disney Irish

Premium Member
Forgetting SW:GE specifics for a second, to answer the OP question.

Yes Disney will be investing building another "land". In fact speaking of DLR specifically they are doing so just across the Esplanade with Marvel. The real question is will Disney spend the same amount as they did with SW:GE on future projects, only time will tell on that one. I suspect we'll be able to gauge that question after D23.

Going back to SW:GE, its still far to early to say SW:GE is some epic failure that will change the course of Disney or other theme park industry investments. These short term issues will subside and be a distant memory soon enough. Once APs are unleashed, DHS SW:GE opens, and ROTR open in both coasts we'll be able to get a better sense of SW:GEs impact on the larger theme park industry.
 

THE 1HAPPY HAUNT

Well-Known Member
But the survey needs to be from NON-guests, asking them why they are not visiting Disneyland as a destination this summer.

Yes, pricing and scared of extra large crowds will be two main responses. Also a large percentage who just don't like Theme/Amusement parks in general.

But if a question was, would having Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Lela, C3P0 and R2D2 doing character visits, entertainment, featured on attractions, etc. help influence you to visiting the park, I think you would have many positive responses.
How can they survey someone who is not in their park?
 

BrianLo

Well-Known Member
I believe we are about to enter another period similar to the early 2000s where Disney is going to only invest in cheap rides. I really enjoy Galaxy's Edge as a theme park fan, but I think the era of the Mega Lands is going to come to an abrupt end and all those proposed lands for Tokyo and Paris are about to be slashed.

I further wonder if the rammifications are farther reaching and if Universal is still going to pursue Super Nintendo World.

This won't have any effect on the Asian Parks whatsoever... apart from them being even less likely to hawk Star Wars on a very uninterested Chinese market.

The Asian parks are all locked in by their partners.


Now, Walt Disney Studios Paris? If Galaxy's Edge fails to launch correctly at DHS in the Fall as well, I could see ramifications there. But this needs to be a much longer trend, the ripples are mostly going to be limited to TDA and cause the TDO planners to go into marketing overdrive (and not attempt to suppress their crowds whatsoever).

IF the effect is sustained, then things also will get pretty interesting.
 
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socalifornian

Well-Known Member
This.

The message is "Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge". The marketing is "Fly the Millennium Falcon" with it looking like it's straight out of the OT (radar dish notwithstanding).

Batuu? What's Batuu? I see ads for a cantina, I see kids hugging Chewie.

They ESSENTIALLY ARE marketing it as a OT land. And if RotR was open, you can bet they'd show that AT-AT money shot over and over.
Only the OT cast were at the lands dedication too
 

socalifornian

Well-Known Member
Anyone else get this survey? It was mainly about DCA, dtd, and resort entry/exit experience. Covered everything that emotional whirlwind opening VP is in charge of. The GE question popped up out of nowhere, they never asked if I went or not. The DCA ride one was funny since the date in question was the day of the 7.1. I was at DL
Edit: they also asked how big of a Star Wars fan I am
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PymParty

Well-Known Member
IMHO, considering Super Nintendo World as a single IP land is incorrect. The strength of SNW is that, even if it is primarly based on Mario and friends in Phase 1, Universal will be able to add any other franchises that is under the Nintendo brand (Zelda, Splatoon, Kirby, Animal Crossing...) in the future to diversify the offering and appeal to everyone. The only difference with "classic" lands like Fantasyland is that it will feature immersive environments..

We now need to look at the performance of the upcoming Frozen and Marvel lands to see if the present underperformance of Galaxy's Edge is a real trend
 

DanielBB8

Well-Known Member
I’m the type who would like to explore Star Wars Land to trace the movies. The only attraction that has this is the Millennium Falcon and only on the outside and the inside with the chess table. The queue line gives us absolutely nothing. The Cantina is an entirely new creation. Batuu is completely new. The shops are new. There’s nothing really there to attract customers who want to explore Batuu who they’re not familiar with like they do at Hogsmead and Diagon Alley. Batuu is a fake and lame substitute. So there’s goes their main attraction. I imagined a true Star Wars Land would include a visit in a Death Star and Empire Starship. We have to wait next year to see it in Rise of Resistance in a sequel trilogy version. Oh well.
 

Animaniac93-98

Well-Known Member
Now, Walt Disney Studios Paris? If Galaxy's Edge fails to launch correctly at DHS in the Fall as well, I could see ramifications there. But this needs to be a much longer trend, the ripples are mostly going to be limited to TDA and cause the TDO planners to go into marketing overdrive (and not attempt to suppress their crowds whatsoever).

Disney is probably very relived that they are only building RotR and one or two shops and food stands for Star Wars in Paris.

But those plans aren't likely to change. With all the required public hearings that have already happened, I don't see how they could just scrap everything and start over again.
 

Rich T

Well-Known Member
IMHO, considering Super Nintendo World as a single IP land is incorrect. The strength of SNW is that, even if it is primarly based on Mario and friends in Phase 1, Universal will be able to add any other franchises that is under the Nintendo brand (Zelda, Splatoon, Kirby, Animal Crossing...) in the future to diversify the offering and appeal to everyone. The only difference with "classic" lands like Fantasyland is that it will feature immersive environments.
Zelda (Indy style dark ride) and Animal Crossing (town with walk-around characters and a comical dark ride) should definitely be next. And if they can talk the Pokemon Co. into going along, a Pokemon area would be insanely great. Other properties like Kirby, Star Fox, Metroid, Fire Emblem, Pikmin, etc. could all appear in various forms in a "Smash" Plaza area. I, personally, would also build a Rhythm Heaven Cafe. :D
 

Darkbeer1

Well-Known Member
How can they survey someone who is not in their park?

Easy, all theme parks/amusement parks/tourist attractions (well, most) hire Market Research firms to gather info. Ever walk in a shopping mall, public area, etc. and have someone with a clipboard/pad ask you a few questions, then might invite you to sit down for an interview offering you a gift/cash for your time?

How about in an e-mail? Click on an ad?

Visit Anaheim does it as a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) Aka Tourism Bureau. And Disneyland does partner in and adds questions they want answers to from the general public.
 

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