News Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser coming to Walt Disney World 2021

[TP2000]

Yeah, Star Wars has never shown women in leadership roles.

I figured someone would come along and say something like that. Welcome!

As a lone example, there's no reason why the longtime captain of the Halcyon can't be a woman.

But on top of all the other women shown in both the marketing and the cringey forced "roundable discussion", it's glaringly obvious that men don't inhabit this new realm. Except for the bartender, or other menial tasks.

This looks bad for the exact same reasons that so much of WDW is lackluster right now. If you look at this mess and say, “well, clearly this is the fault of women,” that says immensely more about you then about Disney.

I don't believe anyone has said that. I only joined the thread yesterday though, so maybe there's something like that further back in time. This pre-opening marketing is a cringey mess, no doubt, but I don't think that aspect has anything to do with the gender of the cringe-creators. I also don't think the cheap and underwhelming set design of the hotel interiors has anything to do with the gender of those who designed it; I blame Chapek for the budgets, and Chapek is a man.

What I am saying is that Star Wars is an inherently masculine world that is based entirely on war and armed conflict. It wasn't a hit in 1977 because it was Annie Hall in Space. It was a hit in 1977 because it was a Western/War Movie in Space.

For some reason, Disney seems intent on showing that men don't work on Star Wars projects any longer.

If Disney built a new Princess Frou-Frou Boutique Makeover Salon in Cinderella Castle, and then in the marketing for the new upcharge Salon experience they populated it with 80% men and boys as customers and employees, and then showed that 80% of the Imagineers who created it were straight men with beards and ballcaps, and kept the 20% of women in hazy shadow or menial background sweeping-up-hair tasks, it would be the same problem.

But I would hope they'd Imagineer the Princess Salon better than they Imagineered this expensive hotel.

 

[TP2000]

I keep expressing doubt that it's all going to be bad as what they've been showing us, I find it hard to believe they can be that clueless, cheap, or that they deliberately thought they could steer people any direction they want.
There's got to be more, right? LOL

That white hallway that looks like a Hampton Inn appears to be the elevator lobby behind the main dining room, near where you enter the ship and where you take an elevator to the three floors with cabins in them.

I assume some room interiors; engineering bay, cabin corridors, dining room, etc. will have better set design than that hallway. Although the cheap and off-brand look of the "bridge" and the "bar" doesn't help that theory much.

Maybe they pulled the video because they realized that the lighting wasn't right and was making stuff look bad? If you've ever been on Pirates when it breaks down and they turn on the lights, that masterpiece ride suddenly becomes hokey and cheap looking in bright flourescent lighting.

I'm talking myself out of it because I realize it's a huge conspiracy theory, and I normally hate conspiracy theories, but I still think there's a slight chance this was all just a big goof and prank they are playing on the superfans.

I just refuse to believe they can be this stupid. I know Covid was tough on them, but this is just... stupid.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I figured someone would come along and say something like that. Welcome!

As a lone example, there's no reason why the longtime captain of the Halcyon can't be a woman.

But on top of all the other women shown in both the marketing and the cringey forced "roundable discussion", it's glaringly obvious that men don't inhabit this new realm. Except for the bartender, or other menial tasks.

This is completely counter to what we’ve seen to the point where it’s incoherent. We’ve seen a male engineer, a male imperial, and Chewbacca - more then we’ve seen female characters. You claim not to be blaming women, but the heart of your argument seems to be too many female creators were involved.

And the idea that SW is solely “masculine” is nuts. One of the fascinating aspects of the series is that the rebellion is led by fairly refined noblewomen! And franchises like SW and the MCU don’t become juggernauts without appealing to a very wide audience.

But yeah, I suppose you could argue western-inspired sci fi needs only female leads lest it not feel “masculine” enough. You’d need to ignore Aliens and Terminator and a lot of other beloved franchises, but you COULD argue it. Wrongly.

 

[TP2000]

This is completely counter to what we’ve seen to the point where it’s incoherent. We’ve seen a male engineer, a male imperial, and Chewbacca - more then we’ve seen female characters. You claim not to be blaming women, but the heart of your argument seems to be too many female creators were involved.

I've only seen the three videos they released in the past month; the one with the Goldberg kid exploring a Hampton Inn that they wisely pulled, the Josh Damaro one where he slowly battles dusty light beams shining from a wall, and the fake WDI "roundtable discussion".

If they've had some men shown in roles besides the 2 second bartender, it's stuff I've not seen from much earlier.

And the idea that SW is solely “masculine” is nuts. One of the fascinating aspects of the series is that the rebellion is led by fairly refined noblewomen! And franchises like SW and the MCU don’t become juggernauts without appealing to a very wide audience.

But yeah, I suppose you could argue western-inspired sci fi needs only female leads lest it not feel “masculine” enough. You’d need to ignore Aliens and Terminator and a lot of other beloved franchises, but you COULD argue it. Wrongly.

Instead of over-correcting to showing only women in backstage creator and onstage leadership roles, they could have just been more fair about it.

They really seem embarassed that they've got straight men in senior executive roles. So they can only show the male execs on camera surrounded by women. It's so blatantly obvious and eye-rollingly pandering.

And that blue lady Captain they created? She just looks so cheap and generic, like nothing we've seen in Star Wars before. She's literally like a Galaxy Quest character. They're phoning this junk in at this point.

How about this as a corporate value instead?... If you're going to make a key character or leader in this fictional world a woman, make her really badass. Go all out on her look, her staging and her backstory. Go big and impactful with her; think Princess Leia or Captain Janeway instead of Captain Karen. Don't phone it in on her character just because she's a woman and you think you get extra credit for that.

But, what do I know? I'm not a big Star Wars guy. I liked the first three movies, and saw them in theaters 40+ years ago. But I'm not going to shell out 3 or 4 grand for this two-night hotel gimmick. I just don't care enough about it.

If I was a fan on the fence for this expensive product, the cringey and cheap pre-opening marketing of both the product itself and its backstage corporate creation would not get me to pull the trigger on this big purchase.

I'm embarassed for them, regardless of their gender.

 

[Incomudro]

The main video on the web page has been a father with his eyes looking into hyperspace and kids following along for months.

Where's his son?

 

[Incomudro]

Well, except for half of the four human characters we’ve been shown so far - plus Chewbacca. Also, the “amazed guest” in the awful video that got taken down - you know, the character intended as the audience POV?

And tell me how this is different from Mon Mothma and Princess Leia being the two most prominent leaders of the rebellion in the original films. Did we ever even see a male of equal rank?

This looks bad for the exact same reasons that so much of WDW is lackluster right now. If you look at this mess and say, “well, clearly this is the fault of women,” that says immensely more about you then about Disney.

There are far fewer men depicted in Star Wars as characters, far fewer boys depicted as guests excited to see Galaxy's Edge, and far fewer males shown as being a part of the creative process.
Yes, we see males.
But we see far less of them, and it is deliberate.
What you are doing is like pointing out lizards, turtles, and snakes, and trying to say that they are the dominant vertebral life form on the planet just because they're still there.

 

[Parker in NYC]

I find it hard to believe they can be that clueless, cheap, or that they deliberately thought they could steer people any direction they want.
There's got to be more, right? LOL

Which company have you been following lately? Certainly not Disney…

 

[ChrisFL]

They really seem embarassed that they've got straight men in senior executive roles. So they can only show the male execs on camera surrounded by women. It's so blatantly obvious and eye-rollingly pandering.

View attachment 608317

The "male exec" in that photo is Imagineer Scott Trowbridge, not sure if he qualifies as an "exec"

 

[TP2000]

The "male exec" in that photo is Imagineer Scott Trowbridge, not sure if he qualifies as an "exec"

Yeah, that's Scott Trowbridge. His official title is "Portfolio Creative Executive". That's WDI speak for the guy in charge of all Star Wars projects in all parks/resorts around the world (DL SWGE, WDW SWGE, Paris SWGE, etc.). Including the Galactic Starcruiser.

He's not only an executive, he's also the man in charge of everything Star Wars for the past few years, and into the forseeable future.

Scott Trowbridge - Portfolio Creative Executive & Studio Leader, Walt Disney Imagineering

Scott Trowbridge leads a portfolio of teams and initiatives at The Walt Disney Company.

futureofstorytelling.org

 

[wutisgood]

I actually think given the leaks about story it could be a good product if they really have high quality entertainers that can really get guests engaged. The problem is chapek has a special disdain for professional level entertainment personnel and I wouldn't trust him at all. I mean this dude cut most of the star wars land entertainment and tried to act like normal CMs would do just fine. If they are spending the money on those people I imagine the outrageous prices are really about chapek wanting to hit some insane margin because he thinks these people are costing him too much money.

 

[RoadiJeff]

Had no idea that you could fly to space.. in a real spaceship.. in Disney's starcruiser.

For $6k and less than 2 full days it had better do something more than making me feel like I'm staying at a Holiday Inn Express.

 

[Touchdown]

Can we please just critique this hotel without the sexism please? The hotel looks terrible, and I don’t think that the gender of the creative team caused that. Both men and women can enjoy and understand Star Wars and be creative in adding to the legacy, likewise both men and women can not understand Star Wars and can fail to be creative.

May I remind you all that the only reason the original film was made was because George Lucas then wife at the time edited his horrible script into something sensical. Having a Y chromosome does not cause you to become one with the force. All can regardless of gender.

 

[TikibirdLand]

That white hallway that looks like a Hampton Inn appears to be the elevator lobby behind the main dining room, near where you enter the ship and where you take an elevator to the three floors with cabins in them.

I assume some room interiors; engineering bay, cabin corridors, dining room, etc. will have better set design than that hallway. Although the cheap and off-brand look of the "bridge" and the "bar" doesn't help that theory much.

Maybe they pulled the video because they realized that the lighting wasn't right and was making stuff look bad? If you've ever been on Pirates when it breaks down and they turn on the lights, that masterpiece ride suddenly becomes hokey and cheap looking in bright flourescent lighting.

I'm talking myself out of it because I realize it's a huge conspiracy theory, and I normally hate conspiracy theories, but I still think there's a slight chance this was all just a big goof and prank they are playing on the superfans.

I just refuse to believe they can be this stupid. I know Covid was tough on them, but this is just... stupid.

I really do think a lot of the problem was with lighting. If you compare the concept art with what we saw of the bridge, for example, you'll notice how "white" everything is; almost washed out. IMO, they have access to so many really great cinematographers. I wonder what this promo video would have looked ike had it been directed by Jon Favreu but still using the sets as-built? I'm thinking it would be much more convincing.

I think there's some valid criticism of having so many women being featured here; it feels almost forced, frankly. There are lots of great women in imagineering roles and a lot of them "get" Star Wars. As pointed out by other posters, the number of women in the bar scene should have had their "Daisy Dukes" on and been serving hot wings.

 

[HauntedPirate]

I just refuse to believe they can be this stupid. I know Covid was tough on them, but this is just... stupid.

Believe, if for no other reason than the number of missteps they’ve already had with this franchise since buying it. Not saying everything they’ve done has been bad, but it far outweighs the good.

And remember: I ARE THE MAGIC!!

 

[ImperfectPixie]

Being called a "misogynist" is almost always a lazy attempt to stop someone from voicing their opinion. It's second only to "racist" in words that have lost all meaning because of their sloppy over-use by lazy people.

Which is a shame, because occasionally there are actual cases of people having contempt for women or believing that one race of people is physiologically or biologically superior to another race of people (which are the actual definitions of those words).

Don't ever let people using vocabulary incorrectly stop you from voicing your personal opinion on theme parks.
I certainly haven't.



Assuming this cringey and cheap looking pre-opening material isn't actually a giant prank...

I can give them a pass so far on this Star Wars Hotel thing because what they released was purposely pre-opening hype aimed at the theme park fan community. When the real marketing and glitzy TV commercials come out later this winter it will be interesting to see how they handle it.

But what is unmistakable is the blatantly women-centric team they created (or at least showed publicly) to create this product. It's almost as if they are embarassed because the top two execs in charge of this project are men; Mr. Damaro as the Parks Chairman and Mr. Trowbridge as the WDI Star Wars Portfolio Executive. And so they stacked the deck and didn't let any other men appear anywhere else in any of the pre-opening marketing or cringey "roundtable discussion" footage.

There's a bartender in the lounge who is male, but then every other employee of Chandrila Star Line, the ship itself, and Walt Disney Imagineering is female. And it's also apparently Ladies Nite in the ship's lounge because out of the nine other passengers shown there, seven are women (the two men get pushed into the background or have their faces hazed over while the camera shows the women, but two men passengers are technically there).

The problem with all that from product creation to cringey marketing seems to be that the core story being told here, Star Wars, is inherently masculine and based almost entirely on war and violent armed conflict.

I still think there's a chance this is all a huge prank and goof on the fan community. I just can't quite wrap my head around the apparent fact that this Star Wars Hotel concept was done so cheaply and badly.

He basically came right out and said that a woman could never do a good job being in charge of Star Wars. Misogyny at it's finest.

 

[OceanBlue]

Al

Where's his son?

At light saber training with his Grandfather? Maybe they don't have a son and only have this preteen daughter who loves Star Wars? The most prominent artwork featured on the same page and the only images really selling this experience, include father and sons and boys playing in numbers that appear to outnumber girls.

 

[Cesar R M]

Do you think it might be some sort of “We know the geeky men will come, but we have to show their wives that this is a place they would like too” thing?

Another grave miscalculation.

Specially when girls can be as nerdy as men.

 

[Cesar R M]

You mean full of women that are going to look a heck of alot better than I can in a dress lol? Honestly how do some women have time to look so made up on a vacation that, by looking at the itinerary, is enough time for me to get a quick shower and dry my hair?

Plot twist: Its on purpose, so you are forced to get a full non complimentary galactic hairdo by a wookie at the bargain price of 1500 USD.

 

[Casper Gutman]

I know that whenever I need to prove how manly and macho I am, the first thing I do is loudly announce, “I’m a huge fan of Star Wars.” That usually clears things right up.

 

[Skywise]

I know that whenever I need to prove how manly and macho I am, the first thing I do is loudly announce, “I’m a huge fan of Star Wars.” That usually clears things right up.

I always found that I got a lot of girls to come back to my pad by asking if they wanted to see my comic book collection